Let's Eat Tearthumb!

Since Kew Gardens has based this year's summer festival on edible plants, aptly named IncrEDIBLES, and because I love edible botany, I've been thinking some more about which plants we could eat. Although most of the time ecologists want to protect plants and increase biodiversity, there is one particular time when most ecologists will agree, the plants must be destroyed, eradicated, extirpated from an area. I know this sounds harsh, but I'm talking about invasive exotic species. These are pest species which have come from other habitats, often other countries, and they love their new habitat so much that they out-compete local native plants. Such invasive species can eliminate local endemic species, reduce the number of once common plants, disrupt the ecosystem and all the ecosystem services that it once provided, and be a real headache for habitat managers and gardeners alike.

Today, I came across a new book that has just been published in my home area of Maryland called A Quick Guide to Wild Edible Plants: Easy to Pick, Easy to Prepare. One of the wild edibles mentioned in the book is tearthumb or mile-a-minute weed (Polygonum perfoliatum), a nasty invasive plant that plagues our home in Maryland by climbing over plants, smothering my mother's wonderful garden, and becoming larger and more problematic every year. So I am delighted to find out that it's berries are edible!!

According to the US Forest Service, Mile-a-Minute weed is edible by humans and has a high potassium content. Does this mean we could skip imported tropical bananas and eat seeds from the garden instead!? And, based on the following excerpt from a journal article written about Mile-a-Minute weed, it is not only edible, but it is also use in Asia as an herbal medicine and could even be used as an anticancer agent! I wonder, if we started eating the seeds if it would cause even a small dent in the speed this invasive is taking over?

CURRENT AND POTENTIAL USES
In its native eastern Asia, mile-a-minute is considered beneficial and has been used as an herbal medicine for over 300 yr (He et al. 1984; Hoque et al. 1989; Sook and Myung 1992; Yang and Kim 1993; Zhu 1989), or as an edible wild fruit (Bajracharya 1980). The plant also serves as a suitable food source for a diverse group of mammals, birds, and insects. Two protein kinase C inhibitors (PKC), vanicosides A and B; five diferuloyl esters of sucrose; and feruloylsucroses have been isolated from mile-a-minute plants (Sun 1999; Sun et al. 2000). PKC are involved in cell signal transduction and cell proliferation and are believed to be tumor promoters; thus PKC inhibitors could be used as potential anticancer agents (Sun 1999). Two well-known natural products, quercetin and beta-sitosterol, have also been isolated from mile-a-minute (Sun 1999). Beta-sitosterol is also reported to have anticarcinogenic properties (Park et al. 2003). The bioflavonoid quercetin has antioxidant (Boadi et al. 2003; Kumar et al. 2003; Pietruck et al. 2003), antiproliferative, and anti-inflammatory properties (Pietruck et al. 2003).

Kumar, V., & Ditommaso, A . (2005). Mile-a-Minute (Polygonum perfoliatum): an increasingly problematic invasive species. Weed Technology 19(4), 1071-1077.

Scientists and others have been eating strange things for centuries!

Photograph of the 'hen and chickens' pineapple, sent to Kew in a letter from Leonard Wray Jr., from Malaysia 1892 [archive ref: DC 165/275]

Look guys, it's not just me that has this strange fascination with discovering edible plants. A special group at Kew Royal Botanic Gardens is working to digitize (scan/photograph and summarize) letters sent to and from the Director at Kew all the way back to the 1840s. Because Kew Gardens have long been considered one of the leading research and collections hubs for plants and other things of botanical interest, scientists and botanists have been sending their findings, interesting anecdotes, and even samples or specimens to the gardens ever since the first official director, Sir William Jackson Hooker, was appointed in 1841.

Come see this Kew blog posting about edible plants that have been referred to in the Director's Correspondence.

Eating Wild Foods while Hiking

If you know me, you know that I like to eat things that I found out in nature. I find it a really fun way to interact with nature and the flavors you find in the wild are often evoke your taste buds in a very unfamiliar and delightful way. This "habit" of mine has led me into trouble - like the time I ate a Prickly Pear cactus fruit with my bare hands, or the time I gulped down a leaf of water lettuce (Pistia stratiotes) before our guide in Palo Verde National Park in Costa Rica warned me of the tiny calcium oxalate needle-like crystals that cover it's leaves and burned my throat for hours, or the time I most recently ate a fresh cherry off a tree just to be reminded that it was growing on a polluted brown field. But despite all of my misguided tastings, there have been quite a few really amazing dishes that have come out of my wild foraging tendencies. I've foraged for over 5 kilos of wild mushrooms in the forests of Davos, Switzerland (I was not on the linked excursion, rather, I was hobby foraging with some friends). I have discovered snacks while passing barberry bushes in Switzerland, sea grapes in Florida, bilberries in the Swiss Alps, wineberries back home in Maryland, and many more things as I've roamed through natural areas.

Outside Magazine recently published an article on the top 8 Hikes You Can Eat. I love this idea! I would definitely travel simply to hike and eat things from the wild along the way! It's kind of like a survival-foodie trip. Would you do it?

Coastal dunes and coastal ecosystems can save your home

Surely, after Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy, we all know the risks of building a home on the coast. But still, people want to live near water and coastal developments are booming. NOAA calculated that 39% of the US population lives on or near the shoreline. No wonder the Midwest is so sparsely populated! So how can we protect people's homes that live right on the shoreline when they have obviously built in an area subject to high risk? There is a natural solution. It has long been recognized that when a natural buffer is left between the home and the water sources, the home is less likely to be damaged heavily. That means, at the beach, we should leave natural, vegetated dune systems, trees, wide beaches, wetlands, and back-bays in a natural state. When a storm does come ashore, these natural systems can absorb the damage caused by wind, water, and energy much better than your home can. Plus, these ecosystems are typically naturally resistant or resilient to damage.

And here are a few more videos that discuss natural ecosystems protecting homes from the Nature Conservancy. 

• Planting Trees to Help Protect Farming Communities in Mexico from a Changing Planet
• Fire Management and the 2011 Wallow Fire
• Nature Kept Us Safe
• How Fire Can Restore a Forest: A Time Lapse

Upcycling climbing rope

Have you heard of upcycling? It's the process of turning waste materials into something of better quality. Basically, instead of throwing away or putting something into the recycling bin, upcycling is a fancy word for reusing something that is otherwise useless. Do you do this?

The Englishman* is a climber and even though I got into climbing before him, he really got me to enjoy the sport and push myself to get better. Recently, he decided that for safety reasons, it is high time to buy some new climbing ropes. Great! But what do we do with the old ones? He's got over 10 years of blood, sweat, mud, rock and a bit of groaning soaked into these ropes. The memories are too precious to let go of. The ropes are actually still in great condition, they just are not deemed safe enough to hold a falling climber anymore. Here's what we decided to do with at least one of them:

The instructions for making this rug are super simple with the illustrations shown by Animated Knots by Grog. And I love that this still captures the essence of climbing (and it reminds me of knots in sailing too!!). It's the perfect doormat!

If you want to find more fun things that you can upcycle check out UpcycleThat, this upcycling pinterest board, and this from TwistedSifter. Do you have any other ideas?

*The Englishman - I'm trying out nicknames for my wonderful boyfriend. But for privacy purposes, I don't want to share his name online. After a terrible stalking incident a couple years ago, I am much more protective of my personal information and that of those around me. I hope you can all respect that.

Naked mole rats do not get cancer!

Naked mole rats (Heterocephalus glaber) has suddenly become very interesting! Mole rats bodies contain a substance called Hyaluronan, which acts as a lubricant for soft tissues. Humans apparently also have this polysaccharide, but it is composed differently and present in the human body in much smaller concentrations. Doctors already use human Hyaluronan for arthritis, chronic knee problems, and eye surgery. The most exciting new discovery is that naked mole rats do not seem to get cancer and Hyaluronan is credited with preventing it! Wouldn't it be great if we could find out a way to prevent or treat cancer with this substance? (but please don't harvest naked mole rats to do it!)

Here are some quick facts about mole rats:

The naked mole rat is found in arid areas of East Africa. They live in colonies with complex family structures.

Size relative to a tea cup:

Here is more information about naked mole rats.

Leaving on a Jet Plane...spewing carbon

Have you ever been given the option to pay the carbon offset for your flight? Have you ever chosen to pay it? I am on my way to the airport now for a flight to the US to visit my wonderful family. I wasn't given the option when booking through United Airlines, but I wonder if I would have paid it even if I was. Whenever I fly, the tiny environmental activist on my left shoulder starts wagging his finger at me and lecturing on the huge amounts of carbon emissions I am adding to the environment just because I have chosen to live so far from my immediate family. But then, the tiny underpaid accountant sitting on my right shoulder pulls out his calculator and tells me that my finances simply won't allow it. I defer to my seeping bank account.

7-Minute Workout ain't no joke!

So I just completed 2 full circuit repetitions of the scientifically proven 7-minute workout which I posted about last week. That was no joke! I tried to go with full intensity, as the study recommends. Let me tell you, I am feeling sweaty, something that rarely happens when I do my 30 minute run around the local park. I feel good! I used this very helpful video to help me keep on pace and put on some dance music.

If I can do this workout every day or two, I will be kickin' butt soon...that's a proven fact! But here are a few lessons I learned:

• This is super easy to do at home and I love that I don't need weights or equipment!
• I need a sturdier chair for the step-ups and tricep dips!
• 30 seconds of push ups doesn't sound hard, but it really burns when your only 15 seconds in at a high intensity level
• I love the simplicity and difficulty of a wall sit
• Push ups with rotation aren't hard. But when your muscles are a little shaky already, these can really put you off balance. Good thing no one was watching!
• I look stupid doing jumping jacks in-front of a mirror

Any one else give this a try yet? What did you think?

American Forest Kit

Wow, I want one of these American Forest Kits designed by Kevin DeBoer!!

I don't know if it's on sale yet, but the design is stunning and effective. It's gorgeous! The popup part brings out the kid in me, there is interestingly presented information on the cards and in the pamphlet, and you get to plant the seeds for these trees!! I'm bursting with excitement! When and where can I get one?

As most of you know, my Treehugger Tour 2010 was sponsored by the non-profit, American Forests. Sadly, I don't think there is a connection between the organization and this beautifully designed information and seed packet for American trees. I sent them a message to recommend that they invest in this guy and the design. How cool would it be if you donated some money to American Forests to plant trees for our future and as a gift you got this?? 

How are corks made? (A wine inspired post)

Was there a real cork in that bottle of wine you had last night? Corks come from the bark of the cork oak tree (Quercus suber). Take a look at the fascinating story of cork making and the new discovery that has made the extraction more efficient.