Purslane

Scientific name: Portulaca oleracea
Abundance: common
What: stems, leaves
How: raw or cooked
Where: sunny sidewalk cracks, yards,
When: spring, summer
Nutritional Value: Vitamins A, C, Bs; minerals, omega-3 fatty acid

Medicinal Summary:
Leaves/Stem/Flowers/Seeds - high in omega-3 fatty acids; improves heart strength; antidepressant (eaten)

Leaf Arrangement: The leaves are arranged alternately at the lower part of the stem and opposite or whorled towards the top.

Leaf Shape: The leaves are small, fleshy, and spatulate or obovate, typically measuring about 0.5 to 1.5 inches in length.

Leaf Venation: Due to the fleshy nature of the leaves, the venation is not really visible.

Leaf Margin: The leaf margins are smooth (entire).

Leaf Color: The leaves are a bright green, sometimes with a reddish tinge, especially along the edges.

Flower Structure: The flowers are small and solitary, with five petals, opening only in bright sunlight.

Flower Color: The flowers are yellow.

Fruit: The plant produces a small, round capsule.

Seed: The seeds are tiny, round, and black.

Stem: The stems are thick, fleshy, reddish-green, and often spreading or trailing along the ground.

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

Height: Common Purslane is a low-growing plant, typically reaching only a few inches in height but spreading widely.

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.


Here in Houston purslane is often found thriving in the cracks of sidewalks and driveways during the worst of summer's heat. The tiny black seeds are prolific and will easily grow in containers, flowerbeds and just about anywhere else. Purslane will also reproduce from plant fragments, making it very easy to propagate.

Purslane is very rich in omega 3 fatty acids as well as other nutrients. It is delicious raw, steamed, fried or cooked. The thickest stems can also be pickled using the recipe & canning time of pickled okra.

The toxic Spotted Spurge (Euphorbia maculata) shows up at the same time as Purslane and while they may look somewhat similar to novices, they are very easy to tell apart. Spotted Spurge stems always remain thin, never even becoming even as thick as a pencil lead whereas Purslane stems can become thicker than a pencil's shaft. The spurge's stem always is a dark red while purslane stems very from green to purple, though are often "earthworm" pink/red. Spurge bleeds a white, latex sap but purslane's sap is clear if it even is seen. Spurge leaves remain small and flat while purslane leaves become thickly succulent and as large as the first joint of a pinkie finger.

Purslane (left, large, edible) and Spotted Spurge (right, thin, poisonous).



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.

Queen Anne's Lace/Wild Carrot

Scientific name: Daucus carota, Daucus pusillus
Abundance: uncommon
What: young root, young shoots, seeds
How: 1st year root raw, cooked; 2nd-year flower stems peeled raw or cooked.
Where: fields
When: early summer
Nutritional Value: High in vitamin A and minerals
Other uses: crushed leaves work as an insect repellent
Dangers: don’t confuse with deadly water hemlock. Queen Anne's Lace sometimes has a small red flower in the center of the white flowers and the root smells like carrot. Hemlock has a very foul, disagreeable odor.

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

Leaf Shape: The leaves are finely divided and fern-like, similar in appearance to domestic carrot leaves, typically measuring about 2 to 4 inches in length.

Leaf Venation: Due to the finely divided nature of the leaves, the venation is not prominently visible.

Leaf Margin: The margins of the leaflets are finely toothed or lobed.

Leaf Color: The leaves are a bright green color.

Flower Structure: The flowers are small and clustered in umbels, which is a flat or slightly rounded cluster that resembles an umbrella.

Flower Color: The flowers of both species are usually white, sometimes with a hint of pink. Daucus carota flower clusters will have a single red/purple flower in the center while Daucus pusillus does not.

Fruit: The plant produces a small, dry fruit that is oval and slightly ribbed.

Seed: The seeds are small, elongated, and dark in color.

Stem: The stem is slender, erect, and can be branched.

Hairs: There will (must!) be hairs present on the stem. Leaves are also hairy.

Height: Wild carrot typically grows to a height of about 1 to 3 feet tall.

Wild carrot flower and stem. Note the hairy stem. Hemlock (TOXIC!) has a smooth, hair-free stem.


Close-up of Queen Anne's lace stem. Notice the hairs and reddish stripes.


Wild carrot (Daucus pusillus) flowers lack the center, solitary red flower found in Queen Anne's Lace (Daucus carota).

 

Sideview of the wild carrot flowers. Note the "Kermit the Frog" collar beneath the flower head.

Queen Anne's Lace flowers, with the single red-purple flower in the center, marked by the blue arrow. 

Young flower head before the flowers have opened.


Queen Anne's Lace leaves. They have almost a fractal pattern.






Queen Anne's lace "carrot".


Wild carrot seed head after the flowers have gone. They close up like a bird's nest whereas hemlock seed heads remain open.


A stand of wild carrots along a road. Note the closed-up "bird's nest" aspect of the older flower heads.


Highly toxic hemlock along a stream. Note how the flower clusters branch off from each other unlike the single stalk growth pattern of wild carrot.


Here is the toxic Hemlock flower. Note how it is much more open with large spaces between the clusters compared to the wild carrot. It also lacks the "Kermit the Frog" collar.


Left side is Wild Carrot, right side is deadly Water Hemlock. Note the "chambers" in the Water Hemlock root and the purple strips along the hemlock's stem. Hemlock flower lacks the "collar".


Close-up of stems and roots. Wild Carrot stem is hairy, hemlock stem is smooth.


Water Hemlock leaf.


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 in showy white clusters along many Texas roads, wild carrots are an interesting spring/summer plant. They are the mother-species of domestic, orange carrots but wild carrot roots are white and also rather woody. I usually just use the "carrot" for flavoring soups and stews but then remove and discard them before eating the meal. The seeds are a spicy substitute for celery seeds. The flowers can be made into a jelly just like elderberry flowers or used to make a delicious tea.

Hemlock is an extremely poisonous plant which looks very similar to wild carrots. Luckily there are several ways to tell them apart:
1. Wild carrot flower stem is hairy, hemlock flower stem is smooth/have no hairs.In some cases the stem hairs of the wild carrot are not easily seen but if you run your finger along it's stem it will feel like day-old razor stubble.
2. Wild carrot flower stem is solid, hemlock flower stem is hollow.
3. Wild carrot flower stems are green and occasionally have long, reddish stripes. Hemlock flower stem have red/purple spots of assorted size and the occasions partial stripes but will be purple at the bottom.
4. Wild carrot flower stems are not powdery, hemlock flower stems often have a white powder on them.
5. Wild carrot flowers (umbels) are arranged in a a thick, tight pattern with only a small amount of open space between them. Hemlock flowers are much more sparse and have open areas between the smaller flower clusters making up the umbel head.
6. Wild carrots usually don't grow more than 3-6 feet tall, hemlock can grow 6-9 feet tall.
7. Wild carrot flower umbels will curl up into a "bird's nest" when they dry, hemlock umbels remain in their original "umbrella" shape when they die and dry up.


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.

Redbud

Scientific name: Cercis canadensis (and other Cercis species)
Abundance: plentiful
What: open flowers, young seedpods
How: flowers raw or cooked, young seedpods cooked
Where: often landscaped or wild
When: flowers spring, young seedpods after flowers
Nutritional Value: Flowers contain assorted vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Seeds have protein.

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

Leaf Shape: Redbud leaves are typically heart-shaped or broadly ovate.

Leaf Venation: Leaves exhibit palmate venation.

Leaf Margin: The leaf margin is smooth or slightly undulating.

Leaf Color: The upper side of the leaves is green, while the underside may have a lighter color.

Flower Structure: The flowers are simple and bloom in clusters, each with five petals. The diameter of each flower is approximately 0.5 inches. They emerge directly from the branches. 

Flower Color: Redbud flowers can range in color from pink to purple, creating a vibrant display.

Fruit: The fruit is a flat, legume-like pod, typically brown and about 2 to 4 inches long.

Seed: Seeds are contained within the pods, usually small, round, and brown.

Bark: The bark is smooth and brown when the tree is young, developing slight furrows with age.

Hairs: All parts are hairless.

Height: Redbud trees typically reach a height of 20 to 30 feet.

Redbud in bloom


Edible flowers


Close-up of open flowers and closed flower buds.


Edible seed pods


Redbud 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.


Often used as a landscaping plant, Redbuds can be found more often in urban/suburban locations but they can also be found in the wild. They are unmistakable in the early spring when the are sheathed in a cover of purple flowers and no leaves.

The flowers of redbud trees are wonderfully tasty with a fresh, slightly sweet flavor. The opened flowers are sweeter than ones still closed up in a bud. They add a wonderful dash of color to salads and other dishes.

The young seedpods, while still purple in color, can be used as peapods raw or better yet in stir-frys. They mature quickly and become become stringing, tough, and somewhat bitter. They can be frozen when still tender but blanch them in boiling water first.


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.

Retama

Scientific Name: Parkinsonia aculeata
Abundance: common
What: young seed pods, mature seeds
How: cooked
Where: sunny, arid, limestone soils
When: summer, fall, winter
Nutritional Value: calories
Dangers: thorns are sharp

Leaf Arrangement: Leaves are compound and alternately arranged along the stems.

Leaf Shape: The leaves are pinnately compound, consisting of multiple small leaflets.

Leaf Venation: Pinnate venation is observed in the leaflets.

Leaf Margin: Leaflets typically have entire (smooth) margins.

Leaf Color: The leaflets are green, with a slightly lighter color on the underside.

Flower Structure: Flowers are small and typically have five yellow petals. They are arranged in clusters along the branches.

Flower Color: The flowers are bright yellow, adding a vibrant touch to the tree.

Fruit: The fruit is a long, narrow pod, brown when mature, containing seeds.

Seed: Seeds are small, brown, and numerous within the elongated pods.

Bark: The bark is typically smooth, green when young, and turns flakey brown with age. Trunk and branches have sharp thorns.

Hairs: Lacking in hairs.

Height: Jerusalem Thorn trees can grow to a height of 15 to 20 feet, forming a graceful and airy canopy.

A young Retama tree.


A profusion of flowers appear in the spring and in lesser numbers throughout the rest of the year.


Close-up of Retama flower.


The green, somewhat scaly trunks have sharp thorns.


Retama branches are also wickedly thorny.




Cooked seedpods are edible when young, tender, and green. Generally the flatter the better. These are already a bit thick.


Brown, dried seedpods contain edible beans.


Close-ups of mature seedpod.




Close-up of 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.


Dotting the arid areas of southern and west Texas, the wispy, green, multi-trunked, alien-looking Retama tree is truly a marvel. Also known as "Jerusalem Thorn Tree" and "Tree of Life" this tree lives up to both those names. While young its bark is relatively smooth, green, and like many desert plants, it has many thorns. The leaves grow in long, almost pine needle-like fronds that many small, alternating, oval leaflets. In the springtime these trees are covered with yellow flowers which also appear the rest of the year in smaller numbers. Each flower turns into a small, flat, green, edible seedpods that mature into up to 8" long, brown, lumpy seedpods. The dried seeds are a mottled brown-gray color.

When still young and tender, the Retama seed pods can be cooked like green beans. The hard, mature beans have been ground into flour or cooked like domestic dried beans. The flavor is improved if the bean's outer coat is removed before use but due to the size and hardness this can be tricky. Soaking the beans overnight may help soften their coat making it easier to remove.

The leaves and young seedpods make excellent food for most grazing animals.

Native Americans used tea made from the leaves and young branches of Retama to treat pain, fevers, urinary tract infections, and also for lowering blood sugar in diabetics.

When stressed, Retama will drop their leaves but continue to photosynthesize using chlorophyl in their green bark.  


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.