Smilacina racemosa

Smilacina racemosa

False Solomon's Seal (Smilacina racemosa) is a great tasting spring shoot and has become one of my favorite wild foods to cook with in the spring. But in order to enjoy it, one must be able to distinguish it from the more slender and much more bitter species of False Solomon's Seal, and learn to identify it when it is young, before it is easily identifiable from the flowers. And if you miss the young shoots, this surprisingly versatile plant has several other parts which can be used as food at different times during the year.

First, one has to distinguish between Smilacina racemosa (False Solomon's Seal) and Smilacina stellata (Starry False Solomon's Seal). They look very similar, but S. stellata is much more slender in both the leaves and the stem. The biggest difference is in the flower cluster (inflorescence). S. stellata has flowers in a simple raceme, where each flower stalk branches off from a central stem. S. racemosa has flowers in a compound raceme or panicle, where there is a central stem, but instead of each stalk branching off from that having a single flower, each stalk is itself a smaller raceme of flowers.

top: S. racemosa root
bottom: S. stellata root

The roots are also noticeably different, so that might turn out to be a better way of being sure you are picking the correct species at the time when the shoots are young and tender. Both species propagate primarily by the roots, which grow horizontally an inch or two underground and send up shoots occasionally, so they are usually found growing in large colonies. The roots of S. stellata are rather ordinary looking roots, with smooth tan skin and lots of rootlets off the main root. The roots of S. racemosa are quite different looking; they are thicker and have rings giving them a segmented appearance, such that it doesn't take much imagination to see a resemblance to insect grubs. This makes it fairly easy, once you are familiar enough with the plant to identify it when it is a young shoot, to pull up some root and be sure you have the species you want.

Second, one must pick the shoots of the plant when they are very young, before the leaves have fully developed. When the leaves have spread out fully, alternating up the stem, the stem will be tough and fibrous, so it's not very good eating. But before the leaves are fully developed, when they are still in a dense cluster at the top of the stem, the stem is tender and very good eating. They are only at this stage for a short time in the spring. If you miss them, you may have to wait until next year. But if you find a colony where the leaves are open, but the flowers are not open, you might be able to look around and find a few young shoots left, or at least a few tops where the leaves are not fully open.

All of us who tried the shoots thought they were very good both raw and after steaming for 5-10 minutes. When raw, they are tender and juicy, and have a distinct flavor which we all found hard to describe. The best I way I can describe it is somewhere between "fruity" and "oniony". After steaming, they were even better. They distinctive flavor is toned down, and they taste somewhat like asparagus, but maybe even better than asparagus.

I have used the young shoots in all kinds of dishes. They work great anywhere you would use asparagus, such as in stir fry, curry, savory crepes, etc. I even tried it chopped up and fried it in a cheesesteak sandwich, where it added a really great flavor. The shoots store well in the refrigerator, where I was able to keep them for over two weeks before using them all. I have also stored them in the freezer for months before thawing and cooking them.

The leaves have a good flavor even after the stems have become tough, although they become more bitter as they get older. Still, they are never as bitter as Smilacina stellata. They can be eaten raw at any time, but I especially enjoyed the steamed cluster of leaves at the top of the young shoot, which have a slightly minty flavor to them. So don't discard the leaves before cooking the shoots; they are great too.

As the last leaves open at the top of the plant, they expose a the cluster (compound raceme) of flower buds. These have a slightly different flavor of their own, sort of like cauliflower, but more flavorful. I have used these as an interesting additional flavor for salads, or they can be cooked similar to cauliflower.

Later in the year, you can enjoy the fruits. They are small, round or slightly lobed, and grow in clusters at the top of the plant, so you strip a bunch off at one time. In mid-summer, you can find the unripe fruits. When unripe they are whitish-green with little red spots. They are firm instead of juicy, and have an oniony flavor which goes very well with meats. I have boiled them or fried them. They were very good fried up with a little sausage and greens such as Chenopodium album.

They become red and juicy when fully ripe, but they are usually mildly bitter. I don't enjoy them at that stage, but if you wait until after the first cold spell, when the leaves are turning yellow and starting to fall off, and are lucky enough to find some berries still hanging on, they can be extremely good. These late season, very ripe berries are sweet and cherry-flavored; an amazingly good flavor when you are lucky enough to find some.

I have tried the roots from this plant. Boiling for 20 minutes with a change of water rendered them marginally edible, but still very bitter, and still much too fibrous to eat.

Note that the official genus name has been changed from Smilacina (Desf.) to Maianthemum (F.H. Wigg.), so you may find more recent information under the botanical names Maianthemum racemosum and Maianthemum stellatum.