|
One of the many benefits of gardening is the bountiful harvest of fruits and vegetables you reap. If you do not have the time or space to plant a garden, you can still enjoy nature’s bounty. There are an enormous number of edible fruits, vegetables, and plants growing naturally in our woods and meadows. Learn to identify and locate this natural harvest and you will add flavor and variety to your meals.
Wild Plants You Can Eat - Common
Some of the easiest plants to identify growing naturally are ones that we also cultivate in our gardens. Many fruits such as raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, and strawberries all grow naturally. Asparagus, wild onion, and wild garlic can be found in ditches and along streams throughout the Midwest. Since we commonly find these plants in our local grocery stores, they are easily identified in nature.
Wild Plants You Can Eat - Less Common
There are also many less common edible plants growing in the wild. It would take an entire book to list all the types and varieties available throughout the US. The following are some of the more common edible wild plants. Cat tails grow alongside ponds or ditches in the spring and summer. They have a dense brown flower that resembles a cat’s tail. The young roots can be grated and boiled for their sweet starchy material. Dandelions have many uses. Young dandelion leaves can be used in salads if they are picked before the plant flowers. They are also a popular replacement for spinach and the blooms can be used to make dandelion wine. Milkweed is commonly found in dry soil conditions alongside roads and fields. The young leaves are also a spinach replacement and the young shoots can be stripped of their woolly coating and prepared like asparagus.
Wild Plants You Can Eat - What to Avoid
There are many books and other resources available to help you identify edible wild plants. There are also ways to help determine potentially harmful wild plants. You should stay away from plants that exhibit any of the following characteristics:
• Milky sap – this many indicate that the plant produces latex compounds. Many people are allergic to latex and it can be poisonous if ingested.
• Feathery dill or carrot like foliage – although there are some edible plants that have this type of foliage, it also is found in poisonous plants such as poison hemlock. Positive identification is critical.
• Almond scent – this scent may indicate that the plant has cyanide compounds which can be fatal.
• Three leaf growth pattern – many of the poison vines such as poison ivy, poison sumac, and poison oak share this leaf pattern.
Harvesting wild edible plants can be fun and rewarding. However, you must use common sense to avoid the pitfalls associated with wild plants. Familiarize yourself with the poisonous plants that grow in your region and use the listed cautionary steps to eliminate suspicious plants. Never use plants culled from contaminated water or soil. Consider buying a pictorial guide to wild plants to ensure positive identification. Have fun, be safe, and enjoy nature’s bounty.
|
Author Bio Box: Patricia Wainwright
Get all the facts about Wild Edible Plants and organic gardening at GreenThumbArticles.com!
Didn't really find what you were looking for?
|
|
|
| |
|
|
![[Valid RSS feed]](images/rss.gif "Subscribe to our XML Feed for RSS")
(Read 500+ times)
