In Search of Wild Edibles: The Healing Power of Weeds
Wild Edibles Also Have Healing Powers
Our ancestors employed the trial and error plan of cultivating plants into what we know today. Below is just a few of the wonderfully delicious wild edibles that await outside your door.
Dandelion has many herbal healing benefits.
The Dandelion (Taraxacum officinalis)- In the spring, they are everywhere. Usually people use everything in their power to rid their lives of this under appreciated wild food. Did you know that all parts of the dandelion are edible? The flower can be used to make a beautiful jelly or syrup that can be used like honey. The leaves are used in salads, and can be drank as a tea. The roots can be dried and used as a coffee substitute. Don’t mow them…grow them…then eat them
The Cattail or Cat o Nine Tail (Typha latifolia) grows in marshy areas. It’s only parts of the plant that are edible. However, it’s soft down serves as liners for bird’s nests. It can also be used as stuffing for comforters, and other craft projects.
American Indians used the Rhizomes (root) as a vegetable. The root can also be dried and ground them into a flour. The young stems were eaten raw or cooked and the immature fruiting spikes were roasted and eaten like corn. Its leaves were woven into mats, and baskets. Today we know the plant serves as a element in the natural treatment of water.
Staghorn Sumac (Rhus glabra) grows just about everywhere in the Northeast. It makes a wonderful summer time lemonade. It is has been called Indian Lemonade, as Native Americans used it for both drink and medicine. Sumac lemonade is useful for treating urinary tract infections and gingivitis. Sumac should be harvested in July and early August for best flavor.
Pineapple Weed (Matricaria discoidea) is a distant wild cousin to Chamomile (Matricaria recutita). It does not have the white petals like it’s cousin, but it has the same calming herbal properties. Pineapple weed has a faint smell and taste of pineapple, and makes a great iced tea in summer.
Queen Ann’s Lace (Daucus Carota) is actually wild carrot. It is the carrot our ancestors from Europe would have eaten when they first step foot off the Mayflower. It is white, not orange, and is more delicious than it’s modern sibling. When searching for wild carrot, be sure you have the Daucus species and not Hemlock. Hemlock has a similar look, but it is very poisonous.
Plantain
Plantain(Plantago major) is what The Native Americans call “White Man’s Foot Print”, for it was not here before they were. The young leaves are used in spring in salad as you would lettuce. The leaves make a wonderful healing agent for for bug bites, and stings to stop itch. Seeds can be dried and used as a flour.
Red Clover
Red Clover (Trifolium pretense)
makes a wonderful tea fresh or dried, hot or cold. It can be used in salads. Herbalists use it for it’s phytoestrogen properites for menopausal women. It is used in lotions and salves for skin irruptions like eczema, sores, can be gargled for mouth ulcers and sore throats .It has been shown to contain compounds like caffeic acid that starve tumors and reduce inflammation.
Sheep Sorrel aka Common sorrell can be found in many fields. Sheep Sorrel can be used in salads and adds a lemony taste to any dish it is added to. It is part of the cancer remedy known as Essiac. A Native American once stated that if we all ate sorrel every day, then we would never get cancer.
Raspberries are delicious summer fruit. Eat them right off the bush, or make them into jam. The leaves can be made into a tea. It has Vitamins A, B, C, and E. It and used for diarrhea. It also contains fragrine, an alkaloid which help tone the muscles of the pelvic region including the uterus.
Strawberries is one fruit that almost everyone picks during June. You can buy them already picked, or do a PYO day. The fruit goes into jams and jellies or they are dipped in whipped cream. Did you know you can also use the leaves? Pick and dry a few strawberry leaves to make a good astringent for oily skin.
When foraging for wild foods, be sure to know what you are eating. Take someone along that can guide you on your first journey into eating wild edibles. Do not eat it if you can truly identify it!
Further reading:
Wild Edibles of New England – Joan Richardson. This book is out of print, and can be hard to find. Try looking on amazon.com. I particularly like this book because it has the actual photographs of most of the plants. This makes for easy identification.
Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants – Steve Brill
Edible Wild Plants (Eastern and Central North America) – Lee Allen Peterson