Tangy Sorrel Salad Recipe
Are you ready to start making another unique dish? Have you ever heard of sheep’s sorrel or wood sorrel? Both of these have a bit of a tangy flavor to them giving any salad a little zing! Wood sorrel looks very similar to a four leaf clover. For more information on identification of wood sorrel […]
A Spicy Bittercress Sautée
Bittercress is a delicious substitute for lettuce or spinach that can be found in your yard. It’s scientific name is Cardamine Hirsuta, which refers to the name Hairy Bittercress. Despite it being called bittercress, it’s not bitter at all instead it has a rich tangy yet spicy flavor. Whether served raw or cooked; it’s definitely […]
Rose of Sharon Buds Sautéed with Onion and Garlic
Rose of Sharon comes in many colors, not only is it a beautiful plant but it is also an edible plant. Every part of this incredible organism is edible; from the roots to the buds. While you may find this strange, the rose of Sharon has a long history of being an antioxidant. Today we’ll […]
Portuguese Purslane Soup
Also known as Little Hogweed, Purslane(Portulaca oleracea ) is a very common edible weed. It can be found throughout the US and Canada as well as other parts of the world. Purslane can be found growing in sunny areas. The plant can be identified by its thick succulent-like leaves. All above ground parts of Purslane […]
Cottonwood Buds are Medicinal, Leaves are Edible
Cottonwood Tree The eastern cottonwood tree (Populous deltoides) is a native North American tree that is common in eastern and central United States as well as southern Canada. Many people recognize this tree from the cottony substance that falls from the trees in early summer. This “cotton” acts as a sail to move the seeds as far […]
Hawthorn, an Ornamental Tree With Edible Fruit
Washington hawthorn tree (Crataegus phaenopyrum) is a common ornamental landscape tree in the Eastern and Central United States. The genus Crataegus is a large genus including many species referred to as hawthorn tree, hawthorn apple thornapple, maytree, whitethorn and hawberry. Although this article focuses on the washington hawthorn tree the information here applies to many other species in the […]
Spruce – Surprisingly Edible Abundant Evergreen Tree
Editor’s note: This article was originally published in June 2014. Updated April 2022. Spruce trees (Genus: Picea) are a very abundant tree across the globe, especially in northern areas. In the United States, a common non-native species is the Norway Spruce (Picea Abies), and two of our native American species are White Spruce (Picea glauca) […]
5 Easy to Forage Edible Spring Plants of the Northeast
At Eat The Planet we love to teach people how foraging for wild edibles can be easy, safe, and rewarding. This article was written to get people out there and eating edible wild plants safely. There are 3 things that you need to be able to do first and this article is meant to make […]
Multiflora Rose, An Invasive But Nutritious Wild Edible
Roses are one of the most popular plants known to mankind. Their history as a cultivated plant goes back at least 5000 years. The Multiflora Rose (Rosa multiflora), also known as Japanese Rose is a native Asian rose that has become invasive in many parts of the United States and Canada. The edibility and medicinal […]
Eastern White Pine, An Effective Remedy For The Common Cold
Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus) is a common native forest and landscape tree in the eastern half of the United States. The Pines (Genus: Pinus) are a prolific genus of trees and shrubs including slightly more than 100 species. This particular species is a long lived tree, some exceptional specimens have been estimated to be […]
Canadian Hemlock, A Hot Winter Tea
Canadian Hemlock(Tsuga canadensis), also known as Eastern Hemlock is a large forest tree native to North Eastern United States and parts of Canada. There are other species in the same genus that grow in the western part of the continent, this article generally applies to those species as well. Canadian Hemlock is an evergreen tree […]
Sassafras, An Illegal Substance That Grows Wild In Our Back Yards
Sassafras Tree Sassafras is the primary ingredient in traditional root beer as well as being used in the production of MDMA(ecstasy) and MDA. Sassafras tree (Sassafras albidum) is a very common native plant in the Eastern United States. It is often seen in clumps of weedy saplings, but as sassafrases mature they can grow to be large trees. There […]
What is the story behind the banning of Safrole?
Safrole which is a unique substance in Sassafras can not be found in significant quantity in any food products sold in the united states today. On the surface it looks like a clear and simple reason. Official Reason behind the banning of Safrole In the 1950s in a government study, Safrole had been force fed […]
Wild Garlic, A Great Addition to Foraged Meals
There are a number of plants that go by the name wild garlic, this article focuses on a very common species, Allium vineale which is also called crow garlic. This species has been introduced from Europe and Africa. Onions, Leeks, Garlic, and Shallots all are in the genus Allium and there are multiple wild plants […]
Japanese Barberry, Invasive Winter Fruit
Japanese Barberry (Berberis thunbergii) is an invasive shrub in eastern United States. It can grow in dense forest shade and is not typically eaten by dear. It is commonly used as a landscape plant and a few varieties have been developed for that purpose. Efforts are under way to prevent the species and all its […]
Amaranth, A Weed Here, A Staple Food Everywhere Else
Amaranth(Genus: Amaranthus) is a genus of plants native to The Americas, Africa, Asia, and Europe. It is a primary food source in all these places because it can grow in many soil types, and most if not all members of the genus have edible leaves, roots, seeds. This article focuses on the Amaranth that is […]
Linden Tree – Abundant Edible Leaves and Flowers
If you can’t find a Linden Tree in the wild you can purchase seeds here: American Linden (Tilia americana) – 40 seeds Little Leaf Linden (Tilia cordata) – 40 seeds The American Linden Tree (Tilia americana) is a New England Native Tree that also goes by the name Basswood Tree. This article also applies to many other […]
Chicory, Street Side Salad Greens and Tea
Chicory( Cichorium intybus ) is a perennial herbaceous plant that grows throughout all of the US except for Alaska and Hawaii. It also grows in most of Canada except for the far north. Chicory is native to Europe but has naturalized in The US and Canada. Chicory is known by a few other names including […]
Purslane, A Wild Edible Weed With Many Culinary Uses
Purslane(Portulaca oleracea), also known as Little Hogweed and Moss Rose is a very common weed throughout the US and Canada and other parts of the world. It grows in planting beds, cracks in driveways and sidewalks and any other sunny area. It is not a lawn weed, it does not grow well when competing with […]
Lamb’s Quarters, A Great Spinach Substitute
Lamb’s Quarters (Genus: Chenopodium) is a group of wild edible plants that is native to North America and other parts of the world. Lamb’s Quarters is also known as Lambs Quarter, Pigweed, Goosefoot, Fat Hen and other colloquial names. There are many species of Lamb’s Quarters, two very common species in America are Chenopodium album, […]