In the Forest with Trueman

It was still dark when I woke up but unexpected chores at home slowed me down. Mother Nature is tolerant with me, she knows I was on my way.


In this moment I felt like the forest was hugging me, true love.

False Turkey Tails (Stereum ostra), growing in peace, nobody can eat them.


I wasn't the only one around, I never fear in moments like this, they are the kind of friends I like near me.


I could tell, this footprint is big, maybe a whole family (of deer?), drinks water here. I'll never reveal the location.


I thought this was ginseng but maybe it's something else.


This ones seems to be edible or medicinal, probably both.


Maybe you recognize them.


This one looks so succulent, but make no mistake. I believe It's a Skunk Cabbage


It seems to be a great medicine, I'll need to research more about it before taking it from the land.

a reply to: Trueman

Just curious, what State are you in?

a reply to: Trueman

Hey ... great pics, and thanks for the inspiration!

Spring is the best time of year, followed by Fall, at least where I live.

I have also been out and around, and actually found some morel mushrooms. That is a topic for someone else's thread hahah

Anyway, I just wanted to say that the photo of possible wild ginseng that you shared could alternatively be Virginia Creeper.

Don't eat it or use it for other purposes until you are sure

Virginia Creeper is a deciduous climbing vine, that can also become ground cover.

a reply to: BrokenCircles

New Jersey.

Given youre in NJ from another post, the plant you mention you thought was ginseng looks to be a common cinquefoil. Growing up in Va i believe thats the one we always called mock strawberries. Or snake berries. There are a lot of variations of cinquefoils usually easiest to tell from their blooms. There also seems to be 2 different species side by side, notice how some of the leaves are "skinnier" than the other even though they look similar? The skinny ones are also seperate instead of one leaf. Both are like cinquefoils , "old five star" and "mock strawberries" would be my initial guess without more research, but im only about 80% confident in that. The skinnier one might actuslly be virginia creeper hard to tell in the pic, creeper resembkes posiom oak at a glance aswell but dont think thats.poison osk

The next one down you mentiom may be edible would be a common wood violet. Most commonly purple in flower but ocasionally white and shades in between. 'Grow like weeds', but one of my personal favorites and very common. The yellow bloom in that picture along with the next pictuee below it are both 'Green and gold' i cant think of the species name. I believe its a type of raunauculis, think buttercups. Usually found im sandy soil in marginal areas , so thats either bottomland close to creek riparian zone or like a vernal floodplain thatd partially inundated with water during spring rains and dry the rest of the year.

But agree the last is definitely skunk cabbage!


Great post- love when people have a chance to get out amd experience this type of setting

a reply to: Trueman

That's almost certainly skunk cabbage and some info can be found on this database of ethnobotany.

The "ginseng" looks like it could be blackberry shoots, but it's hard to tell from a picture. I do glimpse a single thorned branch dead on the ground to the left so it's probably blackberry.

False turkey tail is spot on.

The two flower varieties are both familiar but I haven't been in out in the field for a number of years. I'll update if it comes to me.

ETA: a reply to: itswhatev
see above for the ginseng.

a reply to: itswhatev

I believe the petals of the cinquefoil are more rounded.

originally posted by: Ksihkehe
a reply to: Trueman


The "ginseng" looks like it could be blackberry shoots, but it's hard to tell from a picture. I do glimpse a single thorned branch dead on the ground to the left so it's probably blackberry.

You know what youre right about the dead thorns , and it definitely is time for blackberries to be sprouting here on the east coast. We always called the colder springs "blackberry springs" growing up. I bet thats exactly what that is, the thicker one i initially thought was a mock strawberry. If its got thorns 100% probably blackberry.

Nice catch. Im a huge plant nerd especially when it comes to east coast natives. INaturalist has a cool app out now that is almost like asocial network of "plant nerds" used to geo-log plants and identify them with field notes if needed (as well as animals and insects). Its algorthim uses past identifications to suggest IDs for unknoen plants, and anything it cant figure out can be named by someone on the app. Probably one of my fav apps to take on walks - especially when identifying stuff I dont know. So to you or anyome reading who also finds stuff like this thread interesting, or just happen to realoy be into wildlife.. Would absolutely recommend checking out the app

To op:
The other leaf is definitely a different plant though, the "skinnier" one. If its on a single vine then most likely virginia creeper would be my guess... If its several individual plants kind of tufted between then 'runners'( think strawberries) is one of the easiest ways to tell.

a reply to: itswhatev

Oh, I didn't pay attention to that part about "skinnier" leaves. Thanks for that information. I think I will rely on you every time I make threads about my trips. You seem to be an expert and I want to learn

Thanks !

originally posted by: Ksihkehe
a reply to: Trueman

That's almost certainly skunk cabbage and some info can be found on this database of ethnobotany.

The "ginseng" looks like it could be blackberry shoots, but it's hard to tell from a picture. I do glimpse a single thorned branch dead on the ground to the left so it's probably blackberry.

False turkey tail is spot on.

The two flower varieties are both familiar but I haven't been in out in the field for a number of years. I'll update if it comes to me.

ETA: a reply to: itswhatev
see above for the ginseng.

About the skunk cabbage. I saw in Amazon a 2 oz bottle of extract of this plant for more than 20 bucks !

I wish someone could show me how to use it raw.

I'm from Jersey too... I miss going out in the woods, it's been too long. People always say NJ is a craphole but there are plenty of beautiful areas, especially during the summer and, my favorite, the fall. I have a book somewhere of all the flora and fauna of NJ. I gotta find it and start taking some hikes! Thanks for the inspiration!

a reply to: Alexander the Great

Inspiring other people to go out into the forest is always my #1 reason to make this kind of threads. Thank you so much.

The forest has a mysterious way to change us into a better person. I don't know how it works, I always go alone but I never feel lonely.

a reply to: Trueman

Theres a lot of myth regarding forests, theyve always been a magical place to humans.

On one hand, theres tons of 'pseudo science' which suggests all types of stuff are centered around forests specifically. However we as humans also have pretty wold imaginations and so as much as I believe theres a little truth in every myth, I also known theres a lot of myth in every myth haha


However therr is a rapidly expanding field of science thats fairly new which i personally believe will hold the answers to a lot of lifes questions - especially in relation to plants, by extent forests. I actually have been wanting to make a thread about it but my attention span is so lacking ive yet to start lol

But the field is called Quantum Biology and i find it fascinating. Basically using quantum physics to explain a lot of the unexplainable phenomena in the plant and animal world. While new and budding field there are already several prettty impressive studies and findingw, and more on going, on a range of topics. But the feeling you describe, is one many of us have felt. By conventionak understanding, "its in our head" however viewed through the eyes of Quantum Biology suddenly there are explinatioms for a lot of the weird/strange/mystical. Specifically the feelimg some have that forests themselves somehow "feel" like an entity... Which at first glance sounds like that pseudoscience again however because of the quantum world its possible there actually is more there

originally posted by: Trueman

originally posted by: Ksihkehe
a reply to: Trueman

That's almost certainly skunk cabbage and some info can be found on this database of ethnobotany.

The "ginseng" looks like it could be blackberry shoots, but it's hard to tell from a picture. I do glimpse a single thorned branch dead on the ground to the left so it's probably blackberry.

False turkey tail is spot on.

The two flower varieties are both familiar but I haven't been in out in the field for a number of years. I'll update if it comes to me.

ETA: a reply to: itswhatev
see above for the ginseng.

About the skunk cabbage. I saw in Amazon a 2 oz bottle of extract of this plant for more than 20 bucks !

I wish someone could show me how to use it raw.

It's probably a decoction of the root or maybe a tincture. The database I linked can give you known constituents of plants. By matching them and their effects you can find another source for what ails you.

Skunk cabbage is tough. Dr. Duke told me two of his grad students tried to prepare the young leaves to eat, which is cited in some older wild edible books, and even after multiple water changes the oxalic acid burned their mouths for a few days.

a reply to: itswhatev
I'm a wild medicinal and edible nerd too and my focus was always NE US. You'd be surprised how well that translates to the rest of the US. There are some regionally specific plants, but even in temperate regions of China you'd find yourself knowing a lot more than you might expect.

a reply to: itswhatev

The first thought I had after reading your last post is that maybe our ancestors unintentionally applied "Quantum Biology", and witnessing its unexplainable results, they called it magic.

But maybe I got no clue what I'm saying.

originally posted by: Alexander the Great
I'm from Jersey too... I miss going out in the woods, it's been too long. People always say NJ is a craphole but there are plenty of beautiful areas, especially during the summer and, my favorite, the fall. I have a book somewhere of all the flora and fauna of NJ. I gotta find it and start taking some hikes! Thanks for the inspiration!

New Jersey has the Pine Barrens which may be not well known to many but for someone like myself o find it awesome it is protected. Those pine barrens once extended all the way down into south carolina- as a Pine Savannah and one of the richest evosystems next to Oak Savanahs which were apso present, as far as diversity in species is concerned. There are very few places in the world, let alone the U.S where one can still walk Through that evosystem. Similar to the tall grass prairies- the Piedmont Prairie- that rivaled the great prairies out west. Well pre-colonial times we had one here on the east coast too. Theres a place in southern maryland called Mt Cuba that still has am intact rememenant , and those prairies used to span from maryland and possibly as far north as Jersey, all the way down into the Gulf States. Most people have no idea these evosystems used to be the dominant ones mainly because theyve completely disappeared for the most part due to settlement. Thats why those remaining slivers are so important, not just for the specieis found there and nowhere else but also because they kind of act like little "Noahs arks" of the gene bank. Without them thoze species would be gone forever.


And not just the Pine Barrens obvioudly but thats definitely one thing anyone in Jersey should feel some pride in. Every state has those negatives we are known for- but not every state has one of the kast remaining traces of an entire evosystem...unfortunatly

a reply to: Trueman

It's been about 8 or 9 years since I've indulged nature personally. It is the peace and feeling of harmony with nature that makes you think about life differently. I've always carried that feeling but It's honestly been a long time since I've felt it in my heart for real.


I think it's time I feel it again.

I love being out in the woods. We are lucky enough to have them all around us, and a swamp full of life behind us.
I took the twin grandsons out this weekend for a walk, looking for life, and tracks.
We found deer, raccoon, turkey, and unfortunately, a coyote track, all not far behind the house in the mud.
I've just started teaching them about plants. First lesson being DON'T eat anything unless Nana says its ok, as you could get very, very sick.
I figure with them being 7, that needs to be drilled in first. Then we move on to proper identification.
And of course, being 7, identifying poo is fun for them.

So much fun being in the woods with them, and their wonder.

Now, if they could just be quiet when walking, we might actually see more animals. LOL

a reply to: Trueman

Looks like South Mountain.

If you're interested I can tell you where to get some ramps close to the zoo that practically no one knows about. I do a good amount of foraging, people would be surprised how many edibles there are only 10 miles from Manhattan.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus
a reply to: Trueman

Looks like South Mountain.

If you're interested I can tell you where to get some ramps close to the zoo that practically no one knows about. I do a good amount of foraging, people would be surprised how many edibles there are only 10 miles from Manhattan.

It is not South Mountain but not too far from that. I'd like to know your ramps spot for sure !

Thanks brother !