Foraging is a fascinating skill that both deepens our relationship to nature and empowers our health. This article shares some interesting plants you can forage here in the UK in April.
Foraging is a wonderful way to connect both with nature, and nourish our health. We also want to spread the word about safe and ethical foraging, so please also read our article “A guide to safe and sustainable foraging” to learn how to practise foraging sustainably.
A useful link with images that can help with identification as well as botanical information is Wild Flower Finder.
Here Robin Harford shares some edible plants you can safely harvest from the wild in April.
Please note: Under Section 13 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, uprooting any wild plant without landowners’ permission is illegal (1).
Brooklime (Veronica beccabunga)
The somewhat bitter Brooklime is comparable to watercress.
You can toss it raw into salads or prepare it like a potherb by boiling or steaming it. This usage goes back to the earliest times in northern Europe (2).
To balance out and enhance its bitterness, mixing Brooklime with other bold-flavoured greens is a great idea. This bitter herb is still well-liked in Europe and Japan (3).
The parts of the plant you can eat are the young shoots, leaves, and stems (4).
In some European regions like the Czech Republic, the Balkans, Bosnia, and the Basque regions, people enjoy Brooklime as a raw salad leaf and cook it as a spring green (5).
As for its nutritional content, the European Brooklime boasts 3.8 g of protein per 100 g of fresh weight (6).
Dandelion (Taraxacum spp)
Dandelion leaves have substantial nutritional value. Historically, before commercially produced groceries were available throughout the year, dandelion greens served as a local source of fresh vegetables.
Samuel Thayer emphasises that dandelion greens are remarkably rich in vitamins A, K, and beta carotene, as well as vitamins E, C, thiamine, riboflavin, B6, folate, and the minerals calcium, iron, potassium, and manganese (7).
During wartime in the United Kingdom, BBC Radio’s Dr Charles Hill (1904-1989) encouraged citizens to supplement their rations with dandelions in his ‘Kitchen Front’ broadcasts. However, this advice did not significantly increase the number of dandelion consumers in the country.(8)
The dandelion is one of the most valuable nutritional plants in India. It is known by various names such as dulal (Hindi), pathardi (Gujarati), dudli, baran, radam, dudh-batthal, kanphul, shamukei (Punjab), and hand in Kashmir (9).
All parts of the plant are utilised, with the leaves prized as an antiscorbutic vegetable, rich in vitamin C, and the flowers pickled for multiple applications. For example, people harvest the leaves and flowers for inclusion in beer, wine, and stout preparations.
While numerous texts extol the virtues of dandelion, it is recommended to harvest the young leaves in early Spring when the bitterness is less pronounced (10).
Hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium)
Hogweed belongs to the celery family, so exercise caution if you are allergic to celery, as they are related.
It’s important not to consume this plant in its raw form. Instead, make sure to cook it thoroughly until tender.
Be aware that Hogweed is known to cause photosensitivity, which can lead to skin reactions like blistering due to the presence of furanocoumarins in the plant.
The use of Hogweed was traditionally an important wild food plant in Eastern Europe. The Slavs particularly valued it (11).
Syrennius, in 1613 wrote: ‘Soup made with it, as it is made in our country, Lithuania and Ruthenia, is tasty and graceful. Either cooked alone or with chicken or other ingredients such as eggs, cream, millet.” (12).
The whole plant can be boiled and eaten as a vegetable or potherb, in particular the leaves and shoots, which are said to taste like asparagus (13).
You can collect the flower stalk before the plant flowers and add it to soups (3).
The flower buds can be cooked and served like broccoli with butter or white sauce (14).
A sweet substance forming on the dried leafstalks is eaten as ‘sugar’ and is said to be a delicacy in Siberia and Russia (15).
Horseradish (Armoracia rusticana)
People have cultivated horseradish (Armoracia rusticana) since ancient times, and is considered indigenous to parts of Eastern Europe (15).
Some authorities say it originated in southern Russia and Ukraine (16).
Others suggest it came to Britain as a spice plant from the Middle East in the 16th century (17). The true origins of Horseradish are lost in time.
It is the root of horseradish that people are most familiar with. Yet its young, tender leaves are a little-known secret Spring ingredient.
Traditionally you can add the young leaves to salads, pickles or cooked as a potherb. They have a pleasant flavour (3).
The larger leaves can taste of cabbage and are spicy and bitter. Use the sprouted seeds to season salads (3).
Lime (Tilia spp.)
Several species of lime are grown throughout Europe as shade or ornamental trees in parks and gardens (18).
Lime leaves make a mildly sweet tea substitute (19).
Due to its sweetness, people have made a sugar by boiling the sap (20).
The large, thick-textured leaves can be included in salads and sandwiches (3).
The young leaves make an excellent salad green tossed with lettuce, celery and an oil-and-vinegar dressing served with cold meats and cheese (21).
The youngest leaves are part of a particular dish in Greece, eaten during Lent. The leaves are boiled and dried, then stuffed with a fried mixture including onions, mushroom, rice, dill and salt to make savoury parcels (22).
Navelwort (Umbilicus rupestris)
Eaten by the Romans and highly praised by Hippocrates, the leaves were eaten raw in salads (23).
In Sicily, the leaves are traditionally eaten as part of the Mediterranean diet (24).
A recent study concludes that the leaves are a good source of nutrients and bioactive compounds, such as omega-3 fatty acids, organic acids, vitamin E (tocopherols), and phenolic compounds, mainly flavonoids (25).
References
- Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Accessed September 14, 2022. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1981/69/section/13
- Grigson G. The Englishman’s Flora. Helicon; 1996.
- Facciola S. Cornucopia II: A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications; 1998.
- Usher G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable; 1974.
- Pieroni A, ed. Ethnobotany and Biocultural Diversities in the Balkans: Perspectives on Sustainable Rural Development and Reconciliation. Springer; 2014.
- Kuhnlein HV, Turner NJ. Traditional Plant Foods of Canadian Indigenous Peoples: Nutrition, Botany and Use. Routledge; 1991.
- Thayer S. The Forager’s Harvest: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants. Forager’s Harvest; 2006.
- Mabey R, Blamey M. Food for Free. Collins; 1974.
- Ambasta S. The Useful Plants of India. National Institute of Science Communication, Council of Scientific & Industrial Research; 2000.
- Kallas J. Edible Wild Plants: Wild Foods from Dirt to Plate. Gibbs Smith; 2010.
- Luczaj L, Szymanski WM. Wild Vascular Plants Gathered for Consumption in the Polish Countryside: A Review. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. 2007;3(1):17. doi:10.1186/1746-4269-3-17
- Turner NJ. A Gift for the Taking: The Untapped Potential of Some Food Plants of North American Native Peoples. Can J Bot. 1981;59(11):2331-2357. doi:10.1139/b81-289
- Kunkel G. Plants for Human Consumption: An Annotated Checklist of the Edible Phanerogams and Ferns. Koeltz Scientific Books; 1984.
- Irving M. The Forager Handbook: A Guide to the Edible Plants of Britain. Ebury; 2009.
- Sõukand R, Kalle R. Changes in the Use of Wild Food Plants in Estonia: 18th-21st Century. 1st ed. 2016. Springer; 2016. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-33949-8
- Small E. Culinary Herbs. 2nd ed. NRC Research Press; 2006.
- Mabey R. Plants with a Purpose: A Guide to the Everyday Uses of Wild Plants. Collins; 1977.
- Wiersema JH, Leon B. World Economic Plants: A Standard Reference. CRC Press; 2013.
- Sturtevant AH. Sturtevant’s Edible Plants of the World. (Hedrick UP, ed.). Dover Publications; 1972.
- Watts D. Dictionary of Plant Lore. Elsevier; 2007.
- Herbalpedia. The Herb Growing & Marketing Network; 2014.
- Cleene M de, Lejeune MC. Compendium of Symbolic and Ritual Plants in Europe. Man & Culture; 2002.
- Sánchez-Mata M de C, Tardío J, eds. Mediterranean Wild Edible Plants: Ethnobotany and Food Composition Tables. Springer; 2016. doi:10.1007/978-1-49393329-7
- Geraci A, Amato F, Di Noto G, Bazan G, Schicchi R. The wild taxa utilized as vegetables in Sicily (Italy): a traditional component of the Mediterranean diet. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. 2018;14(1):14. doi:10.1186/s13002-018-0215-x
- Harumi Iyda J, Fernandes Â, Calhelha RC, et al. Nutritional composition and bioactivity of Umbilicus rupestris (Salisb.) Dandy: An underexploited edible wild plant. Food Chemistry. 2019;295:341-349. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2019.05.139
