Water Plantain

Scientific name: Alisma plantago
Abundance: uncommon
What: rootstock, young leaves
How: boiled, roasted
Where: sunny water
When: roots - winter, spring, early summer
Other uses: carbohydrates
Dangers: Must be cooked to be edible otherwise it is too bitter and somewhat toxic.

Water plantain in pond.


Water plantain along edge of stream.


Water plantain 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.


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.


Quickly appearing in just about any shallow water, from streams and lakes to roadside ditches, the somewhat spearhead-shaped, palmately-veined leaves of Water Plantains are easy to spot. The white, three petaled flowers on a stalk add a certain beauty, in my eyes. They are very common across Easy, Central, and the Gulf Coast regions of Texas but more rare in the drier West Texas lands.

The thicker roots contain starch which becomes edible/digestible after boiling or roasting. They are quite bitter so often boiling THEN roasting is the recommended way of preparing them.


Buy my book! Idiots Guide 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.

Wax Myrtle/Bayberry

Scientific name: Myrica cerifera
Abundance: plentiful
What: leaves
How: seasoning herb
Where: woods, landscapes
When: leaves are present all year, though they are most aromatic in late winter/early spring.
Nutritional Value: flavonoids/anitoxidants
Other uses: The small blue berries have a wax coating which can be used to make bayberry candles.

Medicinal Summary:
Root Bark - soothes inflamed skin; soothes gastrointestinal and urinary tract inflammation; diuretic to flush kidney stones; soothes sore throat (poultice, tisane)

Leaf Arrangement: The leaves are alternate along the stems.

Leaf Shape: The leaves are simple, elliptical to lanceolate.

Leaf Venation: The venation is pinnate.

Leaf Margin: The leaf margin is typically entire, but it can be slightly serrated.

Leaf Color: The leaves are glossy green on the upper surface, while the underside may have a silvery-white or grayish color.

Flower Structure: Wax Myrtle produces small, inconspicuous flowers in catkin-like structures. The flowers are unisexual, meaning individual plants are either male or female.

Flower Color: The flowers are yellow-green.

Fruit: The fruit is a small, waxy berry-like drupe. They grow in tight clusters along the branches of female plants.

Seed: The seeds are contained within the waxy drupe and are typically small and hard.

Bark: The bark is generally smooth and grayish-brown.

Hairs: No hairs.

Height: Wax Myrtle can vary in height but typically grows as a large shrub or small tree, reaching heights of 10 to 20 feet.

Wax myrtle/Bayberry berries


Wax myrtle/Bayberry 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.


Allow leaves to dry or force-dry the leaves in an oven, then crumble into food. These are one of the key seasoning for Cajun seafood boils. I like to use it as a replacement for Italian season to make a delicious "Cajun" lasagna.

Bayberry candles are made from the wax found on the outside of the small, blue berries. Boil the berries in some water and collect the wax that floats to the surface. This wax is brittle and doesn't mold well. Combine the bayberry wax with beeswax or other soft wax for better results. Yes, I know bayberry candles are a key component of pagan money spells. No, I don't sell bayberry candles.


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.

Willow

Scientific name: Salix spp.
Abundance: plentiful
What: twigs, inner bark
How: tea made from chopped up twigs; inner bark is an emergency food and is eaten raw or dried and ground into flour
Where: woods, water, sunny fields, landscaping
When: twigs highest in salicylic acid in early spring; inner bark any time
Nutritional Value: inner bark contains carbohydrates
Dangers: Salicylic acid can cause stomach upset in high doses and trigger Reye's syndrome in young children.

Medicinal Summary:
Young Bark - pain reliever; anti-inflammatory; fever reducer (tisane)
Leaves - soothes skin inflammations (tisane)

Leaf Arrangement: The leaves are typically alternate along the stems.

Leaf Shape: Willow leaves are usually lanceolate or elliptical, with a pointed tip.

Leaf Venation: The venation is pinnate.

Leaf Margin: The leaf margin can be serrated or smooth, depending on the species.

Leaf Color: The leaves are generally green, with some species exhibiting a silver or grayish hue on the underside.

Flower Structure: Willows produce catkins as their flowering structures. These are elongated clusters of tiny, inconspicuous flowers.

Flower Color: The color of catkins varies, but it is often yellow or green.

Fruit: The fruit of willows is a small capsule containing numerous seeds.

Seed: Willow seeds are small, with a cotton-like tuft (pappus) aiding in wind dispersal.

Bark: The bark texture varies among species but is often smooth and can be gray, brown, or reddish.

Hairs: Some willow species may have fine hairs on their leaves, stems, or catkins.

Height: Willows can range widely in height, from low shrubs to tall trees, with measurements varying depending on the species.

Mature willow tree.


Medium-sized willow tree.


Close-up of leaves.


Willow trunk


Boiled willow bark makes a beautiful, red-colored tea that reduces fevers, pain, and swelling due to its salicin converting to salicylic acid. It has a somewhat wintergreen-like flavor.


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 long, wispy branches of willow trees give them an appearance unlike any other tree. They require a lot of water so look for them along wet areas. Their high demand for water can cause problems when used in landscaping as their roots will invade and clog sewer and water pipes.

Willow's main claim to fame is the bark, especially on twigs, contains salicin acid, when it comes in contact with your stomach acid, turns into salicylic acid aka aspirin. This is the original source of the wonder drug but be warned, this tea can also have all the bad effects of aspirin, including Reye's syndrome which can cause dangerous swelling in the brain and liver of children. Start with 1 teaspoon of bark boiled 10 minutes in 1 cup of water, let it cool to a safe temperature, then drink. Multiple cups of this through the day may be needed in severe cases.

The inner bark (cambium layer) can be shredded and chopped then boiled into a porridge to obtain calories. The outer bark of young branches is shredded then made into a tea which contains the precursor of aspirin and will give all the medical benefits (and dangers) of aspirin. The best results are achieved using pencil-thick branches harvested in late winter before the leaves begin to bud.

Willow branches are high in a chemical called Gibberellic acid which is a plant hormone responsible for triggering root growth. The rooting powder and solution purchased in stores to help propagate plant cuttings is this chemical. You can make your own rooting solution by grinding up willow twigs in a clean pencil sharpener then soaking these willow shavings in water (40% willow/60% water) for 5-7 weeks. When you want to propagate a plant via a cutting dip the cutting's stem in this willow solution first.

Dried, shredded willow bark is often added to herbal smoking mixtures to give a heavier flavor more like that of true 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.

Wine Cups

Scientific name: Callirhoe involucrata
Abundance: uncommon
What: Leaves, tubers
How: leaves cooked, tubers raw or cooked
Where: Sunny areas, ditches, abandoned yards, dry sandy fields
When: All year though tubers are hard to find in the winter without the flowers marking the spot.
Nutritional Value: carbohydrates in tubers

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

Leaf Shape: Leaves are deeply lobed, palmate with 5-7 lobes, and approximately 2 to 4 inches in width.

Leaf Venation: The leaf venation is not distinctive.

Leaf Margin: The leaf margin is typically toothed.

Leaf Color: The leaves of wine cups are medium green.

Flower Structure: Solitary cup-shaped flowers with five deep magenta to purple petals. The flower measures approximately 1 to 1.5 inches in diameter.

Flower Color: The flowers are a vibrant magenta to deep purple. Center of flower may be lighter in color.

Fruit: The fruit is a small, hairy, flattish, segmented, disk-shaped capsule.

Seed: Seeds are small and brown, typically found within the capsule.

Stem: The stem is trailing or sprawling across the ground.

Hairs: Fine hairs can be found on the stem and leaves, giving a slightly rough texture.

Height: Wine cups typically grows to a height of 6 to 12 inches.

Wine Cup flower


Close-up of flower

Wine cup leaves and flower.

Wine cup "fruit".


Whole plant in Spring


Plant in Fall/Winter


Whole plant in Fall/Winter




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.


Wine cup tubers can be found in dry, sandy fields, especially in the Texas Hill Country. The leaves are best cooked where their okra-like tendencies can be used to thicken stews. The tubers taste like sweet potatoes and can be eaten raw or cooked. The tubers are biggest in the winter, but are very hard to find then without the wine cup flower showing their location.

The long, almost vine-like stems of wine cups grow in a rosette centered on the tuber. These tubers are covered in fine, delicate roots that often get damaged while digging up the tuber, rendering them unable to survive transplanting. If you dig it you have to eat it, otherwise you're wasting it.


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.