Wild Starches

A few weeks back, in my article Wild Salads, I wrote, "Gathering greens in the wild is perhaps as foolhardy as gathering mushrooms if you aren't 100% sure of yourself, or helping out an expert. I would never, ever, not in a hundred years, or a thousand, a million even, suggest anyone grab a sack and had out into the woods and help themselves to nature's salad bar. I would however ... in fact, I am telling you that there are many, many edible plants out there, in the woods, along fencerows and old railroad embankments, in prairies and wetlands and bogs and in the backyard, which not only provide the gatherer a wonderfully organic meal, it fills a person with a real sense of being a part of the earth, of knowing it, of understanding it, of partaking of it ... with a bit of reverence, I hope." Keep all that mind - knowing what you're doing, wonderfully organic meals, that bit of reverence even - this week, as I write about a few of the starchy choices we have growing out there.

A few of our wild friends which provide us some starchy roots and tubers include Evening Primrose (Oenothera biennis), a former article topic, Water Lilies (Nuphar species), Spring Beauties (Claytonia species), which I wrote about in Rose Elf and Fairy Spuds last spring and won't repeat here, Groundnut (Apios Americana), Jerusalem Artichokes (Helianthus tuberosus), another wildflower I've mentioned over the past three years, and Cattails (Typha species).

As far as wildflowers go, I am most familiar with Jerusalem Artichokes, Evening Primrose and Spring Beauties in this list. The first two grew in my yard and gardens back in Ohio a few years ago, but they weren't really there for their edible bits. They grew in my yard because of their flowers, and because they were native.

I think a lot of wildflower lovers know about Jerusalem Artichokes and their edible tubers. Indigenous to central North America and cultivated by the Native Americans, it has long since spread across the continent.

The tubers have been described as slightly sweet in flavor, and somewhat watery in texture, and are a kind of wild substitute for potatoes. They are usually collected late in the fall, and can be peeled and boiled, or cooked with their skins on, but removed later, after they've cooled.

The roots of Evening Primrose, which bring to mind parsnips, are best

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