text updates

app/plant/bassia/page.mdx

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ Kochia (sometimes incorrectly called "ragweed") is our less famous tumbleweed re
 
 Kochia is widespread and easy to find. It grows in the bosque, gardens, sidewalk cracks and alleyways. It prefers disturbed soil and is often found growing with [tumbleweeds](salsola) and goatheads and seasonally swapping places with [khardal](sisybrium).
 
-Kochia **needs to be thoroughly cooked** to be palatable and safe to eat. Boil it briefly or fry it for a while (10+ minutes). When fully cooked, it changes color and will become soft if boiled. If it still tastes bitter, it's undercooked.
+Kochia **needs to be thoroughly cooked** to be palatable and safe to eat. Boil it briefly or fry the heck out of it (10+ minutes). When fully cooked, it changes color and will become soft if boiled, crispy if fried. If it still tastes bitter, it's undercooked.
 
 Plants can be fibrous. To harvest, gently strip off leaves and small stems. If a stem breaks off easily, it will be soft and good eating. If a stem requires being roughly torn off, it will be fibrous and stringy. Blending in a food processor after boiling can further reduce fibrousness.
 
@@ -12,11 +12,11 @@ Kochia gets twiggy (but not thorny) as it sets seed. Its tiny green flowers can
 
 Kochia is a hyperaccumulator of lead. **Avoid harvesting it near roads or gas stations**.
 
-When young, kochia is easily confused with our native purple aster (Dieteria canescens), especially when small. Look closely at leaf margins to differentiate them. Kochia leaves are also slightly fuzzy.
+When young, kochia is easily confused with our native purple aster (Dieteria canescens), especially when small. Look closely at leaf edges to differentiate them. Kochia leaves are also slightly fuzzy.
 
 ![Kochia saag](/assets/bassia/img/saag.jpg "Kochia saag paneer, after boiling and blending.")
 
-In its native China and Japan, its cultivated for food and as an ornamental, and seeds are also eaten. Kochia was introduced to the US as an ornamental around 1900. Unfortunately, its food use isn''t widely known in the US, where it's usually regarded as a useless weed, or animal fodder at best.
+In its native China and Japan, its cultivated for food and as an ornamental, and seeds are also eaten. Kochia was introduced to the US as an ornamental around 1900. Unfortunately, its food use isn't widely known in the US despite the plant's abundance in the Western arid regions.
 
 ![Chickens eating kochia](/assets/bassia/img/chickens.jpg "Kochia is a favorite food of chickens, perhaps because it is high in protein")
 

app/plant/sisybrium/page.mdx

@@ -2,11 +2,11 @@
 
 Khardal barri (from Arabic: خردل بري), wild mustard, wild arugula or London rocket is an introduced mustard and abundant winter weed in the urban desert Southwest.
 
-These leaves pack a wasabi-like bite. To some, it's an acquired taste, best used sparingly as an herb. Others love the spicy flavor and enjoy it as a salad green.
+These leaves pack a wasabi-like bite. To some, it's best used sparingly as an herb. But if you like wasabi as much as I do, you can eat the tender leaves as a spicy salad green!
 
 ![A patch of young khardal plants.](/assets/sisybrium/img/young.jpg "Young khardal plants.")
 
-Khardal prefers disturbed, bare soil. Plants often grow larger and taste better in areas that receive some shade. Look on the north sides of walls for plants with large, tender leaves.
+Khardal prefers disturbed soil. During the cool months it can be found nearly everywhere, but leaves grow largest and tastiest where they receive some shade and runoff. Look on the north sides of walls for plants with large, tender leaves.
 
 ![Older khardal plants at the edge of a parking lot.](/assets/sisybrium/img/plant.jpg "Older plants are still edible, but more spicy. Note the small yellow flowers starting to emerge.")
 
@@ -18,10 +18,8 @@ Khardal can be confused with sow thistle (Sonchus sp.) or prickly lettuce (Lactu
 
 ![Khardal pesto](/assets/sisybrium/img/pesto.jpg "Use in place of basil for a spicy twist on pesto.")
 
-Khardal is native to arid parts of the Mediterranean region and Middle East. How did this desert plant gain the English name "London Rocket"? While this plant is neither native to nor well-adapted to Britain, it grew in abundance in London after the Great Fire of 1666, helped by the disturbance and perhaps the soil pH increase from ash. Its abundance was short lived, and today, it is rarely seen in the UK. While a botanical curiosity to London naturalists, the plant has never been widely consumed or used there.
+Khardal is native to arid parts of the Middle East and Mediterranean region. How did this desert plant gain the English name "London Rocket"? While this plant is neither native to nor well-adapted to Britain, it grew in abundance in London after the Great Fire of 1666, thriving on the disturbance and perhaps the soil pH increase from ash. Its abundance was brief, and today, it is rarely seen in the UK. In London, the plant was never widely consumed or used, treated as little more than a botanical curiosity by British naturalists.
 
-Khardal's native range includes the home to the Bedouin and other Arabic speaking peoples, who have a variety of different names for and uses of this plant. We use the name خردل بري (pronounced khardal barri with a rolled double r) which simply means "wild mustard".
-
-British imperialism, beginning with Mandatory Palestine and continuing today through Israel, has displaced people of these cultures and deprived them of foraging for traditional foods.
+In its native range, Khardal is used for food and medicine by various indigenous groups, including the Bedouin and other Arabic speaking peoples. Given the inaccuracy of "London Rocket"—not to mention its poor taste given the history of British Imperialism in the Middle East —I prefer a name sourced from its true place of origin. Thus, khardal barri (Arabic: خردل بري pronounced with a rolled double r) which simply means "wild mustard," and is one of many indigenous names for this plant. ("Wild mustard" or simply "mustard" are commonly used names in Albuquerque, though they can be somewhat ambiguous as we also have several native mustard family plants.)
 
 ![Chickens eating khardal barri](/assets/sisybrium/img/chickens.jpg "Chicks dig khardal barri!")

app/responsible-foraging/page.mdx

@@ -1,23 +1,23 @@
-## Acknowledgements
+## Responsible Foraging
 
-Albuquerque exists on the unceded land of the Tiwa-speaking Pueblo people, specifically the Sandia and Isleta Pueblos.
+This site lists only non-native and abundant "weedy" native species. These species are the most practical to harvest, and if foraged with care, can provide fresh food while reducing our reliance on resource-intensive supply chains. Here are some guidelines on sustainability:
 
-The uses of plants is indigenous knowledge. Whether the Pueblo people who continue to steward the Rio Grande valley and harvest [amaranth](/plant/amaranthus), [quelites](/plant/chenopodium), and [verdolagas](plant/portulaca), the Bedouin of the Sinai and Palestine for their use of [khardal barri](plant/sisybrium), or numerous east Asian cultures for [kochia](/plant/bassia) and [Siberian elm](/plant/ulmus), we are grateful for their knowledge and stewardship.
+- **Take only what you will use**. Leave most plants for others, wildlife, and so the plants themselves can continue to grow and reproduce. Often, processing and cooking your foraged food will take much longer than harvesting, so don't get carried away!
+- **Learn the natives.** If you harvest native plants, do so with extra restraint and care. Better yet, consider growing them!
+- **Don't spread invasives.** Harvest non-native plants before they go to seed. Take care not to spread seeds to new areas. Watch out for goatheads on your shoes!
+- **Tread lightly.** Many native plants are fragile and easily damaged by a misstep. Take care not to trample smaller plants when foraging, and stay on paths and trails when you can.
+- **Cut, don't pull**. Even if you're harvesting a non-native weed, pulling disturbs soil life and can contribute to erosion.
+- **Start in your neighborhood.** The plants listed here are probably growing near you, maybe even in your yard! By foraging near home, we avoid disrupting natural ecosystems and burning fossil fuels for transit. Get to know your neighbors, odds are they'll be happy to share some "weeds"!
 
-## Responsible Foraging
+Stay safe! A few basic precautions:
 
-This site lists only non-native and abundant "weedy" native species. If done with care, foraging for these species can provide fresh food while reducing our reliance on resource-intensive supply chains. Here are some guidelines on sustainability:
+- **If you're not sure, don't eat it.** Some of these plants have lookalikes that are inedible or even mildly toxic. Ask an expert or [contact me](about) if you're not sure, and don't eat anything that tastes bitter or strange.
+- **Try a small amount first.** Even if your ID is correct, you don't know how your body might respond to a new food.
+- **Don't get lead poisoned.** Wash thoroughly. Avoid plants growing near busy streets or gas stations, where leaded gasoline may have contaminated the soil.
+- **Avoid pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers.** Some weeds can accumulate toxic levels of nitrates when fertilized.
 
--   **Take only what you will use**. Leave most plants for others, wildlife, and so the plants themselves can continue to grow and reproduce. Often, processing and cooking your foraged food will take much longer than harvesting, so don't get carried away!
--   **Learn the natives.** If you harvest native plants, do so with extra restraint and care. Better yet, consider growing them!
--   **Don't spread invasives.** Harvest non-native plants before they go to seed. Take care not to spread seeds to new areas. Watch out for goatheads on your shoes!
--   **Tread lightly.** Many native plants are fragile and easily damaged by a misstep. Take care not to trample smaller plants when foraging, and stay on paths and trails when you can.
--   **Cut, don't pull**. Even if you're harvesting a non-native weed, pulling disturbs soil life and can contribute to erosion.
--   **Start in your neighborhood.** The plants listed here are probably growing near you, maybe even in your yard! By foraging near home, we avoid disrupting natural ecosystems and burning fossil fuels for transit. Get to know your neighbors, odds are they'll be happy to share some "weeds"!
+## Acknowledgements
 
-Stay safe! A few basic precautions:
+Albuquerque exists on the unceded land of the Tiwa-speaking Pueblo people, specifically the Sandia and Isleta Pueblos.
 
--   **If you're not sure, don't eat it.** Some plants have toxic lookalikes. Ask an expert or [contact me](about) if you're not sure, and don't eat anything that tastes bitter or strange.
--   **Try a small amount first.** Even if your ID is correct, you don't know how your body might respond to a new food.
--   **Don't get lead poisoned.** Wash thoroughly. Avoid plants growing near busy streets or gas stations, where leaded gasoline may have contaminated the soil.
--   **Avoid pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers.** Some weeds can accumulate toxic levels of nitrates when fertilized.
+The uses of plants is indigenous knowledge. Whether the Pueblo people who continue to steward the Rio Grande valley and harvest [amaranth](/plant/amaranthus), [quelites](/plant/chenopodium), and [verdolagas](plant/portulaca), the Bedouin of the Sinai and Palestine for their use of [khardal barri](plant/sisybrium), or numerous east Asian cultures for [kochia](/plant/bassia) and [Siberian elm](/plant/ulmus), we are grateful for their knowledge and stewardship.

public/assets/bassia/data.yml

@@ -6,6 +6,6 @@ uses:
   - cooked green
   - cooked seed
   - chicken food
-description: This tumbleweed-like plant is a delicious, unique green when cooked.
+description: This tumbleweed-like plant can be cooked into a nori-flavored green.
 nativeTo: Dry parts of Asia and Europe
 image: leaves.jpg