In article ,
Barbara wrote:
Any native plant enthusiasts out there interested in joining a group
devoted to learning more about the edible wild plants in our area?
Recently we have been stalking the wild asparagus (remember that great
Euell Gibbons book?) Although we didn't have too much lock finding
asparagus, we did find a mystery plant we later identified asGarlic
Mustard, (Alliarea Petiolata, as well as catnip, Great Burdock,
Stinging Nettle. It's fun to go on field trips and learn from each
other. As for Garlic Mustard, if you crush the leaves, it smells
garlicky, and is great for making pesto. Hoping to hear from others
in the Germantown or Gaithersburg, MD, area interested in joining us
to learn more about our native plants.

If you spell it Alliaria, you can probably find a long discussion we
had about this plant here a year or two ago, especially regarding its
dozens of common names in English and French. It's a very aggressive
weed that can crowd out natives in shaded and semishaded areas like
open woodland. It has been used as a potherb in Europe since time
immemorial.

If you'd like to send me the pesto recipe, maybe it will motivate me in
my futile struggle to control it in my backyard - futile because it
keeps reinvading from my neighbour's side of the fence.

Most of the edible herbs you'll find are native to Eurasia. The system
of cultivation used in eastern North America before the European
invasions pretty much prevented native plants from developing into
weeds. Almost all common weeds are non-native, and this includes many
used as herbs.

Enjoy your foraging, and leave the edible native plants, if you find
any other than milkweed, to their struggle to survive despite the
aliens.

If there are potherbs you particularly like, you can find improved
versions of some of them to grow in your garden. The Italians have
domesticated the dandelion as well as developing chicory into a variety
of vegetables more diverse than the lettuces. Burdock root (gobo) is a
standard vegetable in Japanese and Korean cuisine, and the Dutch have
some really good varieties of purslane. Note that Queen Anne's Lace is
the common carrot gone feral, so these things work both ways.