Ferns grow all over Southeast Alaska. There’s about a dozen varieties in the region and about half a dozen on Mitkof Island. You can eat them too, at least fiddlehead ferns before the plant uncurls in the Spring. They are high in Vitamins A and C and can taste like asparagus. But what types are safe to eat and how do you cook them?
Local botanist, Mary Clemens, conducted a workshop—along with Chris Weiss –during the recent Rainforest Festival on identifying edible ferns.Clemens also talked to Angela Denning about what to look for when harvesting the plant.
Ferns are not only tasty but they make good art.
U.S. Forest Service workers used them, along with some paint, for a t-shirt print workshop as part of the festival.
