Some of America’s worst invasive plants are inedible as well as bad for the environment since they compete with native plants and edibles. However, some edible invasive plants can be controlled, at least partially, by pulling, preparing, and eating them. Others are simply good – and nutritious – to eat.
This past spring, my wife, Elaine, asked me to gather some greens for a salad. So, naturally, I headed for our fenced-in garden to see what had appeared. Between two of our raised beds grew several dandelions, and I clipped a number of their leaves and deposited them in a bag. Below another bed, I found some broadleaf plantain that had just started to break through the soil, and its leaves were added to the stash.
Next, I headed to the edge of our driveway, where I’d observed a patch of garlic mustard thriving, and pulled up several of the plants. My last stop was at our front stoop, where two hairy bittercress plants had taken advantage of the warmth emanating from our house, and cut sprigs from them as well.
Here are some of the edible invasive plants we enjoy.
Mustard Family Sensations
A trio of non-native cress, all members of the mustard family thrive in the United States: watercress (Nasturtium officinale), hairy bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta), and dryland cress (Barbarea verna).
Watercress flourishes throughout the vast majority of North America, including in such disparate climates as Florida, Alaska, and much of Canada. What’s more, watercress can be gathered year-round, but our favorite time to do so is in winter, when fresh vegetables are in short supply. Plus, it’s a superfood, flaunting vitamins A, C, and K, and it has antioxidants, and it’s heart-healthy. On our land, watercress, with its 1-inch, heart-shaped, dark green leaves, flourishes in our two springs, which lie in heavy shade. But this vegetable also does well in the full sun of small, shallow streams.
In the wild, watercress can harbor giardia and other harmful microbes, so Elaine always stir-fries this vegetable before we consume it. Some folks raise watercress in greenhouses so they can use it raw. Watercress goes well in tomato soup, atop burgers (after being stir-fried), in many egg dishes, and in a variety of potato dishes and sides.
Hairy bittercress doesn’t taste bitter at all, in my opinion, especially when gathered in late winter and early spring when at its prime. This invasive plant grows in a rosette, much like a dandelion. And, like a dandelion, it can appear in late winter, even through light snow. The individual leaves look much like those of watercress, and their flavor is pleasantly peppery. Those leaves offer antioxidants, beta-carotene, calcium, magnesium, and vitamin C. An interesting trait of hairy bittercress is that the seed pods “explode” when touched. Hairy bittercress thrives in moist soil, and this Asian native now lives throughout much of the world. Bittercress excels as the main ingredient in a late-winter “rejuvenation” salad, long before your garden spinach arrives. But it also adds zest to any egg entrée.
Dryland cress holds the honor of boasting some of the most colorful – and numerous – nicknames. This European and Asian native is sometimes called “early yellow-rocket,” “poor man’s cabbage,” “scurvy cress,” and “creasy greens.” The latter name is especially common in the Appalachian states, where this mustard is often used as a spring tonic.
It’s typically prepared the same way one would prepare mustard greens, kale, or spinach: It’s stir-fried with onions and bacon grease, then served with vinegar. The vitamins, iron, and calcium gained from dining on this plant should give anyone a healthy boost.
Use Edible Invasive Plants as Salad Fixings
The following quartet of non-native plants all excel in salads, though we often prepare them in various entrées.
Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), native to Europe and Asia, is the most nutritional and most widespread of this group. Thriving throughout North America, the dandelion needs no description. But you may not know that the leaves offer vitamins A, C, E, and K, plus calcium, iron, magnesium, and potassium. We’re such fans that when dandelions appear between our raised beds, we treat them as volunteer vegetables.
Chickweed (Stellaria media) hails from Europe and Asia and prospers in most of North America. Chickweed sends out trailing stems whose 1-inch, rounded leaves and delicate, star-like flowers help identify it. When gathering dandelion leaves and flowers, I’ll snip off a few leaves of this plant as well.
Broadleaf plantain (Plantago major) is another native of Europe and Asia, and it covers yards and fields of most of North America. Its large, oval leaves grow in a circular fashion around the base. Plantain sports bounteous supplies of vitamins A, C, and K and a goodly amount of potassium and zinc. Concentrate your gathering efforts in spring, as the leaves become tougher as summer waxes.
While I let the other non-native plants I’ve mentioned live, I regard garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) as an insidious invasive plant to be eliminated from our land. Native to Europe, Asia, and Africa, it quickly overpopulates in America and impedes native plants from growing. Garlic mustard primarily lives in the eastern part of the U.S., but it seems to be spreading westward. A biennial, garlic mustard can be identified by its kidney-shaped leaves with rounded teeth in its first year. To positively identify this flora, crush the leaves and see if they emit a telltale garlic-like odor. The second year, tiny white flowers grow on tall stalks, and, of course, the garlic smell of the leaves remains. After I sever several leaves for salads, I always pull up the rest of the plant and leave it to die. Garlic mustard is shallow-rooted and can be easily extracted after a rain.
Wineberries
Without a doubt, wineberries (Rubus phoenicolasius) are our favorite invasive plant. Hailing from Asia, it’s a close relative of our native wild blackberry and raspberry, and it features many of the same traits: tasty summer berries, upright vines, and thorns. Additionally, they create habitats for wildlife, so don’t have to be eradicated.
Wineberries feature silvery under-leaves and delicate red hairs that grow on their stems and flowers, and they leave a white core when the ripe scarlet berries are picked. Where we live in southwest Virginia, wineberries begin ripening in late June just after the raspberries finish producing and the blackberries aren’t quite ready to start. This Rubus family member can be found as far north as Canada, as far south as North Carolina, and as far west as Michigan. The wineberry is adaptable and seems to be increasing its range.
Check out Elaine’s delicious wineberry recipes here.
Last Words on Edible Invasive Plants
I believe it’s important to understand the difference between non-native and invasive species. For example, both the honeybee and the white clover that it frequents are non-native, and none among us is trying to eliminate either from the American landscape. However, I ruthlessly attack invasive, non-native flora when they appear on our land, as they’re threats to native plants. So, enjoy eating those edible invasive plants that often appear in woodlots and backyards. After all, it’s free food.
Bruce and Elaine Ingram are the authors of Living the Locavore Lifestyle, a book about hunting, fishing, and gathering food (with recipes).
