HSA Webinar: Notable Native Ethnopharmacology

By Vicki Abrams Motz

People have had a relationship with herbs for thousands of years. They are consumed as food or flavoring and act as normalizers supporting natural health. 

They are also consumed or used topically as medicines. Plants like echinacea have many chemicals which work synergistically to support the immune system and help fight infections. Plants like foxglove have specific constituents which act intensely and are used specifically (in this case for the effect of digoxin in treating heart conditions).

In all parts of the world, indigenous populations take advantage of the local plant life. In the US, notable natives feature prominently in medicinal formulations across the country. Bee balm (Monarda fistulosa) is found in Blackfoot, Cherokee, Chippewa, Crow, Flathead, Lakota, Mesawaki, Ojibwa and Tewa recipes to treat colds, coughs, and fevers.

Studies have found that bee balm contains many active constituents: the phenol, thymol, which protects the plant from microbial and fungal infections and does the same when consumed by people; the monoterpene linalool, which has an odor that attracts pollinating insects and acts as an antiseptic; and beta-phellandrene, which has antioxidant actions in plants, protecting them from UV radiation and in humans can act as an expectorant to relieve catarrh (mucus) and promote productive cough.

 

Bee Balm Infusion

2 tsp dried aerial parts in 1 cup boiling water, steep 5 minutes.
Drink as needed to help relieve symptoms of colds, flu, and upper respiratory problems.

Sautéed Nettles

Harvest nettles wearing gloves.
With gloves still on, swish nettles around in a large basin filled with cool water.
Lift the nettles out and drain.
Squeeze the nettles as dry as possible.
Heat a large pan over high heat with your preferred cooking oil.
Add nettles and cook, stirring frequently, until the greens are tender – about 5 to 8 minutes.
Sprinkle the nettles with salt to taste and serve immediately.

Join Vicki Abrams Motz for her upcoming webinar: Notable Native Ethnopharmacology on April 16, 2024, 1PM Eastern. She will consider several notable natives which are used medicinally by indigenous populations across the country, looking at how they are used and what chemical constituents are found in the  plants which would explain their medical properties. Our webinars are free to The Herb Society of America members and $7.50 for guests. Become a member today, and enjoy all of our webinars for free along with access to the webinar library with over fifty program titles. To register, visit https://www.herbsociety.org/hsa-learn/herb-education/hsa-webinars/ 

Medicinal Disclaimer: It is the policy of The Herb Society of America, Inc. not to advise or recommend herbs for medicinal or health use. This information is intended for educational purposes only and should not be considered as a recommendation or an endorsement of any particular medical or health treatment. Please consult a healthcare provider before pursuing any herbal treatments.

Photo Credits: 1) Echinacea (Chrissy Moore); 2) Bee balm (courtesy of the author); 3) Nettles (courtesy of the author)

The Power of One: A GreenBridges™ Story

by Debbie Boutelier

(Editors’ note: This article originally appeared in a recent HSA newsletter. It has been edited for clarity for this post.)

In a recent GreenBridges™ presentation, I mentioned the power of one several times. I’d like to share a short story about how the power of one worked in my GreenBridges™ garden. My garden was certified a number of years ago, and I have been slowly incorporating more native plants into my landscape. (We all NEED a reason to buy more plants, right???) 

When COVID hit, and we all had to stay home more, I decided it was time to kick my garden projects into full speed and actually complete those projects that had been in the planning stage for a while. (I’m not going to admit how long they were in the planning stage, so don’t ask!) I made a pledge to myself at that time that at least 90% of the plant material to finish these projects would be natives. I knew a lot of our local natives, but it was so much fun researching the lesser known species and then actually finding them. 

Fast forward to this past spring. When the weather started warming up, I noticed more pollinators busy in the garden collecting nectar from the early blooming plants. THEN, I noticed the number of butterflies that were enjoying my garden. Oh my gosh, for several weeks, I would go out into the garden and literally feel like I was in a butterfly house at a botanical garden! The butterflies swarmed around me as I worked in the beds. It made my heart so happy! I wish I had made a video, but I was living in the moment. There were different swallowtails, gulf fritillaries, skippers, hairstreaks, Eastern tailed-blues, sulfurs, American painted ladies, viceroys, buckeyes, and some I did not recognize. I enjoyed their presence immensely. Even though that period was totally glorious, I still have good numbers of the winged beauties visiting daily. 

My granddaughter and I enjoyed raising swallowtail and gulf fritillary caterpillars this summer. We  released 47 swallowtails and nine fritillaries. The swallowtails slowed down after having eaten every morsel of parsley, dill, and fennel in my garden. I saw more fritillaries at that time of the season as they voraciously attacked the passionvine. By the end of the summer, those vines were leafless, but that’s fine with me. I know they will be back next year to provide for the new generations.

I also need to mention the bees. They have also immensely enjoyed the bounty in the garden. Earlier in the season, my granddaughter and I stood under the Vitex trees while they were blooming and listened to the buzzing. The trees were alive with movement and sound! Even though the Vitex agnus-castus is not native to our country, it is still welcome in my garden for the amount of nectar it provides for the winged visitors.

Though just about over, this has been a spectacular gardening season. I truly believe that each of us can make a difference right where we are. The effort is so worth it!

It is easy to get your garden to be a certified GreenBridges™ garden. The application is on The Herb Society of America website: https://www.herbsociety.org/get-involved/greenbridges-initiative.html  Just answer a few questions and take a few pictures to send with the application. We are actively building green bridges across communities, towns, cities, regions, and the entire country. Let your power of one join with the rest to make a huge difference for our native plants and pollinators.

Photo Credits: 1) Pipevine swallowtail (Alabama Butterfly Atlas); 2) Monarch butterfly caterpillar (Christopher Upton, US National Arboretum); 3) Gulf fritillary (TexasEagle, CC BY-NC 2.0); 4) Bee on Echinacea flower (Christopher Upton, US National Arboretum).

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Debbie Boutelier is The Herb Society of America’s GreenBridges™ Chair and HSA Past President. She is an Alabama Advanced Master Gardener and has studied the medicinal uses of herbs for many years, completing a three-year intensive study of the medicinal aspect of herbs at the Appalachian Center of Natural Health. Debbie now teaches nationally and presents seminars and workshops on the many aspects of herbs, organic gardening, nutrition, and other garden related topics. Debbie’s herb passion has led to the creation of her small cottage herb business, Rooted in Thyme Apothecary.

Well, Well, What Do We Have Here? A Tale of Two Acorus Species

by Erin Holden

While doing research for a presentation on herbal uses of native plants, I decided to look more into a plant I’d learned about in herb school, sweet flag (Acorus calamus). This strongly aromatic aquatic plant has long been my favorite warming digestive bitter for those times when I overindulge in a huge meal (I’m looking at you, Thanksgiving). The flavor is warm, pungent, bitter, and spicy in a black-peppery way – the flavor sort of fills up your mouth and is warm all the way down to your stomach. But as I dug deeper into the research, I discovered I’d been wrong all this time about the origin of the Acorus species I’d been using. It turns out that A. calamus is native to Europe, temperate India, and the Himalayan region, while the native species is A. americanus (also called sweet flag), although the two species look so similar that even some scientists are unsure of which species they’ve studied and reported on. There still isn’t much consensus among taxonomists as to what differentiates these two – some even classify them as the same species (Boufford,1993; eFloras, 2008). Let’s take a deeper look at the similarities and differences between these two plants. 

There are many common names for sweet flag from all over the world (Daglan, 2014), many of which describe either the flavor of the root (like bitter, sweet, pepper) or its watery habitat:

Abenaki: mokwaswaskw (muskrat plant)

Ayurvedic Tradition: vacha 

Cheyenne: wi’ukh is e’evo (bitter medicine) 

Chinese Medicine: shui chang pú (watery flourishing weed)

English: sweet flag, calamus 

Hudson Bay Cree: pow-e-men-arctic (fire or bitter pepper root) 

Penobscot and Nanticoke: muskrat root

Micmac: ig gig’wesukwul (muskrat root)  

Pawnee: kahtsha itu (medicine lying in water) 

Many Native American names connect Acorus with muskrats. According to Sue Thompson’s dissertation on Acorus (as reported by Daglin, 2014): 

There seems to be “a closely linked ecological relationship between Native Americans trapping muskrats and using Acorus, muskrats eating Acorus, and Acorus. Muskrat feeding habits may in part be responsible for the dispersal of Acorus, and Native Americans may have intentionally planted Acorus both for their own medicinal use and to ensure food for the muskrat, which was economically valuable to them (Morgan 1980). Thus, the many Native American names for Acorus, which involve muskrat as a root word, may reflect an important economic and ecological relationship among man, plants, and other wildlife.”

Both species are perennial, grow in zones 4 to 10, have 1’–3’ tall iris-like leaves, and can spread 1’–2’. They bloom April through June, and like full sun to part shade. The inflorescence is a green spadix with no spathe (a spathe is a hood-like structure, like the white part of a peace lily). Both A. americanus and A. calamus are freshwater aquatic plants that grow in medium to wet soil and can grow in up to nine inches of water. They’re both easily propagated by root/rhizome divisions in the spring. Since they are aquatic plants, they can be used in water gardens, ponds, or rain gardens. They can also grow in regular garden beds as long as they get adequate water, so they’re very versatile if you’re looking for tall, straight leaves (Missouri Botanical Garden, 2022).

Although the two species look very much alike, there are some subtle differences you can use to tell them apart. A. calamus has leaves with one prominent vein and undulate (wavy) margins, does not produce fruit, and will “appear to have a shriveled ovary” in late summer, whereas A. americanus has leaves with two to six veins and smooth margins, produces small green berries, and has swelling ovaries in late summer (Dalgin, 2014).

The two prominent veins and smooth margins of A. americanus

The prominent midvein and undulate margins of A. calamus

There are also some unseen differences between the two. It turns out that A. americanus is a fertile diploid species and contains almost no phenylpropanoids, a chemical family whose members play a role in the flavors and aromas of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and sassafras. A. calamus is a (mostly) sterile triploid (there are some populations of a fertile diploid phenotype in Asia that are morphologically distinct from the North American A. americanus). In addition, 13% of its volatile oil fraction is made up of those phenylpropanoids, one of which is β-asarone.

This chemical distinction is important, because β-asarone has demonstrated procarcinogenic tendencies (meaning it could metabolize into a cancer causing compound), and the FDA has banned the use of “calamus, calamus oil, or extract of oil in food,” although these studies used high levels of isolated β-asarone and not “suggested doses of the whole plant in terms of mg/kg of body weight” that an herbalist would recommend. However, since A. americanus has little to no β-asarone, it’s been suggested that this species is safe to consume (Dalgin, 2014).

Sweet flag is an important plant for many native peoples. One writer said it is “considered so sacred [to the Cheyenne] that only qualified Sundance priests [can] collect it,” and it “may be the most important herb in Penobscot pharmacology” (Dalgin, 2014). 

Historically, the Dakota used a paste on their faces to “instill fearlessness and provide stamina” in battle and chewed the rhizomes to enhance endurance “during the wars of the 20th century” (Dalgin, 2014). 

Other uses for the plant include: colds, flu, and sore throat; as a tonic; for intestinal pain and as a carminative (dispels gas); as a stimulant when tired; toothache; an analgesic for muscle cramps/spasm; and in ceremonial/religious rituals.

Colonists also used Acorus, and Eclectic physicians (doctors in the 1800s) incorporated it into their materia medica (list of medicinal substances). Eventually, it made its way into the first edition of the  Dispensatory of the United States in 1833 (Osol et al, 1833), which cataloged drugs used by U.S. pharmacists at the time. These groups used it pretty much the same way that Native Americans use it: as a carminative, for weak digestion and flatulent colic, as a sialagogue (stimulates saliva production) and as “breath perfume,” a warming aromatic bitter, and externally for ulcers that wouldn’t heal (Dalgin, 2014). 

Some modern herbalists who use both species say that, because of its higher volatile oil content, A. calamus targets the gastrointestinal system more specifically, while A. americanus has a “more balanced” action on the whole body—working equally on the gastrointestinal and nervous system, as an expectorant (which helps clear gunk from the lungs), spasmolytic (calms spasms), and antitussive (Daglin, 2014).

Now that I know about A. americanus and its different effects on the body, I’m interested in experimenting with the two species. I’ve also planted it out in the Native American bed in the National Herb Garden. I wonder if we should also invest in a muskrat.

Photo Credits: 1) Acorus calamus inflorescence (E. Holden); 2) Muskrat (Linda Tanner, via Wikimedia ); 3) Acorus sp. used as a mass border planting (KENPEI, via Wikimedia  ); 4) Two prominent veins and smooth leaf margins of A. americanus (E. Holden); 5) The prominent midvein and undulate leaf margins of A. calamus (E. Holden); 6) Botanical illustration of A. calamus (Creative Commons, Rawpixal LTD); 7) Acorus americanus growing along a stream bank (Ryan Hodnett, via Wikimedia)

Medicinal Disclaimer: It is the policy of The Herb Society of America, Inc. not to advise or recommend herbs for medicinal or health use. This information is intended for educational purposes only and should not be considered as a recommendation or an endorsement of any particular medical or health treatment. Please consult a health care provider before pursuing any herbal treatments. 

References 

Boufford, D. E. 1993+. Acorus. In: Flora of North America Editorial Committee, eds. Flora of North America North of Mexico [Online]. 22+ vols. New York and Oxford. Vol. 3. Accessed 10/5/22. Available from http://beta.floranorthamerica.org/Acorus

Dalgin, R. 2014. Acorus calamus and Acorus americanus. Integrative Herbalism: Journal of the Vermont Center for Integrative Herbalism. Summer, 30-78.

eFloras. (Internet). 2008. Acorus calamus. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA. Accessed 10/5/2022. Available from http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200027130

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. (Internet). 2015. Acorus americanus (Raf.) Raf. Accessed 1/7/2022. Available from https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=ACAM

Missouri Botanical Garden. 2022. Acorus calamus. Accessed 1/7/2022. Available from https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=276172

Orsol, A., C. H. LaWall, F. Bache, G. B. Wood, G. E. Farrar, H. C. Wood Jr., and J. P. Remington. The dispensatory of the United States of America. Grigg & Elliot: Wisconsin. Available from https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Dispensatory_of_the_United_States_of/xikzAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1

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Erin is the gardener for the National Herb Garden at the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. She is a member of the American Herbalists Guild, United Plant Savers, and a member-at-large of the Herb Society of America.

Stalking Evening Primroses in the Rockies

by Jane Thomson

Each spring, I hike trails in the northern Front Range of the Colorado Rockies with a group of fellow wildflower enthusiasts. This spring, much of the western U. S. had been suffering from severe heat and drought. However, the northern part of the Front Range, as locals call Colorado’s eastern foothills, had been blessed with unusually cool temperatures and drenching rains. As a result, wildflower displays were the best seen in years. Flowers were bigger, and plants were much taller than usual. Wild evening primroses are one of the delights of this display.

Evening primroses are in the genus Oenothera, and their flowers can be recognized because they have four petals, four or eight stamens, and a stigma with four terminal parts. The picture above shows one of this year’s flowers on steroids, O. howardii, Howard’s evening primrose. Note the size compared to the handle portion of the hiking pole. Its flower measures more than four inches across. Spent flowers in this species fade to a copper orange (inset). Another yellow evening primrose found in a dry, sandy area is O. lavandulifolius, lavender-leaved evening primrose (see below). Its species name was chosen because of leaves similar to those of lavender plants.

Oenothera species are believed to have originated in Mexico and Central America, although they have now spread from North to South America. Many species form hybrids with one another. As a result, their appearance is now quite variable, with heights ranging from four inches (alpine) to ten feet (Mexico) and leaves that can be entire, toothed, lanceolate, or ovate. Flower colors also vary widely and can be yellow, white, pink, purple, or red. However, the most common colors in our area are yellow and white, with white flowers typically found in dry, desert habitats. 

One white evening primrose that we often see out hiking is O. coronopitifolia, cut leaf evening primrose, which can be identified by its deeply divided leaves (see inset). Another characteristic is that its flowers turn pink with age.

Sometimes evening primroses are hard to identify because flowers open late in the day. This is because they have evolved in sequence with their main pollinators, nocturnal moths. Typically their flowers begin to wither and close in the sun the day after flowering. The plant below, O. cespitosa, tufted evening primrose, shows flower buds that are only partially open. Often at the start of a hike, we find evening primroses aren’t open yet, and we see them to better advantage on the way home.

This primrose is one of four varieties of tufted evening primroses in Colorado. Which one? We’ll leave that to the experts. Do you find any evening primroses growing wild in your area? It is fun to see how many you can identify out on the trail or scattered here and there in fields near where you live.  

Photo Credits: 1) O. howardii, Howard’s evening primrose, Coyote Ridge Natural Area (inset photo by Ed Seely, Pineridge Natural Area); 2) O. lavandufolia, lavender-leaved evening primrose, Pawnee Buttes National Grassland, Weld County, CO; 3) O. coronopitifolia, cut leaf evening primrose, Eagle’s Nest Open Space; 4) O. cespitosa, tufted evening primrose, Hermit Park, Limber Pine trail. All photos taken in Larimer County, CO by the author, except as noted.

References:

Ackerfield, J. 2015. Flora of Colorado. Brit Press.

Bilsing, L. (ed.). 2017. Wildflowers and other plants of the Larimer County foothills region, 2nd ed. Larimer County Department of Natural Resources.

Elpel, T.J. 2010. Botany in a day, 5th ed. HOPS Press, LLC.

Oenothera. Accessed 8/28/2021. wikipedia.org/wiki/Oenothera

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Jane Thomson has been a member of the Herb Society of America for over 20 years, first with the Sangre De Cristo Unit in Santa Fe and currently with the Rocky Mountain Unit. She is a retired chemist and amateur wildflower enthusiast.

What Can One Person Do?

By Bonnie Porterfield

As you drive along State Rt. 91 in Hudson, Ohio, you pass a community park, Darrow Road Park. As long as I’ve lived in Hudson (38 years), it’s just been there, nothing really to look at. An occasional pick up football game on the lawn near the parking lot and a few people using a trail, but nothing more notable, until this past year, when I noticed a sign posted near the parking lot with a picture of a beautiful meadow.

Around the same time, our local garden club put together member garden visits with limited numbers of attendees due to Covid. The featured garden that piqued my interest was a pollinator-friendly garden. What an inspiration! The owner had transformed her whole yard into a haven for all kinds of pollinators using native plants, trees, and shrubs. During the tour, she mentioned the Friends of Hudson Parks (FOHP) and described what they were doing with the Darrow Road Park to restore it as a pollinator meadow. This led me to the FOHP’s website for further information.

As it turns out, there was one woman with a strong interest in pollinators that got the ball rolling. She had attended programs by the Ohio Natural Areas and Preserves Association in 2019, as well as visited some previously restored native habitats. These were the inspiration for her idea of transforming Darrow Road Park into a more pollinator-friendly meadow that she brought before the Hudson Park Board. Her perseverance with the Park Board proved successful! This, in turn, led to a collaboration with the US Fish and Wildlife Private Land Division, the Hudson Park Board, and Friends of Hudson Parks.

After much work behind the scenes, the restoration of this 6-acre park began in June 2020, with the first phase consisting of removing native spring flowering plants. These plants found a temporary home in local gardens to be returned to the newly restored meadow in the spring of 2021.

During the following month, large woody invasive trees and shrubs, along with invasive grasses, were removed. FOHP members and community volunteers gathered in August and dug out hundreds of native plants amongst the invasive weeds and moved them to the Hudson Springs Park Monarch Waystation Garden. FOHP members also found monarch eggs in the field, which they hatched off site, and returned them to the milkweed plants at the Monarch Waystation Garden. Many of these eggs became caterpillars, formed chrysalises, and emerged to join the migration south.

US Fish and Wildlife biologists removed the remaining weeds and cold season grasses in August and September. Then in October, they tilled the meadow for late fall/early winter seeding. After the first frost, the meadow was “frost seeded” by the USFW biologist. (For a description of frost seeding, click here.) In early spring 2021, the field was mowed to cut back invasive grasses and to encourage native plant root growth. First growth from the 2020 frost seeding should be well under way. Since this is a 3-year project, the meadow will be managed under the direction of the USFW biologist.

Restoring this area to a more pollinator-friendly site will increase wildlife biodiversity and provide a beautiful meadow for wildlife and the surrounding community. In the future, as I drive past this park, I will enjoy the beauty of this new pollinator meadow and realize that one woman, with a group of like-minded individuals, can make a difference in our communities by bringing man and nature together to create amazing Green Bridges.

To learn more about The Herb Society of America’s GreenBridges™ Initiative, go to https://www.herbsociety.org/explore/hsa-conservation/greenbridges-initiative/greenbridges-initiative.html.

Photo Credits: 1) Darrow Road Park Projected Meadow sign; 2) Darrow Road Park “meadow” prior to June 2020; 3) Monarch Way Station sign. All photos courtesy of the author.

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Bonnie Porterfield is a forty year Life Member of The Herb Society of America and a member of the Western Reserve Unit.  She has served in many roles during that time including two terms as Great Lakes District Delegate, Unit Chair, Co-Chair of the Western Reserve Unit’s first symposium and member of the GreenBridges™ and Library Advisory Committees.  She is an avid herb gardener, reader, learner and supporter of local efforts in reestablishing natural areas that promote native plantings.

Delectable Native Edibles

By Andrea DeLong-Amaya

You may be one of the growing numbers of home gardeners who have put shovel to soil in the effort to nourish themselves and their families with wholesome, organic, fresh, and ultimately local vegetables and fruits. It is empowering to know exactly where your food comes from. And, while gardening is perfect exercise…it can be a lot of work! What if you could grow food plants that all but took care of themselves? Or better yet simply harvest, with caution of course, from the wild.

Native produce? Yes! The plants I’m about to tell you about are all easy to cultivate within their home ranges and, once established, may not require any attention outside of harvest. There are many virtues of raising locally native plants, such as decreased use of water, fertilizers, and pesticides, and promoting regional identity, and providing for wildlife. But those aren’t my main motivators for sharing these untamed delicacies with you. These foods are often disregarded and overlooked but are, quite frankly, yummy!

The correct way to consume wild edibles: harvest from sizable colonies and always with permission from the landowner. Whether collected from natural areas or from plants in your garden, understand that otherwise safe and nutritious foods may become toxic in large amounts. As with any new food in your diet, add small amounts at a time until you know how your body will handle them. And, most importantly to note: before consuming any wild food, be absolutely certain of its proper identity! Many plants have look-alikes. If there is any doubt, do not partake. You can eat anything at least once, but you want to be around to enjoy the good stuff again!

When harvesting perennials, clip leaves and stems from the plant at or above ground level, leaving the roots undisturbed and allowing the plant to resprout. Cut the tips off of annuals, which will continue growing until they reach the end of their season, or harvest the entire plant. 

The following plants are indigenous to most of the U.S., meaning they have evolved over time in a given region without human introduction. There are many non-native and even invasive plants that also make for good eats, but in the interest of space, I’m limiting the list to natives.

Late in the year, many of us can revel in the luscious sweet treats offered by the Eastern persimmon (Diospyros virginiana). Trees vary in the quality of their fruit, and common wisdom suggests they are best after a frost. In any case, immature fruit are very astringent and not recommended. Black persimmon (D. texana), a related species occurring in Texas and Mexico, delivers delectable sugary lumps of fruit with a floral hint as early as July. When you eat them, you are in tune with nature.

Members of the genus Vitis, or grapes, are most commonly used for making mouthwatering jelly, juice, and wine that can be enjoyed year-round. But, have you ever tried tangy green grape pie? Wow! In mid-spring when tender grape leaves emerge, you can brine them for making dolmas, or stuffed grape leaves. Young leaves wrapped around chicken, then grilled, impart a mild tangy note to the meat and help keep it moist. If the leaves are edging on tough, keep chewing them as a savory and tasty “gum.” You can seemingly chew forever; the wad won’t go away.

Early spring encourages tender new growth on a variety of native plants that are suitable for the table. Native potherbs are generally tastiest during the spring before hot weather turns them bitter. 

Potherbs are leaves or stems of herbaceous plants that can be cooked for use as greens or for seasoning. “In vitamins, minerals, and protein, wild foods can match and even surpass the nutritional content of our common foods,” according to Delena Tull in her book, Edible and Useful Plants of Texas and the Southwest. Try out some of these:

Greenbriar, Cat Briar (Smilax bona-nox) – You may not have thought there was much use for this annoying, thorny vine, but the soft early shoots in spring (and summer when we’ve had rain) are tender, tasty, and nutritious. Pick the asparagus-like tips before the prickles harden, and throw them into salads or nibble them right off the vine.

Pink Evening Primrose, Showy Primrose (Oenothera speciosa) – Beautiful in bloom and abundant throughout much of the country, these greens offer their best flavor when collected before flowering. However, it takes someone who is very familiar with this wildflower to identify it out of bloom. Toss the greens into a salad or add to soups or stir-fries.

Wood Sorrel (Oxalis spp.) – Many species of wood sorrel occur in the U.S., and some are common garden pests. After your next weeding session, add a few leaves, flowers, or green seed pods to a salad or soup as you would French sorrel. The flavor is strong and sour, so add sparingly. Rich in vitamin C, it also contains high amounts of oxalic acid, similar to spinach, which when eaten in large amounts, may tie up calcium.

Spiderwort (Tradescantia spp.) – There are several species of native spiderwort, and many are cultivated. Attractive plants with typically purple, blue, pink, or white flowers have winter foliage resembling daylilies. Above ground parts may be sautéed or eaten raw.

Wild Onion, Wild Garlic (Allium canadensis, A. drummondii.) – There are many bulb forming plants that resemble wild onions, and some are toxic. Only harvest plants with the distinct odor of onions. The chopped green leaves can be used like chives, and the bulbs are cooked as any other onions.

Bon appetit!

References: 

Cheatham, S. and M. C. Johnston.  1995. The Useful Wild Plants of Texas, the Southeastern and Southwestern United States, the Southern Plains, and Northern Mexico. Vol. 1, Abronia-Arundo. Austin: Useful Wild Plants, Inc.

Tull, Delena.  1987. Edible and Useful Plants of Texas and the Southwest.  Austin: University of Texas Press.

Photo Credits: All photos courtesy of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. 1) Tradescantia gigantea (Michael Dana); 2) Diospyros texana (Andrea DeLong-Amaya); 3) Vitis mustangensis (James Garland Holmes); 4) Smilax bona-nox (Joseph A. Marcus); 5) Oenothera speciosa (W.D. and Dolphia Bransford; Sally and Andy Wasowski); 6) Oxalis drummondii (Mary Kline); 7) Tradescantia gigantea (Stephanie Brundage); 8) Allium canadense var. canadense (Joseph A. Marcus).

Medicinal Disclaimer: It is the policy of The Herb Society of America, Inc. not to advise or recommend herbs for medicinal or health use. This information is intended for educational purposes only and should not be considered as a recommendation or an endorsement of any particular medical or health treatment. Please consult a health care provider before pursuing any herbal treatments.

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Andrea DeLong-Amaya is the director of horticulture at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas. For more information about native plants, visit www.wildflower.org.