Our recent Wild Edibles Walk in Cherokee County, NC was a great way to keep up with identifying weeds and herbs in the wild and a chance to learn about others.

Lamb's Quarters
This is one of our favorites. The leaves taste like spinach and are very nutritious and have often been used as a famine food. Use like spinach raw or cooked. Sometimes this plant will show up as a weed in your garden beds.

Sassafras 
Very distinct with its three different leaves that remind you of mittens. To make a tea use roots pulled from the ground in early spring while ground is still soft and roots are small is best. Scrub the roots and cut them in pieces.  Use them fresh or let them dry for later use. Put roots in a pot, add a bit more water than you want tea, and boil until it turns a nice red color then sweeten to taste.

Wild Carrot
Eat wild carrots just like regular carrots. Wild carrots, commonly known as Queen Anne's Lace, grows abundantly in fields and along roadsides. The stems and leaves have the same frilly look as that of domesticated carrots. The root, although white in color, resembles domesticated carrot in smell and taste. It may be eaten raw or cooked in the same way as domesticated carrots.

Oxalis 
Also known as wood sorrel and another one of our favorites to add to salads. Looks similar to clover and has tiny pink, white or yellow flowers. Oxalis has a tart flavor, similar to lemon. Add the fresh flowers and leaves to salads or use them to flavor fish and soups. One word of caution: oxalis contains oxalic acid and consuming large amounts of oxalic acid causes nausea and vomiting so eat in moderation.

Even though you might never actually use these plants it’s nice to be able to identify them and share about them with others. Before you do use them make sure you have a knowledgeable guide and always have an identification book with photos to make sure you’re finding the correct edibles out in the wild. Many edible plants have mirror plants that can be toxic. Always identify a plant by more than one characteristic as some inedible plants may share a characteristic.