Volwassen Sering bladeren zijn hartvormig en ongeveer 10 cm lang, terwijl Liguster kleinere bladeren heeft, een kleinere gestalte in het algemeen en veel kleinere witte bloemtrossen. Sering bloemtrossen hebben een sterke geur en zijn over het algemeen ongeveer 15-20 cm lang. Sering is gemakkelijk te herkennen aan de grote trossen van vierbladige bloemen, elk met een kleine buis, die het verbindt met de bloemclusterstelen en de nectar bevat. Deze plant komt uit de Olijffamilie (Oleaceae) en je merkt misschien dat de bloemen lijken op die van Liguster ( Ligustrum vulgare). Ja, de bloemen van de Sering struik ( Syringa vulgaris) zijn eetbaar. I am a big fan of this plant family and will be foraging it occasionally, throughout the winter. Does it remind you of hibiscus? That’s because the plants are closely related. If you find any, I’d love to see a photo or two!Īt this time of year, flowers on Malva are few and far between but you may find one and if so, it will look something like this one. Patch of Malva sylvestris, growing with Yarrow They contain plenty of mucilage and although they look world’s apart, Common mallow actually belongs to the same plant family as last week’s Lime tree ( Tilia spp.). I harvest just a couple of leaves (along with the long leaf stalks) from large clumps of this herbaceous plant, wash well, chop finely and add to my smoothies. Malva sylvestris – Amsterdam, late November Breaking the leaf or stem also gives another ID clue – transparent mucilage! It oozes from the broken plant cells. Notice that pinky-purple colouration at the centre of the leaf? That’s really characteristic and helps with ID. I’ve found quite a lot of healthy looking plants around town lately so I hope you get lucky with them too. This week’s plant is the Common mallow ( Malva sylvestris). Elder leaf buds emerging from the Elder bark (Photo credit: Agnesa) Elder leaves can be very helpful additions to ointments and oils so worth keeping an eye on these and returning in the spring. No one sent me a Lime bud photo but in hunting for them, Stinging nettles, Elder and Dandelions were found so that’s very positive! I have included Agnesa’s Elder bud photo as these are really common at the moment, they do resemble Lime buds in some ways (colour, size, position on bark and timing) but they are not edible and are useful to learn about. Some of you sent me photos of your foraged finds. Thanks to those who tried to find the nourishing leaf buds from Tilia trees last week. If you are an OBOD member in the area and are interested in joining the group, or would like to attend some of the seasonal celebrations, please contact we are into week 2 of my Winter Foraging Challenge. At some of the celebrations, as yesterday, other folks who are not members of OBOD but are interested in the spiritual path will be welcome to take part also. The intention is for the seasonal celebrations will be outside in Amsterdam and for full moon meditations to be mostly at the same time each lunar cycle but conducted physically apart. The intention is for people in Amsterdam who are members of OBOD, to have the possibility to meet in person, within the city, to celebrate each of the eight seasonal festivals together. The group is called the Meadowseet Seed Group. I am setting up a group to keep this going, under the very helpful umbrella of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids (OBOD). Yesterday, a group of us shared an online celebration of Imbolc, following the basic format of druidic seasonal ceremonies – interesting via Zoom but it somehow works. I enjoy celebrating the changing seasons alone and I also greatly enjoy marking them with like-minded friends. And will aim to do so until the 20th March. So today, I’ll be looking to add a little bit of one of those mentioned herbs, to my food or drink. A lovely and helpful herbal pastime, is to eat a little herbal foraged cleanser, every day between Imbolc (start of February) and Alban Eilir (Spring Equinox). I will start sharing ideas for spring cleansers over the coming weeks. Those still hold true as we gently move into the spring which we will all recognise, full of flowers and fresh leaves. I enjoyed sharing some of my favourite winter urban foraging plants with you over the past few months. Cleavers has started to spread, seeking taller plants and fences to scramble up, and stinging nettles (which never really seemed to go away this winter) are looking delicious! Wild garlic / Daslook is now up, standing young and proud. As you wander through city parks and green edges, at the start of February, notice just how many signs of spring there are about us. What a special time of year! This, although it may not feel like it with frost on the ground, is the very beginning of spring.
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