Foraging for edible herbs, as our ancestors did, is not just an interesting activity. It provides you with free food, nutritious and untainted by artificial methods of cultivation. Although it is nearly impossible to find any place on earth completely free of pollutants, wild plants are still better off than commercially cultivated crops. Moreover, you get a wide variety of plant nutrients that are generally lacking in our staple diet.
Here are some of the edible herbs you can look for in and around your property:
1. Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
This all-pervasive weed doesn’t need any introduction, it’s nearly impossible to miss the familiar golden blooms anywhere. However, the ones growing in your lawn or backyard may not be fit for consumption if you’ve been unleashing chemical warfare on them, however unsuccessfully. The flowers, leaves and the root are all edible. Sauté the leaves or cook it like spinach, add it fresh to salads and sandwiches. You can batter-fry the flowers or make jelly or tea with them.
Rich in beta-carotene, Vitamin C, calcium, and potassium, Dandelion is a good antioxidant and mineral source. As an excellent diuretic and mild laxative, it helps clean out the liver, kidneys, and the urinary bladder.
2. Purslane (Portulaca oleracea)
Purslane is a ground hugging herb that is easily missed, unless you’re looking for it, but then you notice it growing almost everywhere, especially in exposed areas where nothing much grows. The tiny succulent leaves, yellow flowers and the pink, fleshy stems are all edible. They have a nice bite and a slight sour taste that will invite you to nibble on them as you gather them.
Purslane has a history of being used as a culinary herb. You can eat it raw or cooked. The mucilaginous stems help thicken gravies and soups. Purslane contains Vitamin A, C and E and a number of minerals. It is an excellent vegetable source of Omega–3 fatty acids.
3. Violets (Viola spp.)
You can find violets with their small, heart-shaped leaves and pretty, blue flowers growing in shady areas. It is best to identify them by their flowers rather than leaves because a few other plants, including a type of poisonous lily of the valley, have similar-looking leaves.
You can add violet leaves and flowers to salads. The wild violets may not carry the characteristic fragrance of garden violets, but they are just as edible and tasty. Crystallized violets make excellent decorations for cakes and desserts. Violet honey and tea can soothe a sore throat and headache and reduce inflammation–not surprising since the flowers contain salicylic acid.
4. Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis)
Among the many mint-family herbs you will come across in the wild, lemon balm is easily recognizable by its lemony fragrance when you crush the leaves. You can eat them raw or cooked. A tea made of lemon balm leaves is soothing and relaxing. It is a traditional herbal remedy for digestive problems, even in small children and the elderly.
You can make lemon flavored vinegar and herb butter with lemon balm or just chop up the leaves and add to salads and meat dishes. Dry the surplus leaves in the shade and store in airtight jars. Lemon balm is known to have a negative effect on thyroid function, so it should be used with caution.
5. Garden cress (Lepidium sativum)
Garden cress is commonly found in gardens and backyard. Although it is considered a weed in most places, it is commercially cultivated in many European countries, including England. The spicy, peppery taste of garden cress makes it popular in salads and sandwiches.
Garden cress is rich in carotenoids and vitamin C. In laboratory studies, it is shown to have anticancer properties similar to those exhibited by other plants of the cabbage family. Garden cress contains high amounts of vitamin K too.
6. Watercress (Nasturtium officinale)
This relative of garden cress has a wide distribution throughout the world. As the name indicates, it is an aquatic/semi aquatic plant that you will probably see growing near the ponds and lakes in your neighborhood. And wherever it grows, it grows in abundance, so there’s little danger of the wild stock running out. As a matter of fact, watercress is grown on commercial scale in many parts of the world.
Watercress contains appreciable amounts of vitamins A, C and a few of the B-complex group of vitamins, including folate. You can add raw watercress leaves to salads or sauté or stir fry them like other greens. Wash them thoroughly to remove dirt and other contaminants that find their way into water bodies.
7. Lamb’s Quarters (Chenopodium alba)
Lamb’s quarters is a close relative of quinoa, and has a history of being cultivated for its seeds. Known by common names such as white goosefoot and pigweed, you can find it growing as a weed in cultivated gardens or in wild patches. The young leaves are fuzzy, and sometimes tinged with pink. They can be eaten raw along with the tender stems, but preferably eaten cooked like spinach.
Lamb’s quarters is nutritious, rich in vitamins and minerals, especially Vitamins A, K and C. In traditional Indian herbal medicine, it is used as a laxative and a remedy against roundworms and hookworms. A paste of the leaves is applied to burns and sun burnt skin for its cooling and healing effect.
8. Wild leek (Allium tricoccum/A. ampeloprasum)
Wild leeks, commonly called ramps, or ramsons, are a typical example of how anyone can make a tasty meal out of wild plants. If you live in and around the Appalachians, you can probably find several patches of wild leeks in any woodland near you. These large-leaved onion relatives are easy to spot, especially since they are one of the earliest plants to wake up in spring. The whole plant is edible, but if their looks fail to convince you, their unmistakable garlicky smell will. It’s a good idea to do a smell test anyway because you shouldn’t be picking the poisonous lily of the valley which has similar leaves. You can cook ramps in a variety of ways; sauté them, batter fry them, add them to soups and casseroles or pickle them. They are so versatile that the ramp-eating festivals, like the famous Richwood Ramp Fest that takes place every year in April in West Virginia.
9. Burdock (Arctium lappa)
This plant is easy to spot if you look for the annoying burrs. When those aren’t present, look for a rosette of oblong, pointed leaves with no stem that grow close to the ground in the first year.
The leaves are edible, but older leaves are tough and taste better when cooked. Young roots and the interior of the flower stalks are also edible. The flavor is Earthy and somewhat sweet.
Cocklebur looks a lot like Burdock, but its leaves must be cooked to eliminate toxic components.
10. Wood lily (Lilium philadelphicum)
Look for cup-shaped, purple-spotted orange flowers on a 1 to 3-foot stalk. The stem has long, narrow leaves in whorls. This plant is becoming less common. You can eat the flowers and seeds of this edible wild plant. This plant has a slightly peppery taste.
Not all lily varieties are edible.
11. Bamboo (Bambusoideae)
There are hundreds of bamboo species, and 110 of them are edible. Use a guide to determine which types grow near you. The shoots are the edible portion of the plant. The taste varies by variety from savory to sweet, and they’re a good way to add a crunchy texture to a dish. Make sure you know which bamboo type you are eating.
Some contain a toxic amount of cyanogenic glycosides. Shoots should be boiled before consuming.
12. Blueberries (Cyanococcus)
Blueberries grow multiple thornless canes directly out of the soil in sunny areas close to water. They only grow wild in the northern and eastern areas of the U.S. The freshly picked berries are delicious on their own or added to desserts. The flavor is Sweet and slightly sour.
Plenty of poisonous berries look like blueberries, so make sure you are identifying the plant correctly.
13. Prickly Pear Cactus (Opuntia)
Look for a many-branched cactus with broad, flat pads. They bloom from April to June and can be found wild from Canada to Argentina. You can eat the flesh of this edible wild plant, but you have to get past the spikes first. You can also eat the fruit. The flavor varies but may have a slightly sour taste. Other cacti may not be edible.
Be careful to remove the spines and prickly parts before consuming the flesh.
14. Red Clover (Trifolium pratense)
Clover is in the pea family, and it has a bit of a pea-like taste. Look for pale green leaves with a distinct chevron pattern. Anything and everything, but you should cook older leaves. The blossoms have a fresh, grassy taste. The rest is nutritious but not as tasty. Red clover variety is edible but contains high amounts of alkaloids in the fall.
Not everyone tolerates clover as an edible. Pregnant women shouldn’t eat it.
15. Kelp (Laminariales spp.)
Also known as seaweed or sea vegetables, kelp has a ton of fiber, is low in calories and is dense in nutrients. All seaweed is edible, but some taste much better than others. You can eat the entire kelp plant. Tastes like the ocean or sea, which is unsurprising given that’s where it comes from.
Blue-green algae found in freshwater is poisonous. Also, be aware that kelp can contain lead and copper concentrate when it grows in industrial areas. Don’t eat kelp washed up on shore because it can be rotting.
16. Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
This North American native has been eaten and used as medicine for hundreds of years. Look for the daisy-like flower that features petals popping out of a prickly center cone. You can eat the leaves and petals of this edible wild plant. This has a perfumed, floral taste and aroma.
Some flower varieties resemble yellow coneflowers which are not edible.
17. Curly Dock (Rumex Crispus)
People consider this a weed, and you’ll find it in neglected areas like parking strips, roadsides, and overgrown lawns. Look for long, pointed leaves with a wavy edge growing out of a central taproot. You can eat the leaves, but note that the young ones taste best. This has a sour kick thanks to the oxalic acid content. It has a slightly spinach-like taste.
Don’t overeat this green plant as it contains oxalic acid. Make sure you aren’t eating a plant that has been poisoned.
18. Lobster mushroom (Hypomyces lactifluorum)
The lobster mushroom is an orange-red capped mushroom covered in bumps. Inside, it’s white, and it often twists itself into odd shapes as it matures. They prefer old-growth forests. Whole mushroom. The taste reminds some people of a poached lobster. It has a slightly sweet flavor with nutty notes.
Mushroom identification is not for beginners! Many mushrooms have poisonous doppelgängers. Wild mushroom foraging requires careful identification, and you shouldn’t dig in until a professional has given you the go-ahead.
19. Hazelnut (Corylus americana, Corylus cornuta)
There are two types of hazelnuts native to North America, and some European types have naturalized in the U.S. Nuts are ready in early August and into the fall. Look for multi-stemmed shrubs that grow about 10-feet tall (though they can get up to 25-feet with the right conditions) with husk-covered brown nuts. Nuts from this tree are edible. The flavor Tastes like – surprise – hazelnut.
Some states limit or prohibit foraging tree nuts, so be sure to check your local laws.
20. Wild rose (Rosa spp.)
Wild roses have pink flowers with five petals. When the fruits form, they are round or pear-shaped, and orange or red in color. They grow everywhere from wooded areas to roadsides. Petals, rosebuds and young shoots and leaves. Flavor is Fragrant, perfume-like aroma.
Rasberry and blackberry plants look like wild roses. That’s because they are all in the rose family.
21. Yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria)
Yaupon is the only native tea plant in North America and, until recently, many landowners were trying to eradicate it as an invasive species (which it isn’t). A cup of tea from this plant contains as much caffeine as your average cup of coffee. Dry or boil the leaves to make tea. Depends on how it is prepared, but it has a similar flavor to yerba mate tea.
Don’t eat the berries because they can make you vomit.
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