The Wild Foodies of Philly
   In search of the food beneath our feet!
 

 



WILD EDIBLE "TREES"   


“LEAVES & NEEDLES”
 


MAPLE TREES

 

 

Betula nigra, photo by SIU.EDU

HAWTHORN TREE

 

 

 

 

SWEET BIRCH
 


 


 
BEECH TREE


ELM TREE

 


EMPRESS TREE – leaves, must cook

 

MULBERRY TREE - 3 leaf shapes, more lobed when young
 




 


PAPER MULBERRY - 3 leaf shapes, more lobed when young

http://www.pfaf.org/Admin/PlantImages/BroussonetiaPapyrifera2.jpg 

 

 

LINDEN / BASSWOOD

 

 


REDBUD


SASSAFRAS TREE - 3 shapes of leaves, more lobed when young

  

 

http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/DENDROLOGY/images/Paulownia%20tomentosa/leaf1.jpg
BLACK WALNUT
 

File:Black Walnut 4900.jpg


HEMLOCK - but NOT yew bush needles!

 


SPRUCE TIPS

 

 

 


AMERICAN LARCH


WHITE PINE

 


Caution: some leafs may only be edible when young or cooked


EVERGREEN TIPS, NEEDLES, & TEAS
 Caution: Do not mistake for toxic Yew evergreens: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxus_baccata



EDIBLE INNER TREE BARK (CAMBIUM)


TREE ROOTS:



TREE NUTS
 
&
PLANT LIST BY EDIBLE PART


TAPPING TREES FOR SUGAR WATER >>>
 

Maple (Sugar, Black, Red, & Silver), Birch, Hickory, Sycamore, Walnut, & Ash.  Need access to one mature tree (at least 12 inches in diameter)

 

VERY INTERESTING ARTICLE FROM: http://www.judyofthewoods.net/forage/tree_sap.html


TREE SAP SOURCES: https://wildfoodism.com/2014/02/04/22-trees-that-can-be-tapped-for-sap-and-syrup/
Maple Family (including Boxelder & Gorosoe)
Walnut (black, white/butternut, English, & Japanese/heartnut) 
Birch Family (including Ironwood/hophornbeam) 
Sycamore 

And there you have it – a list of 22 trees that can be tapped.  This is by no means an exhaustive list, as other trees surely produce a sap that can be extracted through tapping.  It is, however, a good representation of the most commonly tapped trees, including those that have been used traditionally for centuries, and some that are just recently gaining in popularity.