Wild Edibles

Wild Edibles

I'll add to this post now and then, so check back.  :)  
It's a work in progress.

I'm in the northern US.  Check to see if they grow in your area.  

Bluebead Lily

I finally know the name of this one.  I find them in the woods in different places.  The young leaves, when up to a few inches tall, are edible and can be chopped in salads or boiled and then topped with butter and seasoned.  They are said to have a cucumber-like taste.  I haven't tried them yet as I didn't know they were edible at all.  I will let you know.  ;)  They have beautiful blue berries (hence the name Bluebead) after the flower is gone but, alas, the berries are not edible. 

Horsetail

(Field Horsetail/Common Horsetail, Equisetum Arvense)

 This is what they look like more mature, but there is a kind of

 Horsetail that looks like green spikes that are segmented. 

As a child, maybe you pulled some apart.

Horsetail is ancient.  It has been found in fossils and was used by Native Americans for many things.  As far as survival goes, it's not one of the best finds, specially if you have limited access to water as it can have a mild diuretic effect; but I still wanted to mention them since it they are edible and have many health benefits if prepared properly.

I liked finding these when I was a kid, at least when they first came up.  I always thought of them as "rattlesnake tails."  Anyway, they drive me nuts now because they come up in the garden and, although they look cute at first, they turn into these bushy green weeds later and come up all over the place and are hard to get rid of.   

Cooked. I don't care for them.  I liked the hint of a mushroom taste, 

but they have a strong bitter or weed-like taste I don't like.

The young shoots are edible and the inner pulp of more mature plants when the tough outer sheath is taken off.  The young shoots kind of resemble asparagus a little.  Horsetail has an enzyme that depletes Vitamin B1 levels when eaten raw, so you want to cook it first or eat it in small quantities or take a Vitamin B supplement. It can be toxic to livestock in large amounts.   

Horsetail has many health benefits and is believed to be great for healthy bones, joints, connective tissues, and hair.  It works well to stop bleeding.   You can find it in health food stores.  A tea is made by steeping it in hot water or simmering for 15 minutes.  It can be dried and ground.  You can make Horsetail vinegar by letting it sit in apple cider vinegar for 4-6 weeks and then strain. 

   

"Horsetail has been used for centuries. Galen (Roman physician and philosopher approx. AD 129-199), used horsetail to aid arthritis, kidney and bladder problems as well as other ailments. This multi-purpose plant has numerous healing properties that include being an anti-hemorrhagic, antiseptic, antibiotic, an astringent, cardiac as well as a diuretic. Makes an excellent healing tea and cooked horsetail can be added to soups, stews or cooked in a stir-fry."  For source article.. (click here).

"Individuals suffering from diabetes, heart or kidney disorders, or gout should avoid taking horsetail as it may deplete potassium levels. Do not drink alcohol while taking horsetail. It should not be used by pregnant and breast-feeding women."  For source article.. (click here)

Horsetail tea. 

Maple

Seeds, inner bark, young leaves:

Maple seeds can be eaten raw, dried, or cooked.  You can also roast them in the oven at 350 degrees for about 8-10 minutes.  You can also add them to salads.  Dried ones can be powdered to add flavor to food or thicken sauces or soups.  Just open up the plump end (opposite the wing-like things) and pull out the seeds. They are best eaten when green but can also be eaten when they turn brown but will have more of a bitter taste.  Some maple seeds are more bitter than others.  If they are bitter, you can leach out the tannins.  Some say to boil out the tannins; but when I made acorn flour, (oak trees) I found it's actually better (and uses less energy) to do warm water baths.  Soak for an hour or so and then pour off the water and repeat if necessary.  This worked great when I made the acorn flour, and took the bitterness right out.  I haven't tried this with maple seeds, but I don't know why it wouldn't work the same.  I'll do an update later.  :)

Besides making Maple syrup, you can also eat the inner bark (raw, boiled or roasted) and young leaves (raw or cooked) as they emerge. 

This is a photo I took along the lakeshore one 

year of some that had turned brown.

Update, spring is here!  :)  I tried the Maple buds.  Blech...

 but not too bad.  I could see eating these in a survival situation 

unlike the Birch buds I tried.  Those were nasty!

Trout Lily

This is known by a lot of names, Dogtooth Violet, Adder's Tongue, Serpent's Tongue, Yellow fawn-lily, Yellow Snowdrop, etc.

You can easily identify them by their spotted leaves and yellow flowers.  The bulbs, leaves, and flowers of the Trout Lily are edible, raw or cooked. 

Note: It is said that Trout Lily can act as an emetic in some people (cause vomiting).  I've never had a problem or known anyone to.  I would treat them like any new food that you could possibly be allergic to.  Just try a little first. 

These are all over my yard and woods in the spring.  I'm glad the leaves disappear after they are done blooming or they would be a nuisance in the gardens and lawn. 

Trout Lilies covering the forest floor. 

 Unopened flowers. 

 It's almost winter here and not a Trout Lily in sight, but I dug 

a few bulbs to show you.  They get bigger than this but it seems most 

are about this size.  I scraped the covering off the larger one to show you. 

Now that spring is finally here, I was able to see the bigger plants 

and get some nicer bulbs to take a photo of for you.  :) 

 I really like these.  Crunchy and tasty

One of my two cats.  >^..^<

  

I like to put the flowers in salads sometimes along with Violet flowers that bloom at the same time.  You can eat the leaves raw or cooked.  The leaves are best raw when they are small and first coming up.   I tried steaming the larger leaves once, but they didn't taste very good.  Still, if you were in a survival situation, they would be a God-send.  I don't dig the bulbs very often because they can be pretty deep (considering their small size) so  you want to find the biggest looking plants.  You might not want to expend the energy trying to dig up the bulbs in a survival situation.  Well, really, some are close to the surface when I'm digging in the garden; but they are tiny ones.  They remind me of watercress the way they have a nice crunch to them.  I like to add some to a salad sometimes along with some of the flowers. 

Violets 

Violets and a Trout Lily.

As I mentioned, Violet flowers are edible, all of the viola family.  (Note, African violets

are not considered viola and are not edible.) They can be
 put in a salad or used to make jelly, tea, syrup, vinegar.  They make pretty
purple vinegar (so do chive flowers). I sometimes pick these and
the tiny purple, pink, and white ones to put in salads. 

Small wild white violets.

Marsh Marigolds

Also known as Cowslip, Mayflower, May blobs, Marybuds, Water blobs, Horse blobs, Bull's eyes, Meadow routs, Kingcups, Mollyblobs, Pollyblobs, Horse Bob, Water Blobs, Water Bubbles, Gollins.. Whew!  Probably more.  lol

All parts of the Marsh Marigold are edible, including the root, but should be boiled in 2-3 changes of water first.  The leaves can be used in recipes the way you would spinach.  The closed buds can be used like capers after properly prepared.  They are found in wet lands, marshy areas. 

My other cat.  >^..^<

Flower buds. 

This shows the roots.  I forgot to actually try the 

roots.  I planted this one back closer to my house. 

 

 

Looks like Spinach doesn't it?

See also Edible Wild Berries, Edible Mushrooms, Edible Landscaping, etc.

Please feel free to leave a comment, tip, or suggestion below.  :) 

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