There’s food growing in The Woodlands. Here’s how to forage for it … – Houston Chronicle

The Woodlands is home to a growing number of critically-acclaimed restaurants. But what's growing on the side of its roadways can often be just as delicious.

Spring resident Mark Vonderbuggen as been teaching Texans how to forage through his blog, Foraging Texas, since 2008, although he's been foraging since he was a child in Minnesota. He's trained several competitors for survival show "Alone" but isn't allowed to compete himself because he may be too knowledgeable, Vonderbuggen said.

Within a two-hour walk, Vonderbuggen can identify dozens of edible herbs, vines, trees and fungi during his foraging classes at the Spring Creek Nature Center.

Foraging helps residents learn about vital foods and medicinal plants in the event of a catastrophe. It also keeps residents in touch with their environment and aligns with Houston's culture of food exploration.

"Back (in 2008) it was equal amounts of hippies and survivalists because both have their concerns about the situation, and then it branched out into adventure eaters, foodies, bartenders, home schoolers, bush crafters," Vonderbuggen said. "Now it's basically like everyone has become a survivalist together just with the way the world is going."

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More easily recognizable native plants include muscodine grapes, rabbiteye blueberries, blackberries, persimmons, and nuts such as pecans. Texas is the state with the second-highest plant diversity in the nation, Vonderbuggen said, and many less popular plants are just as tasty.

When cooked, a common vine called greenbriar tastes similar to asparagus, Vonderbuggen said, while edible turks cap flowers have leaves that can be eaten like spinach. Some plants, like the Texas mallow, are good for maintaining glucose levels for any diabetics stuck in the woods.

In the event of a zombie apocalypse, calorie-dense foods include various seeds and nuts, like pine nuts, and the "heart" of dwarf palmettos, which grow throughout the swamps of southeast Texas.

Common edible mushrooms include bright yellow chantarelles and oyster mushrooms. To learn more about edible mushrooms, The Woodlands residents can attend a class from Texas Master Naturalist and township resident Teri MacArthur, who is Vonderbuggen's mentor and one of the top mushroom experts in Texas.

Vonderbuggen holds a doctoratein physical organic chemistry and sells natural supplements through his brand, Medicine Man. Some popular natural medicinal plants include Japanese honeysuckle, which can treat respiratory issues; spiderwort, which was used by Native Americans to treat insect bites treat anxiety and aid with stomachaches; and reishi mushrooms, which was dubbed the "elixir of immortality" in ancient East Asia.

Some nonedible plants can mimic edible ones, so it's important to know for sure before eating any wild plant, Vonderbuggen said. Common mistakes include eating dog fennel, which looks similar to fennel, and Chinese privet, which resembles yaupon holly, an edible plant that contains caffeine.

Vonderbuggen recommends recognizing 5 to 6 structural features on a plant and 8 to 10 on any fungi before eating.

In The Woodlands and the rest of Texas, foragers are also limited to roadsides or private property. Vonderbuggen said some law enforcement or landowners may not be aware of the roadside law, however, and that private property with permission is best. Vonderbuggen has a list of private property that allows foraging on his site.

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With foraging space often risky and limited, Joshua Reynolds helps residents bring foraging techniques to their own backyard.

Reynolds began permaculture business Texas Edible Landscapes by accident after his daughter experienced what seemed to be a mysterious allregic reaction to food. When buying all organic became too expensive and traditional gardening too hard, Reynolds came across permaculture, or the development of more sustainable and self-sufficient agricultural methods.

Reynolds studied under renowned permaculturist Geoff Lawton in Australia; now, he helps clients from The Woodlands and Magnolia to Nicaragua grow food within walking distance of their kitchen. Some plants that work best with Houston's subtropical climate include peach, plum and avocado trees, blueberries and herbs, Reynolds said.

For his first project in The Woodlands, Reynolds was worried that township restrictions and heavy shade would affect the final product. But by combining traditional landscaping with gardening, he was able to create what looked like a naturally wooded front yard.

"We were actually able to utilize the front yard using plants that were both edible and ornamental, so that it looked pretty and fit the theme of The Woodlands being a wooded property," Reynolds said. "We were able to use shrubs and small trees and herbs that were beautiful, but also edible at the same time. The project turned out awesome."

Part of Reynolds' services includes creating a food forest, an ancient method which involves creating different edible canopy layers to mimic a forest's edge. Food forests and other permaculture techniques require more work up front, but are eventually simpler and more beneficial to the environment than maintaining a garden.

It's also better for the environment, attracting pollinators and other wildlife while maintaining a low carbon footprint, Reynolds said.

"This is an oil industry, it's an oil town, and when I first got started in 2016, permaculture design was a tough sell because everybody was like, 'I'll just go to the store and buy it,'" Reynolds said. "But we have a lot of sustainably-minded people now in the area who don't want to contribute to the issues of artificial fertilizers or organic fertilizers. They want to grow more eco-friendly with native species."

claire.partain@houstonchronicle.com

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There's food growing in The Woodlands. Here's how to forage for it ... - Houston Chronicle