{"forage/forage-species":[{"id":"wood-sorrel-houston","plantId":"oxalis","name":"Yellow Woodsorrel","scientific":"Oxalis stricta","wiki":"Oxalis_stricta","origin":"Native to North America","habit":"Low perennial herb","habitat":"{place} lawns, beds, and disturbed ground","ediblePart":"Leaves, flowers, seed pods","harvestMonths":[3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10],"idTips":"Three heart-shaped leaflets (like a shamrock) that fold down at night and in rain. Small yellow 5-petal flowers. Seed pods are pointed capsules that EXPLODE on touch. NO ONION SMELL (unlike wild onion).","lookalikes":[{"name":"Clover","scientific":"Trifolium repens","danger":"None; also edible, but different taste (pea-family, mild).","tell":"Clover has 3 rounded (not heart-shaped) leaflets with a white 'V' marking and round flower heads, not yellow solitary flowers."}],"preparation":"Raw in salads (lemony tart) or steeped in cold water as a lemony drink. Eat in small amounts, since it is high in oxalic acid.","facts":["Its tang comes from oxalic acid. Same compound as rhubarb leaves.","Its seed pods explode and fling seeds when touched.","Its leaflets fold down at night. A circadian 'sleep' movement.","It is one of the easiest wild edibles to ID, with no toxic lookalikes."],"timingIn":"35a 35c 35g POST BLACK 34b EDW CROSS STX ROLL HIGH TRANS","range":"ALL -24f -23a"},{"id":"purslane","name":"Purslane","scientific":"Portulaca oleracea","wiki":"Portulaca_oleracea","origin":"Probably Eurasia, now cosmopolitan","habit":"Sprawling succulent annual","habitat":"{place} driveways, garden beds, sidewalk cracks","ediblePart":"Leaves and stems (raw or cooked)","harvestMonths":[5,6,7,8,9,10],"idTips":"A red-stemmed, prostrate succulent with thick, smooth, spatula-shaped leaves clustered at stem joints. Small yellow flowers open only in morning sun. NO HAIR on the stems. The key mark of edible purslane.","lookalikes":[{"name":"Hairy-stemmed Spurge","scientific":"Euphorbia prostrata and E. nutans","danger":"TOXIC; spurges contain milky, irritating latex sap.","tell":"Spurges have THIN, non-succulent leaves and a milky white sap that oozes from any cut stem. Purslane has NO milky sap and thick juicy leaves."}],"preparation":"Raw in salads (crunchy, lemony) or cooked as a potherb. It is one of the highest omega-3 plants known.","facts":["It has more omega-3 fatty acids than almost any other leafy green.","Its thick, juicy leaves mark it as a succulent adapted to drought.","It is a top-3 {place} edible weed. Abundant in summer driveway cracks.","It has NO milky sap; the critical test against toxic spurge lookalikes."],"timingIn":"35a 35c 35g POST BLACK 34b EDW CROSS STX ROLL HIGH TRANS","range":"ALL -23a"},{"id":"elderberry-houston-forage","plantId":"elderberry","name":"American Elderberry","scientific":"Sambucus canadensis","wiki":"Sambucus_canadensis","origin":"Native to eastern North America","habit":"Large loose shrub","habitat":"{place} {bayou} edges, ditch banks, moist woods","ediblePart":"Flowers and COOKED ripe berries only","harvestMonths":[5,6,7,8],"idTips":"Compound leaves with 5–11 toothed oval leaflets arranged in pairs. Flat-topped white flower clusters (like lace doilies) in June. Ripe berries hang in HEAVY PURPLE-BLACK drooping clusters. Stems have a white pith (spongy core): the definitive elderberry mark.","lookalikes":[{"name":"Water Hemlock","scientific":"Cicuta maculata","danger":"EXTREMELY LETHAL; considered North America's most toxic native plant. Any amount can kill.","tell":"Elderberry is a WOODY SHRUB (up to 20 ft) with opposite leaves and a solid white pith. Water hemlock is a NON-WOODY herb (to 6 ft) with a HOLLOW stem that dies back each year, and its white flowers form a compound umbel like a carrot's. Both have toothed, pointed leaflets and both grow in wet ditches, so leaf shape is NOT a safe test. Only harvest from a woody elderberry shrub you have positively identified."}],"preparation":"Berries must be COOKED into syrup, jam or wine. Raw berries cause nausea. Flowers are fried as fritters or infused as cordial.","facts":["Raw berries cause vomiting; always cook elderberries.","Its stems have a soft, white, spongy pith. A key ID mark.","Its huge, flat-topped flower clusters make traditional elderflower cordial.","Its wetland lookalike, water hemlock, is considered North America's most toxic native plant."],"refs":[{"label":"Wikipedia: Cicuta maculata","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicuta_maculata"},{"label":"Wikipedia: Sambucus canadensis","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sambucus_canadensis"}],"factRefs":{"3":[{"label":"Wikipedia: Cicuta maculata","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicuta_maculata"}]},"timingIn":"35a 35c 35g POST BLACK 34b EDW CROSS STX ROLL HIGH TRANS","range":"ALL -31c -24f -23a"},{"id":"muscadine","name":"Muscadine Grape","scientific":"Vitis rotundifolia","wiki":"Vitis_rotundifolia","origin":"Native to the southeastern U.S.","habit":"High-climbing woody vine","habitat":"{place} forest edges, fences, {bayou} thickets","ediblePart":"Ripe fruit","harvestMonths":[8,9,10],"idTips":"A vigorous grape vine with unlobed or slightly lobed, shiny, round leaves (unlike lobed fox grape). Its bronze-to-purple-black grapes ripen ONE AT A TIME (not in tight bunches) and have a thick, tough skin and a unique musky-sweet flavor.","lookalikes":[{"name":"Common Moonseed","scientific":"Menispermum canadense","wiki":"Menispermum_canadense","danger":"POISONOUS; its fruit can be fatal. It ripens in September and October, the same time as wild grapes.","tell":"Moonseed's purple-black berries look like grapes, but each holds ONE crescent-moon-shaped seed (grapes have several round seeds), the vine has NO TENDRILS (grapes have forked tendrils), and the fruit tastes rank. Check the seeds of every wild 'grape' before eating."},{"name":"Pepper Vine","scientific":"Nekemias arborea","danger":"Berries are inedible and can cause gastric upset.","tell":"Pepper vine has COMPOUND leaves (5–9 leaflets per leaf), not simple single leaves, and its blue-black berries grow in drooping pyramid-shaped clusters."},{"name":"Carolina Moonseed","scientific":"Cocculus carolinianus","wiki":"Nephroia carolina","danger":"Berries are toxic (may cause serious illness).","tell":"Carolina moonseed's berries are bright RED (not purple or bronze), each with a single crescent-shaped seed, and the vine twines without tendrils."}],"preparation":"Eaten fresh (spit the thick skin or eat it), made into jam, wine or jelly. The thick skin is where most antioxidants are.","facts":["Its grapes ripen individually (not in tight bunches): a key field mark.","Its thick skin holds much of its antioxidant content.","It thrives in the humid Southeast where European grapes get diseases.","It has been wild-harvested for wine in the Gulf South for centuries."],"refs":[{"label":"Wikipedia: Menispermum canadense","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menispermum_canadense"}],"timingIn":"35a 35c 35g POST BLACK 34b EDW CROSS STX ROLL HIGH TRANS","range":"ALL -31c -27h -25i -24f -24b -26c -23a"},{"id":"mustang-grape-forage","plantId":"mustang-grape","name":"Mustang Grape","scientific":"Vitis mustangensis","wiki":"Vitis_mustangensis","origin":"Native to Texas","habit":"High-climbing woody vine","habitat":"{place} fences, tree tops, woodland edges","ediblePart":"Ripe fruit (juice irritates skin. Wear gloves)","harvestMonths":[6,7,8],"idTips":"A massive grape vine with leaves that are DARK GREEN AND SHINY ON TOP, WHITE-FELTED AND SILVERY UNDERNEATH (flashes silver in wind). Tight bunches of small, thick-skinned PURPLE grapes. The underside color is the definitive ID.","lookalikes":[{"name":"Common Moonseed","scientific":"Menispermum canadense","wiki":"Menispermum_canadense","danger":"POISONOUS; its fruit can be fatal. It ripens in September and October, the same time as wild grapes.","tell":"Moonseed's purple-black berries look like grapes, but each holds ONE cres