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In my small urban backyard which is only twenty feet by sixty feet, I am able to identify and collect over 80 edible plants, especially if I walk down my street and make use of other plants in the neighborhood.

Most of these plants are literally wild and grow there by chance. Others I have transplanted to the yard, and they now return year after year. Some, like Japanese Knotweed, are quite invasive and I am happy they are not in my yard, but I can easily harvest them around the neighborhood. And some food, fruit bushes and trees like peach, fig, blueberry and blackberry, I have planted.

The following is a list of wild plants, separated into categories, of what grows in my tiny yard (and these are only the things I identify and use! There are plenty of other plants which I don’t know or do not know how to use hanging out as well.)

Totally Wild in My Yard

1. Dandelion
2. Yellow Dock
3. Chickweed
4. Lambs Quarters
5. Amaranth
6. Quickweed
7. Lady’s Thumbprint
8. Garlic Mustard
9. Broad Leaved Plantain
10. Narrow Leaved Plantain
11. Red Clover
12. White Clover
13. Sorrel
14. Wood Sorrel
15. Shephard’s Purse
16. Cress (Peppercress)
17. Purslane
18. Wild Carrot/Queen Anne’s Lace (though we don’t use this as a rule, because of its resemblance to hemlock)

Transplanted to my yard, but considered a wild plant

1. Nettles
2. Comfrey
3. Blackberries
4. Black Raspberry
5. Oyster Mushrooms
6. Lemon Balm
7. Violets

In my neighborhood, an easy walk from my front door

1. Burdock
2. Black Walnut
3. Acorns
4. Japanese Knotweed
5. Chicory
6. Mulberries
7. Wild Cherries, Tart and Sweet
8. Maple (Maple Syrup, if I were to tap them)
9. Cleavers
10. Thistles
11. Sumac
12. Wild Grapes

Plants I use only as medicine (most of the plants above are medicinal as well as edible, but the following I use only as medicine or herbs)

1. Mugwort
2. Mullein
3. St. John’s Wort
4. Motherwort
5. Catnip
6. Feverfew

Food Plants Which I Have Added To My Yard

1. Grapes/Grape Leaves
2. Fig
3. Strawberries
4. Peach Tree
5. Plum Tree
6. Cherry Tree
7. Kale (3 Varieties)
8. Beets
9. Carrots
10. Radishes
11. Tomatoes
12. Arugula
13. Spinach
14. Zucchini
15. Broccoli
16. Collard Greens
17. Chard
18. Fennel
19. Cucumbers
20. Pepper
21. Asian Pear Trees…3 trees/varieties
22. Blueberries

Edible Flowers

1. Calendula
2. Nasturtiums
3. Borage
4. Day Lily
5. Squash Flowers
6. Violets
7. Pansy
8. Sunflowers (Seeds)

Cultivated Herbs (if not mentioned above)

1. Basil
2. Rosemary
3. Thyme
4. Lemon Thyme
5. Peppermint
6. Spearmint
7. Apple Mint
8. Oregano
9. Sage
10. Cilantro
11. Dill
12. Parsley
13. Chives

What do you have in your yard?

Enjoy the harvest!

Melissa

Birch Center for Health
Food Under Foot

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We had a great time going on a wild edibles walk with students of Pittsburgh’s SCA (Student Conservation Association.)
We knew we wouldn’t find any along the south side river trail, so we brought along some beautiful sky-blue chicory, which is in bloom all along the roadsides and all over the city these days.
We sampled herbal tea which had chicory in it, and discussed it’s use as a coffee substitute (drying and roasting the roots.)

(You can read more about chicory in my article in Natural News here.)

We did have some great finds along the south side trail that day, including:

• Dandelion
  
  

  dandelion leaf rosette

• Burdock
• Garlic Mustard
• Purslane - delicious succulent plant, high in omega fatty acids
  
  

  Purslane - High in Omega Fatty Acids

• Lamb’s Quarters - delicious “wild spinach” (please sign up for our newsletter (top right) for lots more info about lambs quarters!)
• Japanese Knotweed
• Mugwort
• Staghorn Sumac (which we all sampled the sumac lemonade we had made for them, see previous post.)
  
  

  Staghorn Sumac - we soaked the red clusters in water for a lemony drink

• Poisonous Crown Vetch - the variety Penngift was made in Pennsylvania, to plant along the highway to prevent soil erosion…with limited results. The soil continues to erode, and while cows and other ruminant can safely eat the plant, which is high in nitroglyceride, it is poisonous to horses and other non-ruminants. It spreads very easily as well.
• Wild Carrot - which, though edible, we do not eat because of it’s similar appearance to the very deadly Water Hemlock and Poison Hemlock
  
  

  Queen Anne's Lace/Wild Carrot

• Mullein - an herb which benefits the lungs, and often smoked by Native Americans for that purpose
  
  

  First Year Mullein basal rosette

• St. John’s Wort - an herb used to treat depression
  
  

  St. John's Wort

Here are some pictures of what the kids and adults of the SCA:

If you’d like more information about scheduling a wild edible walk for your group, please visit our wild event page. Or you can call Melissa at (412) 381-0116, or email to Melissa@FoodUnderFoot.com.

Thanks!
~ Melissa Sokulski, Herbalist
Food Under Foot

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One wild edible plant you’ll find in bloom this time of year along city roadsides, fields and waste areas is beautiful, sky-blue chicory (Cichorium intybus). Not only is chicory edible, but it has a long tradition of medicinal use, especially to detoxify the liver.

If you pay attention, you’ll notice that chicory flowers open and close precisely the same time every day.

Chicory is similar to dandelion in many ways. For one thing, the leaves look very similar, and another, they are both especially good for the liver. Another similarity is that chicory leaves can be eaten in early spring, but get quite bitter once the plant flowers. The roots can be dug, dried and roasted to use as a coffee substitute, and in fact is commonly used in that respect in commercial teas and coffee substitutes.

The roots can also be dug and planted in a dark cellar, and the plant will grow small pale leaf heads: we know this vegetable as Belgian endive; it is the same species as roadside chicory (Cichorium intybus.)

Chicory root is used medicinally as a decoction (strong tea) or tincture (steeped in alcohol) and used to clear the liver. Eating the chicory leaves or Belgium endive is used to treat Liver fire: bursting headache, thirst, congested face and fever.

Chicory is used to treat all kinds of liver ailments, including jaundice, gall stones (and urinary stones), moodiness, depression, constipation, indigestion, headache and right side pain under the ribs.

The milky sap of the chicory is used similarly to dandelion: to promote lactation in breastfeeding women.

Chicory in bloom is an erect, branched plant, with alternate leaves and sky-blue (or sometimes pink or white) flowers.

The root can be harvested in the fall, when the plant stops flowering.

Let us know if you have chicory blooming near you…and other uses you have for it!

Thanks,
~ Melissa
Food Under Foot