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Upcoming Events | Meet the Instructors | Plant Archive | Mushroom Archive
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New Jersey tea (Ceanothus americanus) is a native shrub whose leaves were used as a caffeine-free tea substitute during the Revolutionary War.
New Jersey tea can be found in dry soil with full sun.
New Jersey tea can be identified by its alternate, finely toothed leaves that have three prominent veins. Older stems are reddish-brown. The plant produces clusters of small white flowers in early summer.
Leaves are best collected when the plant is in bloom. They can be dried or fermented for use as a tea substitute.
Being a native plant, less than 10% of leaves should be collected.
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Written by Amy Demers, founder of the Connecticut Foraging Club. To learn more about foraging in Connecticut, check out our upcoming classes.
