This is a dandelion that has not put up flowers, yet.
Dandelions can be used as a salad green, or, like Lambsquarters, steamed like spinach after the flowers have come up. The taste of dandelions is very unlike spinach, but I find they are good greens to add to a pot of greens for an extra bit of flavor.
I know some people who use the white 'milk' from the cut dandelion stem on small cuts to help them heal. It sounds odd, but the ph in the liquid helps to kill off certain germs and to coagulate the surface blood. There are other Medicinal Plants, too.
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There are many mints out there that can flavor foods and make teas. All mints have a square stem, including catnip and wintergreen. The pictures above are from a lemon mint plant we have in the herb garden. If not harvested back, they will try to take over an area, so plant any mint with caution.
Mints in general are good to have, and even better when you are out in the wilds. Most mints have a calming effect to upset stomachs and will flavor teas, rice and meat dishes wonderfully.
Mints will be prolific in areas that are partially shady, like along the edge of a wooded area. Most mints have small flowers in mid summer and can be harvested long into fall.
Watch out for anything that smells very strongly of mint, especially a wintergreen flavor. Wintergreen is poison. I do not know what fool decided that it tasted good and started using the flavor in candy, but if you find it in the woods, DO NOT EAT IT!!!! If you know what several mints look and taste like, stay with those that you can identify. It is just like with Mushrooms, do not eat what you do not know.
These umbrella looking things are called May Apples. they do bear fruit, after having a five-peatled flower hidden under the leaves. The fruit can be ripe between the middle of May and the middle of June, depending on when it flowered. Always cook the May Apple fruit as it is quite bitter raw.
The five petaled blooms have a little scent, but not much.
After it has been polinated, the May Apple fruit can hold onto the petals for weeks after the fruit starts developing.
The fruit should be about 2 inches in diameter when you harvest. Peal the skin and rinse in a little vinegared water, if you have it. Poach or boil the fruit and serve with almost anything else.
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