Wild edibles January

[mick91]

As per my post last month decided to post a list here. Maybe not a comprehensive list but may be of use and interest!
January.

Dandelion
Nettle
Daisy leaf
Gorse flower
Greater Plantain
Ribwort Plantain
Buck's Horn Plantain
Scurvy Grass
Hogweed
Chickweed
Sea beet
Sea Radish
Pennywort
hawkbit
Watercress
Alexanders
Chirvil Hemlock Water-Dropwort sprouts are a very poisonous lookalike if in doubt don't eat it
Cleavers
Sea Purslane
Rock Samphire
Yarrow
Rose Hips
Common Sorrel
Ivy-Leaved Toadflax
Wood sorrel
Three-cornered leek
All seaweeds

 

[Toddy]

By heavens you are miles ahead of us if all of those are available where you are just now

M

 

[mick91]

By heavens you are miles ahead of us if all of those are available where you are just now

M

Ah no Mary that was just a bit of googling for what comes into season in January. Part of my little 2016 to do list is to improve my knowledge of wild edibles so I use it as a reference to know what to learn about month to month

 

[Grotzilla]

Useful to know, I've been watching the rosehips on the hedgerows near mine. Gonna try some rosehip wine in the coming weeks ☺

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[mick91]

Useful to know, I've been watching the rosehips on the hedgerows near mine. Gonna try some rosehip wine in the coming weeks ☺

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Lovely stuff that rich! Not a bad idea actually.

 

[Grotzilla]

Sweet, I've never made it before! What was in the hooch you bought to Shining Cliff?

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[Toddy]

The rosehips here are withered to nothing. All this rain has made them soggy and nothing has dried out

In that case Mick, I think your list is a wee tad on the hopeful side yet. Best of luck with it though

M

 

[mick91]

Sweet, I've never made it before! What was in the hooch you bought to Shining Cliff?

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That was plum and pear. Along with a couple of teabags for tannin. Don't forget that in your rosehip brew its fairly important with them. Partial to rosehip jelly too

 

[Grotzilla]

Cheers for the tip, I've not even looked up a recipe yet, just realised over Christmas I was running low on booze! Haha

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[mick91]

The rosehips here are withered to nothing. All this rain has made them soggy and nothing has dried out

In that case Mick, I think your list is a wee tad on the hopeful side yet. Best of luck with it though

M

They're still pretty full round my neck of to woods, maybe a sign to get picking though I'm a touch further south than you.
Aye might be a case of loads of nettle tea and seaweed

 

[Toddy]

Years ago we did a kind of running tally through the months of what we actually found.
In January 2009 the list was….
Very new nettles,
Hairy bittercress
St.John's wort
Melissa
Dandelions
Bramble buds
Lady's smock
scurvy grass (Cochlearia officinalis)
jelly ears on elders
lesser celandine coming up,
primroses,
brambles in bud,
some very dried up beechnuts,
dockens,
nettles
dandelions
self heal starting to whorl in the grass
pond plants included rushes and reedmace.
Oyster Fungi

So we know that lot's likely

M

 

[Palaeocory]

Some lush new nettles are up in Oxfordshire! So nice to see the bright green.

Other than some dandelions and jelly ear and some ancient fermenting crab apples still clinging to the branch, it looks pretty slim pickings where I am

 

[Toddy]

Not even crab apples here, but I tell you what has survived rather well; sycamore seeds They're like little green peas
I know they're edible, I just don't know 'how' edible. I've munched them for years, but more as a few at a time when I'm out for a wander, not gathered up a bowlful and boiled them up for dinner, kind of thing.

M

 

[Palaeocory]

Oh wow, I didn't know you could eat sycamore seeds... that sounds like an experiment for the next outing!!

 

[Toddy]

I think I'd better put up a warning here….they might well be like elderberries and gueldar rose ones and not everyone can eat them with impunity.
I just don't know
I know I can eat them, and they're really like little peas, but I don't know how many are fine or if they all are

I'd really like to find out though, because if you rummage in the leaf litter there are thousands of them and they last for months upon months there quite happily.

M

 

[Toddy]

I think there are two sycamores.

Our ones have 'keys', known as samaras, and it's the pea shaped bulge at the wing that I eat,
https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/vi...itish-trees/common-non-native-trees/sycamore/

while there seems to be an American version with a seed casing that looks like a spikey chestnut.
http://www.eattheweeds.com/sycamores-not-just-another-plane-tree-2/
and that's a totally different tree to the one we know here.