# Common New England plants
**URL:** https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/common-new-england-plants/3417
**Category:** The Drawing Board
**Created:** [October 8, 2013, 10:08pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/common-new-england-plants/3417 "2013-10-08T22:08:37Z")
**Posts on this page:** 17
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Miloch](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Miloch)
#### Post date: [October 8, 2013, 10:08pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/common-new-england-plants/3417/1 "2013-10-08T22:08:37Z")
I was just thinking about some of the plants I encountered as a kid that we do not really see in game. Also to confirm some of the ones that are in. đ
I used to eat tiny lil wild strawberries that grew in my yard. So those are definitely around. Iâm not a fan of blueberries, but they definitely grew around in NH. Here is a page that has a bunch of edible plants from New England: [http://www.bio.brandeis.edu/fieldbio/Edible\_Plants\_Ramer\_Silver\_Weizmann/Pages/ALL\_common\_name.html](http://www.bio.brandeis.edu/fieldbio/Edible_Plants_Ramer_Silver_Weizmann/Pages/ALL_common_name.html)
RASPBERRIES
Ones you do not see but that are common are blackberries and raspberries, these grow together. But did I mention they grow on thorn bushes. Briar patches, aka thorn bushes, are pretty common in NH. Iâd either have to find a good stick and make a path (press s; gotta aim for the bottom of the plant, they are springy otherwise.) or go around. Did I just say something Iâm going to regret in game laterâŠ
SKUNK CABBAGE
A relatively unknown plant is called skunk cabbage⊠not sure about the name, been a while. It has an unpleasant smell all around it. Especially if you manage to damage the plant itself. Maybe it mutated and got worse?
> **[Symplocarpus foetidus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symplocarpus_foetidus)**
>
> Symplocarpus foetidus, commonly known as skunk cabbage or eastern skunk cabbage (also swamp cabbage, clumpfoot cabbage, or meadow cabbage, foetid pothos or polecat weed), is a low growing, foul-smelling plant that grows in wetlands of eastern North America. Eastern skunk cabbage has leaves which are large, 40â55Â cm (15.5â21.5Â in) long and 30â40Â cm (12â15.5Â in) broad. It flowers early in the spring when only the flowers are visible above the mud. The stems\[clarification needed\] remain buried bel...
POISON IVY
Letâs not forget about Poison Ivy. Some of the singularly most unpleasant plants to run into. Most people donât know until well afterwards also. Without survival skill it should look like brush, with survival skill it should be another color so they know to stay away. Touch poison ivy is bad news as you will develop blisters or some other reaction. Some people donât react at all. Once again, could have potential for mutation.
> **[Toxicodendron radicans](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxicodendron_radicans)**
>
> Toxicodendron radicans, commonly known as eastern poison ivy or poison ivy, is a poisonous Asian and Eastern North American flowering plant that is well-known for causing Urushiol-induced contact dermatitis, an itchy, irritating, and sometimes painful rash in most people who touch it. It is caused by urushiol, a clear liquid compound in the plant's sap. The species is variable in its appearance and habit, and despite its common name it is not a true ivy (Hedera), but rather a member of the The...
CRANBERRIES
These grow in boggy and swampy conditions.
GRAPES
Grapes grow wild on vines and grow wild in New England.
[http://www.bio.brandeis.edu/fieldbio/Edible\_Plants\_Ramer\_Silver\_Weizmann/Pages/spp\_page\_grape.html](http://www.bio.brandeis.edu/fieldbio/Edible_Plants_Ramer_Silver_Weizmann/Pages/spp_page_grape.html)
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### Author:  [@Belteshazzar](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Belteshazzar)
#### Post date: [October 9, 2013, 12:06am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/common-new-england-plants/3417/2 "2013-10-09T00:06:29Z")
Drosera rotundifolia the Common Sundew. Found in wetlands, swamps, marshes, and particularly acidic bogs. It uses tentacles tipped in ruby red, sugary muscalige to lure and entrap insects and dissolve their proteins as an ammonia/nitrogen source. These tendrils are even capable of some limited, reactionary movement in that they curl around their prize to further ensure itâs doom. The reasoning for itâs predatory habits? Acidic soils usually inhibit nutrient uptake in plants, or leach away the nutrients into the watershed inhibiting the growth of most plants. In this post-cataclysmic landscape insects are getting more robust, and highly acidic rain is a commonality, the humble Sundew is ready to take the stage. Sundews are rich in antispasmodic and anti-inflammatory flavonoids.
Sphagnum v Peat Moss mined for centuries around the world various Sphagnum species are primitive mosses which share a high acidity tolerance with sundews, not only managing to uptake and store minerals in these conditions, but also encouraging them by releasing acids into the surrounding wetlands to drive out other competitors. Aside from their use as fuel and fertilizers they also made excellent wound packing due to antibacterial properties. Additionally, efficient evaporation off the surface serves to cool the plant considerably and itâs been used to fill and chill wine buckets or cellars without the use of ice.
Equisetum telmateia the Giant Northern Horsetail, is another useful plant that is edible when cooked (albeit long term use can affect the thyroid) and were often been used as a polishing agents (hence their alternative name, âscouring rushesâ). However the most interesting factor may be the spores borne by the strobilli (knobbly bits on the end of their stalk, the plants being little more than siliceous stalk in most cases.) The plentiful, easily-ignited spores were used as a flash powder in bygone days. Their hardy structure, spore dispersal and resilience over the eons lends them to survive even when man may not.
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### Author:  [@Miloch](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Miloch)
#### Post date: [October 9, 2013, 6:57am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/common-new-england-plants/3417/3 "2013-10-09T06:57:04Z")
Belteshazzar, you sir, are a scholar and gentleman. I donât care what iamroy says about you (j/k). đ
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### Author:  [@DrPepperNapalm](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/DrPepperNapalm)
#### Post date: [October 9, 2013, 8:23am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/common-new-england-plants/3417/4 "2013-10-09T08:23:27Z")
I can imagine raspberry seeds being something sought after by the settled survivor do to being both a food source and an obstacle.
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### Author:  [@Miloch](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Miloch)
#### Post date: [October 9, 2013, 8:50am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/common-new-england-plants/3417/5 "2013-10-09T08:50:58Z")
Thatâs a valid thought. Not sure if youâve ever tangled (literally) with a nettle patch. Itâs an experience you are sure to remember.
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### Author:  [@kevin.granade](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/kevin.granade)
#### Post date: [October 9, 2013, 3:12pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/common-new-england-plants/3417/6 "2013-10-09T15:12:05Z")
Not raspberries, but Iâve tithed quite a lot of blood and skin to appease the local blackberry gods đ
Iâm super in favor of expanding the available harvestable plants, this has pointed out that I need to make bushes/vines/trees a more extensible, so we can easily add all these varieties without having custom code for each and every one.
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### Author:  [@GlyphGryph](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/GlyphGryph)
#### Post date: [October 9, 2013, 3:40pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/common-new-england-plants/3417/7 "2013-10-09T15:40:16Z")
Raspberries? Really. Real New Englanders use proper blackberries as their combined barrier/food plant. Much bigger and more painful thorns on that variant.
Anyways, Iâve argued for a while that we need to add Dogbane (the premier thread generation plant of New England) and Cranberries and a few other plants, so would like to see this done. I eat wild grapes around here all the time (grapes and raspberries fill the nearby parks, but the grapes are the best because they are so sour and the leaves are delicious too).
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### Author:  [@system](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/system)
#### Post date: [October 10, 2013, 11:25pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/common-new-england-plants/3417/8 "2013-10-10T23:25:06Z")
Goddamn, wild cherry trees. Wild apple trees. Wild grapes. Wild Blackberries. Wild Ivy.
Whatâs next? You going to tell me that some plants have mutated tentacles?
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### Author:  [@DrPepperNapalm](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/DrPepperNapalm)
#### Post date: [October 11, 2013, 2:49am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/common-new-england-plants/3417/9 "2013-10-11T02:49:24Z")
[quote=âgtaguy, post:8, topic:3417â]Goddamn, wild cherry trees. Wild apple trees. Wild grapes. Wild Blackberries. Wild Ivy.
Whatâs next? You going to tell me that some plants have mutated tentacles?[/quote]
at least itâs not the south east, mutated kudzu
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### Author:  [@kevin.granade](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/kevin.granade)
#### Post date: [October 11, 2013, 5:35pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/common-new-england-plants/3417/10 "2013-10-11T17:35:09Z")
[quote=âDrPepperNapalm, post:9, topic:3417â][quote=âgtaguy, post:8, topic:3417â]Goddamn, wild cherry trees. Wild apple trees. Wild grapes. Wild Blackberries. Wild Ivy.
Whatâs next? You going to tell me that some plants have mutated tentacles?[/quote]
at least itâs not the south east, [del]mutated[/del] kudzu[/quote]
FTFY
/Deep south native
//Donât sleep too close to Kudzu in the Summer
///On my third watch of Evil Dead II, I realized it had a vegatative tentacle rape scene.
////Need more Evil Dead references
/////no, not THAT one \<\_\<
//////slashies4eva
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### Author:  [@moist\_zombie](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/moist_zombie)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2013, 9:55am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/common-new-england-plants/3417/11 "2013-11-16T09:55:27Z")
[http://www.umass.edu/umext/jgerber/nativeplants.pdf](http://www.umass.edu/umext/jgerber/nativeplants.pdf) covers all kinds of useful New England plants đ Iâd love to see more than mutant poppy and our fairly thin selection of wild forage (currently!)⊠Identifying these plants âprofessionallyâ as what they are could be tied to survival skill or even to certain books (until then theyâd just be âyellow flowerâ or whatever generic nameâŠ)
That first link is all plants and trees though, just noticed there isnât a fungus among usâŠer, them đ And after a pretty mean googling Iâm mostly just seeing EDIBLE fungi, where I was looking for both the âfriendly and edibleâ along with the hideous and highly poisonous (for potential toxin/paralysis craftingâŠ). GIVING UP ON SHROOMS!
Hereâs a link for invasive plant life in New England⊠Considering theyâre already unloved and proliferous species, perhaps some of them are candidates for enemy-ization (goutweed and hairy jointgrass sound particularly evilâŠ): [http://www.eddmaps.org/ipane/ipanespecies/current\_inv.htm](http://www.eddmaps.org/ipane/ipanespecies/current_inv.htm)
In the same festive spirit hereâs a link to invasive insects (as well as a couple blights/plant dieseases/weeds) of the New England area (Viburnum Leaf Beetle and Leek Moths sound especially sinister): [http://massnrc.org/pests/factsheets.htm](http://massnrc.org/pests/factsheets.htm)
Unrelated to the topic but mildly creepy when reanimation is considered: [http://www.neob.org/CSSNE6362/Default.aspx?Tab=49aeac98-5fd8-4358-90ec-29082a553af6](http://www.neob.org/CSSNE6362/Default.aspx?Tab=49aeac98-5fd8-4358-90ec-29082a553af6)
And, for unrelated good measure, and because its really late and I shouldnât be typing things:
> **[Mothman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mothman)**
>
> In West Virginia folklore, the Mothman is a legendary creature reportedly seen in the Point Pleasant area from November 12, 1966, to December 15, 1967. The first newspaper report was published in the Point Pleasant Register dated November 16, 1966, titled "Couples See Man-Sized Bird ... Creature ... Something". The national press soon picked up the reports and helped spread the story across the United States. The Mothman was introduced to a wider audience by Gray Barker in 1970 and later populari...
> **[Owlman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owlman)**
>
> The Owlman, sometimes referred to as the Cornish Owlman, or the Owlman of Mawnan, is a purportedly mysterious owl-like creature that, according to local folklore, was sighted around mid-1976 in the village of Mawnan, Cornwall, England. The Owlman is sometimes compared to America's Mothman; however, a giant eagle owl is likely the source of the legend. The story originated when paranormal researcher Tony "Doc" Shiels claimed to have investigated a report of two young girls on holiday in Mawnan w...
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### Author:  [@Sloot](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Sloot)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2013, 9:03pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/common-new-england-plants/3417/12 "2013-11-16T21:03:05Z")
Guys you forgot the most common wild edible
Dandelions!
Every part of a dandelion is edible and nutritious. Theyâre very bitter but if you chop and boil them for 6-8 minutes without a cover then the bitter chemicals mosly dissipate. Then you have a slightly bitter but very nourishing green, much healthier then watery domestic greens.
Another common one is wild spinach.
> **[Taraxacum](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dandelion)**
>
> Taraxacum (/tÉËrĂŠksÉkÊm/) is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae which consists of species commonly known as dandelion. They are native to Eurasia and North America, but the two commonplace species worldwide, T. officinale and T. erythrospermum, were introduced from Europe and now propagate as wildflowers. Both species are edible in their entirety. The common name dandelion (/ËdĂŠndÉȘlaÉȘ.Én/ DAN-di-ly-Én, from French dent-de-lion, meaning "lion's tooth") is given to mem The...
> **[Wild spinach](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_spinach)**
>
> Wild spinach is a common name for several plants with edible leaves and may refer to: Species in the genus Chenopodium:
> Species in the genus Cleome
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### Author:  [@Luissen](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Luissen)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2013, 10:11pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/common-new-england-plants/3417/13 "2013-11-16T22:11:33Z")
Canât forget the âEvilnutâ aka Black Walnuts. The treesâ wood apparently makes great gunstocks and knifegrips, but I know them mostly due to their âfruitâ and its ability to shatter windshields
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### Author:  [@GrizzlyAdamz](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/GrizzlyAdamz)
#### Post date: [November 17, 2013, 1:37am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/common-new-england-plants/3417/14 "2013-11-17T01:37:24Z")
I lile this thread.
+1 to disguising plants and tieing it to survival.
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### Author:  [@Derschlact](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Derschlact)
#### Post date: [November 17, 2013, 1:53am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/common-new-england-plants/3417/15 "2013-11-17T01:53:14Z")
[quote=âGrizzlyAdamz, post:14, topic:3417â]I lile this thread.
+1 to disguising plants and tieing it to survival.[/quote]
Donât know about any lilinâ goinâ on 'round here⊠đ
I agree with the âdiscoverableâ plants ânâ stuff. Maybe even a book that teaches you what each plant is, so you donât have to grind up survival.
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### Author:  [@GrizzlyAdamz](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/GrizzlyAdamz)
#### Post date: [November 17, 2013, 2:14am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/common-new-england-plants/3417/16 "2013-11-17T02:14:05Z")
Like a system of trial & error? Maybe concurrentlyâŠbut we donât want to give ourselves too much info- metaknowledge could circumvent learning the hard way or investing time in survival.
So the description would be like:
âA thorny vine with red berriesâ
Vs
âA wiry thorned vine whose sparse leaves have dark red petioles, the bright red aggregate berries look unripeâ
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### Author:  [@Jack\_Root](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Jack_Root)
#### Post date: [November 17, 2013, 2:58pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/common-new-england-plants/3417/17 "2013-11-17T14:58:46Z")
> [@Luissen](#):
>
> Canât forget the âEvilnutâ aka Black Walnuts. The treesâ wood apparently makes great gunstocks and knifegrips, but I know them mostly due to their âfruitâ and its ability to shatter windshields
Oh. Yeah those things. They would make great weapons.