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Indian Cucumber Root and Edible Lilies

© Gregg Pasterick

I was going to write something about Indian Cucumber Root because it blooms now, is kind of unusual looking, and is scarce. I knew it was edible, so I began doing some investigating in that area and what do I find (he asked rhetorically)? It is only one of many lilies that have edible parts (and no, they don't taste like chicken).

The Lily Family (Liliaceae) is a big family; there may be as many as 6,000 species in about 250 genera. It provides us many ornamentals and onions and an exciting variety of native wildflowers. And many, many of these species are edible. Indian Cucumber Root, for starters.

Indian Cucumber Root (Medeola virginiana), which I found in the mountains of North Carolina, caught my eye because of its leaves. Each plant is but a single, woolly unbranched stem; the nodding flowers are small, yellowish-green and blossom in clusters; the leaves grow in two whorls, the top most leaves are up to 3" long, the leaves about midway up the stem are nearly twice as long. These whorls of leaves, particularly the lower whorl of larger leaves, are very striking, a kind of green star through which the stem rises.

It grows in moist woods from Ontario to Nova Scotia, down to Florida, and northward to Minnesota from as far west as Louisiana. And its root, brittle and white, smells and tastes of cucumber. It was once a food source for Native Americans, but because it has become so scare now, collecting it is frowned upon on a good day, cause for a good tongue-lashing most other days. If you must try Indian Cucumber Root, it is best used in salads, or pickled.

Other spring-blooming edible lilies include Trout Lilies (Erythronium americanum), Clintonia (Clintonia borealis), Bellworts (Uvularia) ssp., Solomon's Seal (Polygonatum biflorum), several Trilliums (Trilliums) ssp., Twisted Stalks (Streptopus) ssp., Carrion Flower (Smilax herbaceae), False Solomon's Seal (Smilacina racemosa), Day Lilies (Hemerocallis fulva) and Wild Hyacinth (Camassia scilloides). The many edible Allium species - Nodding Wild Onion (A. cernuum), Wild Onion (A. stellatum), Field Garlic (A. vineale), Ramps (A. triocuum) and Wild Garlic (A. canadense) - all bloom mostly during the summer.

That's a pretty impressive list, huh? There are enough greens and roots in that list to open a wildflower salad bar, but alas, I've taken up enough space just getting to this point. Next week we'll sample some specfic species.

"Indian Cucumber Root and Edible Lilies" (c) 2004 Gregg M. Pasterick - All Rights Reserved.

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