Guidelines

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This page contains important information on using plants as food or treatment.


===== extract on 2013-08-22  ======

Guidelines

Identification

Before you get all adventurous on foraging or harvesting medicinal herbs, make sure you can identify the plants you wish to gather properly. Do not rely on this website only for that, nor should you rely on one single book, blog or website. Ideally, in your first time with each wild plant, you should have someone around who can absolutely tell you which plant that is. Next to that, keep with yourself a good flora plant guide and at least one book with also pictures of the plants. Learning to identify is really crucial!

Living in Europe, I like a lot the Black's Nature Guides, such as the Medicinal Plants of Britain and Europe. It is portable, full of nice pictures and also has some drawings with details of the plants. Each country has their own local flora books, so take one of those in your backpack when going for a wild plants exploration.

Ethics & safety issues

I wanted to write a set of suggestions concerning the ethical aspect and the safety of harvesting plants in the wild, but I came across a great and well described text from Mark Angelini, on the Eat There Now blog. So I will limit myself to placing the link below so that you can read these useful tips directly from their website:

Guidelines and Practices for Ethical Foraging - eattherenow.org

Herbal Medicine

When choosing to use herbs for healing, try to keep in mind that herbal healing goes far beyond simply addressing the symptoms, as it is usually done in conventional medicine. Just to give a quick example, there are hundreds of herbs that could help the work of the liver, but there may be only one or two plants that can make a huge difference to someone's health. A good herbal healer should have knowledge on the general properties of the plants, their nature, energies and possible interactions. The healer should also have a background that allows for some level of diagnose, so as to be able to know what herb each person really needs. That knowledge might have come from being trained in Holistic Herbal Medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda, Anthroposophical Medicine or others schools. 

The information we offer in this blog is pretty general and it is meant to offer a summary of the main folk uses of each plant. We choose to mention the properties of the plant that have been reported in most trustworthy herbal books. To have an accurate view on what one particular plant can do for you it is a good idea to have a few good herbal books at home. The more we learn about plants, the more we feel we still have so much to learn from them. 

The Universal Edibility Test

1 - Test only one part of a potential food plant at a time.

2 - Separate the plant into its basic components — leaves, stems, roots, buds and flowers.

3 - Smell the food for strong or acid odors. Remember, smell alone does not indicate a plant is edible or inedible.

4 - Do not eat for eight hours before starting the test.

5 - During the eight hours you abstain from eating, test for contact poisoning by placing a piece of the plant part you are testing on the inside of your elbow or wrist. Usually 15 minutes is enough time to allow for a reaction.

6 - During the test period, take nothing by mouth except purified water and the plant part you are testing.

7 - Select a small portion of a single part and prepare it the way you plan to eat it.

8 - Before placing the prepared plant part in your mouth, touch a small portion (a pinch) to the outer surface of your lip to test for burning or itching.

9 - If after three minutes there is no reaction on your lip, place the plant part on your tongue, holding it there for 15 minutes.

10 - If there is no reaction, thoroughly chew a pinch and hold it in your mouth for 15 minutes. Do not swallow.

11 - If no burning, itching, numbing, stinging or other irritation occurs during the 15 minutes, swallow the food.

12 - Wait eight hours. If any ill effects occur during this period, induce vomiting and drink a lot of water.

13 - If no ill effects occur, eat 0.25 cup of the same plant part prepared the same way. Wait another eight hours. If no ill effects occur, the plant part as prepared is safe for eating.

CAUTION: Test all parts of the plant for edibility, as some plants have both edible and inedible parts. Do not assume that a part that proved edible when cooked is also edible when raw. Test the part raw to ensure edibility before eating raw. The same part or plant may produce varying reactions in different individuals.

Source: http://dsc.discovery.com/survival/plants-animals/how-to-test-plants-for-edibility.html

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Myosotis arvensis

M. sylvatica  / M. scorpioides / M. alpestris

NL: Vergeet-mij-nietje / F: Myosotis

The blue-pinkish flowers of this plant look great in our garden, blooming for up to 5 weeks long. 

Its flowers can be added to decorate salads, but as the plant contain varying levels of pyrrolizidine alkaloids, it should be used in small amounts only. 

The whole plant is astringent and it has been used in herbal medicine as an effective remedy for several eye conditions, including conjunctivitis. It is also a handy first aid herb to help stop bleeds when applied externally, fresh or in powder (dried). 

Alliaria petiolata

NL: Look-zonder-look / F: Herbe à ail

Despite of its name, garlic mustard is not from the family of garlics, but from the mustards (Brassicaceae / Cruciferae). It is a popular edible, used widely in pestos, salad dressings and as a salad ingredient too. Leaves, flowers and seeds are all edible. The leaves are best eaten in early spring, as it may get bitter when the weather turns warmer. Roots can also be eaten, prepared as horseradish, having a similar taste. 

the younger the leaves, the tastier

It contains a lot of advantages from its more known family members, such as being rich in vitamins A, C, magnesium, calcium, omega 3 fatty acids, flavonoids and isothiocyanates - which are thought to help protect our body against various types of cancer. 

In traditional herbalism garlic mustard is used as antiseptic (for wounds, ulcers, cuts...), vulnerary, antiasthmatic, diaphoretic and antiscorbutic. The roots can be processed into a purée or cooked in oil (over low fire in bain-marie) and applied as poultice (or oil) into the chest to help relieve bronchitis. 

Garlic mustard is considered as highly invasive, especially due to its allelochemicals, that keep other plants in the surroundings from germinating. The solution is pretty simple: harvest it and consume it. It can be preserved as pesto, jarred in sterile pots or dried for further culinary or medicinal use. 

This plant is apparently food for more than 60 species of insects and 7 types of fungus, so it surely has an important role to play in nature.

Here is a nice video with several handy tips to use garlic mustard:

Edible Plants: Garlic Mustard 

Eschscholzia californica

NL: Slaapmutsje / F: Pavot de Californie

This plant makes its appearance spontaneous in many grounds, but luckily its gorgeousness will prevent most people from removing it from their garden. In fact, many people even plant it as an ornamental in their gardens. 

Its seeds are edible, as are the seeds of other family members of this plant (Papaveracea). In traditional medicine it has been employed as sedative, milder than opium, to treat insomnia, without risks of dependency. It is also known for its antidepressant, antihistaminic, antispasmodic and anxyolitic properties. 

Its leaves before flowering

As a muscle relaxant, it helps to relieve some kind of pains. It is also said to relieve toothache, nervous tension, anxiety, panic attacks and to reduce stress. 

California Poppy has also been studied for its effect in improving certain brain functions such as concentration and memory.

It induces sweating and urination, but at the same time it has also been used to treat incontinence. 

Externally it can be used to speed up wound healing, as it has also contains antimicrobial substances.

It should not be used by lactating mothers as it suppresses milk secretion.

It finds its way even in the harshest environments

Here is a video with more practical information on how to grow this herb:

California Poppy, from HerbMentor

Viola tricolor

A.k.a. Heartsease   
NL: Driekleurig viooltje / F: Pensée sauvage

Another spontaneous plant that can beautifully decorate our gardens as well as take part in original salad creations. It is rich in beta carotene and vitamin C.

This plant has been used in traditional herbalism for a long list of conditions, including:

• bronchitis, asthma and other respiratory conditions, for its expectorant properties.
• skin irritations, psoriasis, acne and eczema - as a blood purifying herb.
• rheumatism and cystitis, due to its diuretic properties and salicylic acids.

There is no scientific data on toxicity or risks of overconsumption, even though some herbalists warn that nausea and skin irritation can appear as a result of using too much of it.

NL: kleine veldkers / F: cardamine hérissée

Cardamine hirsuta

This cute plant from the family of the mustard remains green through the winter months. 

As other plants from this family (Brassicacea), this one is also loaded with vitamin C, calcium, magnesium, beta carotene, antioxidants and sulfur-containing compounds that boost immunity and help in cancer prevention. 

You can find this plant in flower now in most places, particularly in shadowy corners.

In this video you can learn to identify this cress:

Wild Edible Bittercress

Tanacetum vulgare

NL: Boerenwormkruid / F: Tanaisie commune

Tansy can already be seen growing with full power all over the fields where we go walk with our dogs, as well as in our own garden. This is one of my favorites! 

Although is not an edible, it is a great plant to have in the garden. It protects other plants from attacks of parasites and undesirable insects while it attracts beneficial insects, such as bees.  It can be dried and stored for further use as “remedy” in the garden. For that purpose, a strong decoction of the entire plant is made, drained and used to spray plants. It also helps to concentrate potassium in the soil, so it is a superb herb to have next to composting piles. 

For its repellent properties, it is a nice plant to have near the kitchen. The dried plant can also be used in sachets to protect the house against flies and it even protects clothes from being eaten by different insects. 

It can also be used to protect dogs from fleas and ticks. Use a strong decoction massaged on their fur after washing them. 

Traditionally this plant used to be prescribed as a good anthelmintic (against worms), hence its Dutch name “boerenwormkruid” (literally= the farm’s herb for worms). Some herbalists still prescribe this plant to treat migraines, painful menstruation, fevers, rheumatism, meteorism (when gas is stuck in the intestines and needs to get out). 

Before the invention of pesticides, tansy was widely used to repel flies. For that it had its oil distilled and then diluted in alcohol, alone or together with other plant oils such as fleabane and pennyroyal. 

It was also used as a food spice wish pulses dishes, such as lentils, in order to prevent gas formation, helping digestion. 

A strong decoction of the plant can be used in the bathwater as tonic and to help treat skin infections. 

Its toxicity is mostly attributed to a substance called thujone, which can be found in varied amounts in different plants, at different stages of its growth. Before using it internally you better get informed about safety on dosage or use a herb that has had its thujone content safely measured. 

Many organic farmers have started to plant this precious plant in their gardens, in order to offer protection to other cultivated plants. 

The video below will help you to identify tansy:

Identifying Common Tansy

Click in the link below for a nice and extensive article on tansy:

Tansy - Tanacetum vulgare - Common Sense Homesteading

Hypochoeris radicata

Also called flatweed or false dandelion. NL: Biggenkruid / F: Porcelle enracinée

This plant is usually mistaken by dandelion, perhaps because of its bright yellow flower, which also ends up releasing its seeds as windborne “parachutes”. There are a few major differences: cat’s ear has hairy leaves and its leaves have round-dented lobes, while dandelion leaves have sharply toothed angles. 

detail of the hairy leaves

 
Now we are busy comparing both anyway, cat’s ear leaves are not so bitter as dandelion leaves and can be more easily accepted in salads, stews, soups. The root of this plant can be roasted and used to make a coffee, the same way as it is done with dandelion roots.

This is one of the plants that can be harvested as food almost the whole year through. Its leaves can be sometimes found healthily green even under a heavy layer of snow.

There is some risk of toxicity for horses, so you might want to remove it from meadows where horses are supposed to eat from. 

it has multiple flowers per stem

There are other edibles that look like dandelions. Some of them are briefly described in the following blog:

False Dandelions for Lunch - Eat the Weeds


In the link below you can see a nice video from Wild Plant Forager where you can get extra tips on how to use this plant and how to distinguish them from dandelions:

Cat's Ear - Hypochaeris radicata - Wild Plant Forager 

It’s still too cold to actually celebrate spring, but you have probably already started your seedlings in nurseries or indoors and some baby plants are anxiously waiting to get to the real ground. If only it would get a little warmer. In the meantime you have already spotted lots of little plants coming up spontaneously all over your garden. But you had other plans for your garden than to grant it entirely to these “opportunistic” plants. Wondering what to do with these “weeds”? Perhaps it is a good moment to learn to identify them. Getting to know the true value of each of these plants may help you to make better decisions concerning their “destiny”. 

Many of the plants considered weeds contain in fact higher nutritional value than our cultivated leafy vegetables. Some of these opportunistic plants can also improve the health of the soil where we want to grow our vegetables while others can speed up and enrich composting piles. Some can even be used in natural preparations to strengthen cultivated plants, protecting them from diseases and from plague attacks.

Here are some garden jewels that you might want to keep or use in one or another way (salads, juices, soups, liquid compost, fertilizer or natural plant spray). This is how they look in their early days:
(read more below the pictures...)

Malva sylvestris - Common Mallow

Aegopodium podagaria - Ground Elder

Alliaria petiolata - Garlic Mustard

Hypochoeris radicata - Cat's Ear

Anthriscus sylvestris - Wild Chervil / Cow Parsley

Bellis perennis - Daisy

Stellaria media - Chickweed

Taraxacum officinale - Dandelion

Bellis perennis - Daisy

Equisetum arvense - Horsetail

Cardamine spp - Bittercress

Cardamine spp - Bittercress

Glechoma hederacea - Ground Ivy

Plantago lanceolata - Plantain

Veronica filiformis - Speedwell

Urtica dioica - Nettles

Achillea millefolium - Yarrow

But there are also a few poisonous plants that pop up spontaneously in your garden which you might not want to see growing together with your vegetables, in particular plants that can pass on toxic substances to other plants through their roots. It is thus pretty handy to learn about those too, since many of them are easier to be removed in their early stage.

This site is filled with useful information on the various common weeds that can be found pretty much all over Europe. It offers nature-friendly solutions to deal with any plant that is not “desirable” on your garden:

Organic Weed Management - A-Z listing of weeds

For those living in non-English speaking countries, you may want to search them by their latin names, if you are not familiar with their common name in English:

Organic Weed Management - A-Z listing by latin name