# Foraging for root beer and other stuff



## cbfishes (Jul 6, 2012)

I mostly post in the SW Michigan coldwater board, but this seems to be the right place for this.

Lately I've been obsessed with foraging/wild edibles/etc and when I learned that sassafras is native to the area it was all over. I had to go find it and make some root beer!



















It took two tries but I did it found plenty of sassafras and other interesting plants like wild ginger. Brewed up some syrup that smells and tastes very much like root beer, but wilder.










There is so much cool stuff in the woods!

Wild ginger:









Curly/yellow dock:









Blackberries?









Somehow didn't get any pics of sassafras.

Just a few years ago I was an inside-kid, scared of getting dirty, never went outside.. Now I spend all my time outdoors. It's so awesome out there. I fish frequently, recently took hunter's safety, and am learning all the good stuff to eat out there. Sites like this really help the learning curve.

Wrote a bunch more about my adventures here:
http://cb.hopto.org/cbfishes/2014/06/20/old-fashioned-foraged-root-beer/


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## spoikey (Jan 18, 2005)

The last picture looks like Black Cap Raspberries. On your other site you mention picking wild chives. Don't get caught since they are a protected plant on the endangered list in Michigan.


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## cbfishes (Jul 6, 2012)

Hey spoikey- thanks for the ID on the raspberries!

As far as the wild chives, I had no idea they were protected I guess I need to make myself aware of these things! I'm not 100% sure that that particular species of chives is the one in our yard according to the website that species is only in a few UP counties-
http://mnfi.anr.msu.edu/explorer/species.cfm?id=15434

That said, I'll be reading up on protected/endangered plants in Michigan!

Thanks


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## Anish (Mar 6, 2009)

Calling all foragers!!!

Let's get together on here and her Steve to set up a foraging forum for us!!

I have been into foraging for over 30 years now and its so cool finding others who have the same interest . It would be great to get all of us posting in the same place. Let's do this! 
Happy foraging!!
Be safe!!


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## Liver and Onions (Nov 24, 2000)

cbfishes said:


> Lately I've been obsessed with foraging/wild edibles/etc and when I learned that sassafras is native to the area it was all over. I had to go find it and make some root beer!
> ...........


Next spring try to get your sassafras as soon as the frost is out of the ground. The tea is much better before the sap starts moving up the tree.
The tree is easy to recognize.

L & O


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## Oldgrandman (Nov 16, 2004)

spoikey said:


> The last picture looks like Black Cap Raspberries. On your other site you mention picking wild chives. Don't get caught since they are a protected plant on the endangered list in Michigan.


Chives endangered? That is interesting. I know a few places where they are abundandt. I mean you couldn't walk 5 feet without seing them and can smell them before you ever see them. A couple are in state forest lands and a couple others on private lands.

I never would have guessed, I don't say that you're wrong it just surprises me. They seem to grow easily when planted as long as you do not over harvest the plant. I wonder if this is something of the past that has not been updated or do I just happen know some of a few of the places that they thrive in?

Also do you know they actually said sassafras was a carcinogen back in the 1960's? It was banned then relaxed somewhat. Kind of a weird thing I had heard before. So I just looked that up after reading this thread.....



> The roots of sassafras can be steeped to make tea, and were used in the flavoring of traditional root beer until being banned for mass production by the FDA. Laboratory animals that were given oral doses of sassafras tea or sassafras oil that contained large doses of safrole developed permanent liver damage or various types of cancer. In humans, liver damage can take years to develop and it may not have obvious signs. Along with commercially available sarsaparilla, sassafras remains an ingredient in use among hobby or microbrew enthusiasts.
> 
> In 1960, the FDA banned the use of sassafras oil and safrole in commercially mass-produced foods and drugs based on the animal studies and human case reports because it was found that an oil produced by the sassafras trees called safrole was proven to be a carcinogen.[11] Several years later, sassafras tea was banned,[11] a ban that lasted until the passage of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act in 1994.[12] Sassafras root extracts which do not contain safrole or in which the safrole has been removed are permissible, and are still widely used commercially in teas and root beers.


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## Oldgrandman (Nov 16, 2004)

cbfishes said:


> Hey spoikey- thanks for the ID on the raspberries!
> 
> As far as the wild chives, I had no idea they were protected&#8211; I guess I need to make myself aware of these things! I'm not 100% sure that that particular species of chives is the one in our yard&#8211; according to the website that species is only in a few UP counties-
> http://mnfi.anr.msu.edu/explorer/species.cfm?id=15434
> ...


This does not seem right. Should I contact somebody and tell them where I see this stuff? It is all in Kent (maybe Ottawa), Barry and Allegan counties. We grow them, and I have picked them from these places. They are chives. This seems unreal to me. Is there another very close relative I could be seeing?

Then I found this site.....

http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=ALSC

And this page...

http://plants.usda.gov/java/county?state_name=Michigan&statefips=26&symbol=ALSC


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## Steve (Jan 15, 2000)

Good stuff. If I see enough activity, I will make the forum.


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## Anish (Mar 6, 2009)

Steve said:


> Good stuff. If I see enough activity, I will make the forum.


THANK YOU STEVE!!!! 

Been wanting this for a long time!! I've looked all oer the web for a plant forum that is people talking about just Michigan plants and there are some here and there, but nothing all that great... I think this will be an EXCELLENT addition!! 
Now, I just need more time to get on here . Been so blasted busy this year!


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## spoikey (Jan 18, 2005)

the reason I found out about the Chives being endangered was because a DNR officer told my daughter it was illegal to harvest Ramps. After searching I found out it was Chives, not Ramps. I had no idea there even were wild Chives in Michigan.

I think a Foraging forum is a great idea. There are so many edibles in the woods that are better for us than what we can buy in the store and they are pretty much chemical free with the bonus of being health enhancing.


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## MSUFW07 (Jan 22, 2009)

About the chives, I'm guessing that the chives you are finding may be different from the chives that are endangered in Michigan. Not saying that for certain because I don't know but more than likely you are finding feral chives, so to speak, rather then the threatened native chives, don't think they are the same species but they could be. You could get ahold of the DNR or MNFI to verify. I have seen them growing in my In-laws woods too, and that's far from the Lake Superior shoreline.


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## Oldgrandman (Nov 16, 2004)

MSUFW07 said:


> About the chives, I'm guessing that the chives you are finding may be different from the chives that are endangered in Michigan. Not saying that for certain because I don't know but more than likely you are finding feral chives, so to speak, rather then the threatened native chives, don't think they are the same species but they could be. You could get ahold of the DNR or MNFI to verify. I have seen them growing in my In-laws woods too, and that's far from the Lake Superior shoreline.


So are Washtenaw, Wayne, and Gratiot countis shown on this map. But yeah, I considered they may be from an old farm or something but who knows...I mean check out the map.

http://plants.usda.gov/java/county?state_name=Michigan&statefips=26&symbol=ALSC


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## Anish (Mar 6, 2009)

MSUFW07 said:


> About the chives, I'm guessing that the chives you are finding may be different from the chives that are endangered in Michigan. Not saying that for certain because I don't know but more than likely you are finding feral chives, so to speak, rather then the threatened native chives, don't think they are the same species but they could be. You could get ahold of the DNR or MNFI to verify. I have seen them growing in my In-laws woods too, and that's far from the Lake Superior shoreline.


 
That was my first thought. Not saying they aren't wild, but my gosh! Chives spread like crazy!! All it takes is a critter to drop a seed somewhere and they are off to the races..


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## Oldgrandman (Nov 16, 2004)

Anish said:


> That was my first thought. Not saying they aren't wild, but my gosh! Chives spread like crazy!! All it takes is a critter to drop a seed somewhere and they are off to the races..


If you click the first link I posted it shows way more distribution than the Lake Superior shoreline and a couple counties. And it is the same exact species people here are discussing.

Not trying to be a downer on anything anybody says, it is just a confusing thing for me with what I know. Lots of conflicting information, which can be the norm on the WWW or internet. Be nice to know the facts of the matter.....


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## Anish (Mar 6, 2009)

Oldgrandman said:


> If you click the first link I posted it shows way more distribution than the Lake Superior shoreline and a couple counties. And it is the same exact species people here are discussing.
> 
> Not trying to be a downer on anything anybody says, it is just a confusing thing for me with what I know. Lots of conflicting information, which can be the norm on the WWW or internet. Be nice to know the facts of the matter.....


Oh, right. I wasn't trying to give you a hard time or anything. Just a thought that had crossed my mind. To find out for sure, I would call your local DNR office and ask to speak to someone. They are usually pretty nice about such things.


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## fishingrookie (Feb 16, 2004)

As for Sassafras. I remember a couple of years ago I read an article, saying that some substance in the roots may cause cancer. It was very strange to me for that information. You can Google "sassafras and cancer." It comes up with the information. I am not sure how credible for that research. Just try to give you some information.


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## Petronius (Oct 13, 2010)

Wow, this is crazy. You can plant chives (Allium Schoenoprasum) all the live long day in your backyard and all is fine. But hop the fence and find them on neighboring state land, suddenly they are protected. From what I have found, a chive is a chive is a chive.


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## MERGANZER (Aug 24, 2006)

There are tons of them in the farm fields where I turkey hunt. I see them every year and they are thick.

Ganzer


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## Anish (Mar 6, 2009)

fishingrookie said:


> As for Sassafras. I remember a couple of years ago I read an article, saying that some substance in the roots may cause cancer. It was very strange to me for that information. You can Google "sassafras and cancer." It comes up with the information. I am not sure how credible for that research. Just try to give you some information.


You are absolutely right. Thing is, the amount you would have to consume, in the concentrations you would have to consume it in makes it really no risk. I'm sure the crap in our water and heck, even just the air pollution we encounter every day is much more dangerous.


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## Oldgrandman (Nov 16, 2004)

petronius said:


> Wow, this is crazy. You can plant chives (Allium Schoenoprasum) all the live long day in your backyard and all is fine. But hop the fence and find them on neighboring state land, suddenly they are protected. From what I have found, a chive is a chive is a chive.


That is what I am saying. Those links I provided show a wide range of them growing in North America and even in the LP relatively close to where I have found them. So easily cultivated yet endangered?! Heck, call upon a few volunteer Johnnychiveseed to go around and replentish the population for petes sake... :lol:


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## Anish (Mar 6, 2009)

Oldgrandman said:


> That is what I am saying. Those links I provided show a wide range of them growing in North America and even in the LP relatively close to where I have found them. So easily cultivated yet endangered?! Heck, call upon a few volunteer Johnnychiveseed to go around and replentish the population for petes sake... :lol:


Ya, I think I'd be gathering some seeds and starting my own. If they are on your private property, you can harvest them. Problem solved... As well as chives seed themselves, should be pretty easy.


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