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Wild Carrot (Daucus carota)Other common names: Queen Anne's Lace, Bird's NestFamily: Parsley Family (Apiaceae)Distinctive features: Root resembles and smells like carrots. Flat-topped umbel of white flowers. Dry fields.

Similar species: Water Hemlocks (Cicuta) - DEADLY POISONOUS Fool's Parsley (Aethusa cynapium) - poisonous Hemlock Parsley (Conioselinum chinense) Poison Hemlock (Conium maculatum) - DEADLY POISONOUS Caraway (Carum carvi) Other members of the Parsley Family

Height: 1-3 feetFlowers: Flat-topped white umbel, often with a solitary purple flower in the center.Summer & fall.

Leaves: featheryStem: hairyHabitat: Dry fieldsLongevity: BiennialEdible/Medicinal/Poisonous/Uses: Root is edible - tastes like carrots. The first yearroots are the best. But be very careful not to confuse Wild Carrot with other similarspecies, some of which are DEADLY POISONOUS. Be sure that the plant you think is WIld Carrot actually smells like carrots. And that it is growing in a dry field.

A field of Wild Carrots. They bloom from summer into the fall.

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A closer view.

The flower umbel is sometimes rounded on top.

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A top view of the white flower umbel. Note the tiny purple flower in the center

A closeup view of the flowers.

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And here's a closer view of the solitary purple flower that is often in the center.

These bracts that hang down underneath the flower umbel are characteristic of thisspecies. Most of Wild Carrot's look-alikes do not have these, or at least not as many.

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Flower cluster just starting to open.

When the flowers are done, they curl up into a bird's nest shape. This gives rise toone of this plant's common names: Bird's Nest.

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This is what's left of the plant in the winter and following spring

A leaf. Note the feathery shape.

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Another leaf.

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A young plant in the spring.

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Closeup of the stem. Note the hairs.

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Garlic MustardGarlic Mustard is a seriously invasive alien plant. Left to itself, it can completelytake over an area, crowding out all native plants. Feel free to pull up (and eat) asmuch of this plant as you can.The crushed plant smells of garlic, hence its name.

To prepare Garlic Mustard, simply boil or steam the whole plants (the part that'sabove ground).

Here's a few photos of individual Garlic Mustard plants, to aid you in identifying it.

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Garlic Mustard

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Garlic Mustard

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Garlic Mustard leaves in the snow. They remain green and photosynthesize allwinter!

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Garlic Mustard flowers.

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This photo shows how this plant can completely take over an ecosystem.

Note how closely the Garlic Mustard plants grow, crowding out everythig else.

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Last years dead plant stalks, after having gone to seed.

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GooseberriesBristly Wild Gooseberry (Ribes oxyacanthoides)Prickly Gooseberry (Ribes cynosbati)Wild Gooseberry (Ribes hirtellum)There are several different species of Gooseberries. Some of them have many

prickles, some have very few.These are fruits of the Wild Gooseberry. They have no prickles on them. The one onthe right is much riper than the one on the left.

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This is the fruit of Prickly Gooseberry. In spite of the prickles, this fruit is indeededible.

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A typical Gooseberry-type leaf. This particular one is from a Wild Gooseberry.

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Indian Cucumber Root (Medeola virginiana) Other common names: Indian CucumberFamily: Lily Family (Liliaceae)Distinctive features: Whorls of leaves. Yellow flowers hanging down.

Similar species: Starflower - has small white flowers, not hanging down (see the bottom of this page)Height: 1-2 feet tall.Flowers: Yellow, small, hanging down. Usually only a few per plant.Leaves: Simple (smooth-edged), in one or more whorls.Stem: Weak and thin.Habitat: Indian Cucumber Root grows in open woods and forest. It doesn't like a lotof light, but neither does it like to grow in deep shady woods.Longevity: PerennialComments: The tubers (roots) are edible raw. They taste somewhat like cucumber.

It's not overly common, so please only harvest it where it is plenty.The information on this page has been taken from my Ontario Wildflowers website.

Here's two photos of the overall plant:

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Photo 2

Here's what a "grove" of the plants looks like. They are often found in clumps likethis; it is not usual to find a single plant.

Indian Cucumber Root normally grows to about 8-16" tall.

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The yellow flowers. They normally hang down, as in the next photo, but when theyfirst start to bloom, the flowers are still pointing somewhat up.

Note how the flowers are now hanging down. This is their normal posture.

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Unopened flowers as seen from the top.

The edible part: the roots. They may be eaten raw or cooked like root vegetables.They don't require very much cooking.Note how small they are.Eaten raw, they have a very fresh taste, like a very refined cucumber.

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Here is a photo of a complete plant.The tuberous root is at the lower left, the top of the plant is at the upper right.Note that this plant has grown crooked. Normally the stalk is straight.

Similar plants Starflower: has similar leaves, but only one "level" of leaves -- IndianCucumber Root usually has two levels of leaves, each in a whorl. Also, Starflowerhas small white flowers that don't hang down. The veins on the leaves have adifferent pattern in the two species.It is not edible.

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Jerusalem Artichoke Jerusalem Artichokes have small tubers on the roots that aredelicious. It is a native plant, with a very misleading name. It is not at all related toartichokes, nor does it grow in Jerusalem.

A stand of Jerusalem Artichokes. These are in my backyard.

Closer view of the growing top of the plant.

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Flower

Here's a photo of the edible tubers, still attached to the plants.

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Here is a handful of the edible tubers, washed and ready for cooking or eating raw.Cook them like potatoes, until they're soft. The skin can be eaten, or you can peelthem. The insides are soft and mild tasting. Very good with salt and butter!They can also be eaten raw.These are actually small tubers. Normally they are much larger, and are much more

lumpy.You used to be able to find them in certain grocery stores. But with the currenttrend towards decreased variety in stores, they are very hard to find.If you find any growing naturally, please harvest with care. They are no longercommon.

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Mayapple Distinctive features: Large deeply cut leaves. Single large white flowerunder the leaves. Single yellow fruit. One of the first plants to come up in the spring.Similar species:Height: Up to about 15" tall.Flowers: A single flower per plant, white, often hidden under the large leaves.

Spring. Most plants do not flower in any given year.Leaves: Large, umbrella-like. Flowering plants have two large leaves, non-floweringones have one.Stem: Short.Habitat: Forests. Sometimes these plants carpet the forest floor. Sometimes theygrow in open fields as well.Longevity: Perennial.Comments: The ripe fruits are edible. CAUTION: Do not eat the fruit until it isripe. Ripe fruits are yellow and soft. Unripe fruits are greenish and not soft. Theyare slightly poisonous when unripe: green fruits are strongly cathartic. Mayapplesare among the first plants to come up in the spring.

A Mayapple plant. This one has two leaves, as it is flowering.

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In any given season, most Mayapple plants do not flower. These non-flowering individuals produce only one leaf.

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The underside of a leaf.

Closeup of a flower. Each plant produces just one flower, which eventuallyturns into one fruit.

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the flower is hidden under the leaves and usually points downward.

Mayapple plants that flower and produce fruit have two leaves.

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Unopened flower bud.

A fruit just starting to grow. They take quite a while to ripen.

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A maturing fruit.The mature fruits are edible and quite tasty. However, they are poisonouswhen green. Do not try to eat them until they are yellow and soft. However,squirrels love the fruits, and you may have a hard time finding a ripe onebecause of them!This photo was taken in late June.

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A Mayapple plant poking up in the spring (late April).

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NettlesThere are several species of nettles. This page only shows Stinging Nettle

(Urtica dioica) and Wood Nettle (Laportea canadensis). For contrast, twosimilar plants are shown at the bottom that are often confused with thesespecies: Horse Balm (Collinsonia canadensis) and False Nettle (Boehmeriacylindrica).

Nettles may also be used to make cordage - See the Cordage section of thiswebsite.PLEASE NOTE that Stinging Nettle is considered by some to be an invasivealien plant. There are several varieties, hard to tell apart. Some are alien toNorth America, and some are considered native.Preparation:Boil or steam the younger plants like any fresh vegetable. Boiling/steaminggets rid of the "sting".

Stinging Nettle

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A typical Stinging Nettle plant in spring.Note the fine hairs along the stem. These are what sting when you touchthem.

The leaf.

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Flowers. These are very distinctive.

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Wood Nettle (Laportea canadensis) Wood Nettle also has stinging hairsalong its stem. But they don't seem to be as virulent as those of Stinging

Wood Nettle flowers. Note that some flowers are above the top leaves, andothers are below

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A close-up of the Wood Nettle stem, showing the stinging hairs. Also showsthe start of a flower stalk (raceme).

A Wood Nettle leaf.

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A nice patch of Wood Nettles

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False Nettle (Boehmeria cylindrica) This plant is easily confused withStinging Nettle. However, it doesn't have any stinging hairs along its stem.

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The flowers of False Nettle are different. They are in tight clumps, instead of looselyspread out along arching thin stems like Stinging Nettle.

Note also the very long leave stems.

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Fiddleheads (Ostrich Fern) The term "fiddleheads" refers to the unfurling youngsprouts of ferns. Although many species of ferns are edible as fiddleheads, OstrichFerns are the best. They are edible only in their early growth phase first thing in thespring.PLEASE NOTE: Most or all other fern species are either unpalatable (too tough or

not very tasty) or contain high levels or carcinogens. Ostrich Ferns are the safest inthat they contain the least amount of these. However, do not eat large quantities of even Ostrich ferns, as the carcinogens do accumulate over the short term.

A nice stand of Ostrich ferns. They can grow up to 6 or more feet tall!This is not the stage at which you can eat them, however.

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These are what you eat. They're known as "fiddleheads" because of theirresemblance to the neck of a violin (fiddle).Simply steam them until they're tender. Good with butter and salt, if you like.

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A couple of these fiddleheads are too big to eat (the two tallest ones).Note how all the fronds grow up from a single point.

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And all of these are too tall to eat.This photo is included to show how they unfurl as they grow upwards.

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The stub of an Ostrich Fern plant. This is what overwinters, and the new frondssprout from this in the spring.

The classic leaf shape of the Ostrich Fern

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These are the Ostrich Fern's "fertile" fronds - the ones that produce spores.

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So, you can look for these dead fertile fronds in the winter, in order to locate OstrichFerns for later use in the spring.

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Fiddleheads Please note that the fiddleheads shown in this section are those of Cinnamon Fern, not Ostrich Fern

All nicely washed and prepared.

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Trout Lily Distinctive features: The bright yellow flowers are among the first tobloom in the spring. Mottled small pointy leaves.Similar species: White Trout LilyHeight: about 3-8"

Flowers: Solitary yellow nodding flowers. Very photogenic.Leaves: one or two per plant. Stiff, upright, 3-8" long. Mottled like a trout fish skin(hence the name).Stem: None, except for the flower.Habitat: Forests.Longevity: Perennial. Disappears by early summer, to reappear the next spring.Comments: Extremely photogenic flowers dapple the early spring woods with theirbeautiful yellow. The corms (tubers) are edible raw.

The flowers. Leaves are also visible here.

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It is easy to see why I call this a highly photogenic flower!I go kinda nuts taking photos of this plant every spring, even though I already haveplenty of photos of it!

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Three slightly different flowers - note how the petals are curled right back. Thisphoto certainly shows why this plant is a member of the lily family!

Flower and leaves.

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Unopened flower.

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Leaves. Someone ate the flower. Note how mottled they are.

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In some places Trout Lilies grow very dense, just like a ground cover. They are allindividual plants, however.

A small grouping of them.

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Maturing seed pods. By this time, the leaves have already started to die off.

The small bulb at the bottom of the plant is edible raw. It has a very fresh taste, sortof like cucumber.

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Another one. Peel away the sheath, roots, and dirt, and pop it in your mouth.There's not a lot there, but they are nice and fresh tasting.As usual, please exercise careful judgment when collecting wild plants for food.

Wild plants everywhere are under a lot of stress due to habitat loss. Best to leavethem for others (birds, animals, insects, etc, as well as humans) to enjoy

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Wild Garlic This wild onion-like plant can be found growing just about anywhere,except for wet areas: woods or fields.

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onion-like odor of the plant, make it easy to identify.IMPORTANT: Don't eat any plant that lacks this onion-like odor!

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The bulbs, roots, and lower stalks of Wild Garlic. The whole plant is edible.

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Wild Leeks Family: Onion Family (Alliaceae)Distinctive features: Grows from onion-like bulbs. Leaves and bulbs smell likeonions.Similar species: Trout Lily - Leaves are mottled. Flowers same time as leaves are out. Leaves

do not smell like onions. Clintonia - Leaves do not smell like onions. Comes up later in the season.Height: Up to about 8"Flowers: The flowers bloom well after the leaves have appeared. In fact, the leavesdie off and disappear before the flowers bloom. Because of the bloom time of theflowers this is classed as a "summer" plant, although it is one of the first to appearin the spring!Leaves: Leaves appear well before the flowers. Wild Leeks are among the firstplants to come up in the spring.Stem: Flower stem smooth, without leaves.

Habitat: ForestsLongevity: Annual.Comments: Wild Leeks are onion-like plants that grow in the deep woods. Theycome up in the spring, usually before much of anything else has come up.The leaves and bulbs are edible. Please only collect when abundant, and then onlycollect scattered patches or individual plants. Ill effects may be experienced by somepeople if large amounts are eaten. If they don't smell like onions, they aren't WildLeeks.**Please note that Wild Leeks have become quite rare in Quebec due to professionalpickers denuding the woods of them. Now the same thing is happening in easternOntario! Unfortunately, this means that they should probably be protected andtreated like a rare or threatened plant. Once again, greed is spoiling something foreveryone.

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Wild Leeks form patches in the forest.If you collect them for eating, please only remove a few individuals from each patch.

Some individual plants in a small patch.The leaves are edible, raw or cooked. They can also be frozen or dried and usedlater in soups and stews.

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The leaves (and bulbs) smell like onions when bruised or crushed. Always test themuntil you get to know this plant. If they don't smell like onions they are not WildLeeks.

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Another nice patch of Wild Leeks.

The edible bulbs. These can actually be dug up in the winter under the snow,especially if the ground is frozen.

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Young shoots in spring. Wild Leeks are among the first plants to poke up in thespring.

These plants, sheltered in the sunny lee of a friendly rock, are further along.

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Flower stalks starting to grow. Note that the leaves are starting to look a little pale -they die off by the time the flowers open

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An umbel of flower buds. There is only one stalk of flowers per plant. The stalk issmooth.

Flowers opening in their umbel at the top of the stalk.

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A closer view of the flowers.The flowers open in early summer. Not all plants bloom.

Wild Leek seeds and dead stalk in winter.

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More dead stalks and seeds in winter.