Beefsteak Weed

Scientific Name(s): Perilla frutescens
Abundance: invasive
What: leaves, flowers, seeds
How: raw, cooked, tea
Where: shade, woods, borders
When: summer
Nutritional Value: leaves have fiber, calcium, iron, potassium, vitamins A, C, riboflavin; seeds have omega-3 fatty acids
Dangers: dried plants can become toxic to cattle

Medicinal Summary:
Leaves - antiasthmatic, antibacterial, general antiseptic, antispasmodic, diaphoretic, emollient, expectorant, antioxidant; anti-inflammatory; antidepressant, and general tonic

Leaf Arrangement: The leaves are arranged oppositely-alternating along the stems.

Leaf Shape: The leaves are broadly ovate to cordate, with a length of approximately 2 to 4 inches and a width of 1.5 to 3 inches.

Leaf Venation: The venation is pinnate, with veins creating a textured appearance.

Leaf Margin: The leaf margins are serrated or toothed, providing a slightly jagged edge.

Leaf Color: The top side of the leaves is typically green, while the underside may have a purplish tint.

Flower Structure: The flowers are small, tubular, and arranged in spikes or racemes at the tips of the stems. Being a member of the mint family, each flower typically has five fused petals and 4 stamen.

Flower Color: The flowers can vary in color, with shades of pink, purple, or white.

Fruit: The fruit is a small, nutlet or seed, produced after flowering.

Seed: Seeds are small, rounded, and may have a brown or black color.

Stem: The stems are square-shaped, a characteristic feature of the mint family (Lamiaceae). They may have a purplish tint.

Hairs: The plant has very distinctive hairs on the stem. Leave may have a fuzzy texture due to fine hairs.

Height: Perilla frutescens can reach a height of 1 to 3 feet, depending on environmental conditions.

Young Beefsteak Weed. The leave's flavor is excellent right now.


Mature Beefsteak plant.


Mature Beefsteak plant...note the purplish color on the underside of the leaf.


A stand of Beefsteak plants.


Close-up of leaf. Note the sharp teeth along the edge and how the veins run along the bottom of these teeth.


Close-ups of the reddish, hairy stem. Note the square shape, opposite leaves and how the flower stalks join the stems at the leaf joints.




Close-up of flower stalk after losing flowers. Note the alternating, opposite arrangement.


Close-up of flower.


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


Originally a popular seasoning herb and medicine in Asia, Beefsteak Weed has become an invasive plant across central and eastern United States. In Texas these plants are usually found near urban and suburban areas where they've gone feral from landscaping beds and gardens. Beefsteak plants seem to prefer disturbed areas, especially shady areas with moist but well-drained soil. Being in the mint family, Beefsteak Weeds have a strong minty scent, show the characteristic square hollow stem, have alternating-opposite leaves, and reproduce vigorously.

The sweetish-flavored young leaves have a long history of both being used in salads or cooked as a seasoning for rice and other dishes. The flower stalks (inflorescence) are used as garnishes. The seeds are roasted and mixed in with other dishes, dried and then ground as a seasoning, and were pressed for their oil. This oil is comparable to rapeseed oil.

An oil distilled from the leaves was used as a flavoring agent in both toothpastes and candy though these have been replaced by synthetic version nowadays.

The entire plant is dried then reconstituted in tea for medicinal uses. Traditional Asian herbal medicine states it is an antiasthmatic, antibacterial, general antiseptic, antispasmodic, diaphoretic, emollient, expectorant, and general tonic. It supposedly has strong anti-cancer properties.

Being invasive, it should be destroyed on sight but at least it can be used after harvesting. Maybe someday if enough people start eating it we can stop it from damaging native ecosystems.


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.

Betony

Scientific name: Stachys floridana
Abundance: common
What: tubers, leaves, stems
How: tubers raw, cooked, or pickled; leaves & stems in tea or smoked; leaves in salad
Where: shady undergrowth, lawns
When: during cool seasons, especially winter
Nutrional value: calories from tuber, antioxidants in leaves,
Dangers: plants can reproduce from even small section of tuber making them invasive

Medicinal Summary:
Leaves/Stems/Flowers - hemostatic; reduces cold symptoms; reduces bronchial issues; improves digestion; soothes skin inflammations (tisane, smoke, poultice)

Leaf Arrangement: The leaves are arranged opposite-alternating along the stems.

Leaf Shape: The leaves are lanceolate, with a lengths of approximately 1" and widths of 3/4". Base is broader than the rounded tip.

Leaf Venation: The venation is pinnate.

Leaf Margin: The leaf margins are toothed, providing a slightly scalloped appearance.

Leaf Color: The leaves are typically green, and there may not be a significant color difference between the top and underside.

Flower Structure: The flowers are arranged in dense spikes at the tips of the stems, with individual flowers forming small, tubular structures. Each flower typically has a hood-like upper lip and a three-lobed lower lip.

Flower Color: The flowers can vary in color, commonly appearing in shades of pink, purple, or lavender.

Fruit: The fruit is a small nutlet or seed, produced after the flowering period.

Seed: Seeds are small, ovoid, and may have a brown or black color.

Stem: The stems are typically square-shaped, a characteristic feature of the mint family (Lamiaceae).

Roots: Fibrous root structure with numerous white, segmented tubers when plant is mature.

Hairs: The plant may have fine hairs on the stems or leaves, contributing to a slightly fuzzy or textured appearance.

Height: Stachys floridana can reach a height of 12"-18", depending on environmental conditions.

Young plant and immature tubers


Plant and edible tuber


Mature plant after it dropped its flowers in the spring.


Betony patch (plants with the purple flowers are betony)






Close-up of betony flowers.




Close-up of betony tubers. The tubers will be this large in the spring and summer.




Close-up of betony leaf. Note the square stem and the alternating, opposite leaf arrangement. These are signs of the mint family.




If you have a cold, sell your coat and buy betony!
-Italian proverb

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


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.

This map is VERY incomplete. Betony appears all through Gulf & East Texas.

Large patches of betony plants can be found in local forest from mid-fall until mid/late spring. During this time the tubers are growing, reaching full size of over four inches long. Not every plant produces a tuber, you need to dig up quite a few to find them. The looser the soil the bigger the tubers will grow. These plants readily reproduce from bits of tubers and roots and so are considered to be invasive.

Betony flowers in the spring and this is a sign the plant is almost done for the year. You can eat the flowers or make a tea from them but they don't have the strong medicinal properties of the younger leaves. Usually by the time the flowers appear it's too late to harvest betony leaves.

Betony has a long history of being an herbal "magic bullet" capable of curing many ills. It's high tannic acid content helps it staunch bleeding; assorted alkaloids and antioxidants supposedly give relief from fevers and headaches along with improving overall blood circulation. In Europe it is believed to help with issues with the stomach, liver and gallbladder. It was ingested as a tea, herb, and also by both smoking and as snuff well before the arrival of tobacco.


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.

Bittercress

Scientific Name(s): Cardamine hirsuta
Abundance: common
What: leaves
How: raw when young, cooked when older
Where: moist shaded yards, borders, and woods
When: fall, winter (in Houston), spring
Nutritional Value: Vitamins A,Bs,C,K and minerals

Medicinal Summary:
Leaves - contain lutein which is important for eye health (eaten)

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

Leaf Shape: The leaves are pinnately compound, consisting of small, rounded, lobed leaflets. Each leaflet is approximately 0.5 to 1.5 inches in length and 0.25 to 0.75 inches in width.

Leaf Venation: The venation is pinnate, with veins running along the length of each leaflet.

Leaf Margin: The leaflets may have a toothed margin big enough to appear as lobes.

Leaf Color: The leaves are green.

Flower Structure: The flowers are small and have four petals, forming a cross-like structure. They are arranged in loose clusters at the tips of the stems.

Flower Color: The flower color is white.

Fruit: The fruit is a slender, elongated pod (silique) that develops from the flower. The grow in a spiraling pattern at the ends of stems.

Seed: Seeds are small, elongated, and can vary in color, often brown.

Stem: The stems are slender, erect, and may have fine hairs.

Hairs: Fine hairs may be present on the stems and leaves, contributing to a slightly hairy or textured appearance.

Height: Cardamine hirsuta typically grows to a height of 6 to 12 inches, with variations depending on environmental conditions.

Wood bittercress




More young bittercress plants.




Closeup of seed pods and flowers.


Close-up of seedpods.




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.


Bittercress pops up when most everything else is brown. Look for it yards, flowerbeds and assorted border areas where low growing plants aren't swallowed up by taller stuff. I've been known to buy a potted plant on clearance just because it had some nice bittercress growing in the pot.

Bittercress comes up with a rosette of deeply lobed leaves and small, white flowers which twist up the stem like a spiral staircase. After the flowers come long, thin seedpods which explode open on touch once they've matured and turned brown.

Bittercress has a wonderful horseradish flavor that is great for spicing up sandwiches and salads. The young leaves can be eaten raw while older, larger leaves can be cooked like traditional mustard greens. The seeds are too small to be ground into a mustard-style condiment but the tender, young seedpods are as good or better than the young leaves for a raw blast of flavor.

The leaves and seedpods must be chewed for a bit for the full, powerful flavor to develop. Their taste doesn't come from chemicals found in the plant but rather from the product of these chemicals as they undergo a reaction initiated by chewing. Chewing smashes the cell walls, releasing the compounds so they can react with the oxygen and water in your mouth, resulting in the excellent horseradishy punch.

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.

Burr Clover

Scientific Name(s): Medicago polymorpha
Abundance: plentiful
What: seeds
How: raw or roasted, ground into flour
Where: sunny fields, lawns, and neglected areas
When: late winter through summer
Nutritional Value: starch

Leaf Arrangement: Leaves are alternate arrangement where each leaf emerges individually at different points along the stem.

Leaf Shape: The compound leaves are trifoliate, meaning each leaf is composed of three leaflets. These leaflets are obovate to oblanceolate in shape, broader at the tip and narrowing towards the base.

Venation: It exhibits pinnate venation, with a central vein in each leaflet and smaller veins branching off to the sides.

Leaf Margin: The margins of the leaflets are toothed, especially near the tip.

Leaf Color: The leaves are generally a bright green color.

Flower Structure: The flowers are small and grouped in tight clusters. Each flower is typical of the pea family, with a banner, wings, and keel.

Flower Color: The flowers are yellow.

Fruit: The fruit is a coiled pod that resembles a burr, hence the name burclover. It often has spines or hooked hairs.

Seeds: Each pod contains several small, kidney-shaped seeds.

Stem: The stems are slender, can be either prostrate or ascending, and are often branching.

Hairs: The plant, especially the fruit, may have small hairs or spines.

Height: Medicago polymorpha typically grows to a height of about 6 to 24 inches, depending on environmental conditions.

Close-ups of Burr Clover flowers.




Burr Clover seed pods.


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.

This map is very incomplete.

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


Burr Clover is often mistaken for regular clover but these leaves are coarse, rough-edged and grow off prostate runners all branching out from a central taproot. The edible seeds grow one per seedpod and can be eaten raw or roasted then ground into flour once they turn black.

Being mostly starch, it should be possible to use Burr Clover seeds to produce alcohol. The starch must be broken down into simple sugars for the yeast. The easiest way to do this to combine the crushed seeds with the amylase enzymes found in saliva…in other words, the traditional “spit beer” made by many primitive cultures where a starchy material is chewed and then spit into a large pot to ferment for several days to produce a weak alcoholic drink. Luckily, high concentrations of the necessary enzyme are also found the sprouts of barley and other grains, which can be bought from brewer supply stores.

Like most clovers, Burr Clover forms a symbiotic partnership with rhizobium bacteria which allows it to turn atmospheric nitrogen gas into a form usable by plants. This makes it a beneficial plant to let grow in your garden as it fertilizes nearby plants with this nitrogen.


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.

Black Nightshade

Scientific Name(s): Solanum nigrum, Solanum ptychanthum, Solanum americanum
Abundance: plentiful
What: leaves, ripe berries
How: berries raw, leaves cooked
Where: yards, fields
When: summer, early fall
Nutritional Value: assorted vitamins, minerals
Dangers: small amounts of toxic alkaloid solanine can be found in green berries and even smaller amounts in leaves. 

Leaf Arrangement: The leaves are arranged alternately along the stems.

Leaf Shape: The leaves are typically ovate to rhombic, with a length ranging from 1 to 3 inches and a width of 1 to 2 inches.

Leaf Venation: The venation is pinnate.

Leaf Margin: The leaf margin is typically entire, with occasional irregularities.

Leaf Color: The leaves are green, darker green on the top with a lighter underside.

Flower Structure: The flowers are small, star-shaped with 5 backwards-pointing petals, with a diameter of approximately 1/4 inch, and are usually found in clusters.

Flower Color: Black nightshade flowers are white with a yellow center.

Fruit: The fruit is a berry, initially green with tiny, white dots and turning black when mature, with a smooth surface.

Seed: Seeds are small, disc-shaped, and numerous within the berry.

Stem: Black nightshade stems are square, green and branching. 

Hairs: Leaves and stem have fine, somewhat coarse hairs.

Height: Black nightshade typically grows to a height of 1 to 3 feet, but it can vary depending on growing conditions.

Black nightshade (Solanum ptychanthum) bush.






Black Nightshade flowers. Note the backwards-pointing petals.


Close-up of black nightshade (Solanum ptychanthum) flower (white petals, yellow center.


Closeup of black nightshade (Solanum ptychanthum) fruit. Ripe fruit is black, unripe fruit is speckled green.

Don't eat the green fruit!!

Black nightshade (Solanum ptychanthum) leaves.


Front (left) and Back (right) of leaves.


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.

This map is incomplete.

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


Spring up uninvited just about anywhere some bare, fertile soil waits, black nightshades with its tiny white flowers, clusters of black berries, and small leaves can grow 3’ to 4’ tall and just as wide between spring and the first frost of winter.

The leaves are lanceolate or elliptic in shape with smooth edges. Looking closely at the flowers, the petals are revealed to be folded backwards, an indication you are looking at the mellow-flavored Solanum ptychanthum aka American nightshade. The berries of this plant start out green with white spots but quickly turn black and edible. Birds love these berries which is why the plant quickly gets spread far and wide via bird poop. You'll find flowers, unripe berries, and ripe berries all at the same time on a single plants as it continuously produces its tiny fruit all summer long.

The main edible portion of Solanum ptychanthum are its leaves which I love cooked in curry sauce then poured over chicken and rice. Time spent with the amazing forager, Sam Thayer, revealed the young, tender leaves are a fine, raw addition to salads. That being said, it's still safest to cook the leaves, especially if you aren't used to eating lots of wild plants. 

The very similar-looking Solanum nigrum is one of the most popular vegetables of Asia and Southern Europe yet here in North America, where it has naturalized, it is lumped in with its much more poisonous family members such as belladonna. Its green, immature berries do contain solanine but the ripe berries are safe to eat. My preferred way of preparing them is baking in muffins and pies. 

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.