Comments on: Movers and shakers

By: Holmes Semken

Holmes Semken — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 16:18:47 +0000

Hi Dave, I was perusing the latest ‘Iowa Update’ (Spring 2011) published by he Nature Conservancy of Iowa and they are considering using cows as substitute bison to consume impenetrable vegetation (invasive reed canary grass) to create open space for development of native plants. Canary grass along the lower Cedar River grows so thick that even turtles and salamanders, much less larger animals, can not negotiate it. It is a good modern flashback to the role of megamammals in maintaining biodiversity on the landscape.

By: Pete

Pete — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 00:31:11 +0000

All good here – I guess I’ve never eaten a ton at a time… figured if the deer eat them they can’t be that bad. Never have roasted the seeds. You’ll have to tell me how it turns out. The roots of chicory growing along the roadsides are supposed to be good for a coffee substitute too.

By: David

David — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 16:02:09 +0000

Hi Pete, You inspired me to try a little myself this morning. Sweet and gummy, like you said, but I'm not ready to give up Gummy Bears. I see reports that it's toxic though. How are you feeling? Have you tried roasting the seeds? I collected 100 or so last month and want to give the "coffee" a try.

By: Pete

Pete — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 12:18:01 +0000

Kentucky coffee trees would be tasty for elephant sized herbivores. I’ve eaten the seed pods even 6 months after they’ve been on the ground. The fruity goo around the seeds gels into something similar to gummy bears.