Underground Railroad Ethnobotany Project at Guilford College

“Gone are the century-old definitions of the Underground Railroad dominated by images of shivering, frightened fugitive slaves. Fading away are the biased images of solitary men, criminalized for escaping slavery, usually on foot, and aided by sympathetic White abolitionists working within a loosely organized network dominated by kindly Quakers.” –Cheryl Janifer LaRoche.

The above passage from Cheryl Janifer LaRoche’s Free Black Communities and the Underground Railroad: Geographies of Resistance is particularly fitting introduction to this project. The Underground Railroad Ethnobotany project is a nascent framework for investigating and interpreting ethnobotanical agency among freedom seekers at the site of the Guilford College Woods, in Greensboro, North Carolina, a well-known “station” in the Underground Railroad network. Guilford College was founded by the Society of Friends (Quakers) in 1837. Uncomplicated historical narratives centering the abolitionist heroics of “kindly Quakers” have, until recently, “written African American agency out of one of the central episodes of their historical being” (2013: 10), as LaRoche asserts. This tendency has recently been challenged from within a small liberal arts college reckoning with this past, through an institutional lineage of critical scholarship and student engagement, as well as multi-institutional collaboration through the Universities Studying Slavery Consortium. This work contributes directly to the destabilization of such stories through its insistence on the agency of freedom seekers and their free black accomplices, people whose names have been mostly invisible in the “century-old definitions” of the Underground Railroad.  A recent manifestation of these efforts is the dedication, on March 25, 2022, of a historical marker commemorating the legacy of Lavina Curry, who as free black woman employed as a washerwoman at New Garden Boarding School (becoming Guilford College in 1888), used her husband’s “free papers” to aid at least fifteen unfree men in their refusal to live as the property of another. 

The Underground Railroad Ethnobotany project is a parallel public intervention, one that similarly seeks to challenge the “images of shivering, frightened fugitive slaves,” in this instance, through the multi-stranded legacy of ecologies of antislavery resistance and the associated botanical agency asserted by freedom seekers, gained through collective experience and struggle within the greater African diasporic community in the Americas. This is not to suggest that freedom seekers were never frightened, nor does their deep knowledge and understanding of wild plants and animals suggest they never felt the pangs of hunger. Rather, like LaRoche’s geographies of resistance, wherein “landscape, terrain, landforms and natural shelters, as well as settlements and houses” (2013: 2) form a palimpsest of known landmarks that freedom seekers actively and expertly navigated along escape routes, ecologies of resistance indicate the exercise of knowledge and agency at the more intimate species level. Human-plant solidarities formed in historical relationship and deployed in moments of refusal become one of many resources used in the enactment of what Katherine McKittrick calls a “differential mode of survival.” Such a mode, McKittrick explains, “must be understood alongside complex negotiations of time, space, and terror” and the “interlocking workings of dispossession and resistance” (2013: 3). Through understanding ecologies of resistance as negotiated spaces of freedom and agency, we can begin to see counter-histories forged in partnership with other species, comprising a reservoir of eco-cultural resourcefulness available to freedom seekers.

The current Story Map is a the collective final project for a Spring 2022 three-week intensive class titled Land, Food, and Freedom. Through field trips, readings, discussions, and engagements with the Guilford College farm and forest, we explored historic and contemporary struggles and triumphs related to land as a cultural anchor, as a commons, and as a source for self-determination among historically marginalized peoples. As the late, great bell hooks reminds us, however, "marginality [is] much more than a site of deprivation . . . it is also the site of radical possibility, a space of resistance" (1990: 341).

For this specific project, students in the class chose a plant-companion that would have been known among Freedom Seekers traversing the area in the active period of the Underground Railroad. This is the preliminary contribution to an ongoing effort to map African-diasporic ethnobotany onto the college’s 240 acre mixed forest preserve, a stretch of woods that freedom seekers actively traversed between 1819 and the end of the Civil War. In their passage through these woods, many would have deployed the kinds of botanical agency supported by student research. What you will find in this story map is but a small sampling of a larger ethnobotanical inventory of known culturally associated species. Through this and continued work we hope to make legible and to celebrate the strength, perseverance, intelligence, and skill exercised by freedom seekers in their refusal to accept conditions of oppression and unfreedom. One of the tools through which this refusal was realized was an active deployment of the very ethnobotanical knowledge that this project hopes to bring to the fore through the preservation and interpretation of this legacy of inter-species resistance.  

REFERENCES

hooks, bell (1990). Marginality As a Site of Resistance. In R. Ferguson, M. Gever, T Minh-ha & C West (Eds), Out there: marginalization and contemporary cultures (pp.341-343). New York, MIT Press. 

LaRoche, Cheryl Janifer (2013). Free Black Communities and the Underground Railroad: Geographies of Resistance. Champaign, IL: University of Illinois Press.

McKittrick, Katherine (2013). Plantation Futures. Small Axe: A Caribbean Journal of Criticism 17 (3 (42)): 1-15.

Many weeds and shrubs cascade the landscapes of America. Some are good and some are bad, but we know little to nothing about what grows outside our house. I would like to describe an old and extremely useful plant. It is called Curly Dock (Rumex crispus) and it is a very neat plant with n interesting history. Firstly, I want to state that Curly Dock can go by different names. Generally, I call it curly or Yellow Dock for reasons I will describe in the following paragraphs. It is a perennial plant. That means that every year the same plant reproduces and comes back the next year. It is one of the 5 most widely spread weeds in the world. It originated in Europe and Asia and was most likely transported to the Americas during the colonization of the 13 colonies. Seeds can travel on clothes, furs, feathers, and even ships. In major agricultural areas, it can grow extensively. Technically, it is classified as an herb, but the entire plant is edible. Next, I will describe how you can identify the plant and some of its distinguishing characteristics.

Curly Dock has large oval-shaped leaves that bush together around the root of the stem. The leaves are long and the edges are curled like frills on a dress. Hence the name Curly Dock. It grows upright and has large stems that sprout from the center. Lots of seed pods form on the upper ends of each stem and when it is mature and ready to harvest, the seed pods will turn brown and dry out. When foraging, keep an eye out for these signs and you will have completed the first step of every forager; finding the plant in the first place. It can pop up anywhere and grow in any kind of soil except for highly acidic soils.

Diving into what Curly Dock can do for you, I’ll describe what it has been used for since it was introduced to our ecosystem. Historically, Curly Dock was used as a food plant and a medicinal plant. All parts of the plant can be consumed in some way. From the root to the seeds. Curly Dock has healing properties that could treat inflammation (both inside and out of the body), itches, and syphilis. It also was a good laxative and diuretic. Medicinal plants like this one were processed using different methods to create drinkable medicines and potions. You can make a decoction from the roots and an infusion from the leaves. You can even mash it up and mix it with water and make some anti-itch ointment. To make a decoction, boil the roots or any other woody plant material. To make an infusion, simmer the leaves or the stems on high heat. Now, I will show you how this plant was usually used and harvested.

The leaves of Curly Dock are probably the most edible with the least amount of processing. They can be boiled as a potherb or even eaten raw as a salad. They are said to have a slightly sour taste. Like I said before, each leaf will have curls along the edges. It could be a lot of curls or barely any, but that is a very important feature of this specific species of Dock. To harvest the leaves, they should be picked sometime between the late spring and early summer. It leads to the best taste and texture. Too early and the taste won’t be right, but too late and then the leaves will be too stringy and bitter. A good detail to look out for is the stems. If the stem is elastic and bendy, the plant is good to pick. If it bends and then snaps, it’s too late to harvest the leaves. The leaves contain something called oxalic acid. It is a chemical that can prevent your body from collecting important minerals. If you eat excessive amounts of oxalic acid or have a mineral deficiency you could have some problems.

The root of Curly Dock is the reason for its other name, Yellow Dock. The root is an earthy yellow and is a pretty large and slender root. The root is best harvested during the first fall of the plant's life. The way you can tell if the root is ready or not is by looking at the stem. If it is dead and dry, then the root will be good to collect. It will also lead to a starchier root. To collect the root, do not uproot the entire plant. It would be pretty difficult to see as the stem is dead and you could leave some of the roots behind. Use your hands or a trowel and dg around the root carefully. When the soil is loose and the root starts to give, you can remove it from the ground and set it aside. The root is mostly used as a medicinal ingredient and not much for cooking.

You can also eat the seeds, but they require a good bit of processing before they can be eaten. The seeds start to appear in late summer, so if you are too late to collect the leaves you can try to collect the seeds. If the seeds are ready to collect they will be dried, brown, and papery. Almost like the skin of garlic or onion. To begin collecting the seeds, cut the stem from the bottom and strip the seeds off the stem. Hold the stem upside down over a bowl and grab the base of the stem. Then just pull down the stem and all the seed pods should fall into the bowl. Once you have a sizeable collection of seeds you’re going to want to sift some of the plant debris out. It won’t have any negative effects if you don’t. Afterward, grind the seeds into flour and store them in an airtight container. The seeds make an extremely fibrous, gluten-free flour. You can make some crackers using the seeds by using 1 cup of the seed flour, 1 cup of your flour of choice, a teaspoon of salt, and some water. In a bowl, mix the dry ingredients and slowly add in the water until the dough that forms is pliable, but not sticky. Line them on a baking tray and bake at 375 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes until the crackers are crisp. Now you can enjoy a warm batch of earthy crackers with your favorite dip.

Native American tribes across America found tremendous use for this plant. Aside from being a good source of food, it also was an important part of their medical stock. The Cherokee and the Cheyenne (along with many others) found many uses for the plant and different ways of processing it. They would of course use it for medicinal purposes like treating itch, and sore throat, or as a laxative. They could make yellow dye from the root. They would also make medicine for their animals and horses. Curly Dock is a very versatile plant and Native Americans made use of every part of it.

Yellow Dock has been a very interesting plant to learn about. Plants like these often get overlooked as they can be lost in the vast brush of forests. Each one has an interesting history and they can all be useful in some way.

Works Cited

Native american ethnobotany database. BRIT Available at: http://naeb.brit.org/uses/search/?string=rumex+crispus. (Accessed: 10th May 2022)

Rose, M. Curly Dock: Rumex crispus, history and lore. Curly Dock: Rumex crispus, History and Lore - Dave's Garden (2016). Available at: https://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/curly-dock-rumex-crispus-history-and-lore. (Accessed: 10th May 2022)

Rumex Crispus. ISSG database: References for rumex crispus (2010). Available at: http://issg.org/database/species/ecology.asp?si=1652&fr=1&sts=&lang=EN (Accessed: 10th May 2022)

W., M. Curly dock: A plant for year-round sustenance. Four Season Foraging (2020). Available at: https://www.fourseasonforaging.com/blog/2020/1/25/curly-dock. (Accessed: 10th May 2022)

Phytolacca Americana, otherwise known as Poke, Pokeweed, Scoke, or American Nightshade, is a fairly large plant native to North America, identifiable by its coloration, the stems and berries of Poke have a reddish purple color, while the leaves remain a stereotypical green. The name Poke comes from the Algonquin name for the plant Pokan which, when translated, means “bloody,” most likely a reference to the plant's red coloring which translates to the ink that the indegenous made from Poke Berry juices. Poke is not typically cultivated, but foraged. Usually found in fencerows, under power lines, pastures, and forest openings. These areas are often frequented by birds who spread Poke seeds as they dine on the berries of the plant. 

While Pokeweed and its uses are not commonly known amongst young people today, the grandparents and great grandparents of Appalachia and much of the rest of the South know Poke as an easily foraged green that can be boiled and thrown into a salad. So popular was this dish that it earned its own blues song, Polk Salad Annie. However, Poke Salad is also widely considered a symbol of poverty and as familial wealth grew over generations more and more people left Poke Salad behind.

This, fortunately, is not all that can be said about Poke. Poke itself is a very toxic plant. Every inch of it is poisonous and ingesting enough of it, particularly the roots, can kill you. And yet, for centuries people have found ways to make use of it, including finding a way to eat it safely. It would be wrong to assume, though, that people didn’t eat it in a toxic state intentionally. Light poisoning from poke weed causes vomiting and diarrhea which makes it a very convenient and common worm purger. Anyone walking barefoot on a pasture, knee-deep in manure would thus be quite fond of this big weed. 

Beyond this Native Americans used the juice from the berry to make ink and dye, and would also use the leaves to make a poultice to treat cancer. Settlers would similarly use the berries to treat “skin eruptions” and ulcers.  Enslaved people were also familiar with the medicinal properties of Poke, though it’s unclear where exactly this knowledge came from. However, it is important to note that there is an African variant of Poke and it's entirely possible that enslaved people applied what they already knew to American Poke. More uses found throughout different cultures include usage as an anti-inflammatory medicine, a treatment and preventive remedy for arthritis, and to soothe aching muscles. It can also, take this with a grain of salt (this is not medical advice), be used to induce a miscarriage. 

I would like to note that while the medicinal properties of Poke have not been scientifically confirmed, i.e. not confirmed through clinical studies and trials these folk remedies of early settlers, enslaved people and Native Americans aren't bunk born out of misconceptions and false correlations. Poke has high amounts of vitamin A and C, in addition to large amounts of iron and calcium. Poke also contains a unique antiviral protein that seems to be effective against Herpes and HIV, and can also serve to fight certain cancers. 

Naturally, a poisonous plant can also serve as, you guessed it, a poison. There is a tale – the accuracy and truthfulness I was unable to verify myself – that a dairymaid and enslaved person by the name of Delphy successfully poisoned the family who enslaved her by boiling “a decoction of pokeroot” and then mixing it with ground glass. Delphy, sadly, did not get away with this action. 

All of this is to say that no matter how you serve it, Pokeweed is a very useful weed. Despite its fall from popularity in recent decades, there are still some trying to bring the plant back into popular culture and cuisine. A Chef and restaurant owner in Charlotte by the name of Clark Barlowe features Poke Salad in his menu and hopes to teach other Chefs how to prepare the dish so that it may become a staple once again. Barlowe has also started experimenting with other parts of the plant, using the berries to make ice cream and as a way to add some coloring to cake. Maybe Poke Salad is on the way out but that doesn’t mean that Poke Ice cream isn’t on the way in. 

Works Cited

Carney, Abby. “How Did This Poisonous Plant Become One of the American South's Most Long-Standing Staples?” Saveur, 3 Oct. 2019, https://www.saveur.com/poke-sallet/.

Greenlee, Cynthia. “How Black Foragers Find Freedom in the Natural World.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 30 July 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/30/dining/black-foragers-nature-alexis-nelson.html.

Hood, Lonnie Lee, et al. “How a Deadly Plant Became a Staple Appalachian Food.” Matador Network, 21 Oct. 2021, https://matadornetwork.com/read/pokeweed-berry-jam-appalachia/.

“Marlene McCarty: Into the Weeds: Death & Altered States.” Sikkema Jenkins & Co., https://www.sikkemajenkinsco.com/ex20210622marlenemccarty-death.

“Phytolacca Americana (Pokeweed)*.” Phytolacca Americana (Pokeweed), https://www.monticello.org/sites/library/exhibits/lucymarks/gallery/pokeweed.html.

“Pokeweed: A Forgotten American Leafy Green.” SPICEography, 21 Feb. 2022, https://www.spiceography.com/pokeweed/.

Slave Medicine, https://www.monticello.org/sites/library/exhibits/lucymarks/medical/slavemedicine.html.

Vitis rotundifolia, or Muscadine, is a Native American wild grape with origins in southeastern United States. These grapes have a black or deep violet color and they have a spherical shape, thick skin, and are sweet in flavor but the skin may be bitter. Although muscadines are larger than other grapes, they provide less juice. They grow in small clusters on wood grape vines with leaves that are heart-shaped with serrated edges, and some people claim the fruit has a recognizable “musky” and fruity aroma. Muscadines are dioecious perennials, meaning it needs a male or female cultivar in order to produce its grapes, and only needing to be planted once but can produce fruit annually. Muscadine is cultivated in the spring after the harsh temperatures of winter, blooms in the spring with white flowers, and matures in the fall where the grapes are hand-picked or shaken from the bush. In order to grow, Muscadines require sunny, humid climates but can grow on any soil, including moist soil, as long as there is adequate internal drainage, and require 10 to 20 feet of trellis or space for its lengthy vines. If there is too much shade or water soaks the soil for too long, the muscadine will fail to cultivate, but if grown properly, the perennial can live for decades. Muscadines go dormant during winters and can survive droughts as long as the climate conditions are not too extreme. In two years, a muscadine bush can begin to produce fruit, but may take longer to reach its full potential. When given the right environmental conditions, muscadines can become invasive and block the roots of other plants in their vicinity. Muscadine bushes give cover, nesting sites, and food for wildlife in the summer and winter seasons. 

This fruit is popular as a commercial crop due to its high resistance to pests and diseases, such as Pierce’s disease which is deadly for grapevines as it blocks their water-conducting systems, and other vine-killing diseases. It is believed that the Muscadine is the first actively cultivated grape in North Carolina. Muscadine has been cultivated for over 400 years; Native Americans grew Muscadine and had been consuming these grapes as a part of their diet for thousands of years, as archeologists discover. These grapes have also been found in deposits with plant and animal rood remains, which have been assumed to be a part of Native American rituals. Grapes were made into dyes, jams, juice, cakes, and dried and preserved for the winter as part of their diets. Muscadines were also used for medicinal purposes, with its leaves being made into tea that would be consumed post-childbirth, for digestive or kidney illnesses, fertility and reproduction, and other ailments.

Many species of muscadine aside from Vitis rotundifolia were repurposed for medicine by tribes across many regions. Today, there are over 300 cultivars of Muscadine. Some other health benefits of the Muscadines are that they are a rich source in polyphenols, are high in fibers, and have antioxidants that can help against cancer and heart disease. Compared to other grapes, Muscadines are high in ellagic acid which delays the growth of cancer cells. When colonizers and settlers “discovered” the Muscadine, they found great use of it in desserts, jams, juice, and most specifically wines, where its popularity grew. Muscadines today are used for a variety of recipes. During this colonial period, Native Americans continued their consumption of Muscadine in resistance to colonial crops and to preserve their identity and tradition. Muscadine were grown on plantations as well, being tended by black slaves, and sometimes these grapes were traded between slaves and were a great part of their diets. Muscadine, due to its abundance in nature, was eaten by freedom seekers and it was beneficial to be able to identify this plant when lost in order to have something to satisfy hunger. When freedom seekers were afraid of being caught and remained in areas such as the woods, they relied on berries and grapes to fill their hunger. Muscadines are also known as Scuppernongs; the name coming from the Scuppernong River, Scuppernong Lake, and Scuppernong settlements near the Albermarle Sound in North Carolina. Furthermore, “scuppernong” originates from the Algonquian askuponong, meaning “place of the askupo”, which is the sweet bay tree. Other common names for muscadine are “possum grape”, “fox grape”, “riverbank grape”, and “rock grape”. Scuppernong wine is a centuries-long tradition in North Carolina and its historical significance led to Scuppernong becoming the state fruit.

Works Cited

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA SESSION LAW 2001-488 HOUSE BILL 382. S.l. 2001-488. (n.d.). Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://www.ncleg.net/EnactedLegislation/SessionLaws/HTML/2001-2002/SL2001-488.html.

Health benefits: North Carolina Muscadine Grape Association, Inc. (NCMGA). North Carolina Muscadine Grape Association, Inc. (NCMGA) |. (2020, May 27). Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://www.ncmuscadinegrape.org/health-benefits/. 

Twitty, M. W. (2012, January 10). Terroir noire: African American foodways in Slavery, Texas. Afroculinaria. Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://afroculinaria.com/2011/02/04/terror-noire-african-american-foodways-in-slavery-texas/amp/. 

Muscadine grapes - urban harvest. (n.d.). Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://www.urbanharvest.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Grapes-Muscadine-2018.pdf.

Muscadine grapes. Muscadine Grapes - Gardening Solutions - University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. (n.d.). Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/edibles/fruits/muscadines.html. 

National Institute of Food and Agriculture. (n.d.). HEALTH BENEFITS OF RED MUSCADINE WINE. Health benefits of Red Muscadine wine - university of Florida. Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://portal.nifa.usda.gov/web/crisprojectpages/0194398-health-benefits-of-red-muscadine-wine.html.  

Native grapes resource brief - mdflora.org. Resource Brief Native Grapes. (n.d.). Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://mdflora.org/Resources/Documents/YearofVines/Native-Grapes-NCRN-Resource-Brief.pdf.

NC Government & Heritage Library. (n.d.). State Fruit of North Carolina: Scuppernong grape. NCpedia. Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://www.ncpedia.org/symbols/fruit. 

Pfeifer, N. (2022, March 17). Grafting the grape: Indigenous use of grapes. Discover + Share. Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://discoverandshare.org/2021/10/05/grafting-the-grape-indigenous-use-of-grapes/. 

Poling, B., Fisk, C., & Hoffmann, M. (n.d.). Muscadine grapes in the Home Garden: NC state extension publications. Muscadine Grapes in the Home Garden | NC State Extension Publications. Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/muscadine-grapes-in-the-home-garden.

USDA ARS Online Magazine Vol. 45, no. 11. AgResearch Mag. (1997, November). Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://agresearchmag.ars.usda.gov/1997/nov/musc. 

Vitis rotundifolia. Vitis rotundifolia (Muscadine Grape, Scuppernong Grape, Southern Fox Grape) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. (n.d.). Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/vitis-rotundifolia/.

The word persimmon comes from the Powhatan language and it translates to “a dry fruit.” The scientific name for persimmon is Diospyros virginiana which translates to “divine fruit” or “fruit of the gods.” Its common name is the American or common persimmon, it is also known as the American date plum.

Indigenous people used the fruit for food, drinks, and medicine. The indigenous people who used the persimmon were the Cherokee, Comanche, Rappahannock, and Seminole. The fruit was dried for storage. Persimmons could be used to treat sore throats, indigestion, thrush, and bloody bowels. The bark of persimmon trees would be chewed for heartburn. If you took the bark of persimmon, alder, white walnut, and wild cherry you could soothe a toothache. Using persimmon bark and water to create a tea, it could be used to support bile production and liver health. The fruit can be used for jams and in baking, the pulp from the fruit can be used to make molasses. The seeds can be roasted and used as a coffee substitute, and the leaves can be used to make tea.

Enslaved people and freedom seekers boiled the bark from persimmon trees and used it to treat fever and diarrhea. Enslaved people and freedom seekers used the fruit from persimmon trees to make vinegar, jelly, tea, syrup, and bread stuffing. They also made beer from persimmons. To make this beer the enslaved people would add persimmons in a keg to ferment with water, sweet potato peels, and pieces of cornbread. Another way persimmon beer was prepared was by boiling persimmon fruit in water and letting the pulp ferment for months, this pulp was put with red pine straw, sugar, and honey. Unlike beer we drink today, persimmon beer had to be consumed in large quantities to get a buzz from it. Not only did adults drink persimmon beer but so did children, it was mainly used for health reasons. When the enslaved people worked in the fields they needed persimmon beer to keep their strength. Persimmon beer provided the sugars and vitamins they needed as well as hydration which was very important with them working in the fields all day. Many enslaved people enjoyed persimmon beer because they had limited access to clean fresh water and it gave them the hydration they needed in place of water.

Enslaved people also had many songs called plantation songs that talked about how they enjoyed persimmon beer. The wood from the tree is hard and smooth so it is often used for shoe lasts and golf clubs. Enslaved peoples probably recognized the persimmon as something similar to a species they had back home in Africa, the Diospyros mespiliformis, known as the jackalberry in South Africa. Persimmons were probably one of many foods that enslaved people recognized from similar things that grew in Africa.

Persimmons grow best in humid climates that have average temperatures of 95 degrees in the summer and 10 degrees in the winter. Persimmons can grow in almost any kind of soil. Persimmons grow best in direct sunlight, however, they will still grow if they are in partial shade. Persimmons are extremely versatile and can grow in almost any condition. Persimmons are dioecious, so they need a male and female to produce fruit. Persimmons need to be harvested after they have fallen from the tree otherwise they will not be ripe and they will have an extremely bitter and sour taste. Persimmon fruit can be found on trees from September through late November. Persimmon trees are medium sized trees and grow to be about 33 to 40 feet tall. The fruit itself grows to be 3 or more inches in diameter. You can identify the tree by its blocky dark brown or black bark with orange fissure in between. Persimmon trees have flowers on them which are bell shaped and yellowish white colored. Persimmon trees are native to many states including North Carolina.

There’s an old story about persimmon fruit seeds predicting the winter weather. When you cut open the seed from the fruit it will reveal a shape, either a spoon, knife, or fork (see above). If the seed reveals a spoon, the upcoming winter will have lots of heavy and wet snow. If the seed reveals a fork, the upcoming winter will have light and powdery snow. If the seed reveals a knife, the upcoming winter will be harsh with icy winds. There is also a story about some enslaved people in Alabama who were out collecting persimmons one day and they heard the voice of someone who had died recently in the “tree of spirit.” 

Works Cited:

“Programs: Events : Indigenous Peoples' Perspective Project : American Persimmon.” Adkins Arboretum, https://www.adkinsarboretum.org/programs_events/ipp/american-persimmon.html. 

Hubbell, Diana. “For Enslaved Cooks, Persimmon Beer Combined Ingenuity and Joy.” Atlas Obscura, Atlas Obscura, 15 Nov. 2021, https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/michael-twitty-persimmon-beer. 

Farnsworth, Paul. “Beer Brewing and Consumption in the Maintenance of African Identity by the Enslaved People of the Bahamas, 1783-1834.” Culture Agriculture, Wiley-Blackwell, 20 Apr. 2021, https://www.academia.edu/47103412/ Beer_Brewing_and_Consumption_in_the_Maintenance_of_African_Identity_by_the_Enslaved_People_of_the_Bahamas_1783_1834. 

Chaki, Rohini. “Persimmon Beer.” Atlas Obscura, Atlas Obscura, 7 Mar. 2019, https://www.atlasobscura.com/foods/persimmon-beer. 

Newton, Shannon. “Persimmons - a Fruit Tree to Consider.” NC Cooperative Extension News, 19 Dec. 2017, https://scotland.ces.ncsu.edu/2017/12/persimmons-a-fruit-tree-to-consider/. 

Larson, Lincoln R., et al. “Children's Time Outdoors: Results and Implications of the National Kids Survey.” Journal of Park and Recreation Administration 29(2):1-20, 1 Jan. 1970, https://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/39414.

“Diospyros.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/plant/Diospyros. 

The Honey Locust tree (also known as the thorny locust, thorny honey locust tree, and the honey shucks locust)  is a fast growing deciduous tree that is a member of the bean/pea family. It is native to the central East United States. They can grow to be around 20-30 meters tall and live about 120 years. The leaves of a honey locust turn yellow in the fall. The leaves often grow out in late spring which is also when the flowers bloom. The flowers are a cream color and are strongly scented. Twisted pods hang on the branches throughout winter. The fruits are about 30-45 centimeters long and they mature in early fall. Honey locusts have 3-10 centimeter thorns which are thought to have evolved to help protect the tree from large mammals from before the last ice age. 

Honey locusts are hardy trees, but they can carry a lot of pests. The insects do not hurt the trees. Cankers are the only thing that are considered a danger to them. In fact, if you cut the tree at the base, it is likely to grow back more aggressively than before. The best way to clear out unwanted honey locust trees is fire. 

Honey locusts are not toxic, but they do have a toxic look alike called the black locust. In fact, there are many uses for the honey locust tree with many of the parts of the tree being ingestible. 

Cherokee people made bows from the wood. Since it was so sturdy, the wood has also been used to make fences. They also used the pods to sweeten worm medicine and in an infusion for measles. An infusion of the bark was taken for whooping cough and in a bath for dyspepsia. The Cherokee used the pulp as a drink and consumed raw pods. The seeds were also eaten cooked and the dried pulp was used as a sweetener. 

The Creeks prepared a decoction of the sprigs, thorns, and branches as a bath to prevent smallpox. The pods were used as an antidote for children’s complaints. The Delaware people used the bark combined with other plants for blood purification and as a tonic for coughs. Rappahannock people used an infusion of the bark and roots as a cough and cold medicine. The Fox people used the bark for colds, fevers, measles, and smallpox. 

In an excavation of Rich Neck Plantation in Williamsburg, Virginia, hundreds of plant specimens were uncovered. The most abundant botanical found were seed pods from honey locust trees. They were one of many wild species found at the plantation. There were hidden seed stores that included honey locust seeds. The implication of these findings is that honey locusts were abundant on the property, more so than any other tree and that enslaved people knew the importance of the trees so they made sure to store seeds. 

It is believed that Indigenous people probably passed on their knowledge of the honey locust tree to enslaved people, but it also seems highly likely that enslaved people came up with their own uses for the honey locust tree. 

Enslaved people used the seeds of the honey locust tree to brew coffee-like beverages and used the pods as a sweetener. They also brewed honey locust and persimmons together in water to make a beverage that they carried with them to the fields. With their own discoveries and the knowledge passed on to them by Indigenous people, enslaved people had some level of autonomy by instituting cultural practices that included plant use. 

Those who lived at Rich Neck also knew the benefits of the honey locust tree. They used the honey locust for dietary and medicinal purposes. It is also possible that the seeds and shells, as well as other waste products from the tree, were used as fuel. The pods were said to bring relief from discomfort. It was said that they had dilatory and narcotic properties. Inhabitants of the plantation used honey locust regularly. It was the only production activity that seemed to hold steady over time. It also seemed to multiply over time.

Resources

Mrozowski, S. A., Franklin, M., & Hunt, L. (2008). Archaeobotanical analysis and interpretations of enslaved virginia plant use at rich neck plantation. American Antiquity, 73(4), 699-728. Doi:192.154.63.44

Wike, C. (2021). The resistance and ingenuity of the cooks who lived in slavery. Sapiens.  https://www.sapiens.org/archaeology/enslaved-people-foodways/#:~:text=Unearthed-,The%20Resistance%20and%20Ingenuity%20of%20the%20Cooks%20Who%20Lived%20in,gaps%20in%20the%20historical%20record .

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey_locust#Description 

 https://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/tree/gletri/all.html 

Paw paws are known as “... the largest edible fruit indigenous to North America” (Fine, 2021) although many Americans today have never heard of them. Paw paws do not find themselves on grocery store shelves although a resurgence of interest has occurred in recent years. The book “Pawpaw: In Search of America’s Forgotten Fruit” by Andrew Moore explores this paradox. Fine quotes Devon Mihesuah who says “‘I’m not sure that it’s been forgotten. I think it’s been ignored, disliked, and unavailable’” (Fine, 2021). In terms of taste, paw paws can be described as a cross between a mango, banana, and pineapple, though its flavor is uniquely its own. It is often compared to a custard and belongs to the custard apple family, the only custard apple to have adapted to live so far north out of tropical climates. Paw paws are native to the eastern United States making up a fairly broad range.

Paw paws grow in rich soils by streams. In North Carolina, paw paws can be found from August to October. Colloquial nicknames for the paw paw include Hoosier banana, West Virginia banana, and wild banana. Paw paws grow in hardwood forests as an understory tree (NC Cooperative Extension). 

Pawpaws have many uses both for food and medicine. As for food, paw paws can be used as a marinade for meat; it can also be made into a liquor (Heinz History Center). Commonly, paw paws are simply eaten with a spoon or even opened by hand after harvesting. They require no preparation such as cooking in order to be enjoyed; they are ready to eat straight off the tree. As for medicine, “The unripen juice was made into a vermifuge to treat ulcers” (Heinz History Center). 

Indigenous peoples living in the eastern United States certainly ate the plentiful fruit. According to Fine “Pawpaw seeds and other remnants have been found at archaeological sites of the earliest Native Americans, and in large, concentrated amounts, which suggests seasonal feasts of the fruit” (Fine, 2021).

Paw paws have many different names to different groups of Indigenous peoples. Some places in the United States are named after the paw paw. For example “... the town of Natchitoches [Louisiana] translates to ‘the paw paw eaters,’ and is derived from the place-name given by the Caddo, who called pawpaw nashitosh.” (Fine, 2021).

Another example comes from Joel Barnes, a member of the Shawnee tribe who explains “‘The word for pawpaw is ha’siminikiisfwa. That means pawpaw month. It’s the month of September … That literally means pawpaw moon’” (Fine, 2021). Barnes is the language and archives director of the Shawnee tribe. 

There are many names for pawpaw among Indigneous people. For example, the “Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) call them hadi’ot, and their traditional use involved mashing and drying the fruit for sauces, smoothies, and corncakes” (Silver Run Forest Farm). Additionally, “... tribes, including the Cherokee, have used the inner bark as rope [and] fishing line, as well as fiber for mending clothes and weaving baskets” (Silver Run Forest Farm). 

Settlers have had varied relationships to paw paws over time. At first, settlers generally enjoyed the fruit. Hernando de Soto, the Portuguese conquistador wrote “The fruit is like unto Peares Riall [pears royal]; it has a very good smell and an excellent taste” (Fine, 2021). Another European reported “I ate, one day, sixy of them, big and little” (Fine, 2021). George Washington ate the fruit as well. However, ideas about race and bodies in the New World led settler relationships to pawpaws and the people that ate them to become more disdainful. Silver Run Forest Farm references culinary historian Micheal Twitty noting 

“Twitty observes that early American writings described Pawpaw as fit only for “Negroes and Indians,” for those who had few option but to eat freely what the local earth grew instead of what could be bought from afar” (Silver Run Forest Farm) going on to explain poor white folks relationship to pawpaws. For this reason it was called the “Poor Man’s Banana”. (Silver Run Forest Farm). An English naturalist said of the paw paw “rank, if not fetid smell … nor is the fruit relished but by very few, except Negroes” (Fine, 2021). In short, settler relationships to paw paws varied with some settlers throughout time and history. However, the rise of colonialism and the construction of race and racism in the United States related to settler views of pawpaws. Lewis and Clark also ate pawpaws on their expedition. 

Freedom seeker and enslaved relationships to paw paws include paw paws as a source of food and medicine. As for food, Fine, quoting Twitty explains “... as I explored the landscapes left by Black communities, I saw these treasure trees growing outside the dwellings of enslaved people and clustering close to their settlements” (Fine, 2021). Pawpaw, argues Twitty, gave enslaved peoples “diversity in a diet built on nutritional monotony, and enabled them to nourish themselves on trails North to freedom.” (Fine, 2021). In addition, according to Moore, pawpaws were “part of the folk medicine practiced by slaves,” and “in some communities, seeds from the fruit were worn around necks and believed to prevent various diseases.” (Fine, 2021). 

Paw paws were significant to Indigenous peoples throughout the eastern United States, enslaved peoples and freedom seekers on the Underground Railroad, and settlers who also encountered and ate them. According to Fine, “[Paw Paws] fell out of favor due to colonial understandings of food as a locus of difference, as well as increasing globalization and economic needs” (Fine, 2021); Their transport is not economical. Pawpaws, forgotten by some, have always borne fruit in places such as the Guilford College woods whether or not the people occupying the land knew of their existence or not. 

Works Cited

Fine, J. (2021). Plant of the Month: The Pawpaw. JSTOR Daily. https://doi.org/https://daily.jstor.org/plant-of-the-month-the-pawpaw/ 

From Slavery To Freedom. From Slavery to Freedom | Senator John Heinz History Center. (n.d.). Retrieved May 11, 2022, from http://www.heinzhistorycenter.org/fromslaverytofreedom/ 

Hoffner, E. (2020, January 9). Climate Change Could Make Pawpaws a Valuable Crop for Northern Farmers. Civil Eats. Retrieved from https://civileats.com/2020/01/09/climate-change-could-make-pawpaws-a-valuable-crop-for-northern-farmers/ 

Pawpaw. Silver Run Forest Farm. (n.d.). Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://silverrunforestfarm.org/nursery/pawpaw 

Snyder, E., & Lovejoy, T. (2017, September 6). Native PawPaw Tree. NC Cooperative Extension. Retrieved from go.ncsu.edu/readext?486001

The Butternut Tree is also known as White walnut, Oilnut, Juglans cinerea, or Lemon nut. Butternut trees gave freedom seekers some great resources. It is a relatively short lived tree, dieing after approximately 40-90 years. The Butternut is deciduous, light gray and of small to medium size, growing from 60-90ft tall. It is native to North America and grows at a higher elevation than its cousin the American Walnut. It doesn’t mind getting a lot of water, so you may find it next to streams, or coves. The dirt it grows in needs to be able to drain well, it cannot be too tight, and the tree cannot live in shade. Butternut’s fruit, called drupes, grow sticky hairs when ripe and turn brown. They have four distinct ridges. The closely related Black Walnut has darker bark and more round drupes. 

Both the Butternut and Black Walnut tree produce a toxin called juglone. It kills off plants around the tree so it can absorb as much water and nutrients as possible. The area affected by this toxin ranges from 60-80ft around the tree. It is not toxic to humans though. The population of the Butternut tree has gone way down hill thanks to a fungus called Ophiognomonia clavigignenti-juglandacearum or Butternut Canker. This fungus creates cankers on the tree or dead spots on the bark. From this fungus, it's estimated that up to 90% of this tree population has died. 

Now the population of American chestnuts has vastly outgrown Butternuts. The indigenous usages for the Butternut tree are quite diverse. When toothaches occur, the Cherokee would use the inner bark to help numb the pain. It was used as an all around painkiller actually, and even a laxative. They used it in a sort of detox way, where it cleans your whole body of any unwanted issues. 

Freedom seekers were always seeking remedies for their injuries sustained before and whilst searching for freedom. They also used the numbing agent as well. The Potawatomi people used tea made from the tree to help stomach aches and to induce pregnancies. Indigenous people also used the oily nuts to make conditioner for their hair. If the nut was mixed with bear grease it could also act as a bug repellent. The nut was used in a variety of different ways such as for making oil, making tea and other drinks, making baby food, breads, puddings and sauces. It was also used as an additive to grain and starch dishes like mashed potatoes. They used the wood for hollowed canoes, and other building materials. During the civil war, lots of the soldiers coming from regions where Butternut was common, would have their uniforms dyed with husk from the tree. 

Black Walnut, Juglans nigra or The American Walnut tree is very similar to its cousin the Butternut tree. The Black Walnut tree is darker, larger, and currently more prominent in the US. This tree is more resilient than the Butternut, being very rarely affected by diseases and pests. This tree has been recorded to extend 100ft tall, but usually comes in at around 50 ft. The Black Walnut is a shade tree, and it requires pretty neutral and deep soil to grow. This tree originated in the eastern areas of the US but quickly spread across America, sticking to the more temperate areas. Similar to the chestnut, the boiled mashed nut of the walnut was used as a substitute for breast milk in the Abenaki and other native tribes. The tribes would use the nut in all the same dietary ways as the Butternut. The medical uses are a little bit different. For example, the Black Walnut is used for deworming animals, cleaning maggots out of wounds, and even to treat vaginal infections. The White Mountain Apache tribe was known to rub the juice from the husk onto their livestock to prevent infection and sickness. Native peoples would also use the nuts and bark to create a beautiful bark brown dye. Enslaved people would pick these nuts in their free time as a source of food, and it held up great over the winter in its natural packaging. This wood is very praised for its furniture quality, and early settlers abused the privilege of the tree, which aided in the drastic drop in the number of trees we have now compared to 100 years ago. 

https://www.purdue.edu/fnr/extension/endangered-trees-butternut/

 https://aihd.ku.edu/foods/Butternut.html 

 https://www.indiananature.net/pages/taxa/Plantae/j/Juglans_cinerea.php 

 https://www.almanac.com/black-walnut-trees 

 https://www.indiananature.net/pages/taxa/Plantae/j/Juglans_nigra.php 

 https://aihd.ku.edu/foods/black_walnut.html 

Carya is a genus of trees including hickory and pecan trees. This genus contains some of the most important plants for the lives of both Native Americans and enslaved people are notable for their incredibly nutritious nuts as well as their incredibly tough wood which made them useful plants for Native Americans and enslaved people. Some examples include Carya Illinoinensis or the pecan, Carya glabra or the pignut hickory, and Carya ovata or the shagbark hickory. They are related to walnuts and as both are part of the Juglandaceae family. Trees from the Carya genus tend to be large and tall and are primarily found in bottomlands with moist soil. They also have a very high temperature range with Shagbarks being able to survive between -40° and 115° Fahrenheit. This is due to the variety of environments they inhabit which are both in the North and South of the United States. (US Forest Service).

The nuts from this genus are an excellent source of nutrition due to their high content of fat and protein in a single nut. Hickory wood is also notable for its strong wood which has been used for a variety of purposes. Hickory tree wood and bark was used to make “dye, tools, soaps, baskets, food, oil, furniture, ax handles, wagons, and rope” (Heinz History Center). These uses made the Carya genus an incredibly important one that would be used by numerous groups, including Native Americans and enslaved peoples. Native Americans often used hickories as a source of food. The name hickory comes from the Powhatan “pokahichary” which was a drink made from a mixture of hickory nuts and water which the tribe used. It was believed that a goddess served the drink to spirits traveling after death. Native Americans also made oil from hickory nuts which they used both as food and for medicinal purposes. For instance, the Creek used it when making hominy and corn cakes. Native Americans also made tools out of it such as the Ojibwa making bows from Shagbark hickories or the Omaha using it to make snowshoes.

It also had many medicinally uses being used “as abortifacients, analgesics, anthelmintics, antirheumatics, cold remedies, dermatological aids, diaphoretics, diuretics emetics, gast-intestinal aids, gynecological aids, laxatives, liver aids, oral aids and orthopedic aids.” This knowledge about the use of hickory even passed to European settlers who used the wood for making casks and boxes (USDA). The Cherokee also used hickory nuts in a traditional food called ku-nu-che which was a dish made from taking balls of crushed hickory nuts and using it to make a soup by boiling it in water. This soup was a traditional Cherokee food and often eaten at holidays, birthdays, social events, and family reunions. This custom even persists today among Cherokee people and shows how important hickory nuts are to the culture and history of the Cherokee (Fritz 1-3).

This knowledge and use of hickory was also common among enslaved peoples as well who also made use of the multipurpose trees. Enslaved people made extensive use of pecan and hickory trees as a source of nutrition due to the high amount of protein and fat in even a small handful of nuts. The enslaved even engaged in commercial production of these nuts and were a key part of making that a viable business. An enslaved man named Antoine at the Oak Valley Plantation was the first person to be able to graft Pecan trees and make them viable for commercial use. Antoine was the person who pioneered the industry and created commercial pecan production. These valuable skills were reflected in the records of Antoine which lists his job as a gardener and had him listed as a very valuable slave for the time. This is just one example of how many slaves weren’t just laborers, but skilled workers with practical botanical knowledge that they regularly put to use (Arboretum). Enslaved people also made use of the wood and bark for tools like Native Americans due to its strength. They also used it as a dye for clothes due to its availability (Heinz). This knowledge of the importance of these trees would have also been known to freedom-seekers who would have used them as a food source due to their abundance and nutrition.

The trees were a key part of the lives of both Native Americans and enslaved Americans and were a key part of the way they fed and took care of themselves. These trees served numerous purposes and were a key part of the ethnobotanical history of the United States and of the people who ate and built from them. These trees were a key part of their life and deserve to be recognized for their incredible history and importance.

References

Every Pecan Tree: Trees, Meaning, and Memory in Enslaved People’s Lives. YouTube (YouTube, 2021).

Fritz, G. Ethnobotany of Ku-Nu-Che: Cherokee Hickory Nut Soup. Journal of Ethnobiology (2001).

From slavery to freedom: Senator John Heinz history center. From Slavery to Freedom | Senator John Heinz History Center Available at: http://www.heinzhistorycenter.org/fromslaverytofreedom/#chapter5. (Accessed: 10th May 2022)

National Museum of African American History & Culture. National Museum of African American History and Culture Available at: https://nmaahc.si.edu/object/nmaahc_2016.57. (Accessed: 10th May 2022)

US Forest Service. Index of Species Information: Carya Ovata. Available at: https://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/tree/carova/all.html. (Accessed: 10th May 2022)

USDA Agricultural Research Unit. Hickories History. Hickories- history Available at: https://cgru.usda.gov/carya/species/histsp.htm. (Accessed: 10th May 2022).