Author: Tim Larson
Foraging for Edible and Medicinal Wild Plants with Kelly Popham on June 11, 2023
Many of us are aware that some wild plants are edible and that some plants even have medicinal uses—and that is as much as many people know. On a beautiful Sunday in June, a group of people gathered at Duluth’s Hartley Nature Center to learn more.
During just a short walk, environmental educator Kelly Popham pointed out over two dozen wild plants growing in Hartley Park that can be either eaten or in some cases used for medicinal purposes.
Prior to proceeding on the walk, Kelly Popham and Tim Larson led a short discussion of their favorite books about wild-plant foraging.
Kelly urged us to practice “the honorable harvest” described by Robin Wall Kimmerer in Braiding Sweetgrass. Give thanks to the plants. Take no more than you need. Help the plants by doing things such as saving seeds and planting them so more of them will grow next year.
Then Kelly took us on a walk that included woods, a meadow that was recently the site of a controlled burn, shoreline habitat by Hartley Pond, and riparian wetland along Tischer Creek. Along the way, we found the following edible and/or medicinal plants (in order which they were encountered) and learned about how they can be used:
Red Raspberry Rubus idaeus Berries in early-to-mid-summer, in addition to leaves that can be dried for medicinal tea that is beneficial to the human uterus.
Canada Thistle Cirsium arvense Prickly plant with stem that is edible when peeled, as well as carrot-like taproot.
Plantain Plantago spp. Edible, if stringy, leaves can be chewed into a medicinal salve to help soothe and heal bites and stings from insects and spiders.
Jewelweed Impatiens capensis Succulent stems and leaves, when crushed, exude orange juice that soothes itch from poison ivy rash and insect bites. Plentiful orange flowers in late summer make excellent garnish for salads. Young stems and leaves may be cooked as a vegetable.
Dandelion Taraxacum officinale Highly nutritious and healthful, bitter-tasting leaves, stems and flowers can be eaten raw or cooked; tap root can be eaten like parsnips or ground to make coffee substitute.
Burdock Arctium spp. Peeled stem and root provides a vegetable popularly known in Japan as gobo that has liver-cleansing properties.
Willow Salix spp. Contains salicylic acid, the active ingredient in aspirin. Cut willow wands can be planted to propagate. Tea made from cut wands can also be used to encourage root growth in cut stems from other plants to assist with propagation.
Balsam Poplar Populus balsamifera Also known as Balm of Gilead. Aromatic resin with antiseptic and expectorant properties has traditional medicinal uses with skin problems and lung congestion. Fragrance perfumes the North Woods air in late spring and early summer.
Yarrow Achillea millefolium Many traditional medicinal uses as an anti-coagulant, cold medicine, diaphoretic (promotes sweating), antiseptic, and analgesic (relieves pain). Many accounts cite Yarrow as an invasive plant; but indigenous sources say it is an indigenous plant. Euell Gibbons describes traditional uses as a love charm.
Wild Mustard Brassica spp. Edible greens rich in vitamins and phytonutrients.
Winter Cress Barbarea spp. Leafy rosette remains green even beneath winter snow, provides late-winter and early-spring edible greens.
Ox-eye Daisy Leucanthemum vulgare Edible, slightly spicy leaves and flowers.
Mullein Verbascum thapsus Plant with tall stalk, yellow flowers, and large, downy leaves. Used as a component of kinnikinnick wild smoking blends. Leaves may be used for footpads. Numerous traditional medicinal uses: soothing sore throats, suppressing coughs, and treating internal bleeding.
Golden Alexanders Zizia aurea Yellow flower clusters make attractive bouquets; roots used traditionally for medicinal tea that relieves pain.
Bee Balm or Wild Bergamot Monarda fistulosa Aromatic leaves and purple flowers make lemony-mint flavored tea. Attracts pollinator insects and hummingbirds.
Common Milkweed Asclepias syriaca Host plant for Monarch butterflies. Young shoots, flower buds, and young seed pods provide excellent vegetables when steamed or boiled. Fragrant pink flower clusters in early-to-mid-summer.
Ostrich Fern Matteuccia struthiopteris In May, young shoots popularly known as fiddleheads provide crisp, tender cooked greens; fiddleheads also make good pickles.
Basswood Tilia americana Emergent and young leaves make tender salad greens. Flowers can be used for tea and fritters. Abundant flowers in July provide food for pollinators. Honey made by bees from Basswood nectar is considered a delicacy.
Cattail Typha latifolia; Typha augustifolia Euell Gibbons called cattails the “Supermarket of the Swamps.” Samuel Thayer thinks that may be hyperbole; but this familiar wetland plant does in fact provide a number of good (and plentiful) foods as well as other uses. Inner, tender stem is good to eat, with flavor like cucumber. Pollen stalk, in mid-June in our region, can be husked like corn-on-the-cob, revealing pollen stalk that is green on the outside and yellow on the inside; boiled or steamed, it makes a delicious vegetable that can be nibbled from the stalk. Mature stalks later yield powdery yellow pollen that can be used to supplement flour in muffins and pancakes. Underground tubers can be boiled as a root vegetable, or ground into flour. Leaves can be woven into mats.
Juneberry, Serviceberry, or Saskatoon Amelanchier spp. Ripe dark blue berries in mid-summer have flavor and texture comparable to blueberries, but with crunchy seeds that taste like almonds.
Chokecherry Prunus virginiana Purple-black fruit ripens in late summer. Abundant, tart, astringent fruit is delicious when made into jelly, jam, or syrup.
Wild Strawberry Fragaria spp. Some foragers consider these tiny strawberries, which ripen in June, their favorite.
Red Osier Dogwood Cornus sericea Often claimed to be a main component of native kinnikinnick pipe-smoking blend; however, Mary Siisip Geniusz casts doubt on these accounts, but writes that the bark has quinine-like cramp-relieving medicine, and that tea made with the flowers has calming, relaxing properties. Like willows, these attractive plants can be grown from cut twigs.
For further information you can consult the books and websites mentioned below:
Thayer, Samuel. The Forager’s Harvest. (2006)
—Nature’s Garden. (2010)
—Incredible Wild Edibles. (2017)
Geniusz, Mary Siisip. Plants Have So Much to Give Us, All We Have to Do is Ask. (2015)
Gibbons, Euell. Stalking the Wild Asparagus. (1962)
—Stalking the Healthful Herbs. (1966)
Kimmerer, Robin Wall. Braiding Sweetgrass. (2013)
Bergo, Alan. The Forager Chef’s Book of Flora. (2021)
Stensaas, Mark. Canoe Country Flora. (2004)
One other interesting book that describes guidelines, legal and otherwise, for harvesting plants on public lands is Minnesota Harvester Handbook from University of Minnesota Extension.
Online versions– https://conservancy.umn.edu/handle/11299/173824
Print version for sale– https://bookstores.umn.edu/product/book/minnesota-harvester-handbook
Foraging for personal use is permitted on state lands such as state parks, forests, recreation areas, and waysides. State-owned tax-forfeited lands also allow foraging.
However, foraging and gathering are prohibited in Minnesota’s Scientific and Natural Areas.
Some parks, such as the Three Rivers Park District in the Twin Cities metro area, also prohibit foraging.
Foragers should not trespass on private lands and harvest plants without asking for permission.
Arrowhead Native Plant Explorers 