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Botanical File 5. Spring 2013

Wild greens
Introduction
Wild greens are part of the Mediterranean Diet, with Spring being the time of year when they are most abundant. Many of these plants must be collected when tender, otherwise they begin to develop bitter and woody substances that undermine their value as food. In the past, they were an important source of food in times of scarcity, and today wild greens such as asparagus, various thistles and bladder campion are still considered a delicacy.

Ecology
Wild greens are more common in disturbed environments, fields, steep slopes and orchards, rarely being found in mature ecosystems. They were often collected when weeding fields and are then fed to livestock. Never pick wild vegetables in areas treated with pesticides, in industrial areas or in ditches by busy roads. Consumption of aquatic wild vegetables such as watercress may cause transmission of an internal parasite, the liver fluke (Fasciola hepatica).

Preparation
Preparation varies. Some greens are simply washed and eaten fresh as salads, while others are boiled or used to prepare omelettes, soups, stews and rice dishes. In the Mediterranean area they are commonly utilized in a type of pie (like minchos in Valencia).

Wild greens workshop

Main Mediterranean wild greens

This table shows the more common wild greens and how they are cooked. English names based on Streeter & al (2009) Scientific name English name Part used Way to cook Allium ampeloprasum Wild leek Young plants Cooked, in omelettes, with scrambled eggs Apium nodiflorum Fools watercress Tender leaves Raw, in salads Asparagus acutifolius Wild asparagus Tender shoots Cooked, in omelettes, with scrambled eggs Berberis vulgaris Barberry Tender leaves Raw, as a snack Beta maritima Sea beet Tender leaves Cooked Bryonia dioica Bryony Tender shoots Cooked, in omelettes, with scrambled eggs Chenopodium album Fat hen Young plants Cooked, stewed. Omelettes Chondrilla juncea Rush skeletonweed Tender leaves Raw, in salads Cichorium intybus Chicory Tender leaves Cooked, stewed Crepis vesicaria Beaked Hawks-beard Tender leaves Cooked, stewed Eruca vesicaria Garden rocket Tender leaves Cooked in gazpachos (see recipe) Fallopia convolvulus Black-bindweed Young plants Cooked, stewed Foeniculum vulgare Fennel Tender leaves Cooked, stewed. Raw, as a snack Humulus lupulus Hop Tender shoots Cooked, in omelettes, with scrambled eggs Lactuca serriola Prickly lettuce Tender leaves Raw, in salads Mantisalca salmantica Tender leaves Cooked Medicago sativa Wild alfalfa Tender leaves Cooked, in omelettes, with scrambled eggs Montia fontana Blinks Young plants Raw, in salads Papaver rhoeas Common poppy Young plants Cooked, in omelettes, with scrambled eggs Portulaca oleracea Common purslane Young plants Raw, in salads. Also, cooked Rorippa nasturtiumWatercress Young plants Raw, in salads. Also, cooked

aquaticum Rosa canina Rubus ulmifolius Rumex acetosa, R. induratus, R. scutatus Rumex pulcher, R. crispus Scandix australis Scolymus hispanicus Silene vulgaris Silybum marianum Sisymbrium crassifolium Sonchus oleraceus & other Sonchus Tamus communis Urtica spp.

Dog-rose Bramble Sorrel Fiddle dock Shepherds-needle Golden thistle Bladder campion Milk thistle Hedge mustard Sow thistle Black bryony Nettle

Tender shoots Tender shoots Tender leaves Tender leaves Young plants Leaf rachis Tender leaves Leaf rachis Tender shoots Tender leaves Tender shoots Tender leaves

Eaten raw, peeled, as a snack Eaten raw, after peeling, as a snack Raw, in salads Cooked, stewed Raw, as a snack Cooked, stewed Cooked, with rice, omelettes, with scrambled eggs, etc. Cooked, stewed Cooked, in omelettes, with scrambled eggs Raw, in salads Cooked, in omelettes, with scrambled eggs Cooked, in omelettes, with scrambled eggs

Recipe: Rocket Gazpachos

Popular in Albacete In Spain, traditional gazpacho recipes vary according to the region. In the eastern part of La Mancha and surrounding areas, gazpacho is a delicious hot dish made with unleavened bread (shepherds bread) and meat stewed in broth. If made without meat, the dish is called a widowed gazpacho. Wild rocket (Eruca vesicaria), as opposed to the cultivated variety found in markets, is highly prized as a flavouring for the broth due to its intense flavour.

Ingredients (for 4 people):

One potato One red pepper Three cloves of garlic One grated tomato A handful of tender wild rocket leaves taken from plants with no flowers. Gazpacho bread, 400 gr. 100 ml. olive oil Approx. 2 litres water Salt to taste

Preparation
In a pan, saut the potato, pepper, garlic and grated tomato in the olive oil. Add the rocket leaves and cook for a few minutes more (if the rocket is overdone, the dish will acquire a bitter taste). Add water and simmer for another fifteen minutes. Add the bread (torta) and salt and continue to cook for about ten more minutes until the torta is cooked. Remove from heat and let stand ten minutes before serving.

Left, cutting rocket leaves. Right, the dish is ready

An overview of wild greens

Some of the vegetables that are considered wild are really plants that were formerly cultivated and are now feral, like purslane, borage or celery horses. Some, like sea beet, are the ancestors of todays cultivated plants. Wild greens have been a very important nutritional component in much of the world when other food sources were scarce, but in our opulent society of today they are generally disused. The identification, collection and preparation of wild vegetables form an important part of traditional knowledge related to natural resources. They are part of popular culture throughout many parts of the world, where people collect wild vegetables for cooking and even for sale in markets and shops. On both sides of the Mediterranean, wild greens are collected and prepared. Mexican cuisine highly prizes quelites, which are wild vegetables collected in orchards or cornfields. These form part of a rich gastronomic tradition (Linares and Bye, 2009) and are often sold in street markets. Native Indians of North America and certain Asian cultures also collected tender shoots of certain ferns the famous fiddle heads.

Perspectives The use of wild vegetables in the kitchen can be integrated into agrotourism activities. In addition, they are highly valued in the "slow-food" movements.

Common purslane for sale in a North African street market

References: Linares, E. y Bye, R. 2009. Los principales Quelites de Mxico. Instituto de Biologa. En: Linares y Aguirre Los Quelites (Coord.), un tesoro culinario. Mexico pp 11-22 Luczaj, L., Pieroni, A., Tardo, J., Pardo-de-Santayana, M., Soukand, R., Svanberg, I. and Kalle, R. 2012. Wild food plant use in 21st Century Europe: the disappearance of old traditions and the search for new cuisines involving wild edibles. Acta Soc. Bot. Pol. 81(4): 359-370 Rivera, D., Verde, A., Fajardo, J., Inocencio, C., Obn, C. y Heinrich, M. (eds.). 2006. Gua etnobotnica de los alimentos locales recolectados en la provincia de Albacete. Ed. Instituto de Estudios Albacetenses Don Juan Manuel. Streeter, D., Hart-Davies, C., Hardcastle, A., Cole, F. & Harper, L. 2009. Collins Flower Guide. The most complete guide to the flowers of Britain and Ireland. Ed. Collins. Tardo, J., Pascual, H. y Morales, R. 2002. Alimentos silvestres de Madrid. Ed. La Librera.
Texts & photos: Alonso Verde & Jos Fajardo