 |
| Asparagus officinalis |
 |
| smaller plant, beginning to leaf out |
Asparagus is one of the best-known and most sought out wild edibles, not to mention one of the best tasting. Since I had not personally identified and harvested this plant, I decided to take trip out the the flat-lands specifically to find this. It isn't very hard to find. Just look for its favorite habitat, along irrigation ditches, and walk until you find some. It grows low to the ground, so it works best to watch for last year's dried plants. These have thin lacy leaves, and dry to a yellowish color. Although they can get quite large, the dry asparagus plants along my ditch were only about two feet high, and straw-colored. Nevertheless, they were a good signal to slow down and look closer. Whereas, if I just saw grasses or horsetails, I could walk a little faster. Unfortunately, although not surprisingly, I was not the first person to walk this stretch, so many of the stalks had already been picked. I grows pretty swiftly, though, so I was able to harvest enough for my family and I to get a good taste.
The taste is excellent, of course: sweet and fresh and makes you wish for more. One person said it tastes like peas. That's a pretty common comparison around here actually, and while I don't think it tastes quite like fresh garden peas, the sweetness and freshness are similar at least.
As much as I love the mountains, this is one plant which could draw me down to explore the farmland and ditches, as least temporarily.
No comments:
Post a Comment