Day 31: more survival food

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OUR TOP STORY TONIGHT!

Bear corn is edible, barely

Just in case we have to pull up stakes and run for the hills, bear corn is said to be bitter yet edible and is listed as survival food. Well, at least the bears will eat it in spring when wild foods are scarce.

Bear corn (Conopholis americana) is an odd thing. It looks like the cob after the corn has been eaten. It's a plant that is not green. Therefore, it does not make its own nourishment as green plants do, but rather is a perennial parasite that grows and steals food from the roots of oaks and a few other trees.

Native Americans used it as a medicinal herb most commonly as a poultice to reduce inflammation since the odd thing is an astringent.
   

Although our staff said they might try a taste, most agreed that they would rather take off their dirty t-shirts and cook and eat them. Yet, just in case, we know where some are growing and sucking the carbohydrates out of oak roots in the woods east of the newsroom. Instead, the staff opted for a can of cooked carrots they found in the back of our pandemic pantry that was only 3 years out of date. Well, at least it is a root thing too.   

Signing out: Ob-la-de, ob-la-da. 

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