Hemerocallis fulva
Lilly family – Liliacea

Butterfly weed

Daucus carota
Parsley family

Spring and Summer Wild Edibles

• Elder

• Wild Grape

• Dock

• Oxeye Daisy

• Dog Fennel

• Ladys Thumb

• Lambs Quarters

• Greenbriar

• Dayflower

• Perilla

• Violets

Elder- Flowers and berries edible.  Make sure to cook berries before eating.  Makes jelly wine and syrup.  Green berries can be pickled.  Look for distinct white umbrella shaped flowers, grooves on stem and branches growing opposite from one another.

Wild Grape- Fruit and Leaf edible.  Leaf is best if harvested in spring or early summer when still light green. Look for woody vines with wide, toothy leaves.

Broad leafed Dock – All parts edible.  Provides a source of wild cooked greens year round. Root is usually considered too bitter to be palatable but can be tasty if cooked properly.  Seeds can be roasted and ground into flour or eaten as is. Dock helps to make iron more accessible in the body.  Good source of vitamin A. Look for crinkly leaves in a rosette with wavy margins.

Oxeye daisy- All parts edible.  Add to salads. Pickle the buds and flowers.  Look for large daisy-like flower and elongated toothed leaves with a slightly nutty flavor.

Dog Fennel- All parts edible.  Use as a trail nibble or flavoring for soups and salads.  Look for tall, feathery field plant with distinct fennel odor when the leaves are crushed.

Lambs Quarters –One of our most nutritious wild edibles.  Very high in Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, and Calcium.  All parts edible.  Leaves excellent dried and ground into a vegetable flour, eaten raw or cooked like spinach.  Seeds can also be ground into flour. According to Linda Runion, a handful of lambs quarters seed has more protein than a steak!  Look for whitish coating under leaves.

Violets— Mild and tasty wild green,  great for salads, pesto and cooked greens. Commonly found in yards and fields. All parts edible raw or cooked.  Leaves high in Vitamin A and Vitamin K.  Flowers can be made into jelly when boiled with pectin, sugar and lemon juice. Look for heart shaped leaves with a network of small veins.

Plantain— All parts edible, raw and cooked.  Greens are great for salads, pesto, cooked greens and soups. Seeds have a gentle laxative effect.  Seeds can be used alone or as sprouts. Look for oval leaves with five prominent veins.

Dayflower—All parts edible, raw or cooked.  Use in salads, stir fry, soups, pestos. Look for papery sheath around stem axils

Ladys Thumb—Flowers and leaves edible raw or cooked.  Common yard plant. Look for dark chevron shape on leaves.

Greenbriar- Tender new growth edible.  Eat raw or steam like asparagus.  Look for wide, heartshaped leaves on green thorny vine.

Perilla- Use like basil.  Eat raw, add to salads or pestos.  In Japan, the leaves are also eaten fried in tempura batter.  Look for square stems and opposite, crinkly leaves with a distinct minty-basil odor when crushed.

Nutrition information comes from The USDA nutrition facts and from theEssential Wild Food Survival Guide by Linda Runion

Recipes

Sarahs Wildflower “Marmalade”

• 1 cup finely chopped edible flowers such as redbuds, violets, wisteria, rose, honeysuckle, etc.
• 1 whole orange including peel deseeded and diced
• Honey

Mix chopped flowers and orange.  Put in a jar and add enough honey to cover ingredients.  Stir well.  Keeps in fridge for one to two months.  Can also be frozen for long term storage.

Wild Greens Spanikopita

The Spanokopita recipe is inspired by Rosemary Gladstar and John Gallager

• 1 gallon, packed fresh wild greens or 4 cups cooked wild greens  (nettles, dock, plantain, violets, etc.)
• 1 lb. feta cheese
• 4 cloves garlic or wild onion, minced
• Tbsp olive oil
• 1 box fillo leaves
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups olive oil

Cook greens in small amount of water until very tender.  Drain and let cool. Mix the greens with feta cheese, olive oil and minced garlic. This is your filling. Carefully place three to five sheets of filo dough on a cookie sheet.  Brush olive oil between each layer.  Spread the filling on top and then cover with ten more sheets of filo dough, brushing oil between each layer.  Cover the final layer with olive oil, then bake at 375 for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Euell Gibbons Elder Flower fritters

(can also be used for daylilies or other edible flowers)

• Elder flowers
• Oil for frying

Batter ingredients:

• 1 cup flour
• 1 Tbs sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup milk

Mix a batter of all the above ingredients, then dip the elder flowers into the batter and deep fry until golden brown. As an added treat, Euell Gibbons recommends dipping these fritters in orange juice and rolling in sugar.

Recommended Books

• Petersons Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants—Highly recommended!

• Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants by Steve Brill

• Essential Wild Food Survival Guide by Linda Runion

• The Wild Vegetarian Cookbook by Steve Brill

• Stalking the Wild Asparagus by Euell Gibbons

Horse Nettle

Violet Wood-Sorrel

Celandine

Spiny-leaved Sow Thistle

Daisy Fleabane

Oenothera fruticosa
Evening Primrose family