Category: Plant identification

Comfrey / Spring / Summer / Autumn / Edible Comfrey (Symphytum officinale) is a well-known wild plant that thrives in damp meadows, riverbanks, and hedgerows across the UK. Recognised by its drooping, bell-shaped purple flowers and rough, hairy leaves, this hardy perennial has been used for centuries in traditional herbal…

Crow Garlic / Spring / Winter / Edible Common Names Wild garlic, onion grass, crow garlic or stag’s garlic, compact onion, false garlic, wild onion Botanical Name Allium vineale Scientific Classification Kingdom – Plantae Order –Allium Family – Amaryllidaceae Physical Characteristics for Crow Garlic A perennial, bulb-forming species of wild…

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. Common Names Clivers, “bort”, bedstraw, goosegrass, catchweed, stickyweed, stickybud, robin-run-the-hedge, sticky willy, sticky willow, stickyjack, stickeljack, and grip grass.…

Burdock / Autumn / Winter / Edible Common Names Burdock, Greater Burdock, Gobo root, Beggar’s Buttons, Thorny Burr, Happy Major Botanical Name Arctium lappa Scientific Classification Kingdom – Plantae Order –Asterales  Family – Asteraceae Physical Characteristics for Burdock Greater Burdock is a biennial plant, rather tall, reaching as much as…

Darwins Barberry / Spring / Summer / Autumn / Edible Common Names Darwins Barberry Botanical Name Berberis darwinii Scientific Classification Kingdom – Plantae Order –Ranunculales  Family – Berberidaceae Physical Characteristics for Darwins Barberry It is an evergreen thorny shrub growing to 3–4 m tall, with dense branches from ground level.…

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   Common Names Himalayan Balsam, Indian Balsam, Bobby Tops, Copper Tops, Gnome’s Hatstand, Ornamental Jewelweed, Policeman’s Helmet, Kiss-me-on-the-Mountain Botanical Name Impatiens glandulifera Scientific Classification Kingdom – Plantae Order –Rosales Family – Rosaeae Physical Characteristics for Himalayan Balsam Himalayan Balsam is an incredibly…