Category: Plant identification

Comfrey / spring / summer / autumn / Edible   Scientific Name Symphytum officinale Family Boraginaceae Also known as True comfrey. Other English names include Quaker comfrey, cultivated comfrey, boneset, knitbone, consound, and slippery-root. Habitat It is native to Europe and it is known elsewhere, including North America, as an…

Crow Garlic (Allium vineale ) How to Identify Crow Garlic Edible Scientific NameAllium vineale FamilyAmaryllidaceae Also known asWild garlic, onion grass, crow garlic or stag’s garlic, compact onion, false garlic, wild onion. HabitatNative to Europe, northwestern Africa and the Middle East. The species was introduced in Australia and North America,…

Cleavers / Spring / Summer / Autumn / Edible Everything you need to safely identify the edible and medicinal Cleavers or Sticky Weed (Gallium Aparine) before heading out to forage some. Scientific Name Gallium aparine Family Rubiaceae Also known as Clivers, “bort”, bedstraw, goosegrass, catchweed, stickyweed, stickybud, robin-run-the-hedge, sticky willy,…

Burdock / Autumn / Winter / Edible Scientific Name Arctium lappa Family Asteraceae Also known as Gobo root, Beggar’s Buttons, Thorny Burr, Happy Major. Habitat Native to the temperate regions, from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean, and from the British Isles through Russia, and the Middle East to India, China, Taiwan…

Darwins Barberry (Berberis darwinii) How to Identify Darwins Barberry Edible Scientific NameBerberis darwinii FamilyBerberidaceae Also known asMmichay, calafate, and quelung. HabitatNative to southern Chile and Argentina and naturalized elsewhere. Moist shady woodland in the Patagonian mountains. Woodland Garden Dappled Shade; Shady Edge; Hedge; DescriptionIt is an evergreen thorny shrub growing…

GROUND ELDER (Aegopodium podagraria) How to Identify Ground Elder(Edible) Common namesGround Elder, Bishop’s Weed, Goutweed, Gout Wort, Snow-in-the-Mountain, English Masterwort, Wild Masterwort Botanical nameAegopodium podagraria Meaning of botanical nameFrom the Greek Aigos for “goat” and podo meaning foot. The second part of the name is Latin and is another reference…

Himalayan Balsam / Spring / Summer / Edible Himalayan Balsam is an incredibly invasive species that is often found spreading up riverside edges, however, it’s also a brilliant edible and has edible, leaves, shoots flower & seeds.. Common names Himalayan Balsam, Indian Balsam, Bobby Tops, Copper Tops, Gnome’s Hatstand, Ornamental…