These nearly ubiquitous, often evergreen vines are almost entirely edible outside of their berries. Try their tender tendrils. 😉
Birders in the eastern half of America welcome this bird as one of their most colorful and recognizable, with its classic blue plumage, contrasted with a little red and white
This velvety rootbeer-colored, moist-looking, rubbery-textured, somewhat cup-shaped edible fungus grows on trees and downed logs
This hairy little plant with 5 pointy petals is native to the Mediterranean region and is both edible and medicinal
This humble plant is easily overlooked, both in its quiet early blooming and later leaf unfurling. You can find it in wetlands and riverine forests in the NE quarter of the US, up into Canada.
Known in some areas as a pest, the “rice bird” who feeds on rice and grains especially during migration, this New World Blackbird has unique coloration featuring a male with high-contrast white and cream on black.
The local Philippines call this woody vine “tayabak”. Related to the green beans we grow in our gardens, this species’ unique turquoise claw-shaped flowers are pollinated by bats.
The brilliant blue, white, or pink of these flowers are actually 5 to 25 colored sepals rather than petals. They appear to float upon a mist of thread-like bracts above feathery, pinnately divided leaves.