Stone Barns
Sunday, September 7

The Stone Barns Center is a vast nature area, part of the Rockefeller Nature Preserve, with lots of open, sunny areas full of edible weeds, woods, thickets, and wet areas. Except for a seashore and mountain, it has all the major habitats for summer edible and medicinal plants covered.

The sunny borders between woodlands and open areas, plus the many fence rows of this former estate, provides prime habitat for wild fruit berries. In late August, we'll be looking for American hackberries, flavorful elderberries, staghorn and smooth sumac, which you use for making pink lemonade; the season's first wild apples, and related hawthorns.

The same habitats also favor wild herbs and greens. We may find lots of sheep sorrel and wood sorrel, with their wonderful lemony flavors. Poor man's pepper, a common, delicious wild mustard, along with its less common relative, field peppergrass, are also in great abundance. The leaves of another member of this tribe, garlic mustard, are out of season, but the seeds and taproots, which you can't buy anywhere, are.

Disturbed areas are full of burdock, with a delicious and healthful taproot. We'll also look for wild carrots and common evening primrose, both with flavorful taproots.

In the woods, we'll hunt for medicinal herbs and beverages such as sassafras roots, black birch, and common spicebush.

If it's rained enough beforehand, the mushrooming may be spectacular. We'll be hunting for chicken mushrooms, the world's best vegetarian chicken alternative, hen-of-the-woods, puffballs, honey mushrooms, and more.