Edible native plants

16 years ago

I've been thinking about the plants we grow for food, they are from all over the world and have been selectively bred for perhaps centuries, resulting in palatable vegetables and fruits but not ones that can take care of themselves. They have to be planted, set out, fertilized, and watered every year. I'm realizing that perhaps there are a lot of natives I could be growing instead that would not require all this work once established, and could even provide food in winter, as roots. I'm trying to find out about these plants but have a lot of problems with voles and rabbits, and it's hard to find out which natives with edible roots they would bother and if there are some they would leave alone.

Some plants with edible roots, from the very extensive list below, I'm considering growing are:

Apios americana

Althaea officinalis

Aralia nudicaulis

Asclepias purpurascens, speciosa, tuberosa

Balsamorhiza sagittata

Dalea candida, purpurea

Geum urbanum

Phlomis tuberosa

Psoralea esculenta

Has anyone grown them for food and found them palatable, and can you comment on vole damage? The native onions listed in the link are described as being repellent, so maybe interplanting them with the above roots would help protect them.

Nancy

Here is a link that might be useful: PFAF roots

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Comments (3)

fatamorgana2121
16 years ago
Althaea officinalis - Marsh mallow is a beautiful plant. Pink hollyhock like blooms and at home in the flower garden as well as the herb garden. It's not native but it is very resilient, hardy, and it's never been bothered much by pests in my gardens. I have harvested for medicinal rather than edible use.

Aralia nudicaulis - Wild Sarsaparilla is a pretty plant. Here's a picture I took of one while out on a hike:

{{gwi:225089}}

I have Aralia racemosa or Spikenard a close relative is in my "woodland" garden. It is a showier plant that has never suffered any pest problems. I think it's too pretty to harvest the one plant I have so no comments on usage.

Asclepias tuberosa, edible? Not that I'm aware of. Peterson's edible plants marks it as poisonous. Medicinal, yes it. Edible, no. The only edible milkweed I'm familiar with is Asclepias syriaca. Many like to boil the young shoots in multiple changes of water and eat like asparagus. The folks that eat them, love them. Some eat the flowers and other parts as well.

Can't comment on the others.

Why not Jerusalem artichokes if you are looking for native, edible roots? While they will spread if the deer don't browse them too much, they are a choice edible.

FataMorgana

ps....if you want to see the rest of the slideshow that the Wild Sarsaparilla picture is from, you can find it in the link below. Plus there is a wild food slideshow also available in the gallery section of this website. Enjoy!

Here is a link that might be useful: True Tale of the Beavers Walk Slideshow
hemnancy
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks for the link, FataM. I could try Jerusalem artichokes, they grow like weeds at my MIL's, but I tried them once here and they didn't make it. I'm interested in developing some woodsy areas of my yard where the plants won't have to struggle so much with the nasty weed grasses. I love Sarsaparilla, so the Aralias are really intriguing. Last summer I grew some Chinese Artichokes, Stachys affinis, in pots because I was afraid of the voles eating them. I haven't harvested them yet to see how well they did. After a couple of light frosts we still haven't had a killing frost as far as they are concerned.

I have to admit I've never like sunflowers very much.
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If you haven't already done so, I highly recommend obtaining a copy of Stalking the Wild Asparagus by Euell Gibbons. The point of view is that of foraging for wild foods, not gardening, but it is about the same plants. As you say, those plants are well adapted. They produce even better food stuffs under cultivation where optimum spacing, watering and weeding are provided. There are more possible choices of wild plants to grow and and breeding projects to undertake than I have time to mention. Gibbons' book, together with Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties by Carol Deppe would give the interested gardener several life times of interesting things to do. Deppe, by the way makes the point that seed saving (a necessary part of cultivating wild plants) IS plant breeding. The reason she says that is best understood by reading her book. Jim
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I've read dozens and dozens of these books, and own a good percentage of the same, so it's no easy answer for me. First of all, I'm not aware of anything out there that is specific to the SoCal Coast. Most are more general or have a regional bias without making that clear in the title. My all-around favorite is without a doubt: Edible Wild Plants: A North American Field Guide to Over 200 Natural Foods, by Thomas Elias, Peter A. Dykeman. It packs loads of information into a manageable sized book, including harvesting methods, nutritional stats, and preparation instructions. It is the only user friendly edibles guide that can really be used anywhere on the continent. A Taste of Nature by Kahanah Farnsworth is a nice little book for the beginning forager with an obvious SoCal bent, and some useful recipes. Edible and Useful Plants of Texas and The Southwest by Delena Tull is another great resource, although it's too big to take in the field with you. I could not give any recommendations under this topic without mentioning Euell Gibbons. His books remain the most accessible, realistic, and interesting to date. His Stalking the Wild Asparagus is a general guide with a Northeast focus, but includes all of the major edibles that are common anywhere. Finally -- I apologize for the length of this, but you've hit on a passion of mine -- you might want to familiarize yourself with the host of temperate and sub-tropical zone weeds and cultivated edibles. When I go to Southern California, my best finds are not native wild plants, but rather naturalized non-natives. In fact I would say that the native flora of Southern, especially coastal, California is one of the poorest for fleshy fruits especially, and edibles in general. BUT, add to this the multitude of introduced plants that produce numerous luscious things and you have a region that is hard to beat for the forager. So I hope you find some books that suit you, and don't be afraid to check out that vacant lot loaded with fruiting olive trees, pineapple guavas, fruiting palms, or the dandelions in your yard, and the weedy mallow coming up in the park.
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TO WENDY2SHOES, I'VE BEEN FORAGING FOR A LONG TIME, SINCE I WAS ABOUT 11.THE 'DOCK' YOU ASKED ABOUT IS, I'M SURE, CURLY DOCK,ALSO CALLED YELLOW DOCK. LIKES TO GROW NEAR WATER AND IN DAMP PLACES/ LEAVES ARE A LITTLE GOOEY WHEN COOKED. USE THE SMALLER LEAVES IN SPRING. IT HAS OXALIC ACID, BUT NOT AS NUCH AS RUBARB. THE LARGE STEMS CAN BE USED IN PLACE OF RUBARB FOR PIES. YOU ARE IN EASTERN CANADA, SO HERE IS A LIST OF SOME OF THE BETTER TASTING WILD PLANTS IN YOUR AREA; STINGING NETTLES( GATHER WITH THIN LEATHER GLOVES AND LONG HOTDOG TONGS) BLACK MUSTARD,GARLIC MUSTARD, RAMPS,LAMBS QUARTERS,CHICKEN OF THE WOODS MUSHROOMS,FIELD MINT,HORSE MINT, CONE FLOWERS,WILD ASPARAGUS,MILK WEED( READ UP ON HOW TO COOK THIS FIRST)ELDERBERRY, BLACK BERRY,STRAWBERRIES, MOUNTAIN ASH BERRIES,SCARLET SUMAC BERRIES,(AS A LEMONADE DRINK ONLY)DANDELION OF COURSE,WHITE OAK ACORNS, CATTAILS,BEECHNUTS, PIGNUTS,( LIKE A SMALL WALNUT ) HAZELNUTS,CHOKECHERRY,SERVICE BERRY, AND JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES. HOPE THIS HELPS, ( ALSO, PURCHASE A BOOK ON EASTERN FLOWERING PLANTS THAT HAS COLOR PLATES, USE THIS AS A CROSS-REFERENCE.
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fiddlrs3
16 years ago
Jeruselam artichokes are delicious, either raw sliced up and used as you would water chestnuts or baked like potatoes, only way tastier! BUTT they are very,very gas producing, so don't let yourself overindulge, which takes restraint.
For fruits, the family of juneberries (serviceberries) are under-utilized, and as or more tasty than blueberries.Avoid the "amelenchier arborea" which is a bit woodier tasting, and aim to find "amelenchier laevis" or really about any of the other species...I buy from Oikos, which has several varieties and good descriptions to guide choices.

Edible native plants

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fatamorgana2121

hemnancy
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Edible native plants

Comments (3)

fatamorgana2121

hemnancyOriginal Author

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hemnancy
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