By Taylor Smith
taysmith@lc.edu
Lewis and Clark Community College does not have a lot of forageables to offer; however, there are a couple of different spots you can check out to get yourself a snack without having to worry about the cost. Here are a couple of examples of fruits that students can pick while exploring campus during the fall semester.
Just outside the enrollment center, if you follow the path toward the Math and Science building that houses the Commons, before you reach the fountain square, you might notice a small grove of trees lining each side of the path. These trees are the campus’s very own pawpaws.
The pawpaw, or as some might call it, the Indiana banana, is the only indigenouse tropical fruit of the Midwest. Unfortunately, the season for this fruit is incredibly short-lived, which is why its popularity has never risen outside of this region. This fruit is described as tasting like a combination of custard, banana, and mango. When ripe, it is soft, and the flesh inside is bright orange. It encases up to 14 large black seeds, which can be used to grow more pawpaw trees. Pawpaw season in our area started at the end of August and ended in Mid-September. Although you might still be able to find some fruit on the branches with the season being over, they are past their prime. Despite this, you can still harvest the fruits and utilize the seeds inside to grow your own pawpaw trees.
Between the Trimpe and Reid Buildings, sitting just on top of the hill, over a brick wall is a seemingly plain-looking tree. This plain tree houses one of the most nutrient and calorie dense native foods in the Midwest. The walnut is a tree nut that has helped humans survive for generations in this area. It is high in calories, rich in nutrients, and can be prepared in many ways. Walnuts are an excellent source of omega 3’s, nutrients such as vitamin E, and so much more. From late summer to late fall, you might be able to find circular green fruits on the ground underneath this tree —break away this inedible rind, and you will discover the nut inside surrounded by a shell. Unfortunately, due to current construction on campus, the walnut tree cannot be accessed by the students without entering the construction zone in front of Wade Hall.
Foraging is one of the key parts of survival of the human species. In fact, until we learned how to cultivate the land, knowledge of foraging was crucial to our survival. Without it, we never would have developed as much as we have today. These are just two of the common fruits you can forage in this area, but there are a lot more than that so go and forage to your heart’s content.
