Spring Time Foraging

I'm a little late getting this out, but that's okay because I was able to get more plants into one post since I'm on the cusp of spring and summer plants.

POP QUIZ! Name all of the edible and medicinal plants in this picture:

Hint: I'm going to go over 4 of them.

I was so excited to get this photo since there are so many of them grouped together! If you can't name them all, that's perfectly fine; I'm going to go over a few of them more in-depth.

Before I do so, however, I must give a little disclaimer:

***MAKE SURE YOU ARE 100% SURE YOU HAVE IDENTIFIED A PLANT CORRECTLY BEFORE CONSUMING IT IN ANY WAY. MAKE SURE YOU ARE AWARE OF ANY POSSIBLE ALLERGIC REACTIONS, AND CONSULT A PHYSICIAN BEFORE BEGINNING ANY NEW MEDICAL TREATMENT.***

Garlic Mustard
(in the above photo, it's the tall-stemmed plants with white flowers growing above the rest.)

You may not know much about this plant, but there's a good chance you've seen it growing in your yard, on a trail, or on the side of the road. This highly invasive plant is everywhere, and people go to great lengths to get rid of it! If you keep it around, though, this can be a tasty treat high in Vitamin C!

View of the garlic mustard plant after it has gone to pod.

View of the garlic mustard flower at the top of the plant.

Some great sites with information on garlic mustard can be found below and includes links to recipes as well:

• https://ouroneacrefarm.com/foraging-garlic-mustard/ 
• https://foragedfoodie.blogspot.com/2013/05/why-you-should-forage-eat-garlic.html?m=1

Dandelions
(in the above photo, you can see an older dandelion that's already turned into a white puff ball.)

I keep hearing commercials on the radio for products that will kill the dandelions and other "weeds" that grow in people's lawns, and I just sort of smirk as I think of the opportunities they're killing instead! Some see weeds, but I see hundreds of possibilities because of how extraordinary this plant is. In Book 3, dandelions are going to be a welcome companion to those living off the land, even preventing starvation.

Your common dandelion: friend, not weed!

The dandelion plant is almost completely edible and extremely versatile! I have a whole section of my survival binder (I have paper copies of all the info I find just in case the web pages go down--or if the internet goes down completely) just for different dandelion uses and recipes. You can eat most of it raw, you can roast the roots for coffee, you can make jelly and mead, you can fry the flower heads, you can make salves and soaps out of it, and so much more!

This is a good place to get started on learning about dandelions as the site is filled with information as well as links to recipes and other foraging sites: https://www.growforagecookferment.com/foraging-for-dandelions/

Here is a recipe for dandelion jelly as well, and there are plenty of recipes at the bottom that include some of the other edible plants below: https://www.marthastewart.com/313094/dandelion-jelly

Creeping Charlie 
(in the above photo, it's the darker purple plant on the bottom left.)

This is another invasive plant (as most of the mint family is) that you'll start seeing everywhere as soon as you recognize it.

Close up of Creeping Charlie flowers and leaves.

Creeping Charlie is said to be high in Vitamin C and can be made into tea and eaten in salads. It has a fairly pungent citrus/pepper flavor, so make sure to try it out before piling it onto your salad. This plant also has a history of use for medicinal purposes in treating sinus problems, coughs and bronchitis, tinnitus, diarrhea, hemorrhoids and cystitis. **Please note: Creeping Charlie should not be used if you have a history of liver/kidney trouble or if you are nursing or pregnant as it contains very small amounts of pulegone. Its high amounts of vitamin C may also interact with drugs such as Warfarin.

For more information about Creeping Charlie, take a look here: https://commonsensehome.com/creeping-charlie/


Purple Dead Nettle
(in the photo above, the light purple plant in the bottom left corner)

I love the look of this plant! It's so distinctive because of its shape, purple tops, and cute little flowers. In early spring this little plant grows all over the side of the roads, along the trails, and in pretty much every yard in my neighborhood. To me it's one of the first signs of spring as it's one of the first flowers to bloom.

Purple Dead Nettle

Another member of the mint family, its reign in your lawn ends in the beginning of May, so make sure to take advantage of it while you can--but don't take too much of it because the bees love it, too! The whole plant is edible, and the leaves are tasty enough to add to pestos, soups, and salads. Best of all, purple dead nettle is a super food packed with vitamin C, iron, and fiber. The oil in its seeds is also packed with powerful antioxidants.

Not only is it edible, it's also medicinal. The leaves can be placed on a cut to stop bleeding, it can reduce allergies, and it has has anti-inflammatory properties.

Here are a few sites that go more in-depth about purple dead nettle:

• https://www.growforagecookferment.com/foraging-purple-dead-nettle/
• http://www.naturallivingideas.com/purple-dead-nettle/ 

But wait...there's more!

Those are just the four plants in the picture above (I think I recognize another one in that picture, too, but I'm not 100% sure so I'll check on the spot later in the year to make sure I'm right). I've also been snapping photos of other plants I've seen growing in my yard. Some of them are there on purpose (yarrow and mint), but others pop up every year with no assistance (wild chive, plantain and wood sorrel). Since I'm on a roll, let's get into those, too.


Yarrow

This is a highly useful medicinal plant that I transplanted into my yard thanks to field not too far away from my house that has it growing in abundance.

Yarrow, still young enough that the flowers haven't bloomed yet.

Yarrow is a great first aid plant; applied to a wound, it can stop bleeding quickly and is often used to stop nose bleeds. It also can be used made into a tea to treat fever and assist with menstrual problems. Thankfully the three little plants I collected last year are growing tall this year and have reproduced! I can't wait to start making my own salves and wound powder with it.

To learn more about this very handy medicinal plant, here are a few informative sites:

• https://whisperingearth.co.uk/2011/09/28/the-multiple-benefits-and-uses-of-yarrow/
• https://www.motherearthnews.com/natural-health/herbal-remedies/yarrow-uses-natural-healing-ze0z1401zbla
• https://www.growforagecookferment.com/foraging-for-yarrow/

Plantain

I'm not talking about the banana-looking plantain here; I'm talking about the low-growing plant that's probably in your yard right now. This is another one of those plants where, once you see it, you will see it EVERYWHERE.

There are two common types: Broad Leaf, Plantago major (top) and Narrow Leaf, Plantago lanceolata (bottom)

One way that makes it a little easy to identify is that the veins in the leaves run vertically, and another is its flower spikes later in the season. This is another very useful first-aid medicinal plant used to stop the bleeding in cuts, soothe insect bites and other skin irritations, and can assist with respiratory irritation. The leaves can also be added to salads or cooked.

For more information about its medicinal uses, here are some helpful sites:

• http://www.naturallivingideas.com/plantain-benefits-uses/
• https://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/health-benefits-of-plantain-leaf/
• http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/p/placom43.html
• Salve recipe (which I'll be combining with yarrow and mint): http://www.naturallivingideas.com/healing-plantain-salve/

Mint

My mint grows right next to my porch, and you can catch me sitting on my steps on cool summer days just slowly eating the leaves for funzies. It's super tasty--and not just for mojitos!

Mint, still pretty young

Mint has a number of medicinal benefits. It is high in antioxidants, it can soothe a sore stomach, is a natural decongestant (menthol), has a cooling benefit when applied to skin irritations, and can be used for pain relief. Mint tea is super refreshing in the summer time, and slowly chewing on the leaves to release the oils makes your mouth nice and fresh. Mint is used in several dishes and drinks, and you can find a ton of recipes online. It's an invasive plant, so if you grow it, keep an eye out on it before it takes over everything.

For more information on its medicinal uses as well as some tasty recipes, check out this link: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/275944.php


Wood Sorrel

It's still pretty early in the season for wood sorrel, so I was only able to find a tiny patch of it in my lawn. Often confused with clover, once you recognize the difference you'll see this everywhere.

Wood Sorrel are the heart-shaped leaves (center). Clover's leaves are rounded (top left)

Later in the season, wood sorrel will also have tiny yellow or white flower (I usually see them with yellow flowers in my area). Wood sorrel is high in vitamin C. The leaves are sour and almost taste like lemons. Wood sorrel can be used to make tea as well as season dishes.

Please note: due to its high Oxalic acid content (which is why it's sour), those with gout, rheumatism and kidney stones should avoid it.

For more information on Wood Sorrel, check out these pages:

• https://www.wildedible.com/wild-food-guide/wood-sorrel
• This one has a recipe for sauce: https://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/foraging-and-cooking-with-wild-sorrel-zbcz1308
• http://foragedfoodie.blogspot.com/2017/03/identify-common-wood-sorrel.html
• Recipe for compound butter: http://foragedfoodie.blogspot.com/2016/04/woodsorrel-compound-butter.html

Wild Chives

Last but not least, there's wild chive. Generally anywhere there's a field or a lawn, you'll find wild chive growing right along with it. I was always fascinated by wild chive as a kid; I called it onion grass back then because I would pick the leaves just to sniff it (maybe I was a weird kid, or maybe I've always had an interest in foraging--or maybe both).

Really tall wild chive

When wild chive is young, it just looks like dark patches of grass growing a little taller than the rest of the grass, but as it gets older it begins to look more like its commercially-grown relatives as its shoots become more pronounced. You can use wild chive just like you would commercial chive, except you don't have to pay for it. The bulb can also be harvested and cooked like a scallion or spring onion.

The bulb on the above wild chive. Yum!

For more info and a few recipes, you can check out these sites:

• https://steemit.com/food/@papa-pepper/the-edible-outdoors-20-wild-chives
• http://www.pennlive.com/wildaboutpa/2015/04/wild_onions_garlic_and_chives.html

And now for the bonus round: violets!

Unfortunately I didn't get out there early enough to get pictures of violets, but did you know that violets are edible also have health benefits? The leaves are packed with vitamins C and A and can be used in salads and syrups. It also has expectorant and anti-inflammatory properties. You can check out more about violets here:

• https://theherbalacademy.com/health-benefits-of-violets/
• Spring tonic using violets and dandelions: https://thenerdyfarmwife.com/spring-tonic-honey-dandelions-violets-uses

That brings us to the end of our spring time foraging adventure! I hope you learned a lot and start checking out the ground at your feet when you're outside; you never know what edible or medicinal plant you may be passing by everyday! Please feel free to leave comments with any other spring time plant you may have on your foraging list!