Daisy / All Year Round / Edible An abundant, perennial, wild edible that all of us are familiar with, if only from making ‘daisy bracelets’ as a child. They can be found almost anywhere on any soil type. Common Names Daisy, Common Daisy, Lawn Daisy, English daisy, Bruisewort, Gardeners’ Friend…
Category: spring
Lesser Celandine / Spring / Summer / Edible A very common, woodland plant, one of the first plants to flower in spring. Common Names Lesser Celandine, Spring Messenger, Pilewort Botanical Name      Ficaria verna formally Ranunculus ficaria Scientific Classification Kingdom – Plantae Order – Ranunculales Family – Ranunculaceae Physical Characteristics for…
Salty Fingers / Spring / Summer / Autumn / 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…
Lilac / Spring / Summer / Edible Common Names Lilac flower, sweet lilac Botanical Name Syringa vulgaris and other species Scientific Classification Kingdom – Plantae Order –Lamiales Family – Oleaceae Physical Characteristics This is a deciduous shrub that blooms in spring with cones of wonderfully fragrant flowers. It can grow…
Reindeer Moss / All Year / Edible Common Names Reindeer lichen, Reindeer cup lichen, Grey reindeer lichen, Caribou moss, Deer moss Botanical Name Cladonia rangiferina Scientific Classification Kingdom – Fungi Order –Lecanorales Family – Cladoniaceae Physical Characteristics of Reindeer Moss While it is colloquially known as a moss, this is…
Old Man’s Beard / All Year / Edible After processing Old Man’s Beard, it can be dried, or powdered and added to energy balls, crackers, and sauces that need thickening. Common Names (this refers to the lichen, not the species of Clematis that goes by the same common name). Tree’s…
Oak Moss / All Year Round / Edible Oak Moss and other Lichens have been used as food and medicine as long as there have been people. Common Names Tree moss Botanical Name Evernia prunastri Scientific Classification Kingdom – Fungi Order –Lecanorales Family – Parmeliaceae Physical Characteristics Grows primarily on…
Nori / Spring / Summer / Autumn / Winter / Edible Common Names Sometimes called Laver (not strictly correct, but they are very similar) Botanical Name Pyropia yezoensis, californica, tenera and other species. Note that Laver is in the Porphyria genus, but the seaweeds in each are often reclassified. Scientific…
Irish Moss Seaweed /Autumn / Winter / Spring / Edible Note: You may have heard more about Carrageenan than about Irish Moss, and you may be surprised to find controversial material after googling carrageenan! Irish Moss is the seaweed from which the fibre/carbohydrate carrageenan is extracted. The information below relates…
Lords and Ladies / Spring / Summer / Autumn / Toxic Through this piece, we’re going to look at the full Identification Guide for Lords and Ladies as well as how to make sure we don’t confuse this one with Common or Lambs sorrel, or accidentally pick it amongst our…