This is a two part class: The first part will include a plant walk and harvest of selected plants that may be used for food, medicine, or both. The second part will focus on the preparation of a meal from the plants that were harvested. This class will provide a holistic understanding of what it takes to bring sustenance from field to fork. Special attention will be given to how understanding patterns within the plant world can allow one to demystify the “green wall” and begin to have confidence in the usefulness and abundance of plant resources all around us.

Instructor Bio: Marc Williams is an ethnobotanist. He has studied plants intensively while learning to use them for food, medicine, and beauty. His training includes a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies concentrating in Sustainable Agriculture from Warren Wilson College, over a decade working at a multitude of restaurants, various farms, and travels throughout 22 countries in North/Central America and Europe. Marc has taught hundreds of people about the marvelous world of plants and their respective uses. In May he will receive a master’s degree in Appalachian Studies concentrating in Sustainable Development with a minor in Geography and Planning from Appalachian State University.

Displayed below are some preview videos & photos of Williams discussing local (Asheville NC) wild edibles found during Spring 2010 at Montford’s Pearson Community Garden (part of the Bountiful Cities Project).

YouTube Video: Marc Williams, Ethnobotanist, preview video on wild Cress:

YouTubeVideo: Marc Williams, Ethnobotanist, preview video on wild Deadnettle, Onion, Henbit, Chickweed:

Compare Left to right: Henbit (Lamium aplexicaule), Deadnettle (Lamium purpureum L.), Ground Ivy (Glechoma hederaceae)

Compare: Left to right: Chickweed (Stellaria media), Speedwell (Veronica sp.)

Wild cress (Cardamine hirsuta)

For those interested in getting a head start on class, Williams recommends reading Horn’s Wildflowers Of Tennessee, The Ohio Valley and the Southern Appalachians or Dr. Couplan’s The Encyclopedia of Edible Plants of North America.

Register by visiting: http://www.herbsheal.com/events.php Contact Appalachia School of Holistic Herbalism (ASHH) @ 828-350-1221 or e-mail Info@HerbsHeal.com with any questions. 

Directions to the local workshop site will be provided upon registration or inquiry at the aforementioned number or email. Cost: $30-50, sliding scale.

A complete listing of upcoming ASHH classes and events can be found on the calendar.

Be sure to catch Appalachian School of Holistic Herbalism’s (ASHH) upcoming April 3rd, 2010 Wild Edibles Identification Class with Robin Allison. Class starts at 11am at the school, located at 2 Westwood Place in Asheville, and ends at 3pm. Cost is $30-45 (Sliding Scale).

Students will learn the basic skills necessary to properly identify locally abundant medicinal herbs, explore methods using field guides, discuss plant families, and profile a handful of locally growing medicinals.  The first hour will be spent indoors doing a basic primer on botany, learning basic botanical terms, identifying all the parts of a plant, and discussing family, genus, and species concepts. Most of the rest of the class will be spent outside working on field ID skills.

Students should also get a good idea of what edibles to look out for as spring unfolds.  “Two really exciting things coming out right now are the Trout Lilies, which are edible, and the Spring Beauties, which are edible. Both of those are ephemerals so they’ll only be around for a few weeks in the spring and then they’ll die back. Ramps are coming out right now too,” said Allison.

Class instructor Robin Allison began studying herbals under the late Frank Cook in 2003: “Since that time it became a passion of mine to meet my neighbors (the plants around us)  and get in touch with these other beings that are all around us that have a lot to share with us. I’ve been primarily self-taught for the last seven years now. I’ve also attended a couple of herbal medicine schools.”

In the following Youtube video, Allison talks about some of the wild edibles that can be found growing around ASHH, which is where the April 3rd class will be taking place.

Below: Henbit Deadnettle (left) & Purple Deadnettle (right)

A member of the mustard family (below)

Clover (below), has stipules which is an identifying characteristic of its pea family.

For those interested in getting a head start on class, Allison recommends reading Elpel’s Botany in a Day. For more information call (828) 350-1221 or email:Info@HerbsHeal.com

A complete listing of upcoming ASHH classes and events can be found on the calendar.