Edible Weeds

Scrub Hickory, Carya floridana native tree, nuts are sweet, but hard to open

Crowfoot grass non-native, tiny brown seeds can be ground & use with flour. It tastes like buckwheat & can be eaten cooked or raw.

Elderberries, Sambucus Canadensis, native shrub or small tree Fruit best as Jam, jelly, pies, syrup, schnapps, brandy and wine. The flowers are also

edible and can be used in pancakes and muffins or just dipped in batter and

fried. They also make a nice tea.

Red Cedar, Juniperus virgiana & J. silicicola (Eastern Red Cedar and

Southern Cedar are natives) berries can be used but not the leaves. It is used

as a seasoning & also to make good gin.

Acorn starch use only the acorns that sink when soaked, then dry in 150 degree over for 15 minutes to make them easier to shell. Soak the flour in

cold water several times over a few days until water is clear, or put in

boiling water, (boil two pots of water) & keep moving the acorns to the next

pot of boiled water until the water is clear. These acorns can then be roasted

to snack on. Roast at 350 for 1 hour. Smaller caps mean less bitter acorn.

Dark acorns are sweet. Tannic water is antiviral and antiseptic. It can be

used as a wash for skin rashes, skin irritations, burns, cuts, abrasions and

poison ivy.

Cat-Briar, Green-Brier, Smilax spp., native The tips taste like asparagus.

Goundcherry

Bottlebrush peppergrass, Lepidium virginicum, native - The young leaves

can be added to salads or soups they are peppery. The seedpods can be used like pepper. The root, ground and mixed with vinegar is a good

substitute for horseradish. They can be eaten as a trailside nibble. The

leaves contain protein, vitamin A and are rich in Vitamin C. There are no

poisonous look-alikes.

Dollar weed, pennywort, Hydrocotyle bonariensis, native, is edible, it can

taste like parsley or will be bitter like carrot tops. Other species are edible

too.

Green shrimp, Blechum pyramidatum, cat. II invasive suck the nectar from the red blossoms.

Purslane, Portulaca oleracea, non-native with yellow flowers has melatonin.

You can eat leaves, seeds & stems. Its good in salad. The pink native is not edible.

Bitter gourd, wild balsam apple, Momordica charantia, a non-native, can

only be eaten when green & must be cooked. Soak & salt to remove some

of the bitterness. Orange gourds & seeds are toxic. The red arils around the

seeds, however, are edible, but you must spit out the seeds. It smells like old

gym shoes.

It is found from Connecticut south to Florida, west to Texas, also Puerto

Rico and the Hawaiian Islands. This bitter melon has twice the potassium of

bananas and is also rich in vitamin A and C. Dont eat the vegetable if youre hypoglycemic or pregnant. Besides the green fruit, the young leaves when cooked and drained are also edible and nutritious, with iron,

phosphorous, calcium and vitamin C. Do not eat the yellow or orange fruit

raw or cooked. It is toxic. Also, the green fruit is suspected in the poisoning

of dogs and pigs.

Eastern Mock Gama Grass, Fakahatchee Grass, Tripsacum dactyloides,

native the seeds are edible when golden.

Pellitory, Parietaria floridana, native taste like cucumber & is a mild diuretic. Those with allergies to it will itch all over.

Spanish needle, Beggars tick, Bidden alba, native eat the young leaves & blossoms, which are best when cooked w/o the stems. Its healthier than spinach & you can chew the big leaves for a sour throat.

Beautyberry, Callicarpa Americana, native, - The seeds are edible, but

bland. Crushed leaves are said to repel mosquitoes. The berries are slightly

astringent and best eaten raw only a few at a time, but it excels in making

jelly.

Yellow flowered thistles, non-native can be cooked for 5 minutes to eat, but the spiny sow thistle is bitter when old. Try to harvest them between

four and 12 inches high. The young stalks peeled and cooked are excellent.

The young root is also edible when cooked but tends to be woody.

Hairypod Cowpea, Vigna luteola, native eat the flowers raw or cooked & the peas boiled. The plant is about 17.5 percent protein and has high

amounts of the amino acid cystine.

Cattails, Typha latifolia, native - put on a fire until black & eat the white inside.

Caesars weed, Urena lobata, cat. I invasive - The flowers are edible & the stems are used to make rope.

Sawgrass, Cladium jamaicense, native - This sedge is armed with very fine

saw teeth and can cut you. The heart of leaves at the bottom are edible.

They taste similar to heart of palm but not as sweet.