Caltha leptosepala

Caltha leptosepala is the white Marsh Marigold which I find in the high altitude marshes of the Uinta Mountains. You may find it elsewhere, but it is different from the yellow Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris) commonly found in the eastern United States. 

Harrison (in Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains) and Euell Gibbons (in Stalking the Faraway Places) report eating Caltha leptosepala both raw and cooked, and give favorable reports of it. Sam Thayer reports on Caltha palustris in the Forager's Harvest. The consensus is that the white western species is much better tasting than the yellow eastern species. 

The sources recommend picking the young leaves in the early spring before it flowers. I collected mine at the beginning of June, between 9000 and 10000 feet elevation, next to melting snowbanks. Spring comes late in the high mountains. The first flowers were already blooming, and comparing different plants, it seems to me that the flowers appear as soon as they can, with little time between sprouting and flowering. Some sources mention using roots, but the roots of these are small and stringy, so not worth even trying anything with them.

Marsh Marigolds have a toxin or two (with various names; look it up and pick one) which is destroyed by heat, so most sources recommend cooking it. Most scientific papers are specifically about Caltha palustris. I don't find good sources for the constituents of Caltha leptosepala specifically. Since it is closely related to C. palustris, we would expect to have similar constituents, but from the reports of less bitterness, it might have less of them. 

I tasted it raw, and found the young leaves to be slightly bitter, and the older leaves to be definitely bitter. I'm not sure how early in the spring one would have to find them to get non-bitter raw leaves, but I would not choose to eat them raw. The texture was a bit tough, but very acceptable for a leaf. (Sam Thayer describes the flavor of Caltha palustris as "acrid" but I would not use that word for this plant.) After cooking for five minutes, they were tender but still bitter. At ten minutes they were mushy but becoming less bitter. After a change of water and a total of 15 minutes, most of the bitterness was gone. And after twenty minutes they were about the same mushiness but with still a hint of bitterness. 

After the full cook time, the flavor was acceptable. Bland, mushy, and only a hint of bitterness. But so bland that the bitter hint is the most noticeable flavor. The bitter aftertaste seem to stay in the mouth for quite a while after eating them.

Sources recommend eating them in a cream sauce. That would probably help mask the bitterness. For that I will refer you to Wild Food Girl, who makes "creamed elkslip" out of Caltha leptosepala. Elkslip is another common name for Caltha species.

As for myself, I did not find the flavor to be compelling enough for me to want to eat more of it. There was Spring Beauty (Claytonia lanceolata) and Glacier Lilies (Erythronium grandiflorum) growing in abundance at the same place and time, and both of these are much better greens, and both have very tasty roots as well.

Capsella bursa-pastoris

Capsella bursa-pastoris

basal leaves

This post is for busting a myth.

Capsella bursa-pastoris, commonly known as Shepherd's Purse, is a common weedy plant found in both the country and in cities, where it seems especially well adapted to growing in sidewalk cracks. It is a member of the mustard family, and like most of these, it has small, four-petaled flowers (white in this case), and the seed capsules grow on short stalks which branch off from the main stem one at a time in all directions. The way to identify this particular species is from the the triangular-shaped seed pods. Zoom in on the picture to see them better.

I like eating the tender flower clusters at the top of the stalk, and also the green seed capsules which grow along the stalk. They have a nice mild flavor. Unlike many types of mustard, this plant is very mild, without the pungency or spicy-hot flavor common in a lot of mustards. I can keep eating these flowers and seed capsules all day, even raw, without getting a hot or burny sensation in my mouth. One definitely cannot do that with mustards such as watercress, whitetop, or tumble-mustard.

It has very few leaves on the stem and these are small. The basal leaves are a little larger, but I find them to be a bit tough for eating. And I did eat quite a few of them while testing them for spiciness. Even the small basal leaves before the seed stalk forms are tough. On the other hand, Sam Thayer reports in his book "Incredible Wild Edibles" that Shepherd's Purse growing "in moist soil laden with organic matter" can be large and lush, but that is not the kind of soil we have in the Rocky Mountains or under sidewalk cracks.

Many edible plant references state that "the seedpods can be used as a peppery seasoning for soups and stews." This is absolutely not true, and anyone who states this reveals that they have no personal experience with the plant, and are simply repeating myths that they have read elsewhere. The whole point of pepper is to add a spicy-hot flavor to your food. But Shepherd's Purse is actually one of the mildest mustards I have eaten. As a second witness to this, I will quote Sam Thayer again: "shepherd's purse is mild enough to form the base of a salad". He says nothing about peppery seeds, but he busts another myth about the roots being similar to ginger. 

So, I highly recommend eating the flowering tops, and the seed pods. You can even add them to your stew; just don't expect them to add any appreciable flavor.

Erodium cicutarium

Erodium cicutarium

I have heard and read from many people that Erodium cicutarium is edible, but it has been a tough sell for me because I have never liked it when I have tried a leaf or two raw. Recently, I had a couple other people taste test it with me, and they liked it a lot more than I did, so I thought I should give it a more serious trial.

The common name for Erodium cicutarium is Stork's Bill or Redstem Filaree. Personally, I don't think the stems are very red, so just calling it Filaree is settling best in my mind. It might also be called Crane's Bill, but that usually refers to certain Geraniums, which have similar looking seeds. Same family; different genus. A more appropriate name might be Heron's Bill, since Erodium is greek for Heron. It sprouts and blooms extremely early in the spring, and I often notice the little rosettes of feathery leaves already with its purple flowers long before anything else has started to grow. Some accounts say that the leaves taste better before it flowers, but you would need to be looking for it in February to find it that way. Later, as it is now, it grows into some dense mats of foliage with both flowers and seeds, which is how it appears in the photo. 

The seed pods are distinctive, and have the crane's bill or stork's bill shape which is a feature found in many plants in the Geranium family, In addition, the pods grow in groups of 3-6 on little reflexed stems which all meet together at one point. Those long extensions on the seeds turn into long awns which twist and untwist when they get wet or dry. My local university has a video of how this helps the seed drill its way into the soil. They also have a video on identifying this plant, so I'll link to that too.

Harvesting is mainly a matter of finding a good amount of growth which doesn't have other plants mixed in and sort of mowing it off with a knife. I am able to easily get a fairly large amount without much effort, as long as I find a place where a lot of it is growing. Remember to wash them thoroughly because they like to grow in sandy places and the hairs on the leaves and stems can hold onto some grit.

The raw taste makes me think of mild but bitter parsley. It's bitter enough that I have not often been tempted to experiment more with it. But it turns out that cooking improves the flavor quite a bit. After boiling for 10 minutes it has lost the bitterness, and has a hearty flavor which could be compared to stinging nettle. The tea made from the plant was especially good and hearty-flavored, and reminded me of stinging nettle broth, so I decided to try making soup with it, and a lot of the other wild things which are available at this time of year.

Filaree soup ingredients

Filaree Soup Recipe

• Filaree leaves (I separated the leaves from the seeds and stems, which can still be used for teas.) top middle
• Stinging Nettle leaves (I used dried leaves; they reconstitute well in the soup.) bottom middle
• Wild Onions (Peel and cut the little bulbs in half; chop the greens. I saved half of the greens to put on the soup as it was served.) left side
• Violet leaves. (Just a few as bit of thickener.) bottom right
• Waterleaf root. (Pre-cooked; this takes a lot longer than the other ingredients to cook. See that article for instructions.) top right
• Elm samaras. (I like these still crisp, so I just put the on top of the soup before serving.)

Put everything except the elm and some of the onion greens into a pot of water and boil for 10 minutes. Provide salt and pepper at the table. 

Everyone was impressed with the flavor. The combination of filaree and stinging nettle makes a very good broth flavor, and the onions also help a lot. The greens are not tough and not mushy after this amount of cook time, so I think it is about the right amount. 

I was trying to use exclusively foraged ingredients in this soup, but you could enhance it more with domesticated things, such as mushrooms, potatoes, a bit of meat, or some miso. 

After all this, I am convinced that this little plant deserves more respect than I have been giving it.

 

Ribes lacustre

Ribes lacustre

This entry is about another member of the gooseberry/current genus. Ribes lacustre is commonly known as swamp gooseberry. But some people call it swamp current, even though it has spines like a gooseberry.

It is a small spiny shrub, with smallish maple-like leaves and black berries. The flowers come in clusters of 5-12, not all of which will get pollinated and turn into berries, but you will see several black berries along with some empty stems. It looks a lot like Ribes montigenum (Mountain Gooseberry), except that the berries are black and the upper leaf surface is shiny. It also prefers wet areas, whereas Ribes montigenum prefers drier ground. I usually find Ribes lacustre next to streams, not in swamps. ("lacustre" refers to lakes.)

The taste of these berries is unfortunately rather bitter. I have occasionally found a bush with sweet berries, or with some sweet and some bitter, but most of the time they are bitter. I even searched them out at the very end of the season, when they would be the most ripe. Most of the berries had fallen off and the leaves where fading and starting to turn colors, but the remaining berries were still bitter.

I will try these berries when I find them to see if I get lucky and find some sweet ones, but generally I do not recommend them because of the bitter taste.

Amaranthus retroflexus

Amaranthus retroflexus is, depending on which sources you believe, either a highly toxic plant, or a highly nutritious plant and a staple of some traditional diets. The "toxic" sources seem to prefer the common name "redroot pigweed", while the "nutritious" sources just call it amaranth. Which are you going to believe? Obviously, I'm biased towards the "nutritious" side, but it's possible that they could both be true.

I notice that most of the "toxic" sources are from agricultural sources, and report toxicity to cattle, pigs, and even goats. Amaranth is known to be able concentrate nitrates in its leaves, and in areas where there is heavy usage of chemical fertilizers which have high levels of nitrates, amaranth may have high levels of nitrates. For this reason, I would recommend against collecting your amaranth from the borders of agricultural fields. My own garden, where Amaranthus retroflexus comes up every year voluntarily, does not get these kinds of chemical fertilizers, so I'm not at risk for that type of toxicity.

Amaranth is well known for its edible seeds, which are often used similarly to grains. I have not tried collecting the seeds yet.

The leaves are commonly used as a potherb. While they can be eaten raw, I find them to be rather tough. I don't like the leaves raw much at all, but as a potherb, it is one of the best I have tasted. Boiling them for 5 minutes makes them tender, and also improves the flavor, which is like a mild spinach. Young stems (if they are still flexible) can also be eaten, and soften up nicely from the boiling. Mainly you want stems which have not formed seed clusters yet. The plants I pick often have small clusters starting to form, but I just break those off and throw them away. The small prickly bracts in those clusters do not soften when boiled, so you would want to avoid including those clusters in your pot, but if a bract or two remains from the base of the cluster, they are hardly noticeable. 

Solanum nigrum

Solanum nigrum

We were taking care of a friend's pets while they were on vacation, and they invited us to pick their "blackberries and huckleberries" while they were gone. The blackberries were excellent, but we had just returned from picking huckleberries in Wyoming, and my daughter immediately remarks that, "these don't look like huckleberries." They were little black berries growing in clusters, and the nearby flowers were clearly from the Nightshade family (Solanaceae), which includes crops such as tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, and eggplant, as well as belladonna or deadly nightshade. These particular berries keyed out as Solanum nigrum, or Black Nightshade. After doing some research on their edibility (always be certain about what you are eating), we came back another day to pick them and found them to be very tasty eating.

The research was rather interesting on this plant, since there is some disagreement about its edibility and/or toxicity. I found common names for it ranging from poisonberry to garden huckleberry, both of which are completely misleading. It's not poisonous, and it's not in any way related to huckleberries. Trusted first-hand accounts of eating them include Green Deane of Eat the Weeds, and Sam Thayer in his book Nature's Garden.

The main problem causing confusion seems to be that belladonna (Atropa belladonna) can be mistaken for this berry. Belladonna is also a black berry in the nightshade family and is very poisonous. The berries are larger than Black nightshade, they generally grow singly instead of in clusters, and the sepals (on a tomato, they are the green bracts at the top of the tomato where it attaches to the stem) are much larger than the berry, where as Black nightshade the sepals are quite small. 

But returning to Black nightshade, the fruits themselves are quite small, like a huckleberry. They grow in clusters, though, and separate from the sepals easily. The taste is like a fruity tomato. It is sweeter than a cherry tomato, but not as sweet as a grape. It has plenty of small seeds, similar to but even smaller than tomatoes. They are not bothersome and slide down the throat easily. I enjoy the flavor a lot and would happily snack on them more often, but unfortunately they aren't found in the wild in my area. In my friend's garden, they grow quite well, and spread easily. I see them coming up in the cracks between pavers in various places in his yard.

My friend was a bit surprised when I said they were not real huckleberries. But they will continue to make pies and such things with them.

Calochortus nuttallii

Calochortus nuttallii

The Sego Lily (Calochortus nuttallii) is the Utah state flower and a very well known edible plant, because of the stories about the early Mormon settlers in Utah surviving on Sego Lily roots during the first year after they arrived in the valley. All these stories say the Native American Indians in the region told them about the Sego Lily roots, and all the stories also say the Indians told the settlers to eat thistle roots as well. Somehow the poor thistle has not gotten nearly as much publicity. 

It may seem strange that I have not written about such a well-known plant before now, but Sego Lily is really a desert plant, and I spend most of my time in the mountains. Sego Lilies are very abundant during the spring in the desert valleys in this region. They are much less abundant in the mountains, but one can still find them in hot, dry areas, usually on south-facing slopes. Note that in spite of being the state flower, they are abundant, and not legally protected in any way.

I have to admit that digging the bulbs is much easier in the sandy soils of the desert, than in the rocky ground of the mountains. But fortunately, the bulbs are not the only edible part of the plant. I enjoy eating the flower buds and the seed pods, and both of these can be easily picked without killing the entire plant. The bulbs are good, but usually just too much work.

Death Camus (top) vs Sego Lily (bottom)
orange coloration on sego bulb root end

If you do go to the effort of digging the bulbs, find some Sego Lilies growing in nice sandy ground, and bring a good spade. The bulbs can be 6 inches deep, so it takes some effort to get down to them. It's probably not worth the effort if the ground is rocky. You should carefully follow the stem down from the flower, so you can be sure of getting the right bulb. The bulbs average about 3/4 inches in diameter. They have a dry brown layer over the good white part of the bulb, which rubs off fairly easily. They have some noticeably orange coloration on the root (bottom) end. Like most bulbs in the lily family, they have layers like an onion. Sego Lily bulbs have only a few layers (around 5 or so), and they are of a consistent thickness. Another bulb plant which is very common in the same environments is Death Camus (Zigadenus species). Death Camus is very poisonous, so you should be careful not to accidentally include any of those in your foraging. The bulbs from Death Camus are about twice the size of Sego Lily bulbs, and they have many more layers, with the outer ones being especially thin. See the photo for comparison. 

The Sego Lily bulbs, when raw, are a bit crisp, and have a bland, starchy flavor. When boiled 10 minutes, the taste is similar to when they are raw; they are softer, but still have a bit of crunchiness, and the starchy flavor is stronger. I also tried roasting the bulbs for 15 minutes. This way, they were a little dryer and slightly tough, but the roasted ones were especially good with some butter and salt. Overall, it seems the flavor is similar any way you cook them.

bulbs, cleaned bulbs,
seed pods, flower buds.

So much for the hard parts. The easy parts are the flower buds and seed pods. The flower buds are tender and have a good mild flavor. The flowers taste similar, but are so pretty that I would rather look at them than eat them at that stage. The seed pods are three-sided (most things in the lily family come in threes) and taste rather like garden pea pods, crunchy and sweet, although not as sweet as garden peas. There is some hot spicy flavor noticeable after eating a few of them. When boiled for ten minutes, they become tender and mild, and the spiciness goes away, so this is a good option if you collect a lot, instead of eating them as a trail-side nibble.

Finally, here is a photo I thought was humorous. The Sego Lilies in this picture are being grabbed onto by American Vetch (Vicia americana), preventing them from fully opening.