Weed-foraging...

[khiemtran]

Come with me this week on a different sort of adventure - we're off on an Edible Weeds workshop thanks to BushCare...




I hope you brought some wet weather gear, since the weather looks a bit dicey. On the other hand, we won't need to walk very far - it turns out weeds are not that hard to find...



For instance, even before we start, we're standing on edible flatweed. Eating it without cooking is not recommended though, as it can be a bit fibrous.



Next up, some amaranthus, seen here colonizing a patch of bare ground. It turns out that most "weeds" are technically "pioneer species" - the first ones to move in to unpopulated soil. As such, they have an important symbiotic relationship with humans.



Diego, our guide, keeps us entertained with anecdotes and weed facts. At this point, we've spent almost an hour, talked about at least four different types of edible weeds, and travelled barely fifty metres...



Identification is important. The fruit on this moth weed plant look just like chokoes, but are in fact toxic.



Although if you tried to open one up, you'd quickly notice the difference...



Native violets taste good when crystallized with sugar. (Note though, that just about anything non-toxic probably also tastes good when crystallized with sugar...)



The chickweed is a hit. We're getting hungry now and it's one of the first plants we can eat straight out of the ground...



Take a good look at the leaves, because there's another plant that looks very similar that you don't want to eat...



It's petty spurge, which is caustic (and is also known as eye-bane, because of its corrosive sap). The way you tell the difference is that petty spurge is "tree-like" in shape while chickweed is a rambler, and petty spurge produces a white sap.



Now, is this chickweed or petty spurge?



Dandelions can also look like flatweed, but in this case the consequences of getting them mixed up aren't so bad. You can tell a dandelion because they have "lion tooth" shaped leaves (hence the name from "dent-de-lion").



The weed known locally as "dock" also turns out to be edible. Who knew?



Another surprise is that bullrushes (typha) are also edible.



Here's Diego holding up the roots, which are a great source of starch. The sprouts are also edible and apparently taste like corn.



Also, the plant often known locally as "deadly nightshade" turns out to be blackberry nightshade instead. Diego described them as a "contested" plant, meaning he eats them himself but can't recommend them to others. The berries tasted a bit like tomatoes.



The results of our expedition laid out for a final review...

Comments

[eglantine-br.livejournal.com]

Also, mint and wild onions. I used to eat pine needles and choke-cherries as a kid. And wild grapes and blackberries when I could find them. Husband says puffball mushrooms are edible-- I am wary of wild mushrooms though. So easy to get them wrong!

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

Yes, I'm very, very cautious about trying wild mushrooms, especially since there are many Australian mushrooms that turn out to be toxic even though they look like edible ones overseas. Diego also runs mushrooming tours, but he says he only covers six mushrooms and that you shouldn't touch anything else.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Puffballs are deliciously edible! I cook them whenever I find them. But yes, mushroom foraging can be very dangerous...

[mnfaure.livejournal.com]

Wildcrafting! What fun; how interesting and informative. One of these days, I'll come across someone like Diego to teach me such things. :D

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

It was a fun day, but I must admit by the end of it I was completely swamped with information. On the plus side, at least we know more about the weeds we can eat from our own little garden.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Note though, that just about anything non-toxic probably also tastes good when crystallized with sugar…

Exactly so!

Amaranth and chickweed and dandelion--they get everywhere, and that's handy, if you're foraging for edible weeds.

I'm not surprised that the nightshade berry tasted like tomato, given that tomato's in the nightshade family. (Then again, so is the potato, and that doesn't taste anything like the other two… though it's the tuber we're eating in that case, and not the berry…)

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

To be honest, I probably would have preferred a tomato, but it's probably an acquired taste. On the other hand, the chickweed was delicious!

[soon_lee]

Fascinating. Were there see any(?) native Australian weed species on your expedition?

In New Zealand, most of the native plants are non-edible & some are very toxic, so it needs a lot of care & knowledge before you go foraging on your own (something I've been meaning to learn more about).

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

Yes, there were some natives too (although not all of them would be classed as "weeds"). Some of the Bush Care people were also shocked that some of the "weeds" they'd be removing as part of their bush regeneration were actually natives all along.