The popularity of my sessions at Ann’s Place vary widely. A recent one on how to forage for wild salads had smaller attendance than typical and less participation than normal. Though everyone loves the May wine I offer spiked with sweet woodruff (Galium odoratum) and strawberries (Fragaria Ă— ananassa) as well as dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) muffins, they are much more cautious in sampling “weeds” from the yard.
Before taking them out for a stroll, I show them a salad with over a dozen different greens collected that morning from my yard. They love that but more than half decline to sample raw, component samples from the yard of Ann’s Place. To better entice them, I give each a small handful of redbud (Cercis canadensis) blossoms to try.
“This is delicious,” says June. “It is fresh and citrusy,” added Mary. They become more willing with this effort and prodding to sample my salad, which is dressed with a light vinaigrette. The ones who take the opportunity are surprised at the complexity and flavor of the mix. A few look for seconds. But everyone wants an extra muffin. It’s a start, I guess.
The following is a foraging guide prepared for my clients at Ann’s Place.
Foraging for food
If you can’t clearly identify a plant and you don’t know if it’s poisonous, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Steer clear from a plant if it has:
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Milky or discolored sap
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Spines, fine hairs, or thorns
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Beans, bulbs, or seeds inside pods
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Bitter or soapy taste
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Dill, carrot, parsnip, or parsley-like foliage
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“Almond” scent in the woody parts and leaves
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Grain heads with pink, purplish, or black spurs
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Three-leaved growth pattern
Plants in the wild you can eat that you can find easily in Fairfield County, CT:
Burdock (Arctium lappa)—Delicacy in Asia. Tap root cooked, small leaves used in salad, big leaves sautéed. Historically used as a diuretic, remedy for skin problems.
Chives (Allium schoenoprasum) — Eat the flower and stalk. Dead head unless you want to get lots of seeds. As part of Allium species, used as flavoring herb.
Clover (Trifolium) – You can eat the leaves and flowers of both red and white clover. White clover is short, red clover is tall and differ by their flower. Used for respiratory ailments.
Chickweed (Stellaria media) – Can be cooked or eaten in salads. The smaller leaves are the most tender. Promotes weight loss.
Dandelion – Very common and easy to identify. Greens are very tasty in early spring. Good source of calcium, potassium, vitamin A, and vitamin C. Also a liver tonic.
Fiddlehead ferns (Matteuccia struthiopteris) —Specific to the ostrich fern. Shoots have brown, paper covering them. Also fern has deep groove running up the stem. Spring delicacy. Prepared by boiling, sauté, steaming. Not eaten raw.
Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata)—Biennial plant that can be found under snow in the winter. Best eaten late fall or early spring when leaves are tender. Like many greens starts to become bitter when it starts to go to flower. Taproot tastes like horseradish. Bud tastes like spicy broccoli.
Miner’s lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata)—Succulent heart shaped leaf that self seeds easily. Prevalent in western U.S. and is extremely cold tolerant.
Mint (Mentha)—Utilitarian herb that is very invasive. Stems are square in many different varieties. Helps many different ailments including digestion, nausea, coughs, etc.
Nipplewort (Lapsana communis)—Bitter green that should be harvested before bolting to produce yellow flower. Upper leafy stem, leaves and buds can be eaten. Underside leafs have hairy veins.
Plantain (Plantago major)—Small leaves can be used for salad; large leaves should be cooked like Swiss Chard. High in iron, vitamins A and C. Seedpods can also be cooked. Also used to treat wounds, insect bites, poison ivy.
Queens Anne Lace (Daucus carota) (poison hemlock look alike)—QAL has hairy solid stems, hemlock is hollow with purple blotches. QAL root smells like carrot; poison hemlock smells like a mouse urine when bruised. QAL as a diuretic, seeds historically used for birth control.
Redbud tree flowers—Has sharp, sweet-sour flavor high in Vitamin C.
Sheep sorrel (Rumex acetosella)—Wild in North America, called “lemon leaf” for taste. Sheep sorrel is a rich source of oxalic acid, sodium, potassium, iron, manganese, phosphorous, beta-carotene, and vitamin C. Folk remedy for cancer. Kids love the taste.
Sweet woodruff —Cooked for may wine and great ground cover. It has been used to deal with liver problems and jaundice. A tea made from the leaves was used for stomach aches, and a poultice from the brewed, crushed leaves has been applied to wounds to promote healing.
Violets (Viola)—Flowers and leaves can be eaten, the leaves have a slight peppery taste. High in vitamin C and A. Used for congestion, lung infections, skin irritations. Do not eat rhizomes, which will give massive cramps.
Wild Onion (Allium)—Thin, flat stems, very delicate flavor best enjoyed in Spring.
Wild Garlic (Allium ursinum)—Hollow stems, larger than wild onion. Used as seasoning.
Wild mustard (Sinapis arvensis)—Tastes a lot like spinach and are among the most healthy wild greens to eat. Young leaves can be eaten raw, stems can be boiled.
Wild thyme (Thymus serpyllum)—Like mint has square stems, creeping variety can be used as groundcover. Milder flavors than cultivated thyme.
Wood sorrel (Oxalis acetosella)—Clover look-alike except it has three heart-shaped leaves and yellow flower. Tart tasting leaves and flowers; do not eat the rhizome.
Books to consider:
Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal plants, “Wildman” Steve Brill
Edible Wild Plants, John Kallas (One of the best with excellent pictures)
Stalking the Wild Asparagus, Euell Gibbons (The grandfather of foraging)
Stalking the Healthful Herbs, Euell Gibbons (Ibid.)
Nature’s Garden, Samuel Thayer (Excellent reference)
Northeast Foraging, Leda Meredith (Great local reference)
