Edible Plants

There are better places than the waste bin to put those pesky dandelions that relentlessly sprout in the lawn and those abundant yellow-flowered mustard plants that have taken over the vacant lot next door.

Instead of cursing and discarding them, try eating them.

Going out for a quick bite to eat can take on a whole different meaning once you learn to recognize, gather and use native and other wild and use native and other wild edible plants in your meals.

Rather than driving to a fast-food restaurant for that quick snack, you could be foraging in your own lawn for a nutrition-packed meal. Wild foods are often richer in vitamins and minerals than cultivated fruits and vegetables.

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Palatable Plants: A Local Menu

Black mustard (Brassica nigra)

Where: Wild, covering hillsides and meadows.

When: Winter and spring.

Taste: Firm texture; horseradish-like taste mellows when cooked in soups.

Vitamins: A, C and B, protein, calcium, phosphorous, iron and potassium.

Dried seeds can be ground into a powder or added to stir-fry dishes

Flowers added to salads

Leaves can be used raw in salad

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Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)

Where: Wild, just about anywhere.

When: Spring and summer.

Taste: Slight bitter taste. Leaves extremely bitter once plant flowers.

Vitamins: A, B, and C, beta carotene, calcium, sodium and potassium.

Flowers used to make wine. Emerging flower bud, with its artichoke-like flavor, can be eaten. Leaves can be used raw or lightly steamed in salads, soups and stews. Roots can be boiled and eaten like parsnipes or used to make tea.

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Cattail (Typha latifolia)

Where: Near standing and moving bodies of water.

When: Spring.

Taste: All parts edible. Inner part of nonflowering shoots have cucumber-like taste.

Vitamins: Shoots rich in potassium and phosphorus; good source of beta carotene.

Flower spike, if harvested while still green, can be boiled and eaten like corn on the cob. Pollen cna be shaken off and eaten for a sweet treat. Roots can be dried and ground into a flour for mush or grits.

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Yucca (Yucca whipplei)

Where: Dry slopes from the desert to the mountains.

When: Spring

Taste: Shoot jicama-like, fruit like squash.

Vitamins: Good protein source.

Young flower petals are eaten in soups or salads or fried

The flower shoot, when peeled, can be eaten raw or baked.

Seeds can be ground into flour.

Fruit can be baked or boiled.

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Precautions

* Be careful: Eating the wrong part of a plant, or even the right part at the wrong time of year, can make you sick. Also, it’s important to watch for potential allergies.

* Know your plants: Get a good book that includes either photographs of plants or well-done illustrations.

* Eat clean plants: Steer clear of heavily traveled roads where plants have absorbed a lot of auto emissions. Be sure the plants are being fed by a clean water source.

* Know the rules: Be aware of whose property you’re on and whether foraging is allowed. In the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, gathering ripe fruit is permitted, but it must be eaten on-site.

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Finding Out More

* Selected books: “Edible and Useful Plants in California” by Charlotte Clarke; “Wild Edible Plants of Western North America” by Donald R. Kirk, and “Guide to Wild Foods” by Christopher Nyerges.

* Classes: Pierce College and Glendale Community College offer field classes. Call Pierce Community Services at (818) 719-6425; for Glendale information, (818) 548-0864.

* Wild food outings: Wilderness Institute, (818) 991-7327; Earth Skills, (805) 245-0318; School of Self-Reliance, (213) 255-9502; W.O.L.F., (818) 991-2515; and W.I.L.D., (818) 781-4421.

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Other Edible Greenery

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Plant: Sow Thristle

What it tastes like: Slightly bitter

When to find it: Winter, spring, summer

Where it grows: Disturbed soil, gardens, stream banks

Which part to eat: Young, tender plants

How to use: Raw in salads, boiled, steamed or cooked in soups and souffles.

Vitamin content: A and C and calcium

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Plant: Chickweed

What it tastes like: Mild and sweet

When to find it: Winter

Where it grows: Shady places, gardens, lawns

Which part to eat: All parts above soil

How to use: Salad, sandwich, blended drinks

Vitamin content: Copper, C and B complex, potassium, calcium

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Plant: Mallow / Cheese Weed

What it tastes like: Mild and sweet

When to find it: Winter, spring

Where it grows: Along roadsides, in gardens, disturbed soil

Which part to eat: Leaves, fresh seeds

How to use: Raw, boiled or steamed in soups, gumbos

Vitamin content: A, potassium, calcium, beta carotene

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Plant: Pursiane

What it tastes like: Slightly tart, sweeter when cooked

When to find it: Summer

Where it grows: Lawns, gardens, cultivated fields

Which part to eat: Fleshly leaves, small stems

How to use: Salads, soups, gumbos

Vitamin content: A, iron, potassium,riboflavin

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Plant: Lamb’s quarter

What it tastes like: Green flavor, mellow when cooked

When to find it: Winter, spring, summer

Where it grows: Gardens, stream banks, vacant lots, disturbed soil

Which part to eat: Leaves, dried seeds

How to use: Salads, soups, stews; dried seeds ground into meal

Vitamin content: Rich in vitamins, minerals, particularly calcium

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Plant: Curly Dock

What it tastes like: Sour, lemon-like flavor

When to find it: Winter, spring, summer

Where it grows: Fields, dry open areas, lawns, stream banks

Which part to eat: Leaves, stems

How to use: Chopped or sauteed in salad and stuffing

Vitamin content: High in vitamins and minerals

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Plant: Amaranth

What it tastes like: Leaves taste like spinach

When to find it: Summer

Where it grows: Disturbed soil, cultivated fields, gardens

Which part to eat: Leaves, ground seeds

How to use: Boiled seeds ground into meal for cereal, breads

Vitamin content: Leaves calcium, potassium; seeds phosphorous, calcium

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Plant: Flaree

What it tastes like: Celery-like taste

When to find it: Winter, spring

Where it grows: Disturbed soil, roadsides, fields, lawns, cultivated areas

Which part to eat: Leaves, stems

How to use: Cooked like spinach, salads, soups, blended drinks

Vitamin content: Calcium, potassium

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Plant: Miner’s Lettuce

What it tastes like: Leaves and stems are mildly flavored

When to find it: Winter, spring

Where it grows: Shaded, moist areas

Which part to eat: Leaves, stems

How to use: Salad or cooked like spinach

Vitamin content: Vitamin C

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Plant: Toyon

What it tastes like: Chewy, apple-like bitter almond flavor

When to find it: Winter

Where it grows: Chaparral, southern oak woodlands

Which part to eat: Bery-like fruit

How to use: Eaten whole or chopped, should first be baked, boiled or dried, in pies, sauces and ciders

Vitamin content: High sugar content

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Plant: Currant

What it tastes like: Soft, sweet, fleshy fruit

When to find it: Late spring, summer

Where it grows: Moist shaded or open land, riparian woodlands

Which part to eat: Berries

How to use: Eaten raw or baked for pies, preserves, sauces, wine

Vitamin content: C, phosphorous, Iron,sugar

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Plant: Prickly Lettuce

What it tastes like: Slightly bitter-like spinach

When to find it: Winter, spring

Where it grows: Disturbed soil, woodlands, meadows, stream banks, gardens

Which part to eat: Leaves

How to use: Salads, steamed or boiled

Vitamin content: Potassium-rich

Sources: Naturalists Hilla-Futterman, Christoper Nyerges and Robert Remed; Q. Gatson, National Park Service ranger, and “Edible and Useful Plants of California” by Charlotte Clark; Researched by SHARON MOESER / For The Times