8 edible and medicinal wild plants that you can collect in gardens and forests

Wild plants grow like “weeds” in gardens, forests and meadows. Many of them we don’t even know about. These easily accessible wild plants they are often very healthy or even have healing effects.

The requirement to start collecting edible plants is knowing how to recognize them. If you don’t know, you can count on the help of a good book Guide or, better yet, go hand in hand with one expert person. It is necessary to be sure that the plant has been well recognized. A similar plant can be poisonous.

The best time to find them begins in April and lasts until the fall. The experts assure that In order to extract the greatest possible amount of active ingredients, it is necessary to choose clear, sunny days, and start harvesting at the end of the morning.so that stems, leaves and flowers are dry.

8 wild plants that you can collect

The following eight wild plants work well in a delicious soup, in a pesto or can be made as a tea or added to a salad.

1. Meadow cress or cress

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Meadow cress (Cardamine pratensis) is bitter and is characterized by a high content of vitamin C. Stimulates liver and bile activity and has a cleansing and digestive effect.

The edible leaves are suitable as a crunchy touch for salads, cooked in a soup or taken as an infusion.

these plants they prefer to grow in moist, nutrient-rich, clayey soils. They can be found near marshes, ditches, and other water sources throughout the fall.

2. Water cress

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The water cress (Nasturtium officinale) is often confused with meadow cress. Since they’re both edible, that’s not a problem. Anyway if you are looking for the real cress pay attention to the anthers yellow during the flowering period; those of meadow cress are purple.

Outside the flowering period, the two wild plants can be distinguished by the stem, since that of the watercress is hollow. It grows in clean ponds, streams, and springs year-round.

It provides vitamin C and, thanks to its cleansing properties, it is also used for cures and in the treatment of rheumatism. It also has a antibacterial, diuretic and expectorant effect.

water cress has a pleasantly spicy and slightly acidic taste and it is very suitable for salads or as a dressing for a spreadable vegetable pate. To ensure that it preserves its active ingredients, it should be consumed as fresh as possible.

3. Coin Grass

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The coin grass (Lysimachia nummularia) with its yellow flowers has surely been seen by everyone, albeit unconsciously. It grows best in moist soil, in ditches or embankments until November.

It provides a lot of potassium, silicic acid, tannin and mucilage. Has antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and diuretic effect.

The leaves of the coin grass have a slightly bitter taste and they are good raw in salads and to dress all kinds of dishes.

4. Ground ivy

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ground ivy (glechoma hederacea) can be harvested practically all year round, because even under the blanket of snow it produces fresh leaves.

It is rich in vitamin C, potassium and silica and has anti-inflammatory, analgesic and metabolism-stimulating effects. It is also effective in urinary conditions.

It is very aromatic. It goes well with cream cheese seasoned with herbs, and also in sweet dishes.

The leaves can also be taken as an infusion. It grows both in meadows and pastures and on the edges of trees.

5. Chickweed

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Chickweed (middle stellaria) is a multifaceted talent: it can be fully used until late autumn and is suitable both raw and cooked.

It is very healthy as it contains a lot of potassium and magnesium, iron and vitamins A and C.

This plant combines well with salads, soups and vegetable spreads. Its flavor is soft and aromatic and reminds of peas. Chickweed can be found in fields and fallow land.

6. Nettle seeds

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nettle (urtica dioica) can hardly be surpassed in terms of health properties. Its leaves are used from spring to summer, after which the nettle seeds appear, which They are a true superfood.

Nettle seeds have a high protein content and many vitamins A, B, C, and E, as well as potassium, iron, and calcium.

Nettle seeds are a proven remedy against tiredness and low performance. They also help with gout and rheumatism, high blood pressure, and disorders of the digestive tract.

The seeds can be collected until November. With a flavor reminiscent of walnuts, they are ideal as a complement to soups or smoothies. They also develop their healing properties taken as an infusion or as a spice in the kitchen.

When collecting them, be sure to only collect the yellow seeds, because they are mature.

7. Plantain lesser

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Even children appreciate the effect of plantain lesser (plantago lanceolata), for example, as remedy for mosquito bites.

It contains potassium, silicic acid, vitamins A and C. Its healing properties go beyond external application, since it help with coughs, lung diseases, bronchitis and asthma, among other things.

Plantain leaves are also suitable for use in the kitchen, for example, raw as a complement to salads or cooked like spinach. They can also be taken as an infusion or boiled to make a syrup that serves as a cough syrup.

It grows on roadsides, paths and meadows all year round.

8. White gallium

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The white gallium (Gallium album) can also be found in late fall. It grows in humid places, meadows, roadsides and sparse forests.

The entire upper part of the plant is used as long as it is soft and includes the flowers and stems.. Its mild flavor is ideal as a salad base. The fresh tops go well in smoothies or cooked like spinach.

White gallium contains a lot of vitamin C. It is used in infusion for help combat nervousness, depression and restlessness, but it is also indicated for diarrhea and gastrointestinal discomfort.

Collecting your own medicinal plants: a ritual to get closer to nature

Resorting to medicinal plants to regain health is part of a lifestyle based on trust in nature. Picking them yourself in the field is almost a sacred ritual of connection with nature. An alternative to collecting is the plantation, also interesting.

Remember that when plants are collected in the field It must be done with great respect. The rule is: you shouldn’t appreciate that you’ve been there.

Collect does not mean destroy. You have to make sure that you don’t touch any plant that is scarce or that is protected because it is in danger of extinction. Although the plant abounds only a small part will be taken of what is found. The recollection It must be done delicately so that the plant does not suffer.

The leaves are collected when the flower buds appear on the stem.. Before flowering they contain less active ingredients and also after flowering because they have given the flowers the best of themselves. These must be collected immediately after sproutingwhen they have a higher concentration of active ingredients. Only the flowers of chamomile and arnica can be collected as buds..

There are plants, such as rosemary and sage, with stems, leaves, and flowers that are very rich in essential oils, especially at the flowery ends. If the plant hides its active principles in the roots, it is necessary to distinguish between biennial and annual plants. In the first case, they are collected in spring. In the second, they are collected after the leaf has fallen.

How to dry medicinal plants

The leaves, once clean, are dried in the air and in the shade.spread out on mats.

Bulbs, flowers and flower tips are dried in the suncovered with sheets of paper so that they do not discolor.

roots and rhizomesseparated from rootlets, are exposed in the sun directly.

At sunset, everything should be stored at homesheltered from the night humidity.

When they are dry, the products are kept in glass or tin containers, each with its label, and are kept in a dry place. These are, summarized, the rules that the collector of medicinal plants must follow.

Infusion, decoction, maceration: how to prepare natural remedies from plants

Then there is the art of preparations. The elaboration of remedies from plants is simple, but requires following precise steps with each plant. In the books you can find the description of the processes.

The decoction or herbal tea consists of cooking moderate firein a covered container, for a few minutes and is usually applied to the roots. infusion (the plant is left in freshly boiled water, off the heat(Applies to those plants whose active principles could be altered by boiling.Maceration consists of leaving the plant, reduced to powder, in water at room temperature or non-denatured alcohol (tincture). for a more or less long period of time (each type of plant needs its own).