Lactuca serriola, also called prickly lettuce, milk thistle (not to be confused with Silybum marianum, also called milk thistle) compass plant, and scarole, is an annual or biennial plant, slightly foetid, that is commonly considered a weed of orchards, roadsides and field crops. The leaves grow along a spiny stem and get progressively smaller as […]

Plantain (Plantago major, white man’s foot) is another one of those plants that seems to thrive right on the edge of gardens and driveways, but it’s also edible. Pick the green, rippled leaves and leave the tall flower stems. Blanch the leaves and sauté with some butter and garlic just as you would with kale […]

And yet again my mind has been officially blown by another weed I had never known was edible. As I learn more and more about what food grows wild in my backyard I find myself seeing food sources all around us when I’m walking or driving around town. I’m astounded that this knowledge has been […]

This little weed grows everywhere, and in the US is commonly known as buttonweed, cheeseplant, cheeseweed, dwarf mallow and roundleaf mallow. The plant is an invasive in the United States.  The common mallow is part of the family Malvaceae whose plants include cotton, okra and hibiscus. It is an edible plant that has been used […]

Burdock (Arctium lappa) The paragraphs below are taken straight from several locations, references below for additional reading.  Who would have thought this rotten weed would be edible? Jon Medium to large-sized plant with big leaves and purplish thistle-like flower heads. The plant is native to the temperate areas of the Eastern Hemisphere; however, it has […]