Wild Edible Plants

[jgk3]

Re: Wild Edible Plants

Brassicaceae (Mustard family)

Brassica Oleracea


This is the species whose domesticated varieties include:
Broccoli
Cabbage
Brussel Sprouts
Cauliflower
Kale
Collard Greens
and Kohlrabi




I found its uncultivated form (known as Wild Cabbage) in Italy,
it shares in the pungency of raw cabbage, but it grows long broad leaves which
don't furl up into a head.

You can't find it growing wild here, it's restricted to the Mediterannean coast,
but you can of course grow the cultivated forms here, just make sure to weed them thoroughly.

Each domesticated variety was emphasized for the different parts of the plant:
Broccoli and Cauliflower for its flower clusters
Brussel Sprouts for promoting many sprouts from a single plant (mini emerging cabbage-like heads)
Cabbage for the full grown head
Kale and Collard greens for the leaves
Kohlrabi for the bulbous root!


Brassica Rapa


The species from which Turnips (above right) and Napa Cabbage were bred in ancient times. it can be
found in our climate and enjoyed for its greens. The leaves can be
eaten raw when very young, though you'll probably have an easier time identifying
them when they're more mature, by which time you should boil the leaves.
The wild variety: Brassica Rapa Campestris (above left), grows pretty much across the continent as a weed,
and can be distinguished from other mustards with its leaf bases
that grow around the stem, rather than having their own little stem jutting out.



Sinapis (genus)



The genus from which we get our mustard seeds from! Sinapis Alba, Juncea and Nigra
are each cultivated for their white, brown and black seeds respectively. Sinapis Alba, or White Mustard,
is most often used to make the mustard you buy as a paste in stores, but you can find the plant itself in
the wild. The other two, Brown and Black mustard have a pungent principle giving them a taste quite
reminiscent to the wasabi you spread on sushi.




There are mild varieties too, the most common I've found being Sinapis Arvensis/Field Mustard. (above)
You can eat the leaves raw, but they are more enjoyable cooked, boiling for 10-15 minutes
to make a perfect substitute to spinach. The leaves of this genus are highly nourishing,
I practically feel my body giving me a big thank you when I'm eating them. Season with
salt and pepper, add some olive oil and lemon and you're good to go.



Alliaria petiolata (Garlic Mustard)


These are best used as a condiment, they'll fill your nostrils and palate with a
garlicky aroma. People around you will definitely smell it too from your breath.
The crushed leaves have been used as an ingredient in pesto,
they are often too bitter to be seriously enjoyed on their own. But on the plus side,
you will find Garlic Mustard growing everywhere, along fences, hedges, and even as
invasives to forests.

They know how to colonize, by spreading a fungicide from its
roots that reduces the growth habit of other plants near it. They also produce
cyanide, like the rose family (such as in apple seeds) and should not be eaten raw in
excess, you will feel it when you have, as your body will begin to reject the plant
long before it becomes life-threatening. Still, not to most enjoyable experience.
Given these facts, I now enjoy a leaf or two as a trailside nibble.

[Artashes]

Re: Wild Edible Plants

Yet another highly informative post.
I would have never guessed(or known) from a single plant(mustard) that broccoli,brussel sprouts etc., we're all derived. Very interesting. Makes me wonder about the people before us that did such things.
Personally I feel it is important for --- all --- of us to know and understand where our food comes from and exactly what we are putting in our mouths.
Great posts Jeff, thanks again.
Art ashes

[jgk3]

Re: Wild Edible Plants

Yet another highly informative post.
I would have never guessed(or known) from a single plant(mustard) that broccoli,brussel sprouts etc., we're all derived. Very interesting. Makes me wonder about the people before us that did such things.
Personally I feel it is important for --- all --- of us to know and understand where our food comes from and exactly what we are putting in our mouths.
Great posts Jeff, thanks again.
Art ashes

Thank you Artashes, you know it always motivates me when I get feedback, and I strongly agree that we must know where our food comes from. Our ancestors from not so long ago surely did.

I'll post more soon!

[jgk3]

Re: Wild Edible Plants

Taken from: Apiaceae/Umbelliferae page, url:"http://montrealwilderness.blogspot.c...et-family.html"

Meet the family



Garden Angelica (Angelica Archangelica)


After discussing wild carrots with a friend of mine (he seemed impressed to hear that they are
quite easy to find, as you may too if you're hearing this for the first time), I decided tonight to
write (with an emphasis on its flowering patterns) about the Apiaceae (or Umbelliferae) family,
under which Wikipedia lists the well known plants: angelica, anise, arracacha, asafoetida, caraway,
carrot, celery, Centella asiatica, chervil, cicely, coriander/cilantro, cumin, dill, fennel, hemlock, lovage,
Queen Anne's lace, parsley, parsnip, sea holly, and the now extinct silphium.”


To help with the understanding of these plants, I’ll first elaborate briefly on the two different names
for this family:

The first, Apiaceae, comes from the root Apis, which in Latin means "(of) bees", referring to its
flowers which attract them along with many other pollinators. Apium, a word of the same origin,
is the Latin word for celery.



The second, Umbelliferae, in Latin again, meaning "bearing umbrellas", refers to the umbrel-type
flowering pattern of these plants, which are actually several flowers supported on a single
head, of which there are two varieties:



Most plants in the family are of type b), called compound inflorescence, where a series of flowers meet
together at a sub-node prior to attaching to the main steam, whereas in type a), each flower itself is
directly connected to the main steam, called simple inflorescence. Within the type b) category, there
are some flowers which, to the untrained eye (such as mine before today's research) can be wrongly
interpreted as type a). Lets have a look with wild carrot (Daucus Carota):


Wild Carrot 1

At first guess, I'd think that all those short curving flower stems are each holding up their own individual flower.
This is what type a), simple inflorescence, describes.

Wild Carrot 2

Upon further investigation... I notice tiny 5 petalled flowers growing together in clusters of about 8 or 9.
These clusters must be growing from a sub-node. This is what type b), compound inflorescence, describes.



This flower is in fact, of type b), not only for the Wild Carrot, but for all its familiar cousins, including Anise,
Angelica, Dill, Cumin, Fennel, Coriander, Parsley, Celery, Caraway, Chervil and Parsnip flowers too.
Lets have a look.




Parsnip (Pastinaca sativum)

Tiny yellow flowers easily seen meeting together first before leading down to the stem...



Dill ((Anethum graveolens)

Sure looks a lot like Parsnip, but the stems are skimpier and have a whitish hue to them.



Cumin (Cuminum cyminum)

Nice side view of the right-hand flower gone to seed. This is perhaps the easiest time
to notice the compound inflorescence pattern of several species in the family.



Poison Hemlock (Conium maculatum)

Yikes! This one can kill you. It did just fine on Socrates. Notice (for the last time, I promise!)
again the individual tiny white flowers gathering in clusters before leading down to the main
stem (not seen, beyond the bottom border of the image).



As you may have noticed, Poison Hemlock and Wild Carrot look sort of similar, with their white flowers forming
these compound umbrels... My intention was to help you notice their similarities, so that their differences which
we shall see in my next post, will become more obvious.

Thanks for reading,

Jeff

[jgk3]

Re: Wild Edible Plants

Urticaceae (The Nettle Family) (taken from my blog: http://montrealwilderness.blogspot.c...le-family.html)


Hairs of Stinging Nettle

I happen to be a big fan of some of nettles, enjoying them as a trailside nibble and as a way to sting the unwitting! Crazy of me you might think, but unless you have allergies to it, varieties local to us really are nowhere near as devastating as the Heart-leafed nettle from Greene Deane's video below. For an excellent introduction to some of the plant's characteristics, have a look:

Lucky for us, we won't run into these in Quebec, we're located just north of its range [1]. What we will run into, are Stinging (or Common) nettle, Dog nettle, Wood nettle, False nettle, Clearweed and Pennsylvania pellitory. Only the first 3 of these have stinging hairs that can cause contact dermatitis, all except for Wood Nettle are associated with pollen allergies, and all except for False Nettle are edible, though in case you have a pollen allergy to the plant, you should sample only small quantities first to see how you handle it.

Alright! With that said, lets have a look at them, one by one:

Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica) 1

Leaves are spear-shaped, with stinging hairs on leaves and stem. It likes growing in thick, tall colonies in fertile soil.

To collect (preferably young) leaves using your bare hand without getting stung, grasp the foliage firmly, not gently, and briskly roll it into a ball. This will deactivate the stinging hairs and make it ready to eat. Boiling the leaves also deactivates them, and some will argue it is a superior substitute to cooked spinach. Save the boiled water though, as you've just made vitamin-rich nettle tea.

Stinging Nettle 2

When Carl Linnaeus gave this species its name: "Dioica" (Latin borrowing from Greek 'di-oikia', or 'two houses'), he thought the plant was dioecious, which means that male and female reproductive organs don't appear together on the same individual.

But in this image, we see male and female flowers on the same plant, thus being monoecious (from the Greek "of one house"). This means that Stinging nettle, though most of the time it is dioecious, also has a monoecious form that appears in a population.


Dog Nettle (Urtica Urens) 1

Also known as dwarf nettle, this species does not reach the height of stinging nettle. Its leaves aren't lance shaped, being more oval with deep serration (teeth).

Urtica Urens 2

Here's the more mature plant, in flower along its stem.

The name Urtica urens is a repetition of the Latin root 'ur-' from the verb 'urere', which means 'to burn', referring to its sting. It literally reads something like: the burning burning plant, haha.

When I was in the excavations of Pompeii, I found this plant growing in abundance in the lawns that used to be floors of ancient houses. Desperate for healthy greens (as we hadn't cooked our own meals the whole trip and were always just eating out), I would grab them, crush them and put them in my mouth!



Wood Nettle (Laportea Canadensis) 1

Now we've left the Urtica genus, but still in the Urticaceae family. Comparing it to its cousins, Wood nettle has much broader leaves, but has similar looking flowers growing along the stem, (compare with picture: Stinging nettle 2). It likes to grow in moist woodland soils, so look for it along streams or rivers.

It's just as edible as the other plants we've seen thus far, and it still stings!


Wood Nettle 2

Note the asymmetrical arrangement of the Wood nettle leaves. Unlike the Urtica species, it has an alternate leaf pattern, whereby the leaf stems of two leaves will never meet together at the same place on the main stem. The Urtica species on the other hand, have an opposite leaf pattern.

Compare the two leaf patterns (known as the phyllotaxis) in the following diagram, then come back to observe Wood nettle 2 (left) with alternate leaves. Next, review back to Stinging nettle 2 and observe its opposite leaves.


Alternate vs. Opposite leaves


(cont'd in next post)

[jgk3]

Re: Wild Edible Plants

(cont'd from previous post)

False Nettle (Boehmeria cylindrica) 1

Left: Stinging Nettle,
Right: False Nettle (in flower)

Here are the stems of Stinging nettle and False nettle. Looking at the right image, perhaps you'll notice and say "Hmmm I can`t really see any stinging hairs... maybe the image is too dark?"

Actually no, it`s not because it`s dark, false nettle is called false because it looks like stinging nettle, but lacks stinging hairs!


False Nettle 2

It's handy to have learned a bit about phyllotaxis from earlier, now we can see another helpful feature to note: an opposite leaf structure. This, together with the plant's height, make it look a lot like stinging nettle.


Clearweed (Pilea pumila)
Here's a 1-2 minute segment with excellent closeups to this plant.

Note how the leaves have deeper ridges on the central vein and the 2 side veins.

I like how the video mentions that clearweed likes to grow in clusters and that they are wind pollinated, both characteristics being typical of the plants discussed so far. But I started wondering, "well why does Dave in the video say it grows in clusters because it's wind pollinated?" So I did a bit more research... It readily self-sows by producing a very large number of seeds, and can spread slowly in fertile soil through its creeping rhizomes (root system). These two traits are typical of the perennial nettle species, which includes all the species discussed so far. So next time you see a patch of nettles, think: "Self-seeding + rhizomes = great strategy!".


Pennsylvania Pellitory (Parietaria Pensylvanica) 1

Perhaps the family member most dissimilar to the others shown thus far, this is Pennsylvania Pellitory. It likes partial shade, and can tolerate rocky soils, so it can be found growing along walls. With long, thin toothless leaves, and a total absence of stinging hairs, what visual cue does it share in common with nettles?


Pennsylvania Pellitory 2


Its fruit. Growing along the stem where there used to be female flowers, these grow in clusters and are dispersed by wind. This feature can be observed for all the species seen in this article.

Before the fruiting stage, when it is still in flower, pellitory releases its pollen to be dispersed by wind, which causes severe allergic reactions to many people. If you`re a sensitive individual, you can at least be glad to have identified the face of your nemesis (which reminds me of how I showed my dad last summer what ragweed, his summertime nemesis, looks like). If you`re not sensitive though, you can enjoy this plant as a raw nibble or in salads!



Before concluding there are a few other plant species with the name nettle in them, so far I`ve come across `spurge nettle` and `horsenettle`. These are not part of the family Urticaceae.

Recap:
What's edible? If you have no allergies to these plants, then everything except False nettle.
What's allergenic? Pellitory pollen is a severe allergen, and the pollen of other nettle family members are mild allergens.
How do they spread? All these plants depend on wind dispersed seeds and creeping rhizomes.
Do they all sting? Clearweed, False Nettle and Pellitory lack stinging hairs.


For more reading online on the subject, I recommend Illinois Wildflowers, USDA plants profile and Pollen Library. If videos are your fancy, Greene Deane and Dave Epstein are awesome sources for detailed information on a wide variety of plants!

The images included in this article are not my own, they can be found on Google by searching the individual plant names.

Happy nettle finding

[jgk3]

Re: Wild Edible Plants

Young spruce tips in May, edible and pleasantly tasty!



These soft clusters of new evergreen leaves are growing off the ends of spruce trees, along with fir trees. Next time you're walking around one, celebrate spring by eating tree!

[Vahram]

Re: Wild Edible Plants

Not only can you eat this plant, you can boil it in a tea and even make rope out of it. Some even say you can smoke it, I hear it can bake you, I mean you can bake it too.

[jgk3]

Re: Wild Edible Plants

June Salad: burdock stalk, sow thistle leaves, second-year horseradish leaves, first-year horseradish leaves


The main ingredients (minus the cat and the catfood)


Simmer together for 5-7 minutes


Add the mint and some olive oil

[jgk3]

Re: Wild Edible Plants


Vlita (Amaranth leaves):

Common "weed" growing on fertile soil. Cook and eat like spinach