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.

Blackberry

Scientific name: Rubus spp.
Abundance: plentiful
What: flowers, berries
How: open mouth, insert flower/fruit, then chew
Where: Sunny wastelands, borders between woods and fields, blackberry plants grow as tall, vertical canes.
When: Spring
Nutritional Value: Vitamins K, E & C, folate, magnesium, manganese, potassium, copper, calories from sugar
Other uses: wine, jelly, tea
Dangers: sharp thorns

Medicinal Summary:
Root/Leaves - anti-diarrheal, soothes gastrointestinal inflammations, soothes skin inflammations (tisane)

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

Leaf Shape: The leaves are typically compound and consist of three to five leaflets. Each leaflet is generally oval in shape, pointed at the tips, with a length of 2 to 4 inches and a width of 1 to 2 inches.

Leaf Venation: The venation of the leaflets is pinnate, with prominent veins running from the central midrib to the edges.

Leaf Margin: The leaflets usually have serrated or toothed margins, which can be sharp.

Leaf Color: The upper side of the leaves is dark green, while the underside may be a slightly lighter shade of green.

Flower Structure: Blackberry flowers are typically composed of five distinct petals arranged in a radial pattern. They are located in clusters at the tips of the stems.

Flower Color: The flowers can be white or pinkish-white.

Fruit: The fruit of the blackberry is an aggregate of small drupelets, forming a cluster. Each drupelet contains a seed.

Seed: The seeds are small, typically around 0.1 inches in length, and have a dark color.

Stem: The stems are long, stiff, arching canes that are often covered in fine prickles or thorns. Older stems have a square/angular shape rather than being round, with a cross section of approximately 1/4".

Hairs: The stems and leaves may have fine hairs, especially when they are young, contributing to a slightly rough texture.

Height: Blackberry plants can vary in height, but they typically grow to a height of 3 to 10 feet, with arching canes that can reach the ground and root at the tips.

Blackberry flowers


Close-up of Blackberry flowers.


Close-up of unripe Blackberries.


Blackberries in various stages of ripeness.




A thick Blackberry cane.


Close-up of the tip leaves of a Blackberry cane. Dried, they make excellent tea.

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.


Blackberry brambles seem to line every roadside, abandoned wasteland, field edge and stream bank in East, Central, and Gulf Coast region of Texas. Other Texas regions also have them if enough water is present. The thorny blackberry canes makes passing through these plants a painful experience. Even the petioles of the leaves can have these spines. The canes begin producing new leaves in late winter, followed by many white flowers in March-April. The appearance of these flowers in Houston tell me it's time to do my taxes! The berries appear 6-10 weeks after the flowers. By mid-summer the blackberry canes will be brown and dried, seemingly dead though if the summer is mild the'll last into the fall.

A delicious tea can be made from blackberry flowers and/or its young leaves. I recommend using the leaves rather than flowers so as to not reduce the amount of fruit produced. For tea, pick young healthy leaves in late morning after any dew has dried but before the sun has had a chance to evaporate the volatile flavoring oils out of the leaves. Dry the leaves before use for a richer flavor. Keep the pot or mug covered so the volatile flavors stay in the tea rather than float out into your kitchen. The combination of blackberry and Yaupon holly leaves makes a most excellent and vitamin-rich tea rich.

The more sun and water the berries get the bigger and sweeter they will be. In dry or cloudy years or if growing in shady areas the berries will be small and tart. Blackberries will be at maximum ripeness when they are swollen and flat black. Shine black fruit are not quiet ripe yet and so won’t be at their maximum sweetness. These berries are fantastic raw, made into jelly, jam, or wine, boiled down into a syrup, made into cobbler or mixed into ice cream. Seriously, any dessert you have in mind can be made with blackberries!

An individual cane will only bear fruit in its second year. Once you've harvested the cane’s berries cut and dispose of the cane to make next year’s berry harvest easier. Beware of snakes and fire ant mounds hidden by the thick brambles as you pick the berries.

The technical name for this type of plant structure is a "cane" but I put it under "Vine" to make it easier to find by beginners.


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 Walnut

Scientific name: Juglans nigra
Abundance: common
What: nuts, sap
How: nuts raw, cooked, picked, or tinctured; sap boil to syrup
Where: forests, fields
When: fall
Nutritional Value: fats, protein, some minerals
Other uses: dye, fish poison
Dangers: shell juice stains objects and poisons fish

Black Walnut trees at a roadside rest area in east Texas.


Almost ripe nuts. They are a little larger than golf balls when ripe.




Green ones picked from the tree are better than brown ones from the ground.


The compound leaves of Black Walnut contain an even number of leaflets.


Close-up of the leaves, front and back.


Branch tips with new, young leaves.


Craggy, grayish bark of a Black Walnut tree.


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.


Standing up to 125’ tall with a rounded crown, black walnut trees cut an impressive figure across the fields of Texas. They prefer open, sunny locations but can also be found in forests. Black walnut leaves are compound with an even number of leaflets and being deciduous, drop off in the fall. The bark is grayish, dark and deeply furrowed/rough. The round nuts of this tree are contained in a thick, green cover which begins to splits open when ripe. The juice of this green coat smells like iodine and will stain skin and cotton fabric brown. Black walnut tree leaves, bark, and nut husks contain a poison which kills most other non-grass plants so do not add these materials to compost piles. The wood of black walnut trees is treasured by woodworkers and commands a premium price. This has led to many incidents of “tree rustling” where huge, old trees are cut down and stolen.

The nuts become ripe in the fall. Peeling the green husk is staining so wear gloves and avoid letting the peels come in contact with anything you don’t want turned brown. The thick shell of the walnut is very hard and most standard nut crackers can’t crack them. Waiting a few weeks after removing the husk allows the nuts to dry some, making shelling them slightly easier. The usual method of shelling black walnuts is to run over the nuts with a car followed by picking apart the shell with a nutpick. If you only have a few nuts they can be broken open with a hammer. If you have a lot of nuts it may be worthwhile to invest in a manual cracker specifically designed for black walnuts. Black walnuts have a stronger flavor than English walnuts so most people reduce the amount of nut meat used by one half in recipes.

The crushed green husks were used by Native Americans as a fish poison. Several large, woven bags of these husks were placed in a still pond or weir and the chemical juglones would seep out and stun the fish, causing them to float to the surface.

When the nuts are still green and soft enough to cut in half with a knife they can be pickled and then blended not a ketchup-substitute. As they get bigger the still-unripe notes can be soaked in vodka with a bit of lemon peel, cinnamon, star anise, and sugar syrup to create the Italian liquor "Nocino". Black walnut trees grow farther south than maples and though they produce only about 1/4 as much sap as maples, the resulting syrup made by boiling the sap down is quite delicious.

Never plants a Black Walnut near a garden as the roots, twigs, and leaves all produce a toxin which kills many other plants. Native grasses seem to resist this poison better than domesticated, decorative or food plants. My mom still nags me about the black walnut seedling I planted at the edge of her garden which eventually grew tall and wiped out a quarter of her crops even though this happens 30 years ago.


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.

Boneset

Scientific Name(s): Eupatorium perfoliatum
Abundance: uncommon
What: leaves
How: medicinal tisane, tincture
Where: wet soils, sun to shade
When: summer, fall
Nutritional Value: none
Dangers: the difference between poison and medicine is dosage. Large doses can cause severe diarrhea or other issues. Limit intake to 3 cups of tea, made with 1/2 teaspoon dried plant.

Medicinal Summary:
Leaves/Flowers - sweat inducer; fever reducer; reduces symptoms of colds; anti-inflammatory; pain reducer for rheumatism and arthritis; appetite stimulant (tisane, tincture)
Leaves - stimulate healing of sprains, strains, and broken bones (poultice)

Leaf Arrangement: The leaves of Boneset are arranged in pairs along the stem in a way that makes it appear as if the stem pierces through the center of each leaf.

Leaf Shape: Boneset leaves are lance-shaped, measuring about 3 to 6 inches in length and 1 to 2 inches in width.

Leaf Venation: The venation of Boneset leaves is pinnate, with prominent central veins and smaller branching veins.

Leaf Margin: The leaf margins are serrated with toothed edges.

Leaf Color: The leaves are typically medium to dark green, with no significant color variation between the top and underside of the leaf.

Flower Structure: Boneset produces clusters of small, white flowers arranged in a dense, flattened, and slightly rounded inflorescence at the top of the stem. Each flower head measures about 0.2 to 0.3 inches in diameter.

Flower Color: The flowers of Boneset are white.

Fruit: After flowering, Boneset produces small, dry, and one-seeded fruits called achenes.

Seed: The seeds (achenes) are small, brownish, and elongated, with a length of about 0.1 inches.

Stem: The stem of Boneset is upright, sturdy, and usually unbranched, with a slightly hairy or rough texture.

Hairs: The stem and leaves of Boneset have fine, short hairs.

Height: Boneset plants typically grow to a height of about 2 to 4 feet, though they can sometimes reach up to 6 feet when in bloom.

Boneset plants (and me).


Boneset leaves. Note how the stem seems to pierce the long, canoe-shaped leaves rather than having to distinct leaves, one on each side of the stem.




Close-ups of the leaves/stem.




Boneset stems are hairy/fuzzy.


Boneset flower-cluster buds are hairy.




Boneset flowers clusters.


Closer view of boneset flowers.


Still closer view of boneset 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.


Boneset is a rather unique and easily identified plant. Appearing in the summer, there stiff, straight, hairy stems grow up to about four feet tall, with some branching occurring in the last foot or so. The really distinctive feature is its leaves. These long, narrow, pointed leaves are opposite each other on the stem but their bases fuse together so as to look like the stem grew through the center of an almost canoe-shape leaf. These dark green leaves are almost shiny but wrinkly on top and their undersides are mildly hairy. The edges of the leaves are toothed and the veins are pinnate with branching of the secondary veins of the main, center vein. In late summer the ends of the stem and branches have clusters of many white, hairy flowers, each about 1/4 inch across.

Look for boneset in low, damp, sunny areas such as roadside ditches and along creeks, or next to ponds in fields. Goldenrod is often nearby. They can also be found growing along moist borders of woods, with hardwoods being a more likely companion than pines.

Boneset is used medicinally rather than as a food but is NOT okay for pregnant women. Boneset tea made from the flowers and leaves helps induce sweating, helps break fevers, and relieves respiratory problems of head colds and other illnesses, including coughing. It helps with inflammations, easing some of the pain of rheumatism and arthritis. The bitter flavor of the tea also stimulates the digestive juices, triggering hunger in someone who hasn't been wanting to eat. As mentioned in the Dangers at the top of the page, due to low concentrations of some toxic compounds, limit your intake to three cups of the tea per day, made with 1/2 teaspoon of dried boneset leaves and flowers. A tincture can also be made from boneset and 80-90 proof alcohol. Boneset tinctures should be taken 1-4mL up to three times a day.


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.