Cow Parsnip

Scientific name: Heracleum maximum
Abundance: rare
What: young leaves, stem, roots, seeds
How: leaves-raw/cooked; stem and roots-peel then boil; seeds-dry then add to soups and stews
Where: shade, borders, woods, marsh
When: spring, summer, fall
Nutritional Value: sugars/calories in stem and roots
Dangers: WARNING: Similar-looking to deadly, foul-smelling hemlock! Also, juice and hairs of cow parsnip can irritate skin and contains suspected cancer-causing chemicals.

Leaf Arrangement: Alternate, with leaves large and deeply lobed.

Leaf Shape: Broadly ovate, with deep lobes and a serrated or toothed margin. Mature leaves can be over 16" across at their widest.

Venation: Palmate, with a prominent central vein and visible lateral veins branching off in each lobe.

Margin: Serrated or toothed, particularly towards the leaf tip.

Leaf Color: Bright to dark green, with a slightly coarse texture.

Flower Structure: Compound umbels, large and flat-topped, with numerous tiny flowers in each umbel.

Flower Color: White, sometimes with a slight pinkish hue.

Fruit: Flat, oval, two-seeded schizocarps.

Seeds: Small, flat, and attached in pairs.

Stem: Tall, stout, and hollow, often with purplish or reddish blotches.

Hairs: Generally hairless, but the stem may have fine bristles.

Height: Typically grows between 4 to 10 feet tall.

Cow parsnip plant (almost seven feet tall).


Closeup of flowers.


Another view of flowers.


Mature seedhead of cow Parsnip.


Leaves of cow parsnips are huge, well over twelve inches across.


North American distribution, attributed to U. S. Department of Agriculture.


Look for Cow Parsnips in partially shady areas where water (usually a stream) meets woods. They seem to prefer hardwood forests to pine.

While not quite on par with Pokeweed, Cow Parsnips do require caution when harvesting and preparing the young shoots. Like Pokeweed, harvest the shoots when they're under 9" tall but you'll also want to take the cow parsnip's root. Wear gloves and arm guards while collecting them so the furanocoumarin chemical in the sap and surface needles can't adhere to your skin. If this chemical does get on you it'll make those areas of skin super-sensitive to sunlight, resulting in patches of 2nd degree sunburns.

Still the plant is quite tasty. Saute the diced-up leaves, stem, and roots in butter, oil, or bacon grease along with onions or garlic for a few minutes. They'll shrink a little but not disappearing like spinach. Hit them with a dash of cedar-infused apple cider vinegar and have at them!


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Horse Crippler Cactus

Scientific Name(s): Echinocactus texensis
Abundance: uncommon
What: flowers, fruit
How: raw, cooked
Where: sunny fields, dry areas
When: fall, winter
Nutritional Value: calories, vitamin C
Dangers: beware of thorns!

Leaf Arrangement: Not applicable, as Echinocactus texensis is a cactus and does not have true leaves, with the primary structure being the ribbed stem.

Leaf Shape: The plant lacks traditional leaves; the spines emerge from areoles on the ribbed stem.

Leaf Venation: Not applicable due to the absence of traditional leaves.

Leaf Margin: Not applicable as there are no leaves.

Leaf Color: Not applicable; the plant features a green to bluish-green stem.

Flower Structure: Flowers are solitary, growing from the crown of the cactus.

Flower Color: The flowers are usually pink to red.

Fruit: Produces a fleshy, barrel-shaped fruit, approximately 1" in diameter, clustered at the center of the cactus.

Seed: Seeds are small and black, contained within the fruit.

Stem: Globular to cylindrical, with pronounced ribs and areoles from which spines emerge.

Hairs: The plant has spines, which are modified hairs, typically dense and covering the ribs.

Height: The cactus typically grows to a height of 6 to 8 inches.

Top view of Horse Crippler with fruit.


Side view of Horse Crippler with fruit.




Close-up of fruit.


Close-ups of thorns.




Texas distribution, attributed to U. S. Department of Agriculture. The marked counties are guidelines only. Plants may appear in other counties, especially if used in landscaping.


North American distribution, attributed to U. S. Department of Agriculture.


Hiding low in the grasslands of the southwestern counties of Texas as well as randomly in other arid prairie locations, Horse Crippler Cactus is a boobytrap waiting to puncture the foot of the unwary. This low, dome-shaped cactus grows only 1-2 inches tall but up to a foot across with a lifespan measure in centuries! These cacti are covered with clusters of seven or so wicked thorns, one of which will be 2-3 inches long while the others will only be about 1 inch in length. Most of the thorns will have a slight downward curve. Horse Cripple Cacti can bloom in spring through summer and these flowers have red centers surrounded by duo-toned, pink or light purple petals which open during the day but close up at night.

The ripe, red fruit looks very similar to the "tunas" of prickly pears and are used the same way. The flavor of these fruit is more subtle than that of prickly pears but still delicious. Due to the numerous seeds, I prefer squeezing the juice from these fruit then boiling it down into a syrup. The seeds can be collected from the fruit, roasted, then boiled into porridge or ground into a gluten-free flour.

Horse Crippler Cactus transplant easily into WELL drained pots and will love the hottest, direct sunlight Texas has to offer. They love the south or west-facing, wind-swept balconies of apartments where any other plant would shrivel up and die.


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Cow's Tongue Cactus

Scientific Name(s): Opuntia engelmannii var. linguiformis
Abundance: uncommon
What: pads, flowers, fruit
How: peeled pads can be pickled, fried, made into jerky; fruit can be raw or blended into a smoothy/icee drink; juice from strained fruit can be drunk, made into ice cream, mixed drinks, preserves.
Where: sunny fields, landscaping
When: fruit in fall, pads-all year though younger pads taste better.
Nutritional Value: vitamin C, some minerals
Dangers: burn or scrap off the tiny needles (glochids) before eating, 1% of population is allergic to cactus-based foods.

Leaf Arrangement: The plant features small, ephemeral leaves that quickly transform into spines, with the primary structure being the stem pads.

Leaf Shape: Initially small and cylindrical, the leaves quickly modify into spines and are not a lasting feature.

Leaf Venation: Not applicable, as the leaves transition into spines and lack typical venation patterns.

Leaf Margin: Undefined in the modified spiny leaves.

Leaf Color: Initially green but quickly replaced by spines and therefore not a prominent feature.

Flower Structure: Flowers are solitary and grow from the edges of the stem pads.

Flower Color: The flowers are typically yellow, sometimes with red or orange hues.

Fruit: Produces a fleshy, elongated fruit, which can be red or purple when ripe.

Seed: The seeds are small, contained within the fruit.

Stem: Characterized by flat, broad stem segments, commonly referred to as pads, that are linguiform (tongue-shaped).

Hairs: No true hairs are present, but there are spines and glochids (tiny barbed bristles) on the stem segments.

Height: The plant typically forms a low, spreading shrub, generally reaching 2 to 4 feet in height.

Cow's tongue cactus used in landscaping.


Cow's tongue cactus fruit (picture taken in mid September in Houston).


Another closeup of cow's tongue fruit (also taken in mid-September in Houston).


North American distribution, attributed to U. S. Department of Agriculture.


Closely related to prickly pears, cow's tongue cacti pads and fruit can be used in the same manner as other Opuntia species. The pads can be peeled then sliced and cooked like green beans though much slimier. The peeled pads can also be sprinkled with your favorite beef/venison jerky spices and then dehydrated into "vegan jerky".

The fruits are usually mashed, boiled, and then strained through a fine mesh such as cheesecloth to release their delicious juice. This juice can be drank straight, made into jelly or wine, or slightly sweetened (it's already quite sweet) then boiled down to make a syrup.

Before doing anything with the pads or fruit you must remove their tiny, almost invisible needles called glochids. Use a barbecue tongs to harvest the pads/fruit and then burn off the glochids with a torch or gas stovetop.

Burning glochids.


Peel the fruit then mash it up in a saucepan. Add just enough water so as to cover the pulp then boil for about ten minutes. Let the resulting juice cool a little then filter out the pulp and seeds through cheesecloth or other fine filter.

Peeled fruit before mashing and boiling.


Straining the juice.



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Cholla Pencil Cactus

Scientific Name(s): Cylindropuntia leptocaulis
Abundance: common
What: fruit
How: raw, jam, jelly, wine
Where: arid, sunny, shade, borders, fields
When: winter
Nutritional Value: calories
Dangers: tiny spines (glochids) can cause a lot of pain and discomfort if not removed from fruit before eating.

Leaf Arrangement: The leaves are small and ephemeral, with the plant primarily characterized by its stem segments.

Leaf Shape: Leaves are scale-like, very small, and typically fall off early in the season.

Leaf Venation: Not discernible due to the small size and scale-like nature of the leaves.

Leaf Margin: The margins are smooth, as the leaves are more like scales.

Leaf Color: The leaves, when present, are green but quickly become inconspicuous.

Flower Structure: Flowers are solitary and borne at the tips of the stem segments.

Flower Color: The flowers are typically yellow to greenish-yellow.

Fruit: Produces dry, spiny, 3/4" long fruits that are red when ripe, often persisting on the plant. After a certain amount of time, new cholla branches grow from these fruit.

Seed: The seeds are small and found within the dry fruits.

Stem: Characterized by slender, cylindrical stem segments that can be green to or gray-brown depending on age, forming a dense, twiggy shrub.

Hairs: There are no hairs, but the plant has numerous spines and glochids (small barbed bristles).

Height: The plant typically reaches 2 to 6 feet in height.

Cholla cactus aka Christmas cactus aka pencil cactus with fruit in January.


New, green stems of the cactus grow off its fruit.




Close-up of cholla cactus fruit.


Texas distribution, attributed to U. S. Department of Agriculture. The marked counties are guidelines only. Plants may appear in other counties, especially if used in landscaping.


North American distribution, attributed to U. S. Department of Agriculture.



Cholla Pencil cactus first appear in the drier areas of east Texas and becomes more and more common as you head west. This cactus is easily recognized by it's long, thin, multi-branched stems intersected by small, red, thorny, tasty fruit. Other names for it include "Tasajillo" and "Christmas Cactus". The red fruit starts appearing in late summer and hangs around through mid-winter. When intertwined with a tree or other support, they can grow almost six feet tall. Their small (1/2") yellow to slightly greenish flowers open in the afternoon and then close by sunset. Look for it in sunny fields, especially along fence lines and other borders. Unlike the fruit of most plants, Cylindropuntia leptocaulis fruits sprout multiple, new stems in late winter/early spring which make collecting these small treats somewhat difficult and time-consuming. Add to that their many thorns and tiny glochids and you have food that really takes some effort to harvest.

This is another plant that requires a thick, leather glove and a sharp knife to harvest. These fruit are too small to use the burning technique to remove their spines/glochids like I do with Opuntia cactus tunas. Carefully trim away the section of skin containing the thorns, then they're ready to eat. I suppose one could juice them or use them to make jelly, jam, or wine but honestly, even though they taste great I'm just to lazy to put in the effort required to harvest more than a quick snack's worth.


Buy my book! Outdoor Adventure Guides Foraging covers 70 of North America's tastiest and easy to find wild edibles shown with the same big pictures as here on the Foraging Texas website.

Tree Cholla Cactus

Scientific Name(s): Opuntia imbricata
Abundance: common
What: flower buds, fruit
How: dry, boil, or roast flower buds then use like okra; fruit eaten raw or used like other berries
Where: West Texas desert areas, sunny, hillsides
When: flower buds in spring, fruit in fall & winter
Nutritional Value: unknown
Dangers: spines and glochids must be removed before eating. Large amounts of flower buds can cause diarrhea

Medicinal Summary:
Fruit - diuretic, soothes urinary tract pain/irritation (raw, tisane)
Sap - soothes gastrointestinal inflammations; anti-diarrheal, soothes skin irritations (poultice)
Flower Buds - laxative
Root - prevents kidney stones (tisane)

Leaf Arrangement: The leaves are small, ephemeral, and quickly turn into spines, with the primary structure being the stem segments.

Leaf Shape: Leaves are initially small and cylindrical but soon shrink and dry into sharp, long spines.

Leaf Venation: Not applicable, as the leaves are modified into spines and do not have typical venation.

Leaf Margin: The margins are not defined in the modified spiny leaves.

Leaf Color: The leaves are initially green but are not a significant feature as they are quickly replaced by spines.

Flower Structure: Flowers are solitary, growing from the edges of the stem segments.

Flower Color: The blooms are typically bright pink to magenta, occasionally red or yellow.

Fruit: Produces a fleshy, elongated fruit, often purple or red when ripe.

Seed: The seeds are small and encased within the fruit.

Stem: Characterized by thick, cylindrical, woody stem segments, often referred to as cladodes or pads.

Hairs: There are no true hairs, but spines and glochids (tiny barbed bristles) are present on the stem segments.

Height: The plant can grow into a large shrub or small tree, typically reaching 4 to 8 feet in height.

Tree cholla cactus, also known as cane cholla in Big Bend Ranch State Park, April 2018


Tree cholla flower buds.




Opened flowers of tree cholla.




Unripe tree cholla fruit (they need to be more yellow).


Overly ripe fruit (found in the spring rather than fall/winter).


Dead tree chollas look kind of cool and are surprisingly strong.


Texas distribution, attributed to U. S. Department of Agriculture. The marked counties are guidelines only. Plants may appear in other counties, especially if used in landscaping.


North American distribution, attributed to U. S. Department of Agriculture.


The many-trunked limbs, each about 1.5" in diameter and covered in many ~0.5" spines, of tree cholla dot the hillsides of the southwestern Texas Chihuahuan desert. These common cacti can grow to eight feet tall and in the spring there purple flowers stand out strongly from the reddish-brown desert. In the fall the branch tips will be covered in fleshy, yellow fruit, again about 1.5" in diameter and approximately 1.5" long. Dead tree chollas lose their skin and soft tissue to reveal an odd skeleton of wood perforated with a pattern of oblong, narrow holes. These dead branches are surprisingly tough and are used to make walking sticks.

In the spring the flower buds can be harvested for food but beware the many spines, both large and small, that protect these buds. Tongs and a sharp, long-bladed knife are the best tools for collecting them. Burn off the spines with a propane torch or rub them gently but thoroughly with gravel to break the spines of the buds. Once these spines are removed the flower buds can be dried/dehydrated for later use. Natives of the desert would grind the dried flower buds into a flour-like powder. If you want to use the buds right away I'm told they should be boiled first for a bit to tenderize them some, then use them like okra or Brussel sprouts.

Come fall, the ripe fruit can be collected with the same tongs and knife, followed by removal of the spines. These juicy, yellow fruit have a sour flavor with a salty side. Once the spines are removed they can be eaten raw. Another favorite way to prepare them is in a fruit smoothie. Their salt content can help people in the early stages of dehydration (assuming water is available) by replenishing salts lost to sweating. I'm think slices of the fruit would work as a pickle-substitute on a hamburger but I haven't had a chance to try that yet.


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Creeping Cucumber

Scientific name: Melothria pendula
Abundance: uncommon
What: green (unripe) fruit
How: raw
Where: woods, borders, stream banks
When: spring, summer, fall
Nutritional Value: carbohydrates and protein
Dangers: The seeds/fruit contain a POWERFUL laxative when ripe, so avoid purple or black fruit, only eat light-green ones.

Leaf Arrangement: The leaves of Melothria pendula are arranged alternately along the stem.

Leaf Shape: Leaves are usually simple, ovate to cordate, measuring approximately 1 to 2 inches in length.

Leaf Venation: Palmate venation, with multiple veins running outwards from the base to the edges of each leaf.

Leaf Margin: The leaf margin is typically entire or slightly toothed.

Leaf Color: The leaves are usually medium green.

Flower Structure: The flowers are1/4" across, with 5 notched petals fused together at their bases, and occur in small clusters at leaf-stem junctions.

Flower Color: Flowers are yellow.

Fruit: The immature fruit is small, green, and ovoid, resembling miniature watermelons about 1" in length. Ripe fruit is very dark purple and also about 1" long.

Seed: Inside the fruit are small, flat, and brown seeds.

Stem: The stems have tendrils, located at the leaf-stem junction, for climbing.

Hairs: Leaves may have extremely fine hairs.

Height: Melothria pendula is a low-growing vine, typically trailing or climbing, and can reach varying heights.

Creeping Cucumber vine with unripe but edible fruit.


Unripe fruit (which is when you eat it), flower, tendril, and leaf.

The leaf is at a bad angle so you can't see it's true shape.

Close-up of Creeping Cucumber fruit at the right stage to eat.


Fruit cut in half.


Creeping Cucumber leaf.


Close-ups of the Creeping Cucumber flower.


Five petals fused at the bases, with a notch in the top of each.


Ripe, purple Creeping Cucumbers, which should not be eaten!

Picture courtesy of Wildcat.

Busted open, the insides of ripe Creeping Cucumbers seem grape-like but with flat, pale seeds.


Texas distribution, attributed to U. S. Department of Agriculture. The marked counties are guidelines only. Plants may appear in other counties, especially if used in landscaping.


North American distribution, attributed to U. S. Department of Agriculture.


Creeping Cucumbers are tiny, delicious, cucumber-flavored fruit that look like little watermelons when young but then turn a dark purple/black when ripe. Do NOT eat the ripe (purple/black) fruit! At that stage they are an incredibly powerful laxative. Only eat the light-green, watermelony looking fruits.

These vines are found in moist areas both in sun and in shady areas. I've found them along stream banks in the deep shade of the Texas Piney Woods as well as growing along a sunny wall in downtown Houston where a sprinkler kept the soil wet. They begin growing in early spring and continue to live through the summer and fall. They can even be found through the winter if it is mild enough, but a frost usually kills them.

The unripe, light-green fruit is eaten raw without peeling and really does taste just like a cucumber. Use it anywhere you would use a cucumber, though I have not tried making pickles out of them. There's no reason pickling them shouldn't work. The vines will produce new fruit as long as it lives so it's quite common to find flowers, unripe fruit and ripe fruit all on the same vine right up until a frost hits.

I am not kidding when I say the ripe (purple/black) fruit is a powerful laxative. Its bowel-purging effects hits very rapidly and very uncontrollably and can result in serious injury to the body from dehydration.


Buy my book! Outdoor Adventure Guides Foraging covers 70 of North America's tastiest and easy to find wild edibles shown with the same big pictures as here on the Foraging Texas website.