Guelder Rose Other Common Names: Cramp bark tree, Crampbush Latin Name: Viburnum opulus Parts Used: Berries in food, bark in medicine. Physical Characteristics: A woody perennial shrub that can grow to 4m in height. Leaves The leaves, 5–10cm long, grow up the stem oppositely. They have three-lobes with serrated edges.…
Author: Sophia
foraging and herbal medicine go hand in glove. Herbal remedies are easily produced at home because they involve extracting and/or preserving plant material using age-old processes like macerating in vinegar, oil or alcohol, preserved by drying or using a potent source of sugar or salt, or fermenting into a condiment…
Wild Mustards / Spring / Summer / Edible Wild Mustard can come in many shapes and sizes, there are a couple of different kinds but they all share similar characteristics. You get to a point where you walk past something and say to yourself “well I don’t know exactly what…
Heather / All Year / Edible Common Names Heather/Ling Heather/Scotch Heather Latin Name: Calluna vulgaris, Erica tetralix, E. caerulea – Ericaceae Harvest Season: Best to collect fresh, young (not too woody) flowering tops (leaves and flowers) when the flowers have just bloomed – usually July – October, depending on the…
Wild Fennel / Spring / Summer / Autumn / Edible Latin Name: Foeniculum vulgare Physical Characteristics:Â A tall umbellifer that can grow to 1.5-2m tall in favourable conditions. Leaves The leaves, which begin sheathed, are very finely branched and appear feathery. Flowers The flowering stalks are round in the cross…
Sea Plantain / Spring / Summer / Autumn / Edible Other Common Names: Coastal Plantain, Plantain by the Sea, Goose tongue Latin Name: Plantago maritima subsp. maritima (there are several subspecies, differentiated by their geographical distributions). Physical Characteristics: Looking a bit like a wider, more succulent grass stem with a…
Salty Fingers / All Year / Edible Salty Fingers are an absolutely outstanding species that grows at certain special coastal spots throughout the UK and the rest of the world. This one looks prehistoric and like it shouldn’t be eaten, however it has a delightful salty flavour and the way…
Lilac / Spring / Summer / Edible Other Common Names:Â Lilac flower, sweet lilac Latin Name: Syringa vulgaris and other species Physical Characteristics:Â This is a deciduous shrub that blooms in spring with cones of wonderfully fragrant flowers. It can grow up to 7m tall and can form suckers with…
Buck’s Horn Plantain / Spring / Summer / Autumn / Edible Common Names Stagshorn plantain, Minutina Botanical Name Plantago coronopus Scientific Classification Kingdom – Plantae Order –Lamiales Family – Plantaginaceae Physical Characteristics The whole plant rarely grows more than 10cm tall. Leaves Hairy leaves growing in a basal rosette. Each…
Reindeer Moss / All Year / Edible Other Common Names: Reindeer lichen, Reindeer cup lichen, Grey reindeer lichen, Caribou moss, Deer moss Latin Name: Cladonia rangiferina Physical Characteristics:Â While it is colloquially known as a moss, this is actually a lichen, which is a symbiont of at least one fungus…