Water Hyacinth

Scientific name: Eichhornia crassipes
Abundance: invasive
What: young leaves, stems, bottom "flotation pods"
How: boiled, fried
Where: marshes, water
When: all year
Nutritional Value: Vitamin A
Dangers: Raw and cooked plants may cause itchiness in some people. Also, these plants collect and concentrate any toxin/pollutants in the water, so only collect them from areas of know high water quality. Water hyacinth is very prolific and invasive which has resulted in many places outlawing its transport. This means you might get arrested for taking some home to eat. Water hyacinths are a free floating plant that can be very invasive.

Leaf Arrangement: Rosette formation at the plant's center, with leaves emerging in a circular pattern.

Leaf Shape: Broadly ovate to rounded, typically 4 to 8 inches in diameter.

Leaf Venation: Veins radiate from the leaf base, visible and prominent.

Leaf Margin: The margins are wavy or crinkled, and entire.

Leaf Color: Bright green, often with a glossy surface.

Flower Structure: Flowers are borne on a spike, each with six petals and showy, distinctively arranged. Flower diameter is about 3".

Flower Color: Lavender to purple, with a yellow patch on the uppermost petal.

Fruit: The fruit is a three-celled capsule, but it is rarely seen as reproduction is mainly vegetative.

Seed: Seeds are small and numerous, though infrequently produced.

Stem: Short, thick, spongy stems that support the floating rosette.

Hairs: There are no hairs on the leaves or stems; surfaces are smooth.

Height: The plant floats on the water surface, with leaves and flowers rising a few inches to a foot above the water.  

Water hyacinths floating in a lake.


Cluster of water hyacinths.




Closeup of water hyacinth air bladders.


Full plant removed from the water.


Closeup of water hyacinth flowers.




More pictures of water hyacinths.




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.


Sadly, the invasive Water Hyacinths are choking Texas waterways. They quickly reproduce from just a small bit of root, easily covering entire lakes in a few months. Imported from Asia as a decorative plant due to their beautiful flowers, these floating, bulbous plants are an ecological nightmare. Due to their incredible ease and speed of reproduction, it is illegal to transport Water Hyacinths even if your plan is to eat it.

In Asian countries the "heart" of the Water Hyacinth is cooked up and used in a manner like artichoke hearts. They must be cooked to kill any waterborne, infectious microbes. To prepare, cut away the leaves, flowers, and fine roots from the core of the water Hyacinth. Boil this heart or thinly slice it for use in a stir-fry dish.


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.

Wild Bergamot

Scientific Name(s): Monarda fistulosa
Abundance: uncommon
What: flower
How: tea; flavoring
Where: shady, moist areas
When: late spring, summer, early fall
Nutritional Value: unknown
Dangers: bees love these flowers

Medicinal Summary:
Flowers/Leaves/Stem - soothes irritated skin; antibacterial; relieves indigestion; sweat inducer; stimulant; diuretic; helps pass kidney stones; pain reliever; expectorant; headache reducer; soothes sore throat (poultice, tisane)

Leaf Arrangement: Leaves are arranged opposite-alternating along the stem. Two leaves will be directly opposite one another, but the leaf pairs above and below will be rotated 90 degrees around the stem.

Leaf Shape: The leaves are lanceolate to ovate, measuring 2 to 4 inches in length and 0.5 to 2 inches in width.

Leaf Venation: Pinnate venation is observed, with prominent veins running parallel to each other.

Leaf Margin: The leaf margin is toothed, with small serrations along the edges.

Leaf Color: The leaves exhibit a medium green coloration.

Flower Structure: Flowers are tubular in shape and are arranged in dense, terminal, spherical clusters known as inflorescences.

Flower Color: The flowers display lavender to pink-purple coloring.

Fruit: The fruit consists of small nutlets, but it is not often a significant feature for identification.

Seed: Small and irregularly shaped seeds are present but are not typically used for identification.

Stem: The stem is square-shaped and its color can vary from green to purple.

Hairs: Fine hairs can be found on the stem and sometimes on the leaves of this plant.

Height: Monarda fistulosa typically reaches a height of 2 to 4 feet.

Wild Bergamot flowers.






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.


Stands of wild bergamot flowers dot the Texas countryside during summer. They prefer shade and moist soil so look for them under trees along drainage ditches and near ponds. What looks like a single big flower is actually a cluster of many long, tubular flowers...usually swarming with bees! Being a mint, they have the mint family's square, hollow stem and opposite-alternating leaves.

The flower makes a great tea with a sweet, herbal flavor similar to its smell. The flowers can be dried for later use but I prefer them fresh off the plant. A tincture (alcohol extract) made from wild bergamot is supposedly an excellent oral treatment for yeast infections. It also is used medicinally in the same manner as other mints. When smoked it SUPPOSEDLY delivers the antibiotics directly to the lungs to fight lung infections but I can't confirm this.


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.

Wild Lettuce

Scientific Name(s): Lactuca spp.
Abundance: uncommon
What: young leaves, shoots, flower buds/stalks
How: leaves & shots raw or boiled; flower buds/stalks cooked
Where: woods, fields, disturbed areas, moist areas
When: spring
Nutritional Value: fiber, some minerals

Medicinal Summary:
Sap - sedative, cough suppressant; soothes chronic pain; anti-anxiety (tisane, tincture)

There are twelve different wild Lactuca species, of which I've only found three. These are Lactuca serriola (aka prickly lettuce), Lactuca canadensis, and Lactuca floridana. Lactuca floridana and Lactuca serriola are fairly common in the Houston area while Lactuca canadensis appears more frequently in areas north and east of Houston.

Lactuca canadensis. Note the lobed leaves at the base and unlobed leaves up higher.


Young Lactuca floridana. All leaves are lobed.


Mature Lactuca floridana.




Lactuca floridana flower.


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.


Both the tasty Lactuca canadenesis and the somewhat bitter Lactuca floridana can grow 7-9 feet tall.

Lactuca canadenesis Structural Features:

Leaf Arrangement: Leaves start out as basal rosette and deeply lobed when plant is young then grow alternating along the stem. Leaves higher up the stem are much less lobed than those at the base.

Leaf Shape: The leaves are lanceolate to oblanceolate, measuring 2 to 12 inches in length and 0.5 to 2 inches in width.

Leaf Venation: Pinnate veins system.

Leaf Margin: The leaf margin is typically serrated or toothed.

Leaf Color: Medium to dark green

Flower Structure: Many small (<0.5" diameter), flower heads arranged in clusters at the ends of stems.

Flower Color: The petals of the flower heads are yellow.

Fruit: The fruit consists of small achenes with a pappus (tuft of hairs) for dispersal.

Seed: Achenes are small and brown, often with a pappus attached.

Stem: The stem is erect, branching, and when damaged it produces white sap that very quickly turns yellow.

Hairs: Fine hairs/spines along rib on underside of leaf.

Height: Lactuca canadensis can reach heights of 4 to 9 feet.

Lactuca floridana Structural Features:

Leaf Arrangement: Leaves start out as basal rosette and then grow alternating along the stem. Leaves are deeply lobed in all positions and age.

Leaf Shape: The leaves are lanceolate to oblanceolate, measuring 2 to 12 inches in length and 0.5 to 2 inches in width.

Leaf Venation: Pinnate veins system.

Leaf Margin: The leaf margin is typically serrated or toothed.

Leaf Color: Medium to dark green

Flower Structure: Many small (<0.5" diameter), flower heads arranged in clusters at the ends of stems.

Flower Color: The petals of the flower heads are blue-white.

Fruit: The fruit consists of small achenes with a pappus (tuft of hairs) for dispersal.

Seed: Achenes are small and brown, often with a pappus attached.

Stem: The stem is erect, branching, and when damaged it produces white sap that very quickly turns yellow.

Hairs: Fine hairs/spines along rib on underside of leaf.

Height: Lactuca floridana can reach heights of over 14 feet.

How to tell them apart:

L. canadenesis 
Leaves: deeply lobed at base of plant but much more un-lobed, grass-like at top of plant.
Sap: white at first but quickly turns dark yellowish as it dries.
Flowers: yellow.
Height: 5-9 feet

L. biennis
Sap: stays white even after drying.
Leaves: deeply lobed from base of plant all the way to those at top.
Flowers: blue-white.
Height: up to 16 feet.

The young leaves of L. canadenesis have a slight bitterness, even less than some arugulas, and can be added to salads raw. The flower stalks are tender before the flowers open and can be snapped off and cooked similar to asparagus.

L. biennis is extremely bitter even when very young. Boiling in multiple changes of water helps but most people still don't like it, plus that removes any minerals. On the plus side, the plants produce a LOT of leaves, so you can get a lot of food from it.

There is some record of wild lettuces being smoked for medicinal purposes but it is supposedly a very harsh smoke and must be mixed with other herbs to reduce this harshness.

The sap is collected by pureeing the leaves and stem, squeezing out the juice through a tightly-woven fabric, then boiled down to a black, gooey tar. This tar contains the sedative/pain relieving compounds lactucin and lactucopicrin. The tar is usually taken by dissolving a pea-sized drop of it in a shot of alcohol.


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.

Wisteria

Scientific Name(s): Wisteria spp.
Abundance: common
What: flowers
How: raw
Where: landscaping, sunny borders
When: spring
Nutritional Value:
Dangers: only the flowers are edible, everything else is TOXIC!

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

Leaf Shape: Leaves are typically compound, pinnately divided into numerous small leaflets.

Leaf Venation: Pinnate venation, with veins running from the base to the tip of each leaflet.

Leaf Margin: The leaflets typically have entire margins.

Leaf Color: The leaves are usually medium to dark green.

Flower Structure: Wisteria produces fragrant flowers that are arranged in pendulous clusters called racemes. The individual flowers have a unique pea-like structure with a banner, wings, and keel petals.

Flower Color: Flowers can vary depending on the species, but they are often shades of purple, blue, pink, or white.

Fruit: The fruit is a legume pod, usually elongated, flattened, and typically a few inches long..

Seed: Inside the pod are numerous small, hard seeds that are typically brown or black. These seeds are often shiny and have a smooth surface.

Stem: The stem is typically a climbing vine, often with woody, twisting branches.

Hairs: Fine hairs may be present on some parts of the plant, including the stem and leaves.

Height: Wisteria can climb and trail on various supports and can reach significant heights, sometimes over 30 feet.

Wisteria vine.


Wisteria flowers.


Wisteria flowers closeup.


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 fragrant flowers of wisteria make a wonderful addition to salads or just nibbled as a raw snack. Long ago they were used to flavor wines, but I haven't had a chance to try that. Note that all other parts of the plant (leaves, stem, seeds etc...) are very toxic and must not be consumed!


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.

Yarrow

Scientific name: Achillea millefolium
Abundance: uncommon
What: flowers, leaves, roots
How: flower/leaves-tea, young leaves-salad greens
Where: sunny fields, landscaping, yards
When: summer
Nutritional Value: low
Other Uses: used in the past to treat cuts and wounds.
Dangers: may cause allergic reaction in some people

Medicinal Summary:
Flowers/Leaves/Roots - hemostatic; anti-diarrheal; thermoregulator/fever reducer; wound healer; antibacterial; heals bruises, sprains, and strains; reduces swelling; reduces urinary tract problems; expectorant (poultice, tisane, tincture)

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

Leaf Shape: The leaves are compound, finely dissected and feathery, with numerous small leaflets. Each leaflet is lanceolate and measures approximately 1 to 4 inches in length.

Leaf Venation: Pinnate venation, with veins running from the base to the tip of each leaflet. Veins are hard to see due to thinness of the leaflets.

Leaf Margin: The leaf margin is typically serrated or toothed.

Leaf Color: The leaves are usually medium to dark green.

Flower Structure: The flowers are arranged in flattened, umbrella-like clusters known as compound corymbs.

Flower Color: Flower colors can vary, but common colors include white, pink, or yellow.

Fruit: The fruit is a small, dry, one-seeded achene.

Seed: Small, brown, and seed-like achenes are produced.

Stem: The stem is erect, slender, and usually hairless.

Hairs: Fine hairs may be found on some parts of the plant but are not a prominent feature.

Height: Achillea millefolium typically grows to a height of 1 to 3 feet.  

Yarrow



Yarrow flowers

Yarrow stem and leaves


Young yarrow plants

Mature yarrow, going to seed.

Extreme close-up of yarrow 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.


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


Look for yard along the edges of woods just inside the shady areas as well as in fields, especial across Central Texas. The finely divided leaves, from which it gets part of its scientific name "millefolium" give it a wild carrot-like appearance but it is a much shorter plant, rarely reaching three feet in height.

It's main use is medicinal rather than as a food source. Tea from its flowers and leaves helps produce productive sweating to flush toxins from the body and skin as well as to help fight infections. The leaves are a potent blood clotting agent used to staunch bleeding from even severe wounds as well as reduce the chance of infection. They were a part of Roman soldiers' "first aid kits" and worked surprisingly well.

There is some record of the dried flowers and leaves being smoked for respiratory medicinal properties.


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.