| (As always, if you're new to foraging and want to give it a try, please read the first diary in the FFF series for some important information.)
 Today's first plant is poor man's pepper, also known as Virginia pepperweed or wild peppergrass. This member of the mustard family (other edible members that I've previously covered include garlic mustard, winter cress and watercress) begins life as a basal rosette in early to mid-Spring before sending up a leafed flower stalk in early Summer that can reach 3 feet in height. The leaves are stalked with uneven deep teeth that reach more toward the tip of the leaf than outward. The flowers themselves are greenish-white, form in terminal clusters and are nearly too small to see with the human eye. As the flower buds open, the flower stalk continues to grow, increasing the distance between flowers. By the time the flowers are fertilized and the flat, round seed pods mature, the clusters have a jaunty, airy look and resemble tube-shaped feather dusters. The flowers and seed pods mature on different plants in the same area at different times, so you can often find buds, flowers and fully ripe seed pods on the same group of plants. (Right: Poor Man's Pepper with Seed Pods by wide eyed lib)
The leaves, flowers and seed pods are all edible, with a seriously spicy flavor that gives them their name(s). They are terrific used sparingly in salads, stir fries or  soups. The leaves are most abundant and easiest to collect in Spring in basal rosette form, and they and the seed pods can easily be dried for storage. Dried, crumbled leaves can be used as a seasoning, and dried seed pods can be used as is, ground and used dry like black or cayenne pepper, or ground and reconstituted with vinegar for a condiment similar to English mustard. The seedpods often dry in place, so it's possible to gather them once dried or even to gather them in winter.
Poor man's pepper is a native plant and grows in sunny, disturbed areas and fields throughout all 50 U.S. States and most of the Southern Canadian provinces. It has several lookalikes, none of which are poisonous and most of which are equally tasty. These include cow cress with rounder basal leaves, shepherd's purse with triangular to heart-shaped seed pods, and field pennycress with deeply notched seed pods. Once you start noticing the distinctive seed pods of these peppergrasses (the Lepidium family), you'll see them everywhere. (Left: Poor Man's Pepper Leaf by wide eyed lib)
All mustards have medicinal uses, and poor man's pepper is no exception. According to the terrific website Plants for a Future:
 The leaves of wild pepper-grass are nutritious and generally detoxifying, they have been used to treat vitamin C deficiency and diabetes, and to expel intestinal worms. The herb is also diuretic and of benefit in easing rheumatic pain. North American Indians used the bruised fresh plant, or a tea made from the leaves to treat poison ivy rash and scurvy. A poultice of the leaves was applied to the chest in the treatment of croup. The seed is antiasthmatic, antitussive, cardiotonic and diuretic. It is used in the treatment of coughs and asthma with excessive phlegm, oedema, oliguria and liquid accumulation in the thoraco-abdominal cavity.A poultice of the bruised roots has been used to draw out blisters. The root is used to treat excess catarrh within the respiratory tract. [Ed. note: see original for citations]
(Above Right: Poor Man's Pepper Buds and Flowers by wide eyed lib)
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 On the subject of medicinal plants, yarrow is a legendary powerhouse, so much so that its scientific name references Achilles (he of the unprotected heel). Legend says during the Trojan war he applied compresses of this European herb to his soldiers' wounds to staunch bleeding. Yarrow is an upright, sun-loving herb of meadows and roadsides that grows from underground rhizomes and is now found everywhere in North America, including (for a change) even the Northernmost reaches of Canada. It sprouts in early to mid-Spring as an extremely feathery basal rosette with leaves that resemble green pipe cleaners. In late-Spring it sends up a tall, slender flower stalk with buds that burst into white-to-pink terminal, composite flower heads. These flower heads continue through Fall and often persist in dried form during Winter. (Left: Yarrow in Flower; Below: Yarrow Leaf, both by wide eyed lib)
Yarrow's fragrant leaves, stems and flowers, dried or fresh, make an herbal tea that is particularly popular in Europe and contains more than 120 active, medicinal compounds. Some of those compounds staunch bleeding from open wounds, suppress menstruation and help heal bruises and burns. Those compounds are balanced by other compounds that promote the free flow of blood. Tea brewed from the leaves has been used as a heart, circulatory, arterial wall, and kidney tonic. It also lowers blood pressure and helps sweat out colds, flu, fevers and other infectious illnesses. As if that weren't enough, it has anti-inflamatory and antiseptic qualities. A fresh leaf can be crushed and applied directly to an aching tooth to soothe the pain.
 Although the leaves are bitter, some people eat them raw in salads or cooked into soups. Yarrow has also been used as a substitute for hops in beer brewing, and an essential oil made from the flowers has been used to flavor soda. However, some of yarrow's many active compounds are toxic in quantity, so it is not a plant that should ever be used in large quantities or for long periods of time. People have reported rashes and extreme sun sensitivity after frequently ingesting yarrow. (Left: Yarrow Flower Heads by wide eyed lib)
As a final note, beginners sometimes confuse yarrow with wild carrot (a.k.a. Queen Anne's lace), which in turn resembles deadly poison hemlock. The similarities are extremely superficial, but I'll point out some distinguishing characteristics nonetheless. To the casual observer, yarrow's "flowers" appear clustered like wild carrot/hemlock's. However, if you look closely at the disc in the center of each of yarrow's "flowers," you'll see that it is actually composed of tiny individual flowers (and therefore referred to as a compound flower head). Wild carrot/hemlock flowers are small and clustered, but they are not compound. Further, although the leaves of all 3 plants could be described as frilly or feathery, each frill of wild carrot's or hemlock's leaves is wide and flat in cross section, while yarrow's are round. Yarrow leaves have a tendency to curl under at the edges and are much more finely frilled; while you'd never be tempted to use a wild carrot or hemlock leaf to dust electronics, the thought might cross your mind when looking at or touching a yarrow leaf. (Not that I'd recommended they be used that way.)
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 Immediately upon seeing a picture of an Asiatic dayflower in a field guide to edible plants, I experienced a jolt of recognition and exclaimed, "I can eat that? I've seen that all over the place!" It's that exact feeling that got me hooked on foraging in the first place. (Right: Asiatic Dayflowers by wide eyed lib)
Asiatic dayflowers and their close relatives are not plants any adult pays much attention to, apart from cursing their sometimes inconvenient annual appearance in gardens, sunny fields, disturbed areas and sidewalk cracks throughout the Continental U.S. (excluding Nevada, Utah, Idaho and Montana) and Eastern Canada. That's a shame because these non-native plants are beautiful and delicious.
It can be difficult to positively identify the growing, teardrop-shaped leaves with parallel veins and a marked crease along the midrib when they first appear in mid-Spring because they resemble certain grasses. The leaves clasp the red stems tightly, and the stems sometimes take a 30° to 40° turn at the leaf axils. The leaves seem large (3 to 5 inches) compared to the thin stems and the overall height of the plant, which rarely exceeds a foot tall. The crooked stems and outsized leaves give Asiatic dayflowers a gangly, jaunty air. (Excuse me while I date myself, but they remind me of something I might have constructed from Tinkertoys.)
The most striking things about this plant are its 1 inch flowers, which make the plant easy to identify. They are bright blue to lavender and shaped like a cross between poisonous blue flag irises and edible common blue violets. Two large, circular petals overlap at the top and resemble mouse ears, while a third, translucent petal hides on the bottom, behind drooping, yellow-tipped stamens. (The lower petal of the Virginia dayflower, the most common Southern species, is blue.) The flowers are all the more lovely for being elusive; in inclement weather, they fold in on themselves and duck into the center crease of a leaf. Finally, come late Summer, you can pry apart the flower's petals and extract a seed shaped like a tiny, green pea. (Above, Asiatic dayflower leaves by wide eyed lib)
 The leaves, flowers and pea-like seeds taste a little like green beans, and all are tender and fresh-tasting from when they first appear to when they die off in late Fall. They're delicious raw in salads or sandwiches but also good steamed, sauteed or cooked in soups. The flowers can also be frozen in ice cubes or used to garnish any number of dishes. (Right: Asiatic Dayflower by wide eyed lib; note the tiny, translucent lower petal cocked a little to the right)
As mentioned earlier, the immature plants resemble certain grasses, none of which are poisonous, none of which have flowers, and most of which are too rough and hairy to eat. (Dayflowers are hairless.) The flowers are distinguished from blue flag's by smaller size, fewer petals, and completely different leaves. The flowers also somewhat resemble those of certain spiderworts (most of which have edible young leaves and flowers), but again the leaves are completely different.
As far as I'm aware, there are no medicinal uses for dayflowers, but if anyone knows of any, please let me know and I'll happily update.
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Now for a couple of updates on previously covered plants and sneak peaks at some ripening fruits.
 
Compared to many plants, burdock (originally covered in this diary) is pretty lazy; it's one of the earliest plants to appear in Spring and takes an entire season to flower. Linda Runyon says that the immature, still tender burrs can be steamed and eaten and that the mature burrs can be split in half, exposing a white, edible pith, but I haven't tried, and after a negative experience with the immature flower stalks, I'm not sure I'm going to. (Above Left: Flowering Burdock; Above Right: Burdock Flowers, both by wide eyed lib)
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Field garlic (first covered here), another shamefully slothful plant, has finally gotten around to setting some bulblets, which are its version of seeds. When mature, the bulblets will turn white. Field garlic normally has an umbrella-like flower cluster, but it skips that step sometimes. If I had to guess why it might have skipped producing flowers this year, I'd say it's because the plants were afraid of drowning in the unending deluges we've been having in the Northeast. I'm considering building an ark myself. The flower buds, tiny white-to-pinkish flowers and bulblets are all edible, with a strong oniony flavor.
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The bulblet clusters remind me of elderly raspberries with kerchiefs tied around their heads, but maybe that's just me. (Left: Field Garlic Immature Bulblets by wide eyed lib)
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Boy, was I excited to discover 3 huge black cherry trees practically in my backyard. I sense some black cherry preserves, black cherry muffins and black cherry pie in my near future. (Above Left: Black Cherry Leaf; Above Right; Immature Black Cherries, both by wide eyed lib)
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Cornelian cherries aren't cherries at all, but instead are members of the dogwood family. They're an unusual fruit in that they need to finish ripening off the tree. Although cornelian cherries aren't well known here, they're beloved in Turkey, and you can sometimes find jars of pickled cornelian cherries in Turkish grocery stores. (Above Left: Cornelian Cherry Leaves; Above Right: Immature Cornelian Cherries, both by wide eyed lib)
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If you're interested in foraging and missed the earlier diaries in the series, you can click here for the previous 13 installments. As always, please feel free to post photos in the comments and I'll do my best to help identify what you've found. (And if you find any errors, let me know.)
Here are some helpful foraging resources:
"Wildman" Steve Brill's site covers many edibles and includes nice drawings.
"Green" Deane Jordan's site is quite comprehensive and has color photos and stories about many plants.
Green Deane's foraging how-to clips on youtube each cover a single plant in reassuring detail.
Linda Runyon's site features only a few plants but has great deals on her dvd, wild cards and books (check out the package deals in particular).
Steve Brill's book, Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild (and Not So Wild) Places is my primary foraging guide. (Read reviews here, but if you're feeling generous, please buy from Steve's website.)
Linda Runyon's book The Essential Wild Food Survival Guide contains especially detailed information about nutritional content and how to store and preserve wild foods.
Samuel Thayer's book The Forager's Harvest is perhaps the finest resource out there for the 32 plants covered. The color photos and detailed harvest and preparation information are top-notch.
Steve Brill also offers guided foraging tours in NYC-area parks. Details and contact info are on his website.
Finally, the USDA plants database is a great place to look up info on all sorts of plants.
See you next week!
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