Appendix: Sacred First Foods

Please note: This list is provided for informational purposes only. While having attempted to leave out toxic species that require special cooking techniques I cannot vouch for the actual safety of any of these species. LEAVES, STEMS, SHOOTS, AND FRONDS ACIDIC WOODS AND MOUNTAINS @ = also found in Acidic Bogs and Moors # = also found in Acidic Heathland Antennaria: young leaves as greens Blechnum: fiddleheads and young fronds eaten raw or cooked, mixed into bread, made into a beverage, peeled shoots eaten, fronds in steaming pit @ Carum: young leaves raw or cooked, tea, salad, soup # Dryopteris: same as Blechnum Eriophorum: stems and stem bases eaten raw or cooked in oil @ Gallium: leaves for tea (harvested when in flower) @ Hydrocotyle: leaves eaten @ Hypericum: eaten fresh Juncus: young shoots eaten raw, stems fermented into beverage @ Lathyrus: tender plant and stalks as greens Mentha: as greens, with other greens, with fish, as tea Menyanthes: leaves brewed into beverage Myrica: branches substituted for hop Oxalis: eaten fresh, made into beverage with violets and honey Pteridium: young leaves and fiddleheads raw, cooked, in soup thickened with flour, boiled, steamed, peeled # Pyrola: leaves and roots for tea Rubus: fresh shoots peeled and eaten raw, eaten with salmon eggs, steamed with fish Rumex: young shoots, stems and leaves raw or cooked in oil with fish and honey, boiled, roasted, steamed, fried, eaten with eggs, berries, cress, meat, stems boiled into beverage before buds open # Salix: young leaves and peeled shoots eaten raw, cooked in oil, also in tea Scirpus: new shoots eaten raw, stems and stem base peeled and eaten raw or roasted @ Sedum (Roseroot): eaten fresh, tops for tea Senecio: young leaves and flowers stems raw or cooked Stachys: tea, used to flavor sprouts Typha: young shoots eaten raw or cooked Ulex: shoots with flower buds fermented, leaf buds as tea Viola: leaves and stems parboiled with other greens, leaves eaten fresh, leaves battered and fried, all plant components for tea ACID BOGS AND MOORS Onolcea: fiddleheads and young fronds cooked and seasoned Pedicularis: leaves and stems boiled and soured Phegopteris: shoots, buds, bark mixed with cooked leaves Polystichum: fiddleheads eaten, fronds used the steam berry bush shoots on hot rocks Rhamnus: plant boiled into jelly-like substance and eaten ACIDIC HEATHLAND Arabidopsis: eaten as greens ALKALINE WOODS AND MOUNTAINS Alliaria: greens, sauces, with meat Arabis: leaves in beverage, leaves cooked in oil Humulus: young shoots raw or cooked Juniperus: foliage boiled into tea Oxyria: leaves and stems fresh, cooked with oil, juice sweetened thickened and eaten Polygonatum: young shoots cook Polygonum: young leaves chopped added to flour and sweetened, boiled, fried, stewed, mixed with berries and oil as sauce for fish and flatbread, cooked with onion, grain and eggs Prunella: leaves cooked, leaves soaked in water for beverage Ruscus: young shoots raw or cooked Sanicula: leaves as greens Tilia: young twigs and buds raw or cooked Trifolium: leaves raw, boiled, steamed, as tea ALKALINE FENS AND MARSHY MEADOWS Angelica: raw, cooked in oil with fish, stems and flower stems peeled and boiled with fish, leaves steamed with acidic fruit to reduce sweetening required Aquilegia: young leaves boiled Barbarea: salad or cooked, mixed with other greens Cardamine: leaves and stems raw, boiled, steamed Cirsium: young stems peeled, eaten raw or boiled Equisetum: young shoots while segments are still close together peeled, eaten raw, boiled, boiled into beverage, peeled and pit baked, dried and ground into flour for mush Filipendula: leaves before flowering for tea Hippuris: young leaves raw, cooked in oil, in soup Nasturtium: leaves raw or cooked Petasites: young leaves as greens, raw, cooked, mixed with other greens, soured Sagittaria: stem below blossom peeled and eaten raw Sanguisorba: leaves raw or cooked Sonchus: leaves, shots, peeled stems, raw, roasted, greens, in soup Symphytum: young leaves raw, cooked, tea, stems blanched Urtica: young tops, shoots boiled, cooked in oil, steamed, and mixed with curds for cheese ALKALINE GRASSLANDS Acer: leaves in steaming pit, dried crushed leaves to flavor stored meat, young shoots raw or cooked Acinos: tea, seasoning for meat, fish, vegetables, etc. Agrimonia: leaves and flowers for tea Anthemis: leaves for tea Arctium: leaves and stems raw, cooked, in soup or stew Bellis: leaves and flowers edible Calendula: young leaves raw or cooked Capsella: leaves cooked with meat and other greens, raw Carex: leaves a stem bases for beverage Chrysanthemum: young leaves and flowers, tea, soup, salad, stew Cichorium: leaves fresh or cooked Cymbalaria: leaves fresh or cooked Descurania: cooked as greens, seasoning Fragaria: leaves for tea Heracleum: greens raw, cooked in oil, boiled, steamed, roasted, with fish and meat, as seasoning Lamium: leaves boiled Laserpitium: as pot herb Lithospermum: raw, steamed, boiled, and cooked in oil, soup, stew Matricaria: tea, dried to preserve meat and berries Melilotus: dried, mixed with curds for cheese Melissa: young leaves raw, cooked, steamed, boiled, soup, stew Myrrhis: young leaves raw, cooked, steamed, boiled, cooked in oil, cooked with acidic fruit to lessen sweetener requirement Nepeta: tea, salad Onopordium: young stems and shoots peeled and eaten raw, roasted, cooked Origanum: tea, seasoning Pieris: young leaves raw or cooked Pimpinella: young leaves in salad, seasoning Poterium: tea, seasoning Salvia: young stems peeled, eaten raw, cooked Sinapsis: young leaves raw or cooked Sisymbrium: young leaves raw, cooked Thlaspi: young leaves raw, cooked Tragopogon: leaves boiled, fried, brewed in tea Verbena: leaf edible, in tea Vicia: stems boiled COAST Allium: leaves and bulbs raw or cooked, seasoning Althaea: young leaves raw, steamed Anchusa: young leaves raw or cooked Anthriscus: fresh, cooked, soup, stew, eggs, seasoning Apium: leaves and stems raw or cooked Asparagus: stems raw or cooked Aster: young leaves raw or cooked with fish Atriplex: leaves boiled, roasted in pits, added instead of salt, boiled mixed with flour and baked, boiled with acidic plants to counter acidic flavor, young stems, branches used as seasoning in roasting pit Beta: young leaves and stems as greens, boiled, steamed, stewed, soup Brassica: young leaves raw, cooked, steamed, fried, seasoning Campanula: young leaves a stems raw or cooked Carduus: young leaves raw or cooked, peeled stems raw, boiled, baked with honey Chenopodium: young leaves raw, cooked, fried, boiled, stew, soup Cochlearia: young leaves raw or cooked Crithmum: young leaves raw, boiled, seasoning, with meat, soured Eryngium: young shoots peeled and eaten raw or cooked, brewed into beverage Euphrasia: tea Foeniculum: leaves for tea, salad, soup, seasoning Glaux: leaves used as salt substitute Honkenya: leaves raw or soured, mixed with other greens, cooked and mixed with deer fat and berries, eaten with fish, shoots eaten with oil and honey Lactuca: leaves raw, wilted in oil, cooked Lepidium: young leaves raw or cooked, seasoning Ligusticum: young leaves blanched, cooked, cooked with fish Lotus: young leaves raw or cooked, added to dry pine needles in roasting pit Malva: young leaves cooked and mixed with flour then cooked again Medicago: leaves used to line roasting pit Mertensia: leaves and stems boiled and eaten with oil Ononis: young shoots raw, cooked, soured Petroselinum: tea, seasoning Peucedanum: young stems peeled and eaten raw or cooked Plantago: young leaves raw, cooked, mixed with other greens Raphanus: young stems raw, steamed, cooked Rosa: leaves for tea, young stems and shoots peeled and boiled Scrophularia: young leaves boiled Silybum: very young leaves raw or steamed Suaeda: substitute for salt, young leaves boiled, used to line roasting pit Taraxacum: young leaves raw, cooked, tea Thalictrum: leaves used to season salmon Thymus: seasoning raw or cooked, tea Valerianella: raw or cooked EDIBLE FLOWERS Note that entries include only those remarks about some form of preparation beyond simply eating them raw or using them as an uncooked garnish. ACIDIC WOODS AND MOUNTAINS Vaccinium Viola Gallium Ulex: shoots with flower buds fermented ACIDIC BOGS AND MOORS Scirpus: flower pollen used to make cakes Mentha Pedicularis: flowers fermented in water ACIDIC HEATHLAND Genista: buds for seasoning, boiled Rumex ALKALINE WOODS AND MOUNTAINS Saponaria Trifolium ALKALINE FENS AND MARSHY MEADOWS Caltha: buds Cirsium: flower chewed for nectar, bud at thistle base edible, flower head pedicels eaten fresh Filipendula: tea, soup, stewed with fruit Hottonia Veronica ALKALINE MEADOWS Agrimonia: tea Bellis Calendula Chamaemelum Chrysanthemum Cichorium Convallaria: brewed into beverage Daucus: flowers fried Fragaria: flowers and stems to season meat and roots Galega: flowers used to make cheese Heracleum: flower buds with honey Lamium: flowers in beverage Melissa Myrrhis Nepeta Origanum Ornithogalum: flower buds cooked Poterium COAST Althaea Allium Anchusa Anthriscus Asparagus Aster: mixed with parched grain Atriplex: flowers made into pudding Brassica: raw or cooked Carduus: bud used like artichoke Foeniculum Lepidium Malva Primula: with honey and water (somewhat narcotic) Rosa: picked when buds are barely open, remove stamens Silybum: flower heads eaten like artichoke Taraxacum: used in beverage Thymus ROOTS When a species is found to have edible roots and bulbs but without preparation notations only the name is listed ACIDIC WOODS AND MOUNTAINS Pyrola: tea ACIDIC BOGS AND MOORS Athyrium: peeled then roasted, boiled, cooked in coals, steamed, toasted, mashed, eaten with fish Eriophorum: raw, boiled, cooked in oil Juncus: bulb cooked Menyanthes: dried ground leached into flour Myriophylum: raw, fried in oil, roasted Pedicularis: raw, boiled, roasted Phegopteris: see Athyrium Polypodium: see Athyrium Polystichum: see Athyrium Scirpus: raw, dried and ground into flour Sparganium Spiranthes Typha: young roots raw or cooked ACIDIC HEATHLAND Carum: cooked Lathyrus Pteridium: see Athyrium ALKALINE WOODS AND MOUNTAINS Anemone: upper root tips (possible toxin) Arum: tubers harvested in autumn, dried in sand, baked, boiled, roasted (possible toxin) Gagea Oxyria: fresh or cooked with oil Polygonatum: root soaked, cooked, baked, ground into flour Polygonum: raw, boiled, cooked in oil, added to soup and stew, boiled with meat, ground into flour Sanicula Trifolium: root steamed, boiled, cooked in oil, eaten with fish or duck ALKALINE FENS AND MARSHY MEADOWS Cardamine: roots raw, boiled, steamed, cooked in oil, soured, cooked with deer Cirsium: root peeled, eaten raw, boiled, baked, in soup or stew Equisetum: root and black root nodules eaten raw with oil Filipendula: tea Geum: tea and seasoning Lycopus: raw, steamed, baked Nymphaea: stew, baked, boiled Ranunculus: root harvest before leaves appear and boiled (possible toxin) Sagittaria: raw, boiled, baked, peeled, ground into flour Valeriana: steamed, boiled, roasted, cooked in oil, soup, stew (I think this would make you VERY sleepy) ALKALINE GRASSLANDS Carex Cichorium: boiled, roasted and ground for beverage Daucus: steamed, boiled, pit roasted, raw, dried and ground into flour Eupatorium: root ash used as a salt substitute Heracleum: boiled Lithospermum: tea, boiled, roasted Muscari Myrrhis: boiled Orchis: tubers edible, boiled for tea Ornithogalum: raw, cooked, roasted Pastinaca: cooked, ground into flour Silene Tragopogon: stewed COAST Althaea: boiled and fried Allium Anthriscus: cooked Aster: in soup Astragalus: fresh, boiled, soup, stew Beta: boiled, stewed, baked Brassica Campanula Cochlearia: condiment Eryngium: boiled, roasted, candied Gentiana: brewed Glaux: boiled then dipped in oil Inula: raw, cooked, candied, seasoning Lepidium Ligusticum Mertensia Orphys: blanched, peeled, sun dried thoroughly, baked, beverage Petroselinum: soup or stew Peucedanum Raphanus Scrophularia: root edible but tastes horrendous Silybum: boiled Solidago: steeped and eaten Taraxacum: tea SEEDS, NUTS, GRAINS AND CATKINS Some species are listed although the preparation is unknown to me ACIDIC WOODS AND MOUNTAINS Betula: catkins Pinus: seeds Quercus: acorns must be ground and leached in ashes to remove bitterness of acidic tannin Salix: catkins ACIDIC BOGS AND MOORS Scirpus: seed edible, also parched and ground into flour for mush Eriophorum: seed parched and pounded, eaten dry, ground into flour Juncus ACIDIC HEATHLAND Carum: tea, seasoning, ground into flour Genista: in beverage Lathyrus: ripe seed pods boiled, roasted, roasted and used in beverage, seeds and pods cooked or eaten raw Senecio: roasted ground seed made into cakes Rumex: parched, roasted, ground then cooked into mush or moistened and formed into cakes and baked ALKALINE WOODS AND MOUNTAINS Corylus: nuts raw or roasted Fagus: nuts crushed and boiled into beverage, or mixed with flour for bread, mixed with berries, used in soup and mush Humulus: boiled and used to flavor flour, used to make bread swell, brewing, and beverage (the female inflorescence is Hops) Prunus ALKALINE FENS AND MARSHY MEADOWS Caltha (possible toxin) Catabrosa Cirsium: seed boiled and eaten, ground into flour Glyceria Nymphaea Phalaris: seed parched Phragmites Ranunculus: parch, ground for mush, flour, bread (possible toxin) ALKALINE GRASSLANDS Acer: sprouted seeds boiled Avena: seed parched, dried, for mush, soup, flour Capsella: flour, roasted and mixed with other grains, mush Carex: seed ground for mush Descurania: seed parched or roasted and ground for mush, flour, beverage Festuca Hordeum: all uses, parched for beverage Laserpitum Lithospermum Lolium: seed for mush (moldy seed highly toxic) Myrrhis: seasoning Onopordum: seed used for oil Pimpinella Salvia: parched seed for flour and mush Setaria Sinapsis: seed used for oil Sisymbrium: ground, parched for mush Thlaspi Verbena Vicia: pods cooked, roasted, ground COAST Allium: seed heads placed in hot ashes for a few minutes, seeds are then extracted and eaten Althaea: toasted and used as condiment Apium Astragalus: pods eaten boiled or fresh, pea-like fruit eaten raw or cooked, seeds for food or mixed with other food as seasoning, added to soup or stew for seasoning Atriplex: seed roasted, dried, parched, pit roasted, re-moistened into mush or dough, also mixed with other grains Brassica Chenopodium: parched and ground for mush, flour; formed into cakes that are baked, steamed, boiled, simmered Elymus: parched, ground into flour for bread, mush, cakes Foeniculum: seasoning, tea Iris: roast and ground for beverage Lepidium Malva Medicago: parched ground seed for mush Plantago: seeds eaten, ground and made into mush, beverage Raphanus: young seedpods Rosa: hips Solidago Suaeda: boiled into mush, ground into flour for mush and cakes Thalictrum: seasoning FRUIT ACIDIC WOODS AND MOUNTAINS Rubus Vaccinium ACIDIC BOGS AND MOORS Myrica: used in broth ALKALINE WOODS AND MOUNTAINS Juniperus: dried, roasted, ground for beverage, bread, cakes, boiled into jelly, eaten raw Prunus Ribes Sambucus Taxus (possible toxin) Viburnum: fruit edible only if cooked (possible toxin) ALKALINE GRASSLANDS Fragaria COAST Asparagus Aster Hippophae: fruit cooked into jelly and sauce, eaten with fish Rosa: hips SAP, CAMBIUM AND BARK ACIDIC WOODS AND MOUNTAINS Betula: sap mixed with honey and fermented into beverage, cambium in spring Pinus: sap for candy Salix: cambium with oil and honey ACIDIC BOGS AND MOORS Juncus: sugar formed on top of plants ALKALINE WOODS AND MOUNTAINS Alnus: sap Fraxinus: cambium layer scraped down into long, fluffy layers and cooked Populus: buds, sap, cambium, young bark Taxus: twigs into tea ALKALINE FENS AND MARSHY MEADOWS Phragmites: dried sap ALKALINE GRASSLANDS Acer: sap dried or fresh, boiled with berries and water for beverage, mixed with elder and birch sap and water, cambium eaten with oil, cambium boiled to extract sugar, bark brewed into tea, bark dried and pounded and sifted into flour FUNGI, LICHEN, MOSS AND SEAWEED Pleurotus: baked fried on hot stones Boletus: baked fried on hot stones Dentium: baked fried on hot stones Stricta: boiled until it coagulates like scrambled eggs Cetraria: condiment in fish or duck soup Usnea: used for cleaning fish Sphagnum: tea SEAWEED Alaria: fronds and stalks with attached herring eggs stewed, baked, sundried for later use Chondrus Costaria: See Alaria Fucus: See Alaria. Also used to create steam in cooking pit, used to smoke meat and fish Hedophyllum: See Alaria Laminaria: See Alaria Lessoniopsis: See Alaria Phyllospadix: See Alaria. Rhizomes also eaten raw in spring Postelsia: See Alaria Porphyra: condiment, eaten with fish, pressed into cakes, sundried and eaten like popcorn, fresh, baked, cooked in oil, browned and cooked Rhodymenia: leaves air or sundried, added to soup or stew, eaten fresh, singed on hot surface Ulva: peppery seaweed used to season other seaweeds and foods Zostera: See Alaria. Also eaten raw with oil. Roots and leaf bases eaten with seafood and deer, eaten raw