April 23: Honeysuckle and Jack-in-the-Pulpit; honey and chocolate

Not long into the walk at Fenner Nature Center, we discovered a Honeysuckle bush.

Honeysuckle

Honeysuckle is aptly named...if you pull out the stringy part of the flower and suck on the end, you can get a bit of nectar. Apparently it also has a ton of uses, including curing homesickness -- it has a "feel happy" aroma! You can use the leaves to make mouthwash, and Honeysuckle tea is also supposed to be good for you. Honeysuckle oil is used in candles, skin lotions, soaps, shampoos, and perfumes, though it's reportedly hard to get the oil out of the plant.

Next we came to a flower which doesn't really look like a flower in my opinion. It's Jack-in-the-Pulpit.

Jack-in-the-Pulpit

Jack-in-the-Pulpit leaves look a lot like Trillium leaves, but you can tell the difference because Jack-in-the-Pulpit leaves look like they have stitching around the border. The plant itself is edible only after drying and cooking. The root has a lot of uses, though again you SHOULD NOT EAT IT RAW because it will burn your mouth and poison you. However, Native Americans used to dry the root for six months, roast it, then grind it into a powder and make bread with it. It has a flavor similar to chocolate! You can also cut the roots into thin slices, dry them for several months, then eat them like potato chips. Seems like a lot of trouble though.