Bistorta bistortoides

Bistorta bistortoides

Bistort root

American Bistort is Bistorta bistortoides in latin (formerly Polygonum bistortoides). It is found as a dense head of small white flowers in wet (but usually not boggy) meadows at high altitudes. If you get out your magnifying glass, you may be able to count 8 stamens and 3 styles in each flower.

Although this is known to have been used as a food plant by Native Americans, I found that Bistort is not very tasty for eating. 

The most important part of Bistort for food is the root. It is not large, but it is easy to dig, being only 1-2 inches deep in the soil. The biggest problem is cleaning the roots. They curve back on themselves (as shown in the picture below), and have many rootlets, creating many recesses where dirt can remain. The best method I found was to break or cut them into straightish pieces, pull most of the rootlets off, and then wash them under fast running water. At home I use a colander and sprayer for this, but in the mountains I have net bag which I can hold under a swiftly running stream or small waterfall. 

I boiled the roots for 30 minutes. This was at 10,000 feet elevation, so you might need less time down where water boils at a higher temperature. They finally softened some after that time. The taste is rather bland and unremarkable. The consistency is not starchy, but rather chalky instead, and it is stightly astringent. One source said they were good baked, so I baked them in tin foil on the coals of a fire for 20-30 minutes. The result was drier than the boiled roots, which accentuated the chalkiness. Boiling tasted better, but I cannot say I enjoyed them either way, because the main taste was "chalky".

The raw leaves are good, but not very flavorful. There is more flavor than lettuce and not as much as spinach, but it doesn't stand out in any way. Boiling the leaves for 10 minutes did not change the taste or texture of the leaves much. They were only slightly softer. I did not notice any bitterness or unpleasant flavor, but they did not stand out with any pleasant flavor either. Some sources say they contain oxalic acid, which has a distinct lemony taste, but I did not notice that taste in them, so they must not contain very much at all.

The base of the stem where it nears the root is pinkish or orangish in color. It was soft and had a mild flavor, either raw or boiled. This might be the best tasting part of the plant.

I also tried the flowers (raw). They had more flavor than the rest of the plant. It is still not a particularly strong flavor, but I would describe it as a parsley and spicy flavor.