Eat The Weeds by Green Deane, the most watched forager in the world Eat Groovy Foraging The Wild | Wild Food Girl Edible Plant Identification A Guide to Wild Greens | Kathy Hunt For the record, I know nothing about identifying plants in the wild. Send me into the woods to select edible greens and you may end up with a bowl of poison ivy or crab grass. But although I’m a failure in the great outdoors, I’m a master at navigating farmers markets. Stinging nettles Among the wondrous wild greens available this season are stinging nettles. Although I like them best in a creamy, Irish-inspired nettle soup, they appear in a variety of British specialties such as nettle beer from the north of England and herb pudding from Scotland. Mustard greens Collected from both wild and cultivated plants, mustard greens have dark green, slightly bronzed leaves and a sharp, mustard-like flavor. You’ll find mustard greens included in a variety of Asian, Indian and soul food recipes. Dandelion greens My dealings with dandelions date to childhood and the countless summers spent helping my father pluck them from his otherwise pristine lawn. Fiddlehead ferns Stinging Nettle Soup Ingredients
Edible & Medicinal Plants The information on this page is presented in an older format. We have vastly expanded our edible plants information with far more information, and far more plants. You can find this information at our new site Wildcrafting.net Abal Calligonum comosum Description: The abal is one of the few shrubby plants that exists in the shady deserts. Habitat and Distribution: This plant is found in desert scrub and waste in any climatic zone. Edible Parts: This plant's general appearance would not indicate its usefulness to the survivor, but while this plant is flowering in the spring, its fresh flowers can be eaten. Acacia Acacia farnesiana Description: Acacia is a spreading, usually short tree with spines and alternate compound leaves. Habitat and Distribution: Acacia grows in open, sunny areas. Note: There are about 500 species of acacia. Edible Parts: Its young leaves, flowers, and pods are edible raw or cooked. Agave Agave species Habitat and Distribution: Agaves prefer dry, open areas.
Burdock: Pictures, Flowers, Leaves and Identification Arctium lappa Recognized mainly for its burrs, burdock is an interesting biennial plant because it consists primarily of carbohydrates, volatile oils, plant sterols, tannins, and fatty oils. Researchers aren't sure which active ingredients in burdock root are responsible for its healing properties, but this plant may have anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects. In fact, recent studies show that burdock contains phenolic acids, quercetin and luteolin - all are powerful antioxidants. Burdock, in its first year has no stem and grows only as a basal rosette of leaves that stays close to the ground the first year and the beginning of the second. Fields of Nutrition has medicinal benefits and vitamin/mineral content of Burdock (click here). Distinguishing Features: Burdock is best recognized as a stout, common weed with annoying burrs that stick to animal fur and clothing. Flowers: Burdock has purple flowers on tips of prickly ball of bracts that blooms between June and October.
Edibility of Plants The information on this page is presented in an older format. We have vastly expanded our edible plants information with far more information, and far more plants. You can find this information at our new site Wildcrafting.net Plants are valuable sources of food because they are widely available, easily procured, and, in the proper combinations, can meet all your nutritional needs. Absolutely identify plants before using them as food. At times you may find yourself in a situation for which you could not plan. It is important to be able to recognize both cultivated and wild edible plants in a survival situation. Remember the following when collecting wild plants for food: Plants growing near homes and occupied buildings or along roadsides may have been sprayed with pesticides. Plant Identification You identify plants, other than by memorizing particular varieties through familiarity, by using such factors as leaf shape and margin, leaf arrangements, and root structure. Seaweeds
Dandelion Greens – The Perfect Spring Survival Food With Spring finally here in New England, not only are we are enjoying a taste of warmer weather but the first shoots fresh, tasty, wild-edibles as well. One of my favorite wild edibles during the early Spring happens to be the bane of all lawn owners: The Common Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale). This article details how to identify and prepare this commonplace but excellent tasting and nutritious wild plant — knowledge that is an excellent addition to your survival info store. How to Identify Dandelion Dandelion is a perennial, herbaceous plant with long, lance-shaped leaves. Dandelion Greens – How to Prepare Them Instead of waging backyard chemical warfare on dandelions why not eat them instead? The best time to gather and eat dandelion greens is in the early Spring before the flowers emerge. Here’s one of my favorite ways to prepare and eat dandelion greens: Dandelion greens can also be added raw to salads and are excellent in sandwiches. Dandelion Greens Nutrition Information
Foraging For Dandelions: Harvesting Tips Along with the return of robins and whirling bees, I count the appearance of dandelions among the first signs that spring has officially arrived. I look forward to seeing their cheery butter-yellow flowers, and admire their tenacity as plants. It takes a survivor’s spirit and dogged determination to thrive in the manner of dandelions, growing everywhere from lush fields to the worst of disturbed ground, even in cracks of sidewalks. As much as I admire dandelions’ perseverance, I also particularly enjoy them as a food. Every part of the dandelion plant is edible. Where to look for the best dandelions I learned from edible wild plants expert Samuel Thayer how to eat two of the less commonly eaten parts of dandelions, the flower stalks and crowns. I playfully call them “yard artichokes,” because their rich flavor is somewhat reminiscent of artichoke hearts. To find the best dandelion flower stalks to use as food, seek out large plants in shady areas. Harvesting tips Top photo: Dandelions.
How to Eat Dandelion Flowers This is a follow-up article to the Dandelion Greens – The Perfect Spring Survival Food article I recently wrote. If you’ve already tried preparing the dandelion greens from the prior article than you know how delicious this wild plant can be. In this article I wanted to quickly present you with another pair of delicious recipes using a different part of this common every-day plant: the flowers. Pickled Dandelion Flower Buds I’d like to thank Rosalee de la Foret for this recipe! For this recipe, you’ll want to harvest the flower buds when they are still tightly closed — before they ever opened. Ingredients: 1/2 cup onions3 tablespoons fresh minced ginger4-5 garlic cloves1 cup dandelion flower budsapple cider vinegartamari sauce The Process: Rinse the flower buds well and place into a pint jar with the onions, garlic, and ginger. Dandelion Fritters Ingredients for the Batter: 1/2 cup of flour1/2 cup of milkone teaspoon baking powder1/4 cup cornmeal1 egg1 tablespoon of honey How’s that saying go?
Milkweed: A Truly Remarkable Wild Vegetable Milkweed isn’t your average weed; in fact, I feel guilty calling it a weed at all. The common milkweed, Asclepias syriacqa, is one of the best known wild plants in North America. Children love to play with the downy fluff in autumn, while farmers despise it as a tenacious weed of hayfields and pastures. Delicious Stinging Nettles Of Spring | Terra Brockman Walking near the stream that separates the two 10-acre bottom-land fields of my brother Henry’s vegetable farm, I noticed a bed of dark green nettles about a foot tall — the perfect size for picking. And although the soft green leaves of the overwintered spinach beckoned just a few steps away, I turned away from the spinach and toward the stream bank and the stinging nettles (Urtica dioica), heeding the irresistible call of the wild. The first wild greens of spring have been highly valued by people around the world who knew they were good food and good medicine too. Most European countries consider nettles a “spring tonic” that purifies the blood. With all these beneficial aspects of nettles, you’d think there’d be masses of people out harvesting them each spring. In fact, after a get-out-the-vote rally in Chicago last year, President Barack Obama stopped by Rick Bayless’ acclaimed Topolobampo restaurant. Take the sting out Foraged nettles, plain and simple Find a nettle patch. Ingredients
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