Foraging Monthly

March

21 June 2009

Before printing any web pages, please check out this printer friendly service

Click on image to enlarge - plants are arranged like clock. Click on numbers below for detail image.

At the end of winter it is easy to think that there is very little in the way of edible plants to be found. If you live in a temperate climate you can, in fact, find a lot of wild greens, some shoots, buds and roots. The above photo shows a selection of plants I found on the 24th of March in Wales, all of which are edible or have edible parts. There are, of course, many more.

Looking at the calendar in the Handy Foraging Guide we can check what is available in March and see, for example, that Navelwort and Stinging Nettle leaves are at their best (see note at end of post on the foraging guide)

Alternatively, finding a plant, e.g. Opposite Leaved Golden Saxifrage, we can check the plant list and see that the leaves are edible (the green rectangle), and that they can be eaten raw (the "r" in brackets is short for "raw").

There are many more plants, or their parts, which can be harvested in March, so this is only a small selection.

The Plants in Detail

[ 1 ] - Stinging Nettle Urtica dioica - pick tops before flowering and cook to destroy the irritant formic acid. Similar to spinach. Highly nutritious, and said to be a blood purifier. Great as a spring tonic.

[ 2 ] - Wood-sorrel Oxalis acetosella - a tangy, delicious green containing Vitamin C. The flowers can also be eaten. Contains also oxalic acid, which can aggravate kidney stones, arthritis, osteoporosis, asthma or hyperacidity, and should be eaten in moderation or avoided by those suffering from aforementioned conditions.

[ 3 ] - Japanese Knotweed Fallopia japonica - the shoots of this very invasive weed can be eaten like rhubarb, and also contain Vitamin C, as well as resveratrol, a substance being researched for its reputed cancer fighting property, and for heart health. Alas, it has a sting in its tail - this plant also contains high levels of oxalic acid (see Wood-sorrel, above). best eaten cooked and in moderation. Due to its high acid content, the plant can be used to clean stained sauce pans. For the same reason, it should not be cooked in aluminium pans.

[ 4 ] - Dandelion Taraxacum officinale - a powerhouse of goodness, in the kitchen, as well as the herbal chest. Apart from the flower stems which contain an irritant white latex sap (used to treat warts) the whole plant can be eaten. The youngest leaves are the least bitter. Can be eaten in salads or as a vegetable. The roots can be eaten as a vegetable or roasted for a hot beverage, similar to coffee. Dandelions are reputed to aid the kidneys and liver, and are great as a spring tonic.

[ 5 ] - Opposite-leaved Golden Saxifrage Chrysosplenium oppositfolium - a green available all year round in damp, shady places. The leaves, including stem and flowers, are edible raw or cooked.

[ 6 ] - Bramble Rubus fruticosus - this time of year the buds can be eaten before the leaves develop thorns. The flavor is rather unexpected - somewhat like coconut. The leaves are reputed to have many benefits, including depurative - ideal as a spring tonic. Can be eaten raw in salads, added to sweet dishes, or just nibbled.

[ 7 ] - Pignut - the root of this plant tastes similar to carrot, to which it is related. Many foraging books say the flavor is nutty, but this is probably psychological, as the root looks more like a nut, and because of the name. However, if you close your eyes, the texture and flavor will seem more like carrot, a very juicy, tender young one. Pignuts should only be harvested where they are plentiful, and only in moderation. Each plant has only one tuber, and harvesting this tuber effectively destroys the plant. This applies to all edible roots from wild plants.

[ 8 ] - Navelwort, also known as Pennywort Umbilicus rupestris - these fleshy leaves are at their best in winter. Young leaves taste like lettuce, but become rather bitter when they get older. Navelwort only grows in the south-west of England and Wales, possibly other western parts of Europe. It grows on banks, walls and the base of large trees, and prefers acid condition, as well as damp. Can be found in shade.

[ 9 ] - Ramson, also known as Wild Garlic Allium ursinum - if you like onion flavor, you'll love this one. Although a little hot, it is mild enough to nibble on the go. The stems are slightly sweet and juicy, with a distinct onion flavor, and a mild garlic smell. Oh, if only it was available all year round. Alas, it only grows in spring. If you have a very large patch, it is worth drying some leaves for storage. The leaves will also keep a few days if the stems are kept in a bit of water (like flowers). The whole plant can be eaten, but the leaves are the main part to forage for. It is best to leave the bulbs in the ground to allow a plant to spring up again the following year. The flowers are also best left to drop their seeds. Oh, and this plant has all the benefits of cultivated garlic - high in vitamins, minerals, a blood cleanser and cholesterol reducer amongst other things (allegedly). Popping one of those leaves in your mouth, you can feel the goodness it oozes.

[ 10 ] - Ribwort Plantain Plantago lanciolata - closely related to the more round-leaved Plantain. Yet another blood purifier (allegedly). As a vegetable it is best eaten when young and tender, but don't expect it to be tasty, unless you like it bitter. For a less chewy experience, remove the ribs. Later in the year the flowers can be used as a gut scouring agent, in the same way that psylium is used. To use the plant for ointments, it is best to pick leaves in late summer. At any time of year the crushed leaf can be used to soothe insect bites and stings and nettle stings. It also aids the healing of wounds because of its antiseptic and astringent properties.

[ 11 ] - Cleavers, or Goosegrass Galium aparine - nature seems to produce a lot of plants in spring which are reputed to be blood cleansing, very useful after a stodgy winter diet. Cleavers is another one of those depuratives, and has a number of other benefits. The leaves, including stems are best eaten young and before flowering. Cook to destroy the irritant barbs. This plant can be confused with Sweet Woodruff, to which it is related. However, Cleavers has distinct minute barbs, which make it stick on clothes, and give it a rough feel. Woodruff is a more tender and shorter plant, and smells of fresh mown hay.

[ 12 ] - Grass - the stuff from your lawn or a meadow. Here I am talking leaves. Most lawn or hay grasses can be consumed after processing. The exception is any grass with a distinct sweet smell of hay, which is due to coumarin, a blood thinning agent. Although beneficial in small quantities, coumarin should be avoided by anyone on blood thinning drugs, with bleeding conditions or liver problems, and by pregnant women. Grass should also come from areas not polluted by animal waste or foot traffic. Unfortunately we cannot digest the cellulose of the grass to get at its goodness, so we have to extract the juice with a special juicer, sold as a wheat grass juicer. Wheat grass, is just another type of grass, though one with greater reputed benefits. All grasses are very high in protein. This protein can also be extracted from the juice by heating it, which causes curdling of the protein. These fine curds can be filtered from the liquid and either eaten as they are, or pressed into a tofu-like curd. The juice, of course, is also very high in chlorophyll.

Disclaimer

The above plant images are not for identifying purposes. It is important to use a good guide, unless you are familiar with these plants. The post is only an introduction to the plants mentioned therein, and should not be relied upon in isolation. The foraging guide mentioned above was carefully researched, erring on the conservative side, however, it is important to read it together with any caution notes, and ultimately responsibility for your safety lies with you.

Note on the Foraging Guide

The image of the details from the calendar and plant list are from the Handy Foraging Guide and Hedgerow Herbal available as a download from this website. The first detail is from the calendar which shows what part of which plant can be harvested during any particular month. The calendar is a rough guide and based on the mild western UK climate. Also, no two years are identical. The parts, from roots to seeds, are colour-coded in an intuitive way (e.g leaves are green), which allows for quick scanning and a compact guide. When a particular part is at its best, a horizontal bar shows when that is the case. In the calendar the code extends to whether a part is edible or only useful in another way, by using a dot or square. The calendar contains all the plants which are featured in greater detail in the illustrated plant directory (about 50 plants).

The second image from the guide is a detail from the plant list, which gives basic details of edibility of over 300 wild or naturalised plants (colour-coded as before), together with basic information on preparation and number codes of essential safety notes.

For more details on the guide, click the above link.

June

Elder - Sambucus nigra

Elderflower Champaign and flower Elder is a shrubby, deciduous tree, which grows up to 10 meters high. It is found in hedge rows and open woods throughout the temperate northern hemisphere. It flowers from around May to July and fruits August to October. Both Flowers and fruit are edible, and can be consumed raw. Elder is a traditional cottage garden plant because of its many health giving properties.

Caution:

Seeds contain hydrogen cyanide. It is best to avoid chewing them, as unbroken seeds are more likely to pass through the digestive system. The leaves and bark also contain hydrogen cyanide in larger quantities and should not be consumed. Berries may be mildly toxic when unripe. At any stage, they may be laxative in quantity.

The Flower

The flowers, which form cream coloured umbels, contain rutin, an antioxidant which strengthens capillaries and is said to protect against cancer and heart disease. The flowers are also said to be blood cleansing, and can be used in the treatment of conjunctivitis. They have a peculiar aroma, but make delicious drinks, such as a fizzy "Champaign" (non alcoholic in the early stages), a cordial, wine and tea. They can also be used for making fritters. They can be dried in the sun for storage. Dried produce keeps best in vacuum sealed jars (see my article on haw to use a cheap little wine preserving pump and some sticky tape to turn pickle or jam jars into vacuum sealed containers without heat). The dried flowers do not retain the strong aroma, but are worth keeping for herbal tea. It is also worth leaving plenty of flowers to form into berries for later harvest.

Berries

The dark purple berries are somewhat bland in taste, but are full of goodness. They are rich in Vitamins A, B and C, and contain an antioxidant - anthocyanin, which improves night vision, circulation and memory. Anthocyanin is a substance often found in red, blue or violet fruit, like blackberries, grapes and mulberries, in red cabbage and even some flowers. Berries can be eaten straight off the tree, used like many other berries for jams, pies, juice etc. or made into syrup to keep as a cold remedy. The berries are also said to be blood and tissue cleansing, antirheumatic and diuretic.

pH Testing

The juice of the berries can be used for pH testing. It turns green in alkalis and red in acid solution. You can even make your own litmus-type paper. For more information on pH testing, check out this article. The method is not as crude as one might expect. The article also shows you how to make a chart to read the pH level, though it takes a little effort to calibrate it.

You probably wonder, what practical use might that have. You could apply it to simple soap making, especially if you make it from basic raw materials from around the home, like wood ash lye. How about trying a very simple liquid laundry soap, which just consists of lye and nothing else? Worth an experiment. However, you need to dilute/adjust it to just the right strength if you don't want your clothes to dissolve. Test a typical washing powder solution for its pH, and match it by adjusting the lye until it gives the same reading. Now, that is where my chemistry knowledge deserts me. Anyone who can comment on whether you can make the lye less alkaline by simply diluting with water, or would you have to add some acid, like vinegar, to adjust it?

And how do you store the litmus paper? In a vacuum-sealed jar, of course.

Leaves

A concoction made from the leaves can be used as a plant spray - a fungicide and insecticide, as well as an insect repellant and a green dye with alum.

Recipes

Elderflower Champaign

6-7 large flower heads in full bloom
4 1/2 l water
1-2 unwaxed lemons
600 g sugar
2 table spoons white wine vinegar
a little fresh ginger - optional (will give it a little extra kick)

Heat about one liter of the water and dissolve the sugar in it. Add the rest of the water and allow to cool. Add the juice and rind of the lemon (cut the rind into chunks) and the rest of the ingredients. Cover and leave for four days, stirring occasionally. Strain and bottle. Tip: if you put all the non-liquid ingredients into a large herb infuser or one of those rice boiling egg thingies, you don't have to strain them out later. Also, the better you strain it, the better it will keep. Any bits floating around in the drink encourage mold. Ready to drink in about 6-10 days, when it starts to fizz. If you bottle it in glass, open the bottle briefly every day or so to release the built up pressure. For any type of bottle, release the lid very slowly to avoid a fountain shooting up. Store in a cool place. The drink will become less sweet with time, and may even turn slightly alcoholic. If, like me, you adore the taste, it probably won't have the chance.

Elderflower Cordial

25 flower heads
900 g sugar
2 unwaxed lemons
50 g citric acid (available in drug stores/chemists)
1.4 l water

Scald a large container. Boil the water, pour over the sugar and citric acid and stir until dissolved. Allow to cool. Add the juice and rind of the lemon (cut the rind into chunks). Remove flowers from flower heads and add. Cover. Stir 3-4 times a day for two days. Strain (see tip above) into sterilized bottles. Dilute to taste - a nice way is with carbonated water. The cordial will keep for a few weeks in the fridge, and longer with preservatives. If you are not averse to them, you can add Campden tablets according to directions. They are available from brewing suppliers. Tip: to give it a similar flavour to the Champaign, add a little vinegar to taste. It will really perk up the flavour. You can also add ginger to this recipe. This syrup can also be used to make a healthy lactic soda drink. More on that soon.

Other Plants Available in June

There are still a number of fresh greens available (see March, above), however, the leaves of Ramson/Wild Garlic/Bear Garlic (Allium ursinum), depending on where you live, is coming to an end. Many Nettles (Urtica dioica) are now in flower, and are best avoided when in flower, as they develop cystoliths - crystalline chemicals which irritate the kidneys. On the up side, Wild Strawberries (Fragaria vesca) are now fruiting. Nipplewort (Lapsana communis), a close relative of lettuce, and a relatively late green, can now be found growing.

The Small Print

Please see the disclaimer above, which applies to this post as well.

Keep up to date with new additions on Judy of the Woods by subscribing via email or feed. Please also consider sharing this page. You will find all the links in the buttons below. The Share button will take you to a page with a large selection of social media sites. But copy this page address first. And why not check out some of the other feature articles from the preview selection below?