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When harvesting grass for making green powder, use only young and tender blades that easily break down in the mouth when chewed. In general, many varieties of grass, especially as they mature, contain too much cellulose fiber for our bodies to digest, making it better used as a juice rather than green powder.

The prostrate knotweed is mild in flavor and makes a great ingredient for green powders. They add a slightly sour, astringent quality to the powder. I use the whole aboveground plant. Leaves from other varieties of the genus Polygonum can vary in nature depending on the species and where it is growing, so it is best to taste each patch and decide accordingly how much to add to your powder. Many varieties are best in the spring when they are tender and sour and can become tougher and dry out the mouth as they age. Some varieties have the potential to accumulate oxalic acids later in the season after the plants have gone to flower.

Lambsquarter is best harvested in the spring before the plant has gone to seed. The plants make a wonderful main ingredient for green powder when they are young and still mild. The leaves later in the season may be too strong in flavor to use in quantity. Taste the leaves from the specific patch where you are harvesting to decide for yourself.

Mallow can be used as a main ingredient due to its mild nature throughout the entire growing season. The whole plant of mallow can be incorporated into green powders—including the leaves, stems, fruits, seeds, and roots; however, I avoid the parts that have become woody in nature and tough to break down.

The mustards vary greatly in their spicy flavors. Use your tongue to taste each species and decide how much is right for you. They are beneficial for increasing circulation but may be best added to green powders in moderation.

Plantain can be used throughout the whole growing season. The leaves continue to be good for green powder even after the seeds have developed.

Purslane is a succulent plant that retains water in the leaves and stems. Because of this, it takes longer to dry than any of the other plants. However, it has a mild flavor all season and can be added to green powders once it is fully dry.

Thistle greens can be used for making green powders, but because of the prickly nature of them it is best to grind the powder very fine and sift it through a strainer to avoid the prickles. The spines of thistles have not bothered me personally in my green powder, but it is possible that the spines could still be sharp, so use your own judgment.

May amaranth help create intimate community with our human and nonhuman relationships.

“Amaranth is high in protein,

Eat them for muscles like Mr. Clean!”

Amaranth

Family: Amaranthaceae

Latin Name: Amaranthus retroflexus (Amaranthus means everlasting, unfading flower and retroflexus means reflexed or bent)

Related Useful Species: Amaranthus lividus, A. spinosus, A. viridis, A. caudatus, A. cruentus, A. powelli, and A. hypochondriacus

Global Common Names: English (pigweed, wild beet amaranth, redroot, love-lies-bleeding, prince’s feather); Aztec (huautli); Spanish (amaranto, bledo, alegria); French (amarante); German (amarant); Italian (amaranto commune); Danish (papegaaienkruid); Portuguese (caruru); South American Andes (kiwicha); Hebrew (yarbuz mufshal); Chinese (fan zhi xian); Indonesia (bayam); Philippine (kalunay); Hindi (chaulai, katemath, rahgira, mamdana, keerai); Sanskrit (tanduliyah); Vietnam (rauden); Africa (mchicha [Swalhili], doodo [Uganda], terere [Meru]); Caribbean (bhaji); Jamaica (callaloo); Greece (vlita); Sri Lanka (koora thampala); Fiji (choraiya bhaji); Finnish (vihrea revonhanta); Norwegian (duskamarant); Swedish (svinamarant); Russian (shchiritsa); Polish (szartat szorstki); Japanese (ao geitou, aobyu); Thai (phak khom); Hopi (kono)

Description

There are close to seventy species of amaranth worldwide, ranging in sizes, colors, and shapes—all with edible and medicinal properties. Amaranthus retroflexus is one of the most common wild amaranth species found across the majority of the globe. It is an annual herbaceous plant able to reseed itself exceptionally well. Amaranth grows in a diversity of environments ranging from dry terrains of the desert to lush areas of the tropics. Although it will grow vigorously with copious water, it can still produce a seed crop even without precipitation for over a month. On Hopi land on the Second Mesa in Arizona where the rainfall averages around 9 inches a year, amaranth still thrives. In June the average rainfall is 0.23 inches when most of these plants are young shoots. As droughtlike conditions are becoming more prevalent in some areas, an increasing number of corn and wheat harvests are struggling; however, amaranth—both wild and cultivated varieties—continues to prosper.

Amaranth

When amaranth is young, its first two leaves have a reddish hue, which helps to identify them from other spring shoots. Often the top of the leaf is greener and the underside of the leaf has shades of red. Some varieties, however, have leaves that are completely red with tones of purple even as they age. The leaves grow in an alternate pattern on the stem and are broad, ovate to lance-shaped, and with simple wavy margins. The leaves have prominent veins both running down the middle and branching out to the edges. The leaves become smaller as they travel up the flower stalk.

Young amaranth plants

The whole plant can attain a height of between 2 and 5 feet, although some varieties grow even taller. In The Guinness Book of World Records one amaranth is recorded growing 27 feet, 10 inches. The stems stand tall and characteristically stout and erect, often tinted red with a red stripe continuing down to the branching taproot.

Amaranth flowers are very delicate and beautiful and referred to as inflorescences, which describes an arrangement of blossoms on the flowering stalk. The flowers are greenish white and tightly packed in clusters at the end of the stem. They are pollinated by the wind, which assures that a diversity of genetic material will be transferred through cross-pollination. The spiked flower head maintains an erect shape throughout the season and becomes increasingly prickly with age due to the bracts encasing the flower and seeds. The flowering stalks are elegant while developing and maintain their beauty even when dried.

Amaranth seed head • Photo courtesy of Kurt Blair

The seed head becomes ripe when the plant starts to turn brown. They mature from the bottom of the flower spike up to the top. The wild seeds are tiny, black, round, and shiny; there are as many as fifty thousand to two hundred thousand seeds on one plant. Each seed is encased in a fibrous capsule and released when mature. Other cultivated varieties of amaranth such as A. hypochondriacus have golden seeds. The love-lies-bleeding amaranth, A. caudatus, and prince’s feather, A. hypochondriacus, are both considered natives of India and are cultivated as ornamentals because of their striking beauty. The flower heads are dark reddish purple and droop in beautiful clusters, adding a unique flair to flower arrangements. Dried amaranth stalks make good tinder to start a fire; the flower seed clusters have ample ventilation and flammable material.

The root of A. retroflexus is a reddish taproot that descends into the ground about 6 to 24 inches that is easy to harvest, especially after rains. Although amaranth is a taproot, its nature is to branch out and cover a wide area with its secondary root system, sometimes covering an area 12–24 inches wide. This is an essential survival technique to absorb as many nutrients from the soil as possible. Although it flourishes in fertile ground, it is quite capable of establishing its niche in neglected landscapes of disturbed soils all over the world.

Amaranth roots

Amaranth is a good student of nature and has close to perfected its reproduction skills. Several varieties, including A. palmeri, have self-adapted to become resistant to the herbicide glyphosate (Roundup). In addition to A. palmeri, nine other amaranth species are on the noxious weed lists of the United States and Canada including A. albus, A. blitoides, A. hydridus, A. powellii, A. retroflexus, A. spinosus, A. tuberculatus, and A. viridis.

I see a future that welcomes and aligns with the wild side of nature. I see our agricultural “culture” shift its practices from exclusively commercially grown cotton, soybean, wheat, and corn crops into an integration including amaranth and other beneficial wild crops. With the help of underground microbial networking activity of the mushroom kingdom, in particular the oyster mushroom, Pleurotus ostreatus, the toxicity from the petrochemical poisons of herbicides can be cleaned up and broken down. Regardless of the poisons applied, amaranth, along with other adaptive wild plants, generally prevail in new niches each spring.

Current Uses

At the Turtle Lake Community Farm we allow our wild amaranth crop to grow and reseed itself each year. Given this natural sowing, we always have a large crop. It is truly a sustainable crop because there is no need to save the seeds, to work the ground—or to plant, water, or weed it. The only work required is for the harvest. Amaranth does the rest itself.

Greens for chips

When young amaranth plants grow where we want to plant new tomato starts, we harvest the greens for morning juices, dinner salads, sandwich fixings, and for adding to pesto and cheeses. In the late spring or early summer, the amaranth leaves are large and at their prime. The ideal stage of harvesting the greens is before they have gone to seed. Some are added fresh in dishes at the café, at home, and some we dry separately for adding to green powders. Another innovative use is to marinate and dry them in a special sauce to make green chips (see the recipes later in this chapter). After massaging the leaves in their marinade, we spread the flavorful leaves on dehydrating sheets to dry overnight. In the morning they have transformed into delicious vegetable chips. If we don’t devour the chips immediately, we sell them to the local natural food stores. Other wild leaves, like varieties of knotweed and Siberian elm, are often also added. These green chips are popular at the farmers’ market and as an additional treat for our wild CSA program.

Our farm consists of 1 acre with many gardens in various shapes and sizes scattered throughout. We also have a large labyrinth garden that we often plant with the three sisters—corn, beans, and squash. The fourth sister, the wild and unruly one, is amaranth—which provides the greatest harvest consistently.

Four-sister labyrinth garden

We harvest our wild amaranth seeds in the late fall after the green plants have lost their vibrancy and are starting to turn brown. It is a community affair and the more hands, the merrier! We use gloves because the stalks become prickly as they mature. We break or cut the stalks into bundles and lay them on a tarp or in gunnysacks. Our neighbors and friends are invited to join us as we dance around crushing the stalks with our feet to encourage the seeds to fall out of the flower heads. The next step is to separate the dry stems and further rub any remaining seed heads until the chaff has mostly broken down. We sometimes pour the seeds through a fine screen, which begins this process. We use both the wind and our breath to blow off the remaining chaff. The seeds are heavier and fall back into the bowl or container. We spend hours winnowing the seeds on lightly windy days. Winnowing is a fun social process that can be quite addicting. I find such gratification seeing the black seed cache grow increasingly larger as the day continues.

One method that I use, which has worked surprisingly well, is to fill my childhood yellow wagon with the seed mixture and leave it out for a day or two. The farm tends to have just enough steady but gentle wind to blow the chaff out of the wagon and leave the seeds remaining. I was so impressed the first time this happened by chance!

A delicious recipe that we have been providing for our local community in bulk for years is our spicy flaxseed amaranth cracker. It is one of our signature recipes that continue to be popular and sells out at the farmers’ market and other venues (see recipe later in this chapter).

Social winnowing

The small seedlings are reddish and grow beautiful and delicious microgreens for enlivening salads. We grow microgreens year-round at Turtle Lake Refuge using natural lighting from windows and grow lights when necessary. We have primarily focused on sunflower greens, buckwheat lettuce, pea shoots, and radish greens—but we are now experimenting with amaranth microgreens into our available varieties.

In Oaxaca, Mexico, amaranth is gaining popularity in fighting the country’s problems with malnutrition and obesity. The amaranth seeds cultivated today are the same seeds of ancient times, including A. caudatus, A. cruentus, and A. hypochondriacus. An organization in Mexico called Puente a la Salud Comunitaria is helping to educate people of the benefits and to spread seeds of amaranth as a food crop. Its goal is to utilize amaranth in place of corn for Mexican staple recipes. The members distribute a recipe book and offer classes and seeds to farmers. Another nonprofit organization called Mexico Tierra de Amarantos is actively promoting amaranth reintegration into the diets of the Mexican people for health, weight loss, and improved nutrition. The Amaranth Institute (AI), based out of Columbia, Missouri, facilitates the exchange of information between those interested in amaranth growing, distributing, and educating. AI hosts an annual conference to share its benefits with worldwide participants. Amaranth is gaining momentum slowly and steadily, reclaiming its important position in the human diet. The wise leaders of our international communities are encouraging our global culture toward sustainable food crops.

Alina’s expert winnowing skills

History

Amaranth is primarily a wild plant but has several domesticated relatives that developed over six thousand years ago with the pre-Columbian peoples of South America. The Latin name, Amaranthus, means a flower that is everlasting and unfading. In many cultures across the globe, amaranth is associated with immortality and increased fertility. In ancient Greece a tradition of spreading amaranth flowers over the graves of the dead helped impart immortality to the soul. According to Homer, the ancient Greek poet and author of the Odyssey, the Thessalonians wore crowns of amaranth during the burial of Achilles. The early Swiss peasants also appreciated it by making wreaths of amaranth for hanging over doors during Ascension Day.

In pre-Columbian times the Aztec and Incan civilizations living in the area of modern-day Mexico, Peru, and Guatemala considered amaranth a sacred and integral part of life. Over 80 percent of the protein in their diet came from this seed. The traditions and religious ceremonies largely centered on amaranth and the natural elements that created an abundant crop. Some of the rituals included fasting during multiday festivals and sculpting amaranth mixed with honey into figures to honor the animals, elements, and gods to pray for abundance and health for their communities. At the end of the festival, the people cut the figures into pieces and together they each ate a piece of the whole that represented a sacredness and renewal of life. It seems apparent that nature, food, and spirituality were intertwined as the root of their holistic and cultural perspective.

In 1517 Hernando Cortés landed in South America and by the 1530s the Spanish conquistadors had basically conquered the Aztec and Incan civilizations. To maintain dominance over the people, the existing amaranth fields were burned and growing it as a crop became illegal, with enforced punishment. Eliminating the culture’s staple crop was also an attempt to exterminate their religious practices, which were considered pagan. Even though the roots of pagan religions come from an honoring of Earth-centered spirituality, the damage was done and the amaranth crop disappeared except in isolated regional pockets.

This pseudograin has also been an important crop in the Himalayas and other parts of Asia such as Tibet, Pakistan, China, Nepal, and India. It is known for its dense nutritional value and has been a cultivated crop for thousands of years; it continues to be integrated into culture and cuisine today. In India, where the seed may have originated, amaranth— known as “seed sent by God” or “King’s seed”—has the names rahgira, mamdana, and keerai.

The Hopi Indians’ name for amaranth is “kono,” which refers to the Hopi Indian dye plant used not only as food but also for color derived from the liquid of boiled flower bracts; the two species used for dye are A. cruentus and A. powelli. The Hopi use the flower bracts to color their piki bread (high in salt and made from the ashes of the juniper tree) and to color their cornbread red. Today, a natural coloring can still be made easily with amaranth by steeping the red bracts of the flowering stalk, the leaves, and stems from several of the deepest-red varieties. Soak the plants in warm water overnight and pour off the water. The red water is now ready to color any culinary dishes.

In Bolivia an alcoholic drink called chicha has been traditionally made from fermenting the amaranth seeds in water. The recipe can also be made from corn. The earlier method involved women chewing the starchy grains and using the amylolytic enzymes from their saliva to change the starch into fermentable sugars.

NASA selected amaranth seeds as part of the diet for the astronauts who completed the maiden voyage of the Atlantis space shuttle on October 3, 1985. The crew experimented with germinating it on board and made amaranth cookies while orbiting in space.

Edible Uses

Amaranth is a treasure of wealth offered freely from the Earth’s bosom. Amaranth is a fabulous food and truly manna from heaven. The entire plant is edible—the tiny shoots, the green leaves, stems, seeds, and roots. The leaves and stems are delicious when young and even continue to be palatable when mature. The seeds are easy to harvest because they will fall out of the flowering stalk with just a small amount of prodding. It takes a good shaking or stomping of the stalk to get most of the seeds to fall out, and rubbing the seed head between your gloved hands will inspire the rest of the seeds to release.

The fresh greens are loaded with available nutrition for our bodies. Amaranth greens contain an exceptionally large amount of manganese and magnesium as well as high amounts of iron and phosphorus. The greens also contain generous amounts of calcium, zinc, selenium, and potassium. The greens nourish the body, with well over the needed vitamin E and vitamin B complex for healthy reproduction, which validates its tradition for being used for fertility.

In his book The Art of Fermentation, Sandor Katz writes about amaranth stems being made into a delicacy as a pickled vegetable in China. We have pickled the stems of chard and beet through a simple process of fermentation in a quart jar with half a jar of water and half a jar of vinegar with a generous amount of salt and spices. This simple recipe does not need to be cooked. It is ready to eat in about two weeks. Amaranth stems can be prepared the same way. It is best to catch the amaranth plant prior to going to seed so the stems are at their most tender and juicy stage.

Popping amaranth (the white popped ones are ready to eat)

Both the amaranth greens and especially the seeds are good sources of protein. The seeds have 15 to 18 percent protein, making it a valuable food for anemia. Because the seeds contain no gluten they are recommended for people experiencing celiac disease. As a gluten-free ingredient, amaranth makes nourishing cereals and additions to breads, crackers, and porridge. The seeds are much more nourishing than any single grain. They are officially categorized as pseudograins because they are not part of the grass family such as wheat and rye. Amaranth seeds contain both the amino acid lysine, which other grains are lacking, and the amino acid methionine, which beans are lacking. They contain all eight essential amino acids, making amaranth seeds a complete protein. The seeds pop into tiny kernels, making miniature “popcorn,” by heating them on a dry cast-iron skillet. The popped amaranth is the main ingredient for the delicious atole drink, a traditional Mexican beverage. The popped amaranth can also be formed into energy-packed bars, which are traditionally called alegria, meaning “joy” in Mexico (see atole and alegria bar recipes later in this chapter).

The seeds are nutritious when cooked but even more nutritious when they are sprouted. Several varieties of amaranth will only sprout if overwintered in cold temperatures. If you harvest them in the fall and bring them inside to a warm environment, they will miss this important step in their development process. Some amaranth seeds need to overwinter outside or be placed in the freezer. I learned from the experiments of my Native American friend, Itza, to place my sack of amaranth seeds in the freezer for at least three weeks for “curing.”

The roots have a mild delicious flavor and can be prepared like any other vegetable. They can be added to thicken soups, steamed, roasted, and integrated into most recipes calling for potatoes or other vegetables. In countries such as Vietnam, China, and Nigeria amaranth roots are a traditional soup ingredient. When amaranth is in season, there is no shortage of its roots. The potatoes that may have been planted will not be ready to harvest for many months and yet the amaranth roots mature early. They may not be as big and meaty as potatoes, but they are easy to harvest and, being wild, are exceptionally high in nutrition. The leaves, roots, and seeds support our optimal health and creative soul passions, which give peace of mind and a sense of wealth.

Medical Actions

• Antianemic: reduces anemia

• Anti-inflammatory: reduces swelling and inflammation of the tissues

• Antidiarrheal: alleviates diarrhea

• Astringent: tightens, constricts, and tones while reducing secretions and discharges

• Tonic: restores or increases body tone

Medicinal Uses

Amaranth is well known for its longtime edible uses; however, its medicinal qualities are equally an ancient treasure. Amaranth is a gentle astringent and is fabulous for tightening tissues internally and externally. It makes an effective wash to beautify the face daily; to care for any skin irritations or acne, simply blend the fresh leaves with a little water, strain out the pulp, and apply the juice to any area. Amaranth juice is recommended by traditional Chinese medicine for women to reduce excessive menstruation and to ease cramping. It is also beneficial for calming inflamed bowels, reducing diarrhea, and toning the colon walls. Amaranth’s high iron content supports building healthy blood and regenerating platelets. Amaranth juice and the fresh greens in salad are particularly beneficial for anyone experiencing anemic symptoms.

Amaranth contains a high amount of magnesium, making it beneficial for relaxing blood vessels and alleviating migraine headaches. In addition to its soluble fiber content, amaranth is rich in unsaturated fatty acids, both of which contribute to lowering cholesterol. Amaranth is a rich source of flavonoids such as rutin, phenolic acids, gallic acid, vanillic acid, oleic acid, and linoleic acids. Plant flavonoids support health by helping to eliminate free radicals, preventing oxidation processes, and reducing inflammation. Partly due to the high flavonoids, amaranth is recommended for the prevention of cardiovascular disease by the Functional Food Center in Dallas, Texas.

Amaranth oil, extracted from the pressed seeds, contains a high content of plant sterols and squalene, known for supporting overall health. Amaranth oil is recommended for any digestive issues such as stomach ulcers, cardiovascular health, and reduction of cholesterol. In Japan squalene is called samedawa, which means “cure-all,” and is sought after as a beneficial supplement. Squalene is being researched by scientists in the Department of Hematology and Oncology at the University of Toronto’s hospital as a potential anticancer agent; the studies are demonstrating its success as a factor in inhibiting cancer cell growth.

Although scientific evidence is verifying the value of amaranth, I find that the best information for me personally comes from the inside out. When I ingest amaranth, I feel good in so many ways that are hard to describe. I find that when I listen deeply to my body’s response to a given plant, I discover more about the effects of the plant than any outside source. This is the intuitive wisdom that originates with one’s body and the plant itself. Amaranth reminds me that food can be our best medicine through preventing illness before it even develops. Here’s a toast to amaranth as a food and medicine of the people!

Recipes

Amaranth Green Chips

1 gallon of amaranth greens

1 cup almonds (soaked)

1 red onion

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon salt

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 cups water

Place the amaranth greens in a bowl and grind the rest of the ingredients in a blender until smooth to make the sauce. Massage the amaranth leaves with the sauce until they are well covered with the sauce on both sides of the leaves. Lay out the leaves on a dehydrator sheet and dry until they become crispy chips.

Amaranth Popcorn

Using a hot, dry, cast-iron skillet, place ¹⁄₄ cup of amaranth seeds on the hot surface. Shake vigorously while the amaranth is popping to prevent any of the kernels from burning. Enjoy this wild delicacy as is or sprinkle popped amaranth with salt or your favorite seasonings. You can also use the popped amaranth for other recipes such as atole and alegria bars (see recipes below).

Amaranth Porridge

¹⁄₃ cup of amaranth seed

3 cups water

Boil for about half an hour until the water turns milky and thick. Serve with one teaspoon of honey, a dash of cinnamon, and a drizzle of mallow milk (see the mallow root milk recipe in the mallow chapter) if desired. For a true breakfast of champions, I would recommend starting with amaranth green juice and waiting twenty minutes before eating the porridge for optimal digestion.

Amaranth porridge

Amaranth Almond Root Stew

1 cup amaranth roots, chopped

3 cups mallow almond milk (make fresh if possible)

1–2 cloves garlic

3 tablespoons miso

1 cup fresh amaranth greens (cut into thin strips)

¹⁄₂ bell pepper, diced

¹⁄₂ cup celery, diced

¹⁄₂ cup carrot, shredded

1 teaspoon chili pepper

1 teaspoon dulse seaweed

¹⁄₄ cup scallions, diced

Harvest the roots of five or more amaranth plants, using the tops for juice or salad. Use about 1 cup of amaranth roots. Wash the roots and dice into bite-size chunks. Separate half of the fresh roots and blend them with 3 cups of homemade almond milk, garlic cloves, and miso. Add 1 additional cup of water if a thinner broth is desired. Add the rest of the chopped roots with 1 cup fresh sliced amaranth greens, ¹⁄₂ cup diced bell pepper, ¹⁄₂ cup diced celery stalks, ¹⁄₂ cup shredded carrots, 1 teaspoon chili pepper, 1 teaspoon dulse seaweed, and ¹⁄₄ cup diced scallions.

Heat until warm and serve with a dash of olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste. The roots in this recipe can be exchanged for other roots such as burdock (Arctium lappa), a wild edible root that can also be found in international farmers’ markets or health food stores, carrots, mallow, and dandelion root for an alternative seasonal delicious stew!

Amaranth almond root stew

Amaranth Spring Salad

2 cups fresh young amaranth greens

1 cup bok choy or another variety of mustard greens

¹⁄₂ cup each carrot shreds, cucumber shreds, sliced tomato

1 tablespoon black sesame seeds

Dressing

2 tablespoons olive oil

¹⁄₂ lemon, juiced

¹⁄₂ avocado

1 scallion, greens and root

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon salt

Blend the dressing thoroughly and drizzle over the salad. Garnish with amaranth microgreens and sesame seeds. Enjoy the wild taste of nutrition!

Amaranth spring salad

Spicy Flaxseed Amaranth Cracker

1 pound flaxseed, soaked

3 tablespoons amaranth

9 cups water (approximately)

1-inch piece fresh ginger

2–3 cloves garlic

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon salt

¹⁄₄ teaspoon cayenne pepper or

¹⁄₄ cup fresh local chili pepper

Soak amaranth and flaxseeds by adding twice as much water as seeds to a container. Once flaxseeds and amaranth have been soaked for eight hours, blend in small batches by adding 2 cups of seed mixture with 3 cups of water until the seeds are used up. Pour mixture into a large pot. Blend all the spices with a small amount of water, and mix in with the rest of the flaxseed and amaranth. Using a large spoon, lay mixture on dehydrator trays on a teflex sheet in circle shapes and dry for approximately 8 hours or until the crackers are crisp.

Sprouted Amaranth Alegria Bars

¹⁄₄ cup sprouted amaranth seeds (see sprouting instructions in Chapter 2)

1 cup sprouted sunflower seeds

1 cup sprouted pumpkin seeds

1 cup sprouted sesame seeds

2 tablespoons raw cacao powder

3 tablespoons raw honey

Mix all ingredients together and shape into bars. Dehydrate either in the sun for a day or in the dehydrator for several hours until firm. Enjoy this living raw treat as a snack on adventures in the wild. You can also make this bar by toasting the amaranth in a dry skillet and then adding raw, unsprouted, lightly ground sunflower and pumpkin seeds. Although sprouting the seeds brings a higher energy to the bars, toasting them is another way to make the recipe in a very short time so as to have it available when you need it and to bring a unique flavor into the recipe.

Amaranth Green Juice

2 cups amaranth leaves

4 cups water

1 apple

Blend until smooth and strain to drink as a clear juice or enjoy the mixture with its pulp and thicken it into a smoothie drink by adding one or two bananas.

Amaranth Orange Julius

3 cups amaranth greens

4 cups water

2 oranges, peeled and deseeded

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon honey (optional)

Blend well and strain the pulp. Add an optional 1–2 tablespoons of honey for a sweeter frothy experience.

Amaranth Aztec Atole

¹⁄₂ cup popped amaranth

1 tablespoon raw cacao powder

1 tablespoon molasses

1 tablespoon honey

1 cup nut milk

I use a homemade coconut/hazelnut milk made with 1 cup shredded coconut and ¹⁄₂ cup hazelnuts (ideally soaked first for better digestibility) blended with 1 cup water. To do this, blend thoroughly and strain the pulp with a kitchen metal strainer or a cloth nut bag. Then add the strained nut milk to a blender with all other ingredients and blend until smooth. Serve this drink hot or cold with a dash of cinnamon on top if desired.

May chickweed empower each of us to live out our soul passions.

“Chickweed is high in vitamin C,

Delicate and yummy and tasty in your tummy”

Chickweed

Family: Caryophyllaceae

Latin Name: Stellaria media (Stellaria is translated as star and media means “in the middle of”)

Related Useful Species: Star chickweed (Stellaria purbera), mouse-ear chickweed (Cerastium vulgatum), S. dicholoma, S. alsine

Global Common Names: English (chickweed, starweed); Spanish (pamplina); French (mouron des oiseaux); German (volelmiere); Chinese (yin chai hu); Finnish (pihatahtimo); Italian (budelina); Japanese (hakobe)

Description

Chickweed is a delicate perennial herb that also behaves as an annual and spreads by reseeding. It has a stringy flexible stem with petite leaves. The stems benefit from the support of other plants or objects. It can be found growing as a ground cover or in clusters in the middle of many other plants, creating a beautiful airy tangled mass as it matures through the growing season. Chickweed can reach a height of 1–2 feet in maturity, but generally does not have the integrity of strength to stand up erect by itself once it grows past a certain age. Chickweed’s nature is to recline on neighboring plants to support its upright position, otherwise it can be found growing low to the ground in an intertwined weaving. Chickweed reminds us that we need each other. It is an asset to be interdependent with our neighbors and family members. This creates collective strength! We all have our own unique strengths and weaknesses and, by collaborating, we all win in the long run.

Chickweed

The small leaves grow in opposite pairs along the stem. They have simple smooth margins in an oval shape. A unique trait of chickweed is that on the stem there is a fine line of hairs that grow only on one side, switching sides at each leaf pair all the way up the stalk. The leaves usually grow less than ¹⁄₂ inch long and ¹⁄₄ inch wide. Like the whole plant the leaves are delicate and bruise easily.

The flowers have five petals and are white and elegantly beautiful. Each flower petal comes to a point at the end away from the center. They look like perfect stars. Each petal is deeply divided—so much so that it has the nickname “mouse ears” because each petal looks like a pair of ears. The flower petals appear as though there are ten when in actuality there are only five.

The fruit is an oval-shaped pod that contains many reddish-brown seeds. They are slightly flat and roundish with a wrinkly texture. Each parent plant can produce 2,500 seeds that remain viable to sprout for over forty years. Chickweed’s root has a main shallow taproot with fibrous branching roots reaching out in all directions and growing into an underground mass interconnected with other roots.

Star chickweed flowers

Chickweed is commonly found in grassy areas, on the edges of gardens and pathways, and growing in a group clustered among other plants. It can handle very cold conditions and even flower under 10–20 inches of snow. Chickweed prefers moist conditions and can wilt and die back given a drought; however, when the next rain shower or water source becomes available the plants will bounce back and reseed or regrow from their roots.

Alpine chickweed

Current Uses

Chickweed is one of my favorite springtime green vegetables. The taste of it connects me to my core priorities of what is important, and it reminds me to appreciate the simple beauty of life. It is a delicious ingredient to add to almost any recipe. It is a great plant to take the place of lettuce when it is young and first growing in the early season for daily salads. The flavor is mild, clean, and refreshing. The fresh greens and stems also make a delicious green juice.

Chickweed is a plant dedicated to enhancing our beauty when we integrate it into our daily life. It is a regenerating herb that is gentle acting and yet clear in its healing abilities—toning the skin, reducing weight, and removing excess toxins.

I love to use chickweed in homemade salves, oils, poultices, lotions, teas, and juices to enliven my body’s internal and external complexion. Chickweed makes a wonderful healing poultice by simply chewing up the greens into a pulp and placing the green goo on any skin blemishes to assist healing. Chickweed is also very regenerating for sunburns and sun spots. Chickweed has a cooling nature and when made into a poultice decreases the heat and constriction of an area while speeding up the body’s natural healing.

I received a large bag of chickweed last fall from a student, which was truly an act of kindness and generosity because chickweed is valuable here in the drier regions of southwestern Colorado. She discovered a particularly large stash of chickweed growing underneath an air-conditioning coolant box. The water dripping from above made the chickweed patch thrive there more than anywhere around town. She gathered a grocery bag as a gift for me, and I was thrilled to have fresh green chickweed in late October. I ate the leaves fresh, made a poultice of them for my skin, blended up some for juice in my bath, and dried the rest to make chickweed salve.

Chickweed oil

I dried the chickweed on a screen in the shade to make chickweed oil to share with her and others. After a month of steeping the dried leaves in olive oil, I strained out the chickweed plant fibers through cheesecloth and stored the oil in a glass jar. We used it in our Living Soil program to make a healing salve by adding beeswax and essential oil in class later in the winter. Chickweed oil and salve is known for its amazing ability to gently but steadily eliminate growths or cysts from the body and heal any skin sensitivities.

Recently I was involved in a fund-raiser for promoting the continuation of elders sharing their oral traditions of plant medicine. The event was in the month of December. I was asked to give a talk about the wealth of our weeds. As I walked over to the event, I noticed that there was a patch of chickweed that was partially covered in ice and frozen stiff. The chickweed was still perfectly green and succulent. I harvested some of the incredible delicacy for my presentation and shared nature’s gift, still growing all around us even in the middle of winter. As we were having a mild snow year, I was able to find the plants because they were not completely buried in snow. The chickweed plants were still vital, bright green, and full of life force even though they were growing slowly. That day, prior to my talk, I was able to harvest almost all of the thirteen wild weeds covered in this book. Two of the thirteen I brought in already dried and stored, but the rest I collected outside that day in a variety of forms including the roots, seeds, and greens.

History

Chickweed found one of its original homes in Eurasia and traveled to new lands by settlers, birds, wind, and water. Many birds love to eat chickweed seeds, one of their staple foods, and this certainly helped contribute to chickweed’s migration to new territories by spreading and fertilizing the seeds with their poop. Chickweed seeds are extremely resilient and pass through the digestive system of many small birds and animals. The seeds have been found in cattle, deer, horse, pig, and earthworm castings. Chickweed can even stay viable after being submerged in seawater.

The Ainu people, an indigenous tribe who lived in the northern region of Japan now known as Hokkaido, considered chickweed to be the original hair of the first humans. Chickweed grows across the land in many places as a ground cover, like lush green hair covering the Earth.

Chickweed growing in Finland

Traditional Chinese medicine values chickweed as an important medicine and has for many centuries. It is considered sweet, cool, and moist and especially useful in wound healing.

In astrological terms, chickweed is ruled by the Moon. Chickweed’s flower is white and dainty and only comes into view for a short period of time, similar to the Moon. Chickweed can help predict weather because it is known to close its flowers before a rain.

Edible Uses

The flavor of chickweed is pure spring vitality that tastes like green sunshine. It shares an aliveness that encourages us to wake up into our full potential. Chickweed is loaded with vitamin C and antioxidants, making it especially useful for sustaining the high vibrational charge needed for optimal health. When we include fresh chickweed in our diet, we embody an ease of strength within. Each of us has a vibrational spin that sometimes goes fast and steady like a spinning top—and other times, when our immune system is low, slows down and wobbles. When we ingest wild plants in their pristine state of aliveness, our personal frequency aligns with the plants’ vibration, helping us repel sickness and fatigue. Given our fast-paced technologically consumed lifestyles of modern times, the wild plant’s frequency is likely much higher than our own. When we eat the wild plants our vibrational spin increases in steadiness and speed, inspiring a life of simple happiness and clarity.

Chickweed is truly one of the most wonderful wild edible salad greens. It is plentiful, mild in flavor, and delicately succulent. It gives me such delight when I am in the right place at the right time and there is a bounty of young spring chickweed to harvest. It is a joyful practice to go outside, gather the fresh greens to add as the bulk of my salad, and enjoy its enlivening flavor bursting with vitamins. Chickweed is also an easy addition for energizing a variety of recipes. I appreciate it as the main green ingredient in my morning green juices. In the early season you can use the whole upper parts of chickweed including the stems, leaves, and flowers. As chickweed matures in age it can get a bit fibrous, so harvest from the upper leaves of the plant for making salads. The older and lower stems can still be collected to make a green juice if blended and then strained. Harvesting is like giving a patch of chickweed a crew-cut hairdo. Their hair grows back from their roots and when we harvest with appreciation chickweed will continue to produce a bounty year after year.

Be cautious when harvesting chickweed that you do not accidentally include other plants that you may not want to ingest. Because chickweed grows in a mass cluster, it is important to be very aware of what you are harvesting. In some regions, poison hemlock grows alongside and in the chickweed patches. Always double-check your harvest by separating each plant when you prepare it into food to assure you only have what you want. There are a few look-alikes to chickweed to watch out for. The scarlet pimpernel (Anagallis avensis) is also low growing with opposing leaves, but has a purple-scarlet flower and does not have the fine hairs on one side of the stem like chickweed.

Chickweed rock garden

Chickweed is a valuable source of vitamins and minerals including chlorophyll, gamma-linolenic acid, and beta-carotene. It is rich in vitamins C, A, D, B6, and B12 complex such as niacin, riboflavin, and thiamin—while also being exceptionally high in iron, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, zinc, manganese, copper, selenium, and silica.

Chickweed produces a large amount of seeds in the later summer and early fall season. The seeds are made up of 17 percent protein and 5.9 percent fat. The seeds take about six weeks to ripen from the sprouting plant. The flowers will generally set seeds and ripen attached to the stems. The seeds spill out below the mother plant. One way to harvest the seeds is to gather the stalks already mature with seeds and place the plants to dry in a paper bag. The seeds can then be separated when ready to use. They can be eaten raw, ground into cereals, and added to flours for making bread. Even gathering a few for adding to other seed or grain recipes will increase the nutrition levels of the meal.

Medical Actions

• Digestive: aids digestion of food

• Diuretic: increases the flow of urine and secretions

• Expectorant: removes mucus from respiratory passages

• Stimulant: quickens action of physiological processes

• Antirheumatic: reduces rheumatic symptoms

• Astringent: tightens, constricts, and tones while reducing secretions and discharges

• Carminative: either prevents or expels the formation of gas in gastrointestinal tract

• Demulcent: forms a soothing film over mucous membranes, relieving minor pain or inflammation by drawing out toxins

• Depurative: reduces impurities or heterogeneous material

• Menagogue: promotes menstrual discharge

• Galactogogue: promotes lactation

• Ophthalmic: aids in draining the eye or structures near the eye

• Febrifuge: reduces fever

• Vulnerary: treats or heals wounds

Medicinal Uses

Chickweed is a demulcent herb that gently soothes and draws toxins out of the body. It is a gentle but powerful healing agent in its fresh form. When the leaves can be harvested locally and made into juices or poultices, chickweed supports the repair of skin, tissues, and organs. The healing force of chickweed can be used for a range of complaints. Chickweed contains the compounds of triterpene saponins, hentiacontanol, coumarins, mucilage, phytosterols, tocopherols, flavonoids (apigenin C-glycosides and rutin), and organic carboxylic acids.

The fresh crushed chickweed leaves make a healing poultice for bruises and burns, cuts, external inflammation, skin irritations, and insect bites. Chickweed has a refrigerant nature and reduces inflammation and heating ailments by cooling down the tissues. It is such a valuable healer that it is wise to harvest extra before the season is complete and dry it for winter use.

Eating chickweed in its fresh form helps remove congestion and infection that may be stored in the body. The fresh juice and the tea from the upper leaves and stems assist with eliminating gas and indigestion. The rich chlorophyll found in chickweed, in addition to other properties, makes it good for dissolving and breaking down inferior proteins in the body (such as tumors). This happens most effectively when the fresh juice is used consistently. Throughout the season, I recommend rotating the various greens used for making daily green juices. Each unique plant offers a diversity of minerals and vitamins for the body. By switching the specific kind of green used on a regular basis, we have access to a rainbow of nutrients to choose from to regenerate and maintain an optimal state of vitality.

The tincture from the fresh plant is good to use as needed through the winter months when the fresh greens are not outside. The tincture supports releasing congestion and internal excesses. Chickweed makes fabulous healing oils and salves from the dried greens for nurturing the skin. The oil is very soothing for relieving itching and clearing up skin outbreaks such as rashes and pimples. Chickweed contains saponin, a substance that creates a subtle, foaming, soapy quality. Plant saponins help dissolve excesses in our body that we do not need, such as mucus, bacteria, undigested proteins, and fat cells. The saponins assist our bodies in becoming more efficient by assimilating and eliminating unwanted tissues, including cysts and lumps.

Recipes

Cream over Chickweed Greens

1 lemon, juiced

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon dried oregano or 1 tablespoon fresh oregano

1 tablespoon tahini

2 tablespoons white miso

¹⁄₂ cup water

1 avocado

Bowl of chickweed greens and other wild, local, and fresh greens available to you, such as wild violet greens, miner lettuce, and young dock greens

Blend all ingredients except for the greens in a blender until smooth and creamy. Drizzle the dressing onto the bowl of greens and enjoy this nourishing meal of wildness.

Chickweed salad fixings

Pomegranate Chickweed Pesto

2 cups chickweed

2 cups basil

2 cups French sorrel or very young and tender dock leaves

2 cloves garlic

1 lemon, juiced

1 teaspoon salt

¹⁄₂ cup pine nuts

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup pomegranate seeds

~ 4 tablespoons water (you may need to add more until it reaches the right texture)

Blend all ingredients (except pomegranate seeds) in a blender and serve over zucchini linguini made by spiraling the fresh zucchini in a spiral slicer. Sprinkle the pomegranate seeds over the dish before serving.

Pomegranate chickweed pesto

Chickweed Casserole

Crust

2 cups oats

2 cups sunflower seeds

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon caraway seeds

2 tablespoons water

Filling

Seed cheese

1 avocado

2 tomatoes, diced

1 cup chickweed greens, diced

Grind the crust ingredients into a fine flour and add just enough water to form into a dough. Shape the dough into a casserole dish. Layer in the cheese and slice in the avocados. Sprinkle the diced tomatoes and chickweed over the top. Serve fresh at room temperature, or warm in a dehydrator or oven for fifteen minutes—making sure to not cook the goodness out of it.

Chickweed Cucumber Cooler

1 cup fresh chickweed

1 cucumber

1 apple

Sprig of fresh mint

4 cups water

On a hot day when you need a cooling break to soften the tension and recharge your matrix, let chickweed support your journey in rebalancing. Blend all the ingredients in the blender and strain out the pulp. Sip on this elixir with some deep full breaths of appreciation.

Chickweed Oil

16 ounce jar of dried chickweed greens

Oil to completely cover the dried chickweed

Pack the jar with dried chickweed. Cover the dried greens with oil of your choice. I use unrefined organic coconut oil or organic olive oil. If you use coconut oil, you must keep the jar in a warm place or the oil will solidify and not extract the beneficial qualities of the chickweed as readily. Store at room temperature for two weeks, shaking regularly.

When ready, strain out the chickweed and bottle the oil for enhancing your beauty.

Chickweed Salve

1 cup chickweed oil

¹⁄₈ cup beeswax

2 tablespoons shea butter or cocoa butter

8–10 drops of essential oil of lavender

In a double boiler so as to prevent burning or cooking the oils, add the chickweed oil, the beeswax, shea butter or cocoa butter, and essential oil of lavender and warm until all ingredients have melted together. Stir well and pour into your desired containers to cool.

I use this salve as a body beautifying agent to heal cuts and skin irritations, and soften wrinkles and skin blemishes such as sun spots. I also rub it on any cuts or sores. It is a fantastic massage salve for lumps that show up in the body. It helps break them down and eliminate them from the body.

May clover enhance our connection to the all-loving source of the universe.

“The three leaf clover has roots so deep,

Pulls up minerals from a hundred feet.

When you eat that clover flower and leaf,

It builds our bones and strengthens our teeth.”

Clover

Family: Fabaceae

Latin Name: Trifolium pretense (Trifolium means three leaves and pretense means found in meadows)

Related Useful Species: Alfalfa (Medicago sativa), white Dutch clover (Trifolium repens), alpine clover (T. alpinum), black medic (T. medica), sweet yellow clover (Melilotus officinalis), sweet white clover (M. albus)

Global Common Names: English (clover); Hindi (tripatra, tipatiya); Aztec (ocoxchitl); Spanish (trebol); French (trefle); German (dreiblattriges kleeblatt); Japanese (tsumekusa)

Description

Red clover (Trifolium pretense) is a perennial plant with the classic oval-shaped three leaves of the shamrock. If you have a lucky nature you may discover clovers with four or more leaves. My aunt Margie always seemed to have the special eye for finding the four-leaf clover in grassy areas. When she did, her wishes came true. One of her wishes even helped seed Turtle Lake Refuge’s beginnings!

Red clover

A distinctive feature on the leaf of red clover is a whitish V-shaped spot in the middle called a chevron. The leaves are generally soft in texture, most often without hairs, and have tiny jagged edges outlining each leaf. Red clover grows approximately 1 foot high from a base of leaf rosettes that can spray out in all directions.

Red clover produces an almost circular flower cluster made up of many bilaterally symmetrical individual flowers. The flowers are delicate and tube shaped with five inconsistently shaped petals. The two upper petals, called the keel, are fused together and are longer than the two bottom ones, called the wings. The fifth petal is the largest and is called the banner. The flowers are pink, lightly red, or whitish. There are no leaves on the flowering stalk.

The fruit is a pod containing seeds that spill out when ripe. The seeds of red clover are light brown, small, and bean shaped. The roots are taproots that are well equipped to aerate the soil and break up compaction from disturbances such as overgrazing. The whole family of clover contains nitrogen-fixing bacteria on their roots that support the fertilization of other plants such as grass, fruit trees, and garden vegetables.

White clover (Trifolium repens) has deep taproots that form into an underground creeping rhizome, which sprouts up new plants from along the rootstock. The white clover can grow into a small colony of plants, whereas the red clover grows only one plant from one taproot.

White clover with incoming bee

Another commonly found clover in grassy areas and lawns is the black medic (Trifolium medica). It grows low to the ground and has small yellow flowers that form small ball-like clusters that mature into fruit pods. The stems branch in many directions with leaves growing alternately along them. When the fruit is ripe it produces bean-shaped edible seeds.

Black medic clover

Alfalfa, sweet yellow clover, and sweet white clover grow considerably taller, up to 3–4 feet. They all have the classic clover three leaves with tiny jagged edges and, although their leaves are subtly different at close inspection, the best way to identify the different species is from the flowers. Alfalfa clover has purple flowers, while the others have yellow and white flowers, respectively.

The clovers are also a great source of pollen and nectar, attracting foraging bees and other wild pollinators and insects. Since clover is fertilized by insects, the flowers are sweet smelling and tasting to assure they come in for a visit.

Current Uses

The whole part of the clover is edible; however, there is an optimal season for its best harvest. It is an extremely nutritive plant available to humans in a very concentrated form. It is so powerful that only a small amount is needed to gain its benefits. Alfalfa roots can reach as deep as 150 feet, which allows them to bring up minerals that are not commonly available in the standard diet.

Each stand of clover is unique depending on where it is growing. It is key to taste each plant before harvesting any quantity because the soil, moisture level, age, and species all make a difference in the flavor. Let your body tell you if it is agreeable to you. If you experience a burning sensation in the mouth, that is your sign you have had enough. Many varieties of clover such as alfalfa and sweet yellow clover become too potent and bitter as they age. Other clovers, however, are sometimes palatable even in older stages of growth such as the white Dutch clover, red clover, and black medic clover. The mildest year-round clover is the black medic. The Dutch white clover is also mild flavored and found commonly in lawns and grassy areas, and is used often as a living mulch in organic farms and gardens. Red clover leaves can be delicious when young but can often become too potent with age. Their reddish purple flower, however, is delicious when blooming—even if later in the season.

Clover is a rich source of pollen. Gather the flowers and toss them into your salads; flowers of clover are generally delicious even if the leaves have become too potent. Clovers are in the pea family and make an edible seed. Clover seeds are edible either by sprouting or cooking them to make the seed more digestible. The older leaves can develop potent compounds that may be too concentrated for eating or juicing, but are still useful for making tea.

Clover candy

It has become a tradition to go out and gather red clover flowers in the San Juan Mountains on my early summer mountain-climbing adventures. The beautiful pink flowers are at their prime in the high alpine mountains in June. They bloom profusely along the trails. The sweet flowers taste like candy and are the perfect trail snack. Once home I dry them on a big, flat wicker tray for three days in the shade. When they are dry and crisp, I store them in a glass jar for tea throughout the winter. Red clover is such a good friend, and gifts us the magic of the mountain once back at home.

Gathering the wild alfalfa seeds, a member of the clover family, is an enjoyable social event in the fall. Wild alfalfa grows in a 500-acre open field just beyond my house, making it a wonderful place to visit in the fall when the plants have all died back. The dead stalks of the alfalfa plants are loaded with alfalfa seeds. I like to bring a handful of kids with me and we scour the open fields, gathering the little spirals off the dead alfalfa stalks and releasing the tiny alfalfa seeds into our hands. The collected seeds can later be germinated into tasty wild alfalfa sprouts.

History

Red clover is native to central Asia, Africa, and most of Europe. It is now naturalized in Australia and North America. It has been an important forage crop in North America, South America, Europe, Australia, the Middle East, South Africa, and many other regions in the world. In the pagan traditions of the fifth century, red clover was revered for its many beneficial uses in medicine and food. Carrying clover near the body offered protective powers and encouraged prosperity. The four-leaf clover has been used over the ages as a lucky charm. The traditional Irish shamrock of St. Patrick’s Day honors the magic and charm of the clover for bringing the renewal of spring. It is associated with the Holy Trinity as a connection to God and all that is good.

An Iron Age man unearthed was found with clover seeds in his stomach, demonstrating that clover was used as a staple food in prehistoric times. Ancient Chinese and Indian physicians used young alfalfa leaves to treat digestive disorders. In traditional Chinese medicine, red clover historically is used to help clean the blood, clear heat, and remove toxins.

Many Native American tribes integrated many types of clover and alfalfa into their lifestyles. They are known to have used alfalfa to stop bleeding, treat jaundice, as a toning drink for health, to support digestion, to assist with anemia and lack of appetite, and for overall assimilation of nutrients.

Traditional people of European countries dried the leaves of clover to give a vanilla-like flavor to foods. When dried, the flowers of white clover make a delicious addition to breads and desserts. Sweet white clover is one of the most aromatic of all the clovers and, if placed in drawers, adds a pleasant aroma to stored clothes.

Prior to World War II, sweet clover was an important green manure crop. Its ability to grow rapidly and fix nitrogen in the soil made it an ideal green manure in gardening and agriculture. Interest in sweet clover for green manure dwindled rapidly after World War II when commercial fertilizers became readily available, but it is still used in ecological farming. Sweet clover increases the nitrogen content in the soil best when it is plowed under and is allowed to compost. The roots contain nitrogen-fixing bacteria that support other plants like grass, fruit trees, and garden vegetables. Clover is encouraged as a companion plant to grass. In earlier days clover and grass were commonly sold together for lawns as a free source of fertilization. Not only does clover give nutrition to the grass, the soil, and the microorganisms, but it also gives an immense amount of nutrition to the human body.

Edible Uses

The clovers are part of the legume family and create a complete protein when combined with grains. The sprouted clover seeds make a wonderful vital addition to sandwiches, salads, and other recipes. Adding the leaves and flowers of sweet white clover to recipes creates a vanilla-like flavor.

Alfalfa leaves drying for tea

Clover is packed with nutrients and minerals and helps the body recharge after a winter’s diet lacking in wild greens. In the very early spring, clover is one of the first plants to emerge. In general the first young green shoots that emerge after the cold of winter are the most palatable. But even with the mildest greens gathered in the early season, it is still wise to use the leaves in moderation. Use your tongue to test each plot of clover that you harvest. Very quickly you will know how much you want to add to your salads or green juices. After the season has progressed for some weeks, the leaves may shift into their more potent stage. I find when they are no longer tasty on my tongue I move them from my salad plate to the teapot.

After the clover leaves have become too strong to eat in any quantity, another wonderful use for them is to blend them up with water into a potent green juice and, instead of drinking it, use it as a hair conditioner. The clover is loaded with minerals that the hair and scalp benefit from even if the juice is unpalatable. This same juice works well as a body wash and bathwater addition for cleansing and beautifying.

The flowers of clover are sweet and mild in comparison with the leaves. The flowers make great additions to salads and dishes, adding nutrition to the meal without changing the flavor of the recipe. In general clover flowers taste sweet like honey and are rich in pollen. I love to eat them right off the plant when I am hiking and collect some for adding to dishes. The flowers harvested in their prime stage can be dried to make a delicious tea. Make sure to dry the flowers thoroughly to avoid any potential mold after storing.

The leaves and flowers of clover are especially high in magnesium and calcium, which are essential for efficient muscles and healthy functioning of all bodily processes—especially for the conceiving mother. The leaves are rich in beta-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, most of the B vitamins, biotin, chromium, niacin, tryptophan, phosphorus, potassium, thiamine, choline, inositol, bioflavonoids, and isoflavones.

There are some important precautions to know when gathering clovers. If the leaves are wilted or damaged or look sick in any way, do not gather them. It is best to only gather the fresh flowers when they are in their optimal stage of flowering. When they begin to wither there is a risk of an alkaloid called slaframine building up, which is potentially toxic. In particular, sweet white clover should be used with caution for fermented recipes. A substance called coumarin, which is responsible for the sweet vanilla-like odor, can change into dicoumarin during the process of wilting, molding, or rotting. Dicoumarin can interfere with the metabolism and synthesis of vitamin K, which is necessary for the clotting of blood.

Harvesting any plant requires a level of mindfulness and clovers are no different. The key is to harvest fresh, healthy plants, dry them thoroughly, and store in watertight containers and avoid molding. Then the clover can gift us by replenishing our bodies with ample minerals and vitamins.

Medical Actions

• Alterative: improves overall health due to quality nutrition

• Antispasmodic: relaxes smooth muscle spasms

• Antibacterial: inhibits the growth of bacteria

• Aperient: acts as a mild laxative

• Diuretic: increases the flow of urine and secretions

• Expectorant: promotes drainage of mucus from the lungs

• Relaxant: promotes relaxation of muscle and skeletal tissues

Medicinal Uses

Red clover is a relaxant and expectorant. The dried flower tea is very calming and helps relieve asthma and lung issues. It helps ease and sooth coughing, from the common cold to bronchitis. The flower tea is good for ridding the body of internal inflammation and infection. It contains phenolic glycosides, making the tea also a useful wash for healing skin problems such as eczema and psoriasis.

Red clover is an exceptional herb for women. It can increase the amount of estrogen in a woman’s body. The flower and leaf tea can reduce hot flashes and other symptoms caused by menopause. The isoflavonoids present in clover give a protective effect to the lumbar spine and increase bone density. The high amounts of calcium and magnesium enable the body to remineralize, accelerating healing and strengthening bones and teeth. According to herbalist and author Susun Weed, drinking red clover tea during pregnancy supports in toning the uterus and muscles and mineralizing both the mother’s body and the developing child’s body.

Research on the role of isoflavones from red clover demonstrates cancer prevention, inhibiting cancer cells from growing in test tubes. The red clover contributes to shrinking cancerous tumors by preventing growth of new blood vessels that feed tumors. Using a tea as a wash can encourage tumors to open out to the surface and heal. Internally the tea is used in the treatment of eliminating tumors, growths, and lymphatic system problems.

The fresh flower poultice is good for ridding one of athlete’s foot as well as any insect bites or stings. The fresh flower as a poultice is also beneficial for burns, rashes, and other skin irritations such as acne or eczema. The dried flower tea makes a good wash for the same problems. An external poultice of the leaves and flowers is good to ease inflammation and infection, including rheumatism.

Recipes

Clover Sprout Cookies

¹⁄₂ cup clover sprouts (see sprouting instructions in Chapter 2)

¹⁄₂ cup sprouted sunflower seeds

2 apples

1 cup dates, pitted

¹⁄₂ cup almonds

Pulp from clover pineapple-aide (see following recipe)

¹⁄₂ cup clover flowers

Grind all ingredients in a food processor until well mixed. If you do not have the juicy pulp from the clover pineapple-aide, you may need to add a little water. Keep dough firm but still malleable enough to shape into cookies. They are ready as soon as you are. Enjoy these lucky clover cookies for later adventures by wrapping them individually and storing in the refrigerator.

Clover Sprout Casserole

Crust

1 cup oats

1 cup buckwheat groats

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon oregano

2 tablespoons olive oil

Filling

1 cup cashews

¹⁄₄ cup scallions

1 lemon, juiced

1 clove garlic

1 teaspoon salt

Water if necessary to create a smooth texture

Toppings

1 avocado

2 tomatoes

¹⁄₂ cup sliced mushrooms

¹⁄₂ cup clover flowers

1 cup clover sprouts

Grind the dry crust ingredients in the food processor until fine, and add in the oil to form the dough. Press into a pie pan. Add the filling ingredients into the food processor and mix until smooth. Layer onto the crust. Slice the topping onto the filling and sprinkle the clover flowers over the clover sprouts to complete the meal with wild magic and beauty.

Clover Flower Flaxseed Crackers

4 cups flaxseeds, soaked

6 cups water (or as much needed to process flaxseed)

2 cups coconut flakes

¹⁄₂ cup clover flowers

¹⁄₂ cup mild clover leaves

1 tablespoon salt

¹⁄₄ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon curry

1 teaspoon cumin

Blend the soaked flaxseeds with the water until broken down, although not long enough to stress your blender. Use the water as needed. Add into the batter the rest of the ingredients and mix well. The texture should be slightly thicker than pancake batter. Pour 3-inch circles onto dehydrator sheets until it all is used up. Dry for eight hours or until crispy. These crackers keep well for extended periods if stored in a dry cool place.

Clover Flower Apple Pie

Crust

2 cups pecans

2 cups dates

Filling

4–6 apples

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 lemon, juiced

Toppings

¹⁄₂ cup clover flowers

Grind the pecans and dates in the food processor until they reach a doughy consistency. Press into a pie pan. Add the rest of the ingredients to the food processor except the clover flowers and grind until smooth. Add this filling to the crust and garnish with the clover flowers for a beautiful dessert to share with friends and family. Not only is this raw pie fast and easy to make, the wild clover offers abundant nutrients pulled up from the Earth to support living our path of service and joy.

Clover Sun-Dried Tomato Bisque

2 cups figs, soaked in water for an hour minimum

1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked in water for an hour minimum

1 orange, juiced

1 avocado

1 tablespoon orange zest

1 teaspoon salt

¹⁄₂ cup mild-flavored young clover leaves

Use the soak water from the figs and tomatoes to blend the rest of the ingredients until creamy. This makes a wonderful cold soup if desired or it can be warmed slightly and served immediately.

Clover Pineapple-aide

¹⁄₂ cup mild clover greens

1 cucumber

1 cup ripe pineapple

¹⁄₂ cup purslane

3 cups water

Blend all ingredients in a blender, strain out the pulp, and serve! The pulp can be used to make clover sprout cookies (see previous recipe).

Clover Sun Tea

1 tablespoon dried clover flowers

1 tablespoon dried clover leaves

1 tablespoon hibiscus flowers

Sprig of fresh mint

Place the herbs in a quart glass jar, fill up with water, and set in full sun for four hours. Enjoy this wonderful tea chilled after a good day’s work doing what you love.

May dandelions support joyful living embodied in primal optimal health.

“The whole of the dandelion is a wonderful food

A little bitter little sweet puts you in the mood

Play the stems into singing flute

Make your coffee from the roasted root”

Dandelion

Family: Asteraceae

Latin Name: Taraxacum officinale (from the Greeks, meaning “the official remedy for all disorders”; in Latin, taraxos means “disorders” and akos means “remedy” while officinale means “official” and “from the pharmacy”)

Related Useful Species: White-flowering Japanese dandelion (Taraxacum albidum), California endangered dandelion (T. californicum), Asian dandelion (T. japonicum), Russian rubber dandelion (T. kok-saghyz)

Global Common Names: English (dandelion); Spanish (diente de leon); French (dent-de-lion); Japanese (tampopo); Welsh (dant y llew); Catalan (dent de leo); German (lowezahn); Danish (lovetand); Portuguese (dente de leao); Italian (diente di leone); Norwegian (lovetann)

Description

Every part of the dandelion is a reason to celebrate. Its whole being is incredibly beautiful, useful, edible, and medicinal! Its bright yellow flower opens and closes with the sun and is often the first flower of spring attracting the pollinators to venture out of their winter hibernation. The honeybee loves the dandelion flower. I understand why because when you eat it fresh off the stem, it is sweet and tastes like pollen and honey!

Dandelion

Dandelion has dark green leaves that are distinctively jagged like a lion’s teeth. One of its early names in French is dent de lion, the tooth of the lion. They are thinner at the base and significantly broaden as they reach outward. They all grow from the basal root; you will not find dandelion leaves growing up a flowering stalk. The leaves radiate outward from the central taproot, and the jagged toothy nature of its leaf edge is very irregular and whimsical (or haphazard). They grow in lengths from about 6 inches to a full hand long. When the monsoon rains in our region begin, the leaves can be found in special lush places growing as big as two or even three hands high.

The dandelion greens increase our body’s mineral supply due to the root’s deep underground taproot. The main root is brown with white flesh just inside the skin and branches into smaller fingers spreading underground. The smaller rootlets penetrate new ground while absorbing a rainbow of trace minerals from the soil’s resources into the whole plant. With age both the stems and the roots secrete a sticky white sap that has many uses for beauty and health. The plants often exude this milky white sap when broken.

A Dandelion Ditty

Dandelion you’re so pretty, let me tell you about it in this Dandelion Ditty

Today the magic of the dandelion flower

Offers its grace for personal power

Power in the sense of freedom

Freedom from the practice of weeding them

Weed them why when they are so pretty

Let me tell you about it in the Dandelion Ditty

When you pick them

You’ve got to play them or eat them

But promise me that you’ll never ever spray them

When you harvest these spring greens

There are so many things to do that are so keen

You can make that yellow petal wine

And that’s a surefire way to have a good time

Put their dark green leaves in your dinner salad

That’s how I came to write this dandelion ballad

Their roots dried and ground make a mighty fine drink

A good morning bitter chai, don’t you think?

And the best thing about our local dandelion

Is you don’t have to go to the store to buy them

So remember to love your dandelion friends

It’s a perfect way to help our world to mend

By honoring their yellow beauty

We’ll have clean air, healthy kids, and honeybees in our community

Yes, clean air, healthy kids, and honeybees in our community

Dandelion you’re so pretty, let me tell you about it in this Dandelion Ditty

The flowers are bright yellow and emerge from the center of basal leaves. They grow at the end of stems and first emerge as small tight buds, the plant attaining 6–24 inches in height. The flower stalks are hollow and the longer ones can be sculptured into a great flute and straw! Many flowers can emerge from one root but each flower grows on its own stem. One bright yellow dandelion flower is actually composed of hundreds of individual flowers all maturing to seed to create the white magical puffball so common in fairy tales, making wishes come true.

Enamored by the dandelions

These white puffball heads fly in the air when blown by the wind and the seeds are readily carried across lands and oceans. There are fluffy umbrella-like ends attached to the heavier thin and pointy seeds, which not only help lodge them in the soil but which are also is useful for hitchhiking on animal fur or human clothes.

The reason wishes come true is because the wind carries your wish on each seed to every shore of every ocean, sharing your desire with the whole world. And rightly so, as dandelions are found prolifically on every continent, except Antarctica because it is still over 98 percent ice. However, the islands just off the coast of Antarctica have dandelions flowering each spring! The dandelion knows how to survive because it can easily reproduce from both its seed and its root. It is a perennial plant that returns each year from the same root. If you try to dig up dandelions, they can regrow from even a small part of the root left in the ground. This is a marvelous example of nature working in the currency of abundance. This golden plant shares so much generosity in beauty, health, and happiness year after year for the good of all.

Current Uses

We make great use of this hardy wild plant at Turtle Lake Refuge. We use dandelions year-round by utilizing the greens, roots, and flowers for a myriad of recipes that are served at our café and sold in local stores. In the spring, summer, and fall, we use it fresh from the gardens for making juice, pesto, and even ice cream. In the late fall, we gather the big leaves in quantity and dry them. Once dried, we grind them into a green powder for use in recipes throughout the winter months.

Dandelion Festival

As a way to promote weed appreciation within our community in early May, Turtle Lake Refuge hosts a fun celebration called the Dandelion Festival. It has now become an annual event. In the day-long festival there are dandelion wine–making workshops; a May pole dance; dandelion medicinal workshops; dandelion ice cream; dandelion lemonade; dandelion pesto with zucchini linguini; and great local music, dances, and games throughout the day of festivities. For the school kids in town we host a dandelion drawing contest and the chosen winners get a prize of either a dandelion ice cream cone or blending their own dandelion lemonade on the bicycle blender. Our mascot is a big papier-mâché lion, named Mr. Dande Lion, that receives bundles of love from all the kids who paint and decorate him with fresh dandelion flowers each year.

Leo's getting a facelift (left); Mr. Dande Lion (right)

One of the highlights for the adults is Dandelion Saison, or dandelion beer. Four local breweries collectively called the Bootleggers Society collaborate on making this special springtime batch of local brew. Turtle Lake Refuge harvests the dandelion roots, leaves, stems, and flowers to be used in the process and the Bootleggers make the beer for the festival. This year we harvested 20 pounds of dandelion roots after a spring snowstorm from one of the city’s organic parks. The greens and roots pulled out easily once the snow melted by midday. The bitterness gives the beer a special kick. Although drinking alcohol can be hard on the liver, the dandelion in the beer may offer some healing properties to the liver at the same time, perhaps helping balance it all out.

The hollow stems of the taller dandelions make amazing musical flutes! To choose a dandelion stem that works, pick the stem carefully and pop off the flower head. Blow into the stem to make sure it makes a noise like a kazoo. Then cut small holes in the stem just big enough for each finger to cover. I use my Swiss army knife scissors or my fingernails to create holes for each finger. It will play as many different notes as holes. Place your fingers on the holes and play the notes of the scale and make exquisite music. It is an art that takes some skill, but once you get the gist of it, the music that flows out brings smiles to every face. Our spontaneous band, Dandelion Octet, consists of eight people—all with dandelion flutes, performing as the opening act of the annual event.

Dandelion Flute Octet

Dandelions are celebrated in the spring throughout the world. In addition to our local Dandelion Festival in Durango, Colorado, there are dandelion festivals in Boulder and Denver, and a myriad of other festivals happening around the world in honor of the springtime yellow flower such as in Zeeland and Borculo, the Netherlands; North Greenwall, Ontario; Wallace, Nova Scotia; and Japan (called the Tampopo Festival). In Canada there are a plethora of dandelion celebrations in cities such as Halifax, Stratford, Waterloo, and Ottawa. Across the United States dandelion festivals are happening in the Napa Valley, California; White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia; Dover, Ohio; Burlington, Vermont; Mount Calvary, Wisconsin; Waukegan, Illinois; and Vineland, New Jersey—just to mention a few.

The numerous annual festivals celebrate and highlight the dandelion by creating all varieties of foods and beverages made from the whole plant. A common theme that runs throughout most of these events worldwide is the support of organic land stewardship practices and the desire to change the toxic herbicide spraying practices in parks and wildland maintenance programs.

The dandelion is recognized as a worldwide symbol of organic lawns. A quote from West Virginia’s Dandelion Festival speaks of this resiliency to overcome: “In celebration and appreciation for the determination of the dandelion, the gutsy little flower fights its way through velvety lawns, dodges mowers and weed killers. And against all odds, dandelion reigns supreme as it blankets our village each spring. We salute you, our West Virginia Dandelion!”

Another reason to celebrate dandelions is that they are in partnership with gardens and fruit trees. Year after year these perennials build an ongoing root networking system, increasing soil integrity. Dandelions ensure that the soil beneath the gardens and fruit trees is aerated and mineralized. The deep dandelion taproots maintain a loose and spacious soil structure that enables earthworms to compost leaf debris. The dandelion absorbs minerals such as calcium, iron, and potassium from the Earth into its leaves and ultimately into the topsoil when they are composted each year. The produce and fruits all benefit from this natural fertilizer and the added natural mulch, which over time creates a rich humus layer of easily accessible nutrients.

Another studied phenomena of the dandelion and garden/fruit tree collaboration is that dandelions are known to produce ethylene gas. This is beneficial in assisting the ripening of the fruit. Dandelions also make great chicken food, and if there are dandelions at the base of fruit trees free-roaming chickens will forage for the dandelion greens while scratching and pooping around the trees. This extra nitrogen is highly beneficial for fruit production.

The spring dandelion flowers often bloom before the fruit trees and draw beneficial insects, such as ladybugs and honeybees, to begin pollinating the early blooms in the gardens and orchards. The apricots and cherries are usually the first to risk exposing their flowers to the early fluctuating temperatures, with peaches, pears, and apples following. After the dandelions mature beyond the flowering stage, the bees naturally shift all their focus to the flowering nectar of the gardens and orchards.

History

Dandelions have been used as a spring tonic since before the written word. Some of the first dandelion-related written text comes from Roman times. Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain and the Normans of France described the healing properties of dandelion before the time of Christ. Pliny the Elder published his last and possibly greatest work, Naturalis Historia, in 77 AD—a thirty-seven-book masterpiece on subjects including the remarkable healing properties of the dandelion. In Chinese medical literature, dandelion is a strong force utilized for its health benefits—for possibly over five thousand years, but recorded in writing in 659 AD. In the tenth and eleventh centuries the dandelion was mentioned by Arabian physicians in their medicinal practices. In 1932 in Kazakhstan a dandelion species, Taraxacum kok-saghyz, was found to create enough sap to produce rubber. The Russians, during World War II, perfected the process and made rubber latex from the white milky sap of this species. The United States later requested that this Russian species be sent for experiments in making a domestic rubber. Unfortunately the seeds from another species were sent and planted en masse; ultimately they never produced any quantity of latex and the project ceased. In 1957, the United States imported more than 100,000 pounds of dandelion root for use in pharmaceuticals.

In Japan, the dandelion has been used for medicine as well as food since early recorded history. More recently, in 1979, after extensive research with the dandelion, a patent was filed in Japan for a freeze-dried extract of dandelion roots for antitumor use. The roots are gathered, roasted, and boiled at low temperatures to make a root syrup. Even today this syrup is still available in a form called yansen. Roasted dandelion root coffee is popular in Japan, as well as in other parts of the world, and it is still made and sold regularly. Although it is most common to find yellow dandelion flowers, in 1909 a white dandelion, Taraxacum albidum, was found near Nagasaki, Japan, and sent to a scientist named Gustav Dahlstedt in Sweden—who cultivated it successfully and then published a famous article about dandelion healing and aesthetic benefits.

According to a number of texts, dandelion was brought to the North American continent as seeds in the pockets of the wise pioneers who knew that, in order to survive in unknown territory, this plant would be a provider of sustenance, offering all the basic nutrition they needed to live. Although I trust in the written history of these accounts, I also think about how the dandelion happens to grow on every other continent as well, and the simple fact that dandelion seeds are made to fly! They sail in the wind across large distances, they travel in the intestines of animals, on fur and wings, on driftwood—as well as in the pockets, shoes, and clothes of humans. It is the brilliant nature within the dandelion itself that brings these seeds to all continents. Our wise ancestors of the past—in addition to some of the modern people of today—know the potent value that the dandelion offers our species for survival. When the first beehives were imported to the Americas, dandelions were planted purposely to make sure the honeybee had good forage for pollen and nectar. Dandelions have long been known across the globe for their nutritional superiority and for their ability to support human health and resiliency while adapting to challenging conditions.

Indigenous cultures around the globe have integrated dandelions into many of their health practices in the past and continue today. According to American Indian Medicine by Virgil J. Vogel, “Dandelions are referred as indigenous [plants] to most parts of the world.” He writes how the Mohegan steeped dandelion leaves for a strong physic and muscle tone. The Pillager Chippewa made tea of the roots for treating heartburn, while the Potawatomis prepared the roots into a bitter tonic. The Meskwakis utilized the dandelion root for a strong medicine and took it for pain in the chest when other remedies failed.

The Yoruba of Africa use dandelions as herbal medicine in their holistic perspective of healing that originated over four thousand years ago. The osainista of the Yoruba are expert herbalists and still integrate dandelions into their practices. The osainista traditionally and presently use dandelions to assist with the health of the womb, liver, and breast issues. The North American Papago tribe use dandelions in their heritage and still today integrate the local wild foods and medicines into their lifestyle.

Edible Uses

Dandelion is a storehouse of abundant nutritional value. This amazing common weed has everything that we need! The entire plant including the roots, stems, flowers, and leaves is all edible; if it was the only plant available, dandelion has everything required for humans to survive—especially if all the parts are eaten. Each part is composed of different amino acids, making the whole plant a complete protein. The flowers contain plentiful amounts of pollen for the bees to gather in the spring. Pollen is a highly nutrient-rich food for humans as well. It contains a vast array of B vitamins, proteins, amino acids, and trace minerals. Pollen is the sexual dust of the plant world and is known to promote fertility for all who partake in the magic yellow powder. The pollen of dandelion is included in the flower and can be added to recipes to thicken and increase the nutrient content of the meal.

Dandelion gold

As our palates adjust to the wild flavors of the Earth, our bodies begin to crave the stronger tastes present in the dandelion. Our taste buds over time begin to recognize the richness of trace minerals and vitamins found in wild plants. Although some may experience the leaves becoming too bitter later in the season, I have found dandelions to be delicious during all seasons and stages of growth. The flowers are lightly sweet and have a subtle taste like honey, while most of the rest of the plant is slightly bitter. The roots, while slightly bitter during the summer, become quite sweet in the winter months. The bitter taste of the dandelion can grow on your palate, especially when you know its value in creating healthy muscle tone in the body. Bitters, in general, tone our internal organs into a greater strength and stamina of function. Dandelions build beautiful and noble physics. This increased integrity of body structure is better apt to handle stresses, respond more quickly to challenges, and move with a more graceful flexibility. I remember my mother’s advice when I was a child trying a new food with an unfamiliar flavor; she encouraged me to “teach my tongue a lesson” and be open to a new adventure of taste.

The seed of the dandelion is another rich food source. The seeds are packed with proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. The seeds make a good seed milk if you gather many stalks full of the white puffballs. When gathering the seeds for milk, I gently separate the seeds from the fluff with my fingers by clasping the white fluff in a pinch. The seeds break off easily. A simple dandelion seed milk recipe is to take a handful of the dandelion seeds and blend them in water with vanilla and dates. This makes a very nutritious morning meal. I sometimes add a banana or another seed or nut to thicken it.

By eating the whole dandelion flower, root, and leaves you receive a complete protein meal with more nutrition than you might otherwise ingest in a week of the typical store-bought diet. The beauty of this type of meal is that it is free, available anywhere, and creates no trash in the process! The available vitamin and mineral content from the whole plant is exceptionally high. Dandelion greens are extremely rich in chlorophyll and high in calcium, iron, vitamin A, and vitamin C in addition to a host of other substances. The flower heads are sweet and taste like a honey-flavored candy. The roots are a storehouse of an easily digestible sugar, insulin. Particularly in the off-season when the plant is not blooming, this sugar becomes a concentrated delicacy, especially in climates with cold winters. Dandelion is truly a survival food of royalty! It offers more than just survival to our bodies by supporting optimal health and planetary abundance.

Dandelions are classified as a “nutritive,” which helps replenish the blood with vital minerals and vitamins needed for the body’s long-term integrity. They balance the electrolytes in the system due to their natural sodium content. A serving size, 1 cup of fresh greens, has the daily requirements of beta-carotene, calcium, iron, and potassium. It contains more vitamin A than any other green. It contains approximately 7,000 units per ounce as compared to 1,200 for lettuce and 1,275 for carrots. Dandelions are great sources of magnesium, phosphorus, copper, sodium, choline, lecithin, biotin, and inositol. In addition to being a very good source of dietary fiber, it is rich in vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E (alpha tocopherol), zinc, and manganese. As a complete protein, dandelions contain all eight essential amino acids in addition to many of the B vitamins including B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), B5, B6, B9 (folate), and B12.

The green leaves contain significant amounts of pectin, a soluble fiber that prevents constipation. Dandelions accomplish this in part by their ability to encourage beneficial flora to thrive in the colon and inhibit unfriendly bacteria. The greens also act as a digestive tonic assisting the breakdown of undigested proteins and fats. The bitter quality supports the secretion of bile and the digestive enzymes in the stomach. The green leaves can be blended as a daily springtime ritual with water to make a green juice that is best consumed twenty minutes before a meal to aid digestion.

The roots make a fabulous staple food that far surpasses the flavor and nutrition of a potato. They become particularly sweet with the onset of cold frosts. From late fall through the early spring season, dandelions move all the sugars of the plant downward and concentrate them in the roots for storage. At these times of year, the dandelion roots are especially delicious and are perfect for simply digging up and nibbling on right on the spot, as well as harvesting them for winter food storage. In addition to using them fresh, they can be frozen for later use, as well as dried and then rehydrated into soups. They also make a wonderful pickle relish. My friend Doug Simons, a wise and beautiful medicine man from the Gila Wilderness in Arizona, inspired me to make a dandelion relish simply by grinding my dandelion roots with apple cider vinegar, honey, and salt. It is ready to eat after a few days and will last almost indefinitely.

The roots are a good source of B12 when cultured into fermented sauerkraut. When you wash off the roots, it is impossible to get every speck of dirt off, but this is actually a good thing because of the microbial life present in the soil. The dirt left on the roots contains millions of wild regional microbial life-forms that get cultured into the kraut. This wild kraut gives the body a force of healthy microorganisms to support the immune system and natural flora of the colon. These wild microorganisms increase the efficiency of our body’s metabolic and elimination processes. The microorganisms found in the soil near your home are particularly beneficial because they are already adapted to your particular bioregion of Earth.

When dandelions are present, you can trust that there is plenty of nourishment to thrive! Luckily, wherever there are humans living, there are dandelions growing. This is one great solution to any form of malnutrition we may encounter globally. When we understand the amazing benefits of ingesting dandelions in our meals, it is easy to find ways to make them delicious to share with our friends and families. By making our food rich with the wisdom of the dandelion, the intrinsic medicinal values are integrated into our lifestyles as a bonus. This practice allows us to follow the wise motto of Hippocrates—“Let food be thy medicine!” With the abundant dandelion as our storehouse of nutrition, we avoid additional medicine to fight any sicknesses because we rarely get sick!

Medical Actions

• Aperient: acts as a mild laxative

• Cholagogue: increases flow of bile from gallbladder into the duodenum

• Depurative: reduces impurities or heterogenous matter

• Diuretic: increases the flow of urine and secretions

• Galactagogue: stimulates the flow of mothers’ milk

• Hepatic: reduces congestion and drains the liver

• Stomachic: strengthens and tones the stomach

• Sedative: reduces anxiety, stress, irritability, or excitement

• Anti-inflammatory: reduces swelling and inflammation of the tissues

Medicinal Uses

Dandelion holds the title as the royalty of weeds. Its medicinal values are vast and extensive! In traditional Chinese medicine, dandelions, also known as pu gong ying, are an herb that cools the blood and dispels liver wind. It helps clear heat and toxicity that arises from excess fire in the body. It helps dissipate nodules, reduce abscesses, and impede lumps in the body. Dandelions are utilized as a blood cleanser, tonic, and digestive aid.

Dandelion root tea is one of my favorite morning beverages. I love to drink it dried and ground into a fine powder in a gourd with a maté straw. Eastern medicine encourages drinking dandelion root tea to assist circulation and to discharge stagnant energy blockages in the body.

Dandelion root “maté”

In ayurvedic medicine, originating from the Hindu religion in India around 1500 BC, dandelions (known as kanphool) are regarded as a bitter herb with sweet, pungent, and cooling energetics. They are used to detoxify pitta conditions, a body type described in the ayurvedic healing science as being an overheated imbalance. I am primarily of a pitta nature myself and notice the exceptional benefits from my morning ritual of sipping dried and ground dandelion root in hot water through my bombilla (metal straw) in a maté gourd each morning. Ayurveda also uses dandelions for eliminating cysts, swelling of the lymph nodes, and removing cholesterol from the body.

Dandelions are also beneficial for the condition of diabetes. They contain a source of levulin, which has the same composition as insulin and allows the liver to convert fructose into glycogen without requiring the body’s secretion of insulin. This creates less stress on the pancreas and maintains an even blood sugar level for optimal energy. In addition to improving the function of the pancreas, dandelions also support efficient functioning of the spleen, kidney, liver, and stomach through promoting blood circulation.

Dandelion is a rich source of chlorophyll. The body efficiently utilizes the chlorophyll content in the leaves for rebuilding the blood. The chemical structure of hemoglobin and chlorophyll are almost identical, with the main difference being that hemoglobin contains iron whereas chlorophyll has magnesium. This gives the body the necessary nutrients to be able to prevent anemia. Dandelion leaves are a rich source of vitamin K, which helps eliminate the excessive buildup of acidic crystals that create the symptoms of gout. The high mineral content of the leaves also gives strength to the teeth and increases bone density in the body. Dental research conducted at Indiana University demonstrated how dandelions inhibit plaque buildup on the teeth, while the chlorophyll they contain helps eliminate bad breath at the same time.

Dandelions have an exceptionally high calcium and potassium content, which together build structural integrity in the body. The addition of these vital minerals makes the dandelion a savior in lessening muscle and menstrual cramps. The flowers and stems are rich in coumestrol, a plant estrogen that provides a balance to hormone fluctuation in women while also stimulating milk flow in nursing mothers.

My mom used dandelion as one of the greens in her process of eliminating the pain and congestion from rheumatoid arthritis. She was diagnosed with arthritis when she was seventeen, and followed a Western standard practice of medicine for twelve years. This included multiple surgeries and over ninety-five thousand medically prescribed pills with all their side effects. She did not see improvement in her arthritic condition during this time and, in fact, her mobility continued to degrade to the point where she could no longer walk. When I was two years old, she was inspired to juice fast. After about four days of drinking raw liquids, her joint pain and congestion disappeared almost totally. This experience was a huge epiphany for her and this led her on a whole new path of life. She was inspired to continue her education and earned a master’s degree in holistic nutrition. As a result of her experience, our family began the tradition of drinking green juices approximately twice a day. Dandelions and comfrey were two of the main greens we harvested from our backyard. At seventy-one my mom no longer has arthritis and her mobility has returned to active walking and even biking, rafting, playing the piano, and sledding!

Pat Blair, one of the elder turtles

Dandelions make a fantastic spring cleanse. I like to occasionally juice fast with the greens generously blended with a few other ingredients like apples or lemons for a length of about three days to a week to clear out any stagnation from the winter season. I begin this juice fast just after the spring rains, which brings the dormant dandelions back to life. The perfect time to bring the cleaning spirit of the dandelion into the body is when the leaves are vividly green and the flowers have yet to bloom. Although the dandelion juice can be combined with other ingredients, sometimes I like to feel the pure essence of the dandelion during this time of purification and recharge. It is powerful way to welcome dandelions into the body as a healer and rejuvenator. If I experience a cooling sensation during this time of cleansing, I may integrate fresh ginger into my dandelion root tea as part of the cleanse to act as a heating influence and balance my internal temperature. Anytime I begin a fast, I always experience my internal body temperature as cooler. I have come to understand that it is a normal part of cleansing. The heat energy that comes from digesting food is not present and the energy within the body is being directed internally for deeper cleansing and detoxifying. During longer cleanses or lifestyle shifts in diets, the cooling sensation will cease and become regulated as the body adjusts to a new efficiency of digestion and elimination.

Dandelions are an especially powerful healing force for the liver. According to the American Nutraceutical Association, dandelions stimulate the secretion of bile and treat liver disorders. The root, in particular, stimulates the release of congestion in the liver leading to its improved functioning. Due to the beneficial support of the liver, dandelions are a well-documented remedy for hepatitis. Other conditions caused from congestion of the liver can be addressed through integrating dandelions in the diet. With the dandelion’s help in purification of the liver, skin conditions improve and age spots dissipate. The milky sap from the stems and roots, when applied directly to the skin, helps to remove facial blemishes, warts, sun spots, moles, pimples, canker sores, and skin irritations. I have had several warts and sun blemishes successfully disappear after using this milky sap and plant poultices. When I am on solo walkabouts it is a perfect time to experiment because no one notices that I have strange plant matter attached to my body.

The whole plant is a healing diuretic, which aids the removal of toxins from the body into the urine. The dandelion is known as a sparing diuretic, which is one of the safest diuretics available to use because it contains such high levels of potassium. Many pharmaceutical diuretics deplete the body of potassium in the process of their diuretic function; dandelion actually increases the potassium levels in the body. Dandelions gently stimulate the mucous membranes, which helps draw out toxins from the bowel and soothe the digestive tract. Dandelions are particularly powerful because they oxygenate and purify the blood while alkalinizing the body. By reducing excess acidity, the body is able to regenerate cellular integrity more rapidly. My friend Seven Song, an herbalist from Ithaca, New York, speaks a poetic truth with his comment, “Dandelion would be a rare plant if people knew its health potential.”

Recipes

Dandelion Pesto

2 cups fresh dandelion greens (optional—also add the pulp strained out from the dandelion juice recipe)

1 cup raw cashews

3 tablespoons lemon juice

3 cloves garlic

¹⁄₂ cup organic sunflower oil

1 cup basil or mixed garden herbs like French sorrel, mint, parsley, and oregano

1 cup water

1 teaspoon salt

Mix all the ingredients in the blender until it forms a creamy texture. This recipe can be used as a dip or a salad dressing and is delicious served over vegetable pastas made with raw zucchini, beets, or pumpkins. Enjoy the wild taste of your global spring dandelions!

Dandelion Quiche

Crust

1 cup raw buckwheat groats

1 cup sunflower seeds

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon thyme

¹⁄₂ cup water

Filling

3 cups dandelion greens

1 cup tahini

1 lemon, juiced

1 teaspoon salt

Toppings

Avocado

Mixed herbs

Veggies (optional)

Make your crust by grinding the dry ingredients in the blender until it becomes fine flour. Place this flour in a bowl and add approximately ¹⁄₂ cup water until it gains a doughy consistency. Form the crust into a pie pan. Dehydrate for an hour or two if too wet.

Add the filling ingredients to the food processor and mix until creamy. Place filling in pie pan and decorate with avocados, fresh herbs, and veggies (if desired). Serve with a fresh mixed dandelion salad.

Dandy Candy

2 cups Turkish figs, soaked in water for one hour and destemmed

1 cup dandelion greens

¹⁄₂ cup cacao nibs

dandelion flower petals

Place all ingredients except petals into the food processor. With tablespoons of the mixture, form into cookie shapes, sprinkle with dandelion flower petals, and place on a plate in the freezer. They are ready to serve when firm. This simple and delicious candy is a great road trip treat. The raw cacao, the active enzymes, and liquid oxygen from the dandelion greens help keep you awake on journeys.

Dandelion Root Stew

1 cup fresh dandelion roots, shredded

2 tablespoons sweet white miso

1 avocado, diced

¹⁄₂ cup scallions, diced

1 cup fresh yellow squash, shredded

6 cups water

1 tablespoon fresh garden herbs

Add all ingredients to a pan. Warm lightly on the stove while stirring. Serve immediately for a wholesome, warm, local culinary specialty soup.

Cultured Root Sauerkraut

1 cup dandelion roots

1 medium cabbage

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon caraway seeds

1 teaspoon juniper berries

1 tablespoon dulse seaweed

Grind the cabbage and dandelion roots in a food processor until lightly shredded. Place in a bowl and add the other ingredients. Mix well and pound mixture with a wooden dowel to bring out the juices. One simple way to make sauerkraut (that came from my culinary friend, farmer, and bread baker, Scott) is to pack the sauerkraut into a glass jar. Choose a jar that can be filled to the top and pack it tightly so that no air is present in the lower levels. Make sure that the juices come to the top of the jar when packing it in. Place a lid on the jar loosely so that juices can escape if they need to, but air is prevented from oxidizing the kraut. Put a plate under the jar and store the jar at room temperature. Another method to make cultured vegetables is to use the old, big leaves from the cabbage. Place them on top of the shredded vegetable mixture that is pressed tightly in a ceramic crock and place a weight on top to keep the oxygen out. A rock or a gallon jar of water works well. Cover the whole thing with a cloth and leave at room temperature for about one week. The smell of sauerkraut will let you know when it is ready. Enjoy the kraut on crackers with an avocado and store the remainder in the refrigerator. Culturing wild roots enhances the enzymatic activity of the food and encourages beneficial microorganisms from the soil to assist your body in greater digestion and colon health.

Dandelion Ice Cream

3 avocados

1 cup fresh dandelion greens or 1 tablespoon dried dandelion greens

2 lemons, juiced

3 cups water

1 cup honey

Blend all ingredients very thoroughly until creamy. The longer you blend the creamier it gets. Place the mixture in a metal bowl in the freezer and stir every hour until it becomes ice cream! We serve our ice cream in homemade fruit leather cones made of bananas, figs, and cinnamon blended with water and dried overnight in circles.

Dandelion Juice

This can become a daily ritual of honoring your body and the planet.

2 cups fresh dandelions

4 cups water

1 apple (optional)

Blend all ingredients in the blender until well mixed. You can choose to either keep the pulp in the juice or, depending on your preference, strain out the pulp for a clear juice. If you strain the pulp, it can be added as a variation to other recipes like salad dressings or pesto. Drink the juice (as fresh as possible) twenty minutes before eating a meal for improved digestion.

Dandelion Lemonade

2 cups dandelion greens

2 lemons, juiced

2 tablespoons honey

4 cups water

Place all the ingredients into the blender and blend well. Strain out the pulp if desired and serve fresh over ice on a hot day!

Simple Dandelion Root Tea

To make tea, simply dig the roots, wash, chop into ¹⁄₂-inch pieces, and let dry for several days on a screen in the open air. Grind the roots in a coffee grinder into a fine powder and add hot water. This tea can become a morning ritual. I like to use a maté gourd for my cup with a straw that has a strainer at the end. This bitter morning brew is a divine organ tonic for the morning, offering a rainbow of minerals for the body’s integrity and health.

Dandelion Spicy Chai Tea

1 cup almonds, soaked

¹⁄₂ cup dandelion root

1 teaspoon cloves

1 teaspoon coriander

1 teaspoon cardamom

1 teaspoon cinnamon stick

1 teaspoon black pepper (optional—for extra spice also add ¹⁄₄ teaspoon cayenne pepper)

1 tablespoon ginger root

Honey to taste

Blend all ingredients in the blender until well mixed. Strain out the pulp with cheesecloth, a strainer, or a nut bag. I use a knee-high panty hose until it gets a run in it; then I replace it. You can heat up this chai tea, but I recommend stirring often so as not to let it boil. It is best with all the enzymes intact!

The Four-Root Grounding Tea

1 teaspoon turmeric root

1 teaspoon ginger root

1 teaspoon licorice root

1 teaspoon dandelion root

Steep together and infuse the day with a rooted grounded strength.

May dock instill deep trust in our ability to survive and thrive in harmony on the land.

“Eat the dock greens when they’re tender and sour

Grind the seeds to make your own flour”

Dock

Family: Polygonaceae

Latin Name: Rumex crispus (the genus Rumex originally was called Lapathum, which means “purging,” and crispus means “curly,” “uneven,” or “twisted”)

Related Useful Species: French sorrel (Rumex scutatus), sheep’s sorrel (R. acetosella), common sorrel (R. acetosa), canaigra (R. hymenosepalus), broadleaf dock (R. obtusifolius), alpine dock (R. alpinus)

Global Common Names: English (dock, curly dock, yellow dock, butter dock); Spanish (legnua de vaca, vinagrillo, acedera crispada); French (patience crepu); German (krultongblaar); South African (labaca-crespa); Portuguese/Brazil (labaca, selvagem); Japanese (nagaba-gishi-gishi)

Description

Rumex is a genus containing over two hundred species that include the curly dock (Rumex crispus) as well as the garden varieties of sorrel, including French sorrel (R. scutatus). Dock is a perennial flowering plant that typically starts growing with a cluster of lower leaves, later sending an erect flowering stalk straight up 2–5 feet tall. There is a slight hint of red streaks commonly found on the stems. The leaves are generally bright green, although as they age they can develop a reddish tinge and marks on the leaves. The leaves grow large and fleshy near the ground in the basal rosette and then decrease in size and grow in an alternating pattern as they move up the flowering stalk. The leaf margins are smooth and wavy and the shape of the leaf is oblong to lance-shaped. The flowers are greenish, nonshowy, and form in clusters at the end of the flowering stalk. The flowers are called inflorescences because they group together in clumps of flowers and seeds.

Each seed, called an achene, is enclosed in a triangular paperlike sheath with three wings to each seed that turns rusty brown at maturity. The seeds are pointy at both ends and are around 1 millimeter wide and 2 millimeters long. The tiny seed inside the sheath is reddish brown and difficult to separate from the sheath. The clusters of dock seeds are easy to identify from a distance in an open field. They are in the rhubarb family and have the typical family characteristic of a tall, erect, shimmering, flowering seed head.

Curly dock

The root of curly dock is brown on the outside and yellow on the inside. It can be shaped like anything from a tuberous potato-like root to a longer carrot-shaped taproot. The roots can reach down from 6 to 24 inches into the soil. Often the root is well lodged and difficult to remove fully. When a part of the root is left in the ground, the plant will continue to grow back. The yellow color of the inside root is from chrysophanic acid, emodin, and tannins—which contribute to dock’s healing properties, celebrated throughout many cultures across the globe.

Current Uses

Turtle Lake Refuge truly appreciates the wild dock plants! It is rewarding and rather easy to gather the seeds of dock in quantity year-round. Even in the middle of winter when the snow is deep where we live, we can still identify and gather the dock seeds in a field covered in snow. The showy reddish-brown seed heads stick up above the snow line and beckon us to gather seeds. The seeds fall into a basket or bag easily by running your hands over the stalks. The seeds easily break off from the center stalk and fall into the waiting container. In a relatively short time, you can gather a gallon or two of these seeds. They store well once dry and can be used throughout the winter months for adding additional nutrition to recipes.

Dock leaves, stems, roots, and seeds all make it into our wild CSA program baskets at different stages of their development throughout the season. Dock disperses its seeds close to the mother plant and you will often find a large patch of dock in a given area, making it easy to harvest in quantity. At the Turtle Lake Community Farm, we have a few mother plants that have been there for years. I do not harvest the roots of these plants because I appreciate their greens and seeds each year; however, when the baby docks sprout up in masses in the spring near the mother plant, I will harvest the whole young shoot, root and all, for the wild CSA program and for our recipes at the café.

We love adding the dock seeds to raw sun breads and dehydrated sprouted breads, breakfast cereals, and energy bars. I have noticed that dock seeds can vary in their taste quite noticeably, however. Some seeds are mild and delicious while other seeds are very concentrated in their flavors. It is always wise to taste the seeds each time they are gathered, because depending on where dock is growing, they will have distinct flavors and potency.

Be mindful when dock is growing in less than appealing locations and refrain from harvesting there. They can grow in septic fields and waste places where you may not want to ingest them. Perhaps it is best to let them help break down the toxicity of the soil with the support of the earthworms and microorganisms until the soil is more cleaned up before you use it for your consumption.

Dock seeds

Dock seeds are the featured ingredient in Turtle Lake Refuge’s delicious dock mustard pretzel! (See the recipe at the end of this chapter.) We combine the wild dock seeds with germinated buckwheat, sesame seeds, and almonds. We grind it all into an alive wild flour with a little salt and mustard seeds, shape them into the traditional knot, and dehydrate the lovely pretzels into perfection! Before drying, we drizzle on top our homemade mustard sauce from the wild gathered mustard seeds.

I like to add the young dock greens as a minor ingredient in our winter green powder. Because of the oxalic acids that can accumulate in the older plants, I specifically do not include the leaves of plants that have gone to flower in my powders. Dried green powder is a concentrated food and it is important to include plants in their stage of growth that are still mild and ideal for ingesting. It is important when making both green juices and green powders to use a moderate amount of dock greens. Remember that our bodies will tell us when we have had enough of a certain plant, but when we drink it in a juice in a few gulps or when we add the green powder to our smoothies we do not have the chance for our bodies’ instinct to indicate we’ve had enough.

History

In Denmark the body of a man over two thousand years old was found perfectly preserved in a wetland bog. In his stomach were a large variety of weed seeds, including dock and knotgrass. He must have died in late winter or early spring before any of the young greens were growing because his food was mainly a combination of dried grains and seeds made into a bread or cereal, which he ate throughout the season.

Dock seeds in Lapland country (left); Dock roof garden in Norway (right)

The broadleaf dock (Rumex obtusifolius) in nineteenth century Europe was commonly used to wrap homemade butter. The leaves have a natural smooth and waxy nature that creates a perfect wrapping material for protecting and preserving the butter.

Although it is considered a native to Europe and Western Asia, once it arrived in North America many Native American tribes took advantage of dock for healing remedies including the Teton Dakota, Ojibwa, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Pima, Wichita, Pawnees, Houmas, and Meskwaki. Dock is credited with dissolving boils, getting rid of gouty symptoms, and elimating excesses.

In Lapland, the Sami people use dock greens as a substitute for rennet to curdle milk in making buttermilk and cheese and for preserving the milk itself. In the Alaskan arctic the natives use dock greens for the base of a fermented food that is made with large amounts of cooked and pureed dock greens, berries, seal blubber, and oil. The mixture is stored in wooden kegs to ferment. The fermentation process increases the nutritional value of the food as well as preserves it until the winter season freezes it. Some northern Native American tribes mixed dock greens, ripe berries, and salmon eggs together to make dried cakes for traveling food and for trade.

A traditional method of making homemade oxalic acid salt crystals for cleaning uses dock greens in large quanitity. The recipe includes gathering 20 pounds of dock greens and pressing them down into 6 pounds of juice. By heating the juice, the water evaporates off until there are about 3 ounces of concentrated salt crystals left. These salts are historically called essential salts of lemon and used to clean ink and rust stains and polish wood. Chemically made oxalic acids can be purchased over the counter in some places. These salts are so concentrated that you need to be careful that you do not touch them with bare hands for risk of burning the skin.

Canaigra (Rumex hymenosepalus) has a root stalk that contains close to 35 percent of tannins, making it a useful ingredient for tanning leather hides. The dock stems, leaves, and roots make a beautiful yellow coloring dye that does not need a mordant because of the high concentrations of iron in the root. The tannins from the root of Rumex hymenosepalus have been hydrolyzed and used as a cancer treating agent by the National Cancer Institute.

In the high alpine regions of Austria, a variety of dock, Rumex alpinus, was and continues to be used in traditional Austrian medicine internally for healing various viral infections and as a general purgative for assisting elimination. From the Americas to Russia, from Africa to Scandinavian countries, dock has been utilized across cultures as a common remedy for many ailments. It is often referred to in different cultures as a health aid and applied as a wash to heal skin disorders, to stop bleeding, and is consumed internally as a drink for purging and elimination.

Today it may be considered a weed to many, and yet if we visit history, dock was sought out and utilized as a powerful healing medicine as well as a common food.

I find it important to remember how our ancestors have used the wild common weeds as part of daily life. It is a sustainable practice to return to these simple empowering techniques that maintain optimal health while honoring the value of the resources growing around us.

Dock at 7,000 feet in elevation

Edible Uses

The young sprouts of dock are a delicacy. Dock leaves are in their most prime edible state when they are young and tender. They taste like sour spinach at this early stage, which makes them delicious to eat in salads, on sandwiches, and in a host of other recipes that call for greens. Dock’s sour nature creates a gentle astringency in the body, and when young it is pleasant. As the plant matures, the potency increases and can become overwhelming. This is in great part because of the concentration of oxalic acids that build up over time. In general, after the plant goes to flower, the leaves can create a burning sensation at the back of the throat when eaten in any quantity. In addition to the age of the plant, another key factor to its edibility is where it is growing. If dock is in a lush, moist environment, sometimes the leaves and stems can be tasty and mild even though it is bigger and older; whereas, if the plant is growing in drier and more inhospitable conditions, the concentrations of oxalic acid can build up quicker.

This is why it is key to always taste test the dock prior to harvesting in any quantity. I strive to keep a beginner’s mind when I am out with the plants. Humbly, I like to reintroduce myself to each plant even if I have eaten dock a hundred times. I remind myself that I have never met this exact specific being yet and, in respect for both of us, I like to go slow as we get to know each other.

Dock seed flour (left); Dock bread (right)

One of my favorite snacks when available is the tender stem of dock. Early on in the spring, before the plant begins to shoot up as the flowering stalk, the stems of the lower leaves are thick, juicy, tender, delicious, and mouth-wateringly good! The stems are the juiciest part of dock; it is where the plant stores its water. Even when the leaves may be a little too concentrated for eating in quantity, the stems will often be mild, tasty, and appealing in their flavor. When I find a good stand of dock in the young stage with long and juicy stems, I gather extra to take home with me. They are similar to rhubarb in their sour nature and make an excellent pie! They can be blended into a lemonade-like juice by adding an apple for sweetener. Where I live in southwestern Colorado, we do not have lemon trees growing, except occasionally in a greenhouse, so plants that impart a lemony flavor are truly a delicacy and gift to our culinary creativity!

The seeds of dock offer a diversity of uses. The delicate triangular papery sheath around each seed is something I do not worry about trying to remove. I find that when I grind the seeds either in a mortar and pestle, a coffee grinder, or a blender, the sheath grinds up as fine as the seeds. I feel that a little extra fiber is most often a benefit. To remove some of it, grind the seeds very lightly to break the seed free and let the lighter fibers blow away while the heavier seed drops to the bottom of the bowl.

I enjoy adding dock seeds to my breakfast cereal, and adding the ground-up seeds as flour to supplement other flours in making sun breads. My favorite dock bread recipe is simple, delicious, and easy to make. Mix ¹⁄₄ part dock seeds with 3⁄₄ part buckwheat groats and grind fine. Add equal parts coconut oil and water to create a dough consistency and add according to taste your desired amount of salt and honey. Shape into mini loaves and dry in the sun for one day if you live in a dry climate, or in a dehydrator if it’s raining or humid.

The nutrition in both dock leaves and seeds is abundant. It is a great source of thiamin, niacin, folate, riboflavin, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, copper, and manganese. It is one of the richest sources of vitamins C and A; 1 cup of raw dock greens contains 106 percent of their daily requirements. Dock contains an abundance of calcium, iron, and B vitamins. Both the leaves and seeds of dock contain high amounts of dietary fiber and act as a natural gentle laxative, supporting the elimination system.

Medical Actions

• Alterative: improves overall health due to quality nutrition

• Antiscorbutic: provides vitamin C

• Antiseptic: inhibits infection

• Aperient: acts as a mild laxative

• Astringent: tightens, constricts, and tones while reducing secretions and discharges

• Anticancer: inhibits cancer growth

• Cholagogue: increases flow of bile from gallbladder into the duodenum

• Depurative: reduces impurities or heterogenous matter

• Febrifuge: reduces fever

Medicinal Uses

Dock is beneficial for assisting the elimination and breakdown of accumulated excess wastes such as swellings, tumors, colon congestion, and blood toxicity. Dock can be used internally and externally to support the elimination process. The leaves and roots can be applied as a poultice in their fresh forms. When dried and added to water, they create a healing tea. The fresh leaves provide a rich source of vitamin C and chlorophyll. The leaves are astringent in nature and help tighten and heal skin conditions. Fresh dock leaves crushed to release their juices are a great external poultice for healing poison ivy, poison oak, and other plant-induced skin irritations. Luckily dock is often found growing nearby!

Dock roots

One great way to expose the healing nature of dock to the skin is to take a root tea bath. Add the dried root to hot water, make a concentrated tea, and pour it into bathwater. Soak in leisure to absorb the benefits of dock into your skin. A more concentrated preparation method to use when out in the field is to grate the root directly onto the skin for healing sunburns and other skin rashes or to use a cloth soaked in dock tea as a body wash. The roots reduce the release of histamines and greatly shorten the healing time. The astringency of both the root and the leaves tightens the skin, prevents infection, and promotes fast recovery from burns and cuts.

The root is high in tannins. Roots can be powdered and combined with an oil and beeswax as a salve that is very effective in healing a variety of skin problems. The juice from the stems, leaves, and roots, when placed on the gums, assists the healing of gingivitis. A good daily practice for maintaining good gum health is to rinse the mouth with a concentrated tea of dock. I keep a jar of powdered dock root near the sink, fill a cup with a teaspoon of powdered root with water, and let it steep for a day up to a week. I use a strainer straw to sip the tea—not to ingest and swallow, but as a mouth rinse. I sip in a mouthful and swish it around for a few minutes and then spit it out. It is concentrated and I immediately feel the tightening nature of dock working for the benefit of my gums and teeth.

My friend and herbalist, Doug Simons, makes a wonderful wound tooth powder with dock as one of the primary ingredients. He recommends packing it in a problem area such as a cavity. He encourages people to take charge of the health of their teeth by using dock along with a few other plants, such as horsetail, to eliminate any infection and decay. Horsetail is high in silica and helps rebuild the enamel of the teeth. Many people including myself have benefited from his valuable advice.

Drinking the root tea is fantastic after a meal to help break down undigested fats and proteins. It is a great digestive aid, especially after eating heavier proteins that are only slowly eliminated from the body.

Using dock leaf as a poultice helps ease the pain of rheumatism. Applying freshly crushed leaves to an aggravated area helps reduce the congestion and relieve pain. The poultice also encourages the healing of boils, acne, infections, and itching.

The dock plant makes a good decoction and an infusion. Both methods use hot water to make a tea; however, infusions are made with the softer parts of the plant like leaves and flowers, which needed to be heated only a short time to impart the benefits to the tea, whereas decoctions use the woodier or harder parts of the plant like the root, stems, and seeds and require being heated for a longer time. The dock root tea is an effective medicine for constipation, skin irritations, and athlete’s foot. Dock is also valuable as a powdered root ingested to support the functions of the kidneys, liver, lymph, and intestines. It aids the body’s natural abilities to cleanse toxins from the system. The root acts as a mild laxative as well as a diuretic, helping to remove excess waste. It is beneficial for acne and other skin troubles because of its cleansing abilities. It helps all the eliminative organs do their jobs more effectively. Dock is known to free up iron stored in the liver and make it accessible for the body’s benefit.

Dock has proven itself to be a simple and true remedy for many common issues that show up in our daily lives. It is empowering to know that this medicine is often found growing right outside our doors. With a little knowledge and experience, dock can be used to help decrease a host of physical problems and increase our quality of life for free with just a little effort and appreciation.

Living Soil class harvesting dock root

Caution: Curly dock greens can become high in oxalic acids as they mature. Oxalic acids are a metabolic product of ascorbic acid, which is not metabolized by the body but generally released in the urine. When eating the leaves raw, choose young tender leaves that taste good and create no reaction in your mouth. If they are older and have more oxalic acids buildup, your tongue will tell you when to stop. When a plant has accumulated too much of the oxalic acids, it creates an unpleasant sensation in the back of the throat. It is the older leaves that can do this. This is a sign that your body has had enough. Trust this! Both freezing and cooking the greens will break down the oxalic acids. Too much in our systems can bind with the calcium from our tissues to create calcium oxalate crystals that can accumulate in the kidneys. Symptoms of an overdose are a burning sensation in the mouth or throat, stomach pain, and cramping of muscles. A counteracting remedy for an overdose is calcium carbonate antacids, yogurt, or dairy.

Positive Take on Oxalic Acids

Doctor Norman Walker, an author and health advocate, refers to oxalic acids as an important element that tones the colon and encourages health peristalsis and elimination. There is a natural amount that is found and required for healthy blood. In general, foods that are high in antioxidants are also high in oxalic acids. A healthy amount of oxalic acid is important in the diet to assist with healthy elimination and tone of the organs. If we do not receive enough oxalic acids through our diet, our body will manufacture it through synthesizing from ascorbic acid. There is also plenty of research that connects the crystallization of salts in the kidneys sometimes associated with oxalic acids with excess meat, processed food, and acidic beverage consumption.

Recipes

Dock Pesto

1 cup dock or French sorrel leaves

1 cup basil

1 cup buckwheat lettuce or spinach

3 cloves garlic

1 lemon, juiced

1 cup cashews

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

Blend all ingredients until smooth. Add water if necessary to make it easier on the blender. Enjoy this pesto sauce with a zucchini linguini or as a dip with vegetables.

Dock Mustard Pretzels

Pretzel

1 cup dock seeds

1 cup almonds, soaked

¹⁄₂ cup sesame seeds, soaked

1 cup buckwheat, soaked

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon caraway seeds

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon olive oil

Mustard Sauce

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon vinegar

¹⁄₂ cup cashews

Grind the dock seeds in a coffee grinder or blender until fine. Grind all the rest of the seeds and nuts in the pretzel ingredients in a blender or food processor until well broken down. Pour into a bowl with the fine dock flour. Add the rest of the ingredients and just enough water to knead into dough. Shape into long rolls and then twist the rolls into a simple circle cross, the classic pretzel shape. Blend the ingredients for the mustard sauce in a blender until smooth and drizzle it on top of the pretzel. Dehydrate overnight at 108 degrees and enjoy warm, if possible.

Wild Dock Seed Cinnamon Raisin Sun Bread

1 cup dock seeds

1 cup buckwheat groats

1 cup oats

1 cup cashews

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1 tablespoon cinnamon

¹⁄₂ cup raisins, soaked

Grind all the dry ingredients together in a blender until the mixture turns into fine flour. Add the soaked (and drained) raisins, coconut oil, and honey and mix together by hand. If you need extra liquid, add the raisin soak water to make it into a doughlike consistency. Shape the dough into mini loaves and either bake in an oven, under the sun, in a dehydrator, or on a hot rock on the woodstove (turning periodically). This is a high-fiber nutritious bread that will go with most meals or can be eaten as a delicious solo snack.

Baby Dock Greens Salad

1 cup fresh young dock greens

1 head butter lettuce or miner’s lettuce when available

1 cup chickweed (optional)

1 tomato

1 cucumber

¹⁄₂ cup mung bean sprouts

¹⁄₄ cup alfalfa sprouts

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon dulse flakes

Tear or chop the greens into bite-size pieces and dice the cucumber and tomato. Add all the ingredients in a salad bowl and drizzle with olive oil, apple cider vinegar, and dulse seaweed for a delectable wild green treat!

Dock Seed Breakfast Cereal

¹⁄₄ cup dock seeds

¹⁄₂ cup sunflower seeds

¹⁄₄ cup flaxseeds

¹⁄₂ cup buckwheat

¹⁄₂ cup raisins

1 banana

¹⁄₂ teaspoon cinnamon

¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon apple sugar (dried apples ground into a fine powder)

Grind the seeds finely in a coffee grinder or a blender until the material has a flourlike consistency. Place this and the raisins in a bowl. Add enough hot water to cover the mix and let sit for five minutes. The cereal will absorb the water, so add more hot water as needed and mix in the rest of the ingredients. Enjoy while it is still hot! The cereal is highly nutritious and gives consistent stamina for a full day of work and play.

Curly Dock Lasagna

Pasta

4 cups fresh young dock greens, slivered the long way

4 zucchini, sliced in thin layers

Marinade for pasta

2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2 teaspoons of salt

Sauce

4 tomatoes, diced

¹⁄₂ cup mushrooms, chopped

¹⁄₂ onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

¹⁄₂ cup fresh basil or 1 tablespoon dried basil

¹⁄₂ cup fresh oregano or 1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

Cheese

2 cups cashews, soaked

2 lemons, juiced

1 teaspoon salt

Frank Cook, the late and great wild herbalist, inspired this recipe. Begin by marinating the zucchini and dock greens in the olive oil, vinegar, and salt. Prepare the sauce by combining all the ingredients in a bowl. Prepare the cheese by grinding the cashews, salt, and lemon until smooth. In a casserole dish, first place a layer of sliced zucchini and dock greens, then a layer of cheese, then a layer of sauce. Repeat this process until all your ingredients are added. Try to end with a layer of sauce. This live lasagna is ready to eat immediately, but if you wish to serve it warm, place it in a dehydrator or an oven for a short time. Garnish with fresh basil and dock greens.

Sour Dock Lemonade

1 cup fresh young dock greens

2 apples or 2 tablespoons honey

1 quart water

Blend all ingredients and strain out the pulp. Enjoy this high vitamin C refreshing drink!

Dock Root Nightcap Tea

¹⁄₂ cup dock root, dried and chopped

3 cups water

Simmer the dock root in the water for about ten minutes. Drink after a heavy, fatty meal or before bed to support digestion and elimination of unwanted excesses.

Yellow Dock Tincture

1 quart hard alcohol (I prefer to use homemade hard apple cider or a local distilled liquor, but any high-proof alcohol will work)

Clean and cut up several fresh roots. Put them in a clean glass container. Use liquor that is at least 100 proof. Add 2 cups of alcohol to 1 cup of fresh roots. If you are using dried roots, use a 5:1 ratio instead. Let steep for three to six weeks, strain, and bottle.

Dock Tooth Healing Balm

1 tablespoon comfrey root, dried and ground fine

1 teaspoon pine pitch, still soft and pliable

1 tablespoon dock root, dried and ground fine

Mix the dried powders. Heat the pine pitch just enough to melt, but avoid overheating. Keep the pitch in its raw state for the greatest microbial effectiveness. Add the melted pitch to the powder and mix until it forms into a state like chewing gum. It can be stored in the refrigerator or freezer until you need it. You will have to heat the mixture gently to bring it back to its malleable state.

Use a small amount for a healing “filling” or for an area of the tooth that is in need of repair. If you have a dent or hole in your tooth, use the gum to fill it. Leave it in for several hours to a full day. The dock-comfrey pine gum can assist in reducing infection and limiting decay in the tooth while helping the tooth regrow its enamel and bonelike strength. The dock is also a regenerative influence on the gums to repair their weakness and gain firmness and integrity. Take a break of a day or two in between each refilling. If there is any additional sensitivity around the gums or tooth after using, then discontinue.

A Few Important Notes before Making Any Tincture

• Make sure that you know the plants you are working with through research.

• Use a high-proof alcohol made for human consumption. I prefer to use homemade hard apple cider or local distilled liquor but any high-proof alcohol will work. It is recommended to use a grain alcohol that is 95 percent alcohol or 190 proof.

• Make sure that the alcohol covers the plant material fully. Do not leave any plant material exposed to the air.

• As a general rule, allow the tincture to sit for a minimum of two weeks, strain the plant material out, and pour it into dropper bottles.

• Tinctures are intended as medicine and should be used in small amounts. Using a small dropper application, add a few drops to your tea, juice, or water, or directly into your mouth when needed.

May grass cultivate beauty from simple pure and whole living—pura vida!

“All the wild grasses have eight amino acids

As a survival food, it could save your asses”

Grass

Family: Poaceae

Latin Name: Poa annua (Poa means “food or fodder” and annua means “annual”)

Related Useful Species: Teff (Eragrostis tef), Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis), wheat (Triticum aestivum), barley (Hordeum vulgare), oats (Avena sativa), rye (Secale cereale), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), rice (Oryza sativa), corn (Zea mays), pearl millet (Pennisetum americanum), sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum), bamboo (Dendrocalamus strictus); all members in the grass family are edible in some form

Global Common Names: English (annual bluegrass); Indonesian, Malay (rumput); Gaelic (feur); Basque (belar); Estonian (rohi); German (gras); Czech (trava); Banjar (kumpay); Swahili (nyasi); Lithuanian (zole); Finnish (ruoho); Sudanese (jukut); Spanish (pasto); French (grazon)

Description

Grass is one of the oldest and most abundant flowering plants on Earth. Out of all the vegetation on the planet, the grasses comprise nearly one fourth and cover over 30 percent of all land on Earth. Even in Antarctica where there are only four flowering plant species, two of them are grasses—and both of them edible! Grass is one of the first pioneer species that is capable of taking root even on the barren and ice-laden landscape. It is the grasses that are found along with the mosses and lichens that begin to create soil and shape the ecosystem to become more habitable by a range of other diverse species.

The Poaceae family contains over ten thousand species. The grass family is probably the most important plant family economically because of the diverse uses of all the species such as bamboo for building materials, sugarcane, rice, wheat, barley, sorghum, rye, and corn for both food and fuel. The entire family of grasses falls into the plant category of monocotyledon (shortened as monocots). Monocot seedlings typically have one leaf (or cotyledon), while dicots (dicotyledons) have two leaves that sprout out of the seed. Monocots have parallel veins that run from one end to the tip of each leaf.

Grasses typically have hollow stems and contain swollen joints where the new leaf blades sprout. In comparison, sedges and rushes are solid and so do not have swollen joints or nodes. Grasses are most commonly flat. A helpful way to remind us of the nature of each is through the saying, “Sedges have edges, rushes are round, and grasses are hollow right up from the ground.”

Wild grass

Grass seeds are true grains and each wild variety of grass can provide a rich, nutritious source of carbohydrates from the ripened seed. Generally grass seeds have the potential of being edible. There are a vast variety of wild and cultivated grasses, each producing an edible seed, that range from rice or wheat to the wild, smaller varieties. Even some of the tiniest seeds like the Ethiopian grain teff, an annual bunchgrass, is a storehouse of carbohydrates. Teff, which means lost, derived its name because the seed was so small it could easily be lost.

The flowers of the grasses are inflorescences, which means they cluster together at the terminal end of the flowering grass stalks in clusters or plumes. The flowers are typically inconspicuous but can be mildly showy. Grass flowers are pollinated by wind and insects. The grasses are mostly wind pollinated, although bees and insects also regularly visit these flowers. When there are no flowers blooming from other species, the bees will visit the grass flowers to collect the pollen and make honey.

Grass grows from the base of each blade, not from the tip—making grass resistant and able to grow back after the grazing of animals. The genus Poa typically contains some of the sweetest grasses used for food for livestock. In addition to being a pioneer species colonizing new lands by preparing the soil for other plants, it offers rich food resources as a forage for other creatures.

Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis) is one of the most common cool season turf grasses grown on golf courses, sports fields, lawns, and parks in the United States. In many regions, such as the drier climate of Colorado where I am from, Kentucky bluegrass is not native and requires excessive water and fertilization to keep it alive. Even so, it would be edible if it were not sprayed with “weed and feed,” a mixture of chemical fertilizers and herbicides—which unfortunately makes it toxic to most species of life.

Annual bluegrass (Poa annua) is a widespread, low growing wild grass that has slightly flattened stems that can spread across the soil as well as grow erect and upright. The stems are anywhere from 2 to 12 inches long, shooting out grass leaves off the stem in an alternate pattern. The leaves are soft and bright green and have a distinct tip that is slightly curved, forming a narrow canoe shape. Grass leaves are smooth with no varying jagged nature to their edges; however, they can be razor-sharp if accidentally brushed against the skin, causing a paperlike cut.

The grass flowers are tiny, yellowish white, and delicate at the end of each flowering stalk, with multiple flower heads branching off each stalk. When given a closer look, it is easy to see many tiny flowers clustered together at the top of the grass. Annual bluegrass flowers continually almost all season. When it goes to seed, the seed heads form in a pyramid shape at the top of the stem in sections. The roots grow in a spreading cluster in the form of a dense branching mat. It is considered an annual grass; each season it dies back and reseeds itself the next year.

Annual bluegrass is one of the grass species that is pioneering the new lands in the Antarctic Circle. It has made its way to the South Shetland Islands and is considered an invasive species with its eradication mandated. The beneficial practice of viewing problems as resources is still being developed in these regions.

Current Uses

I began growing wheatgrass for my mom and aunt Margie at the Rocky Mountain Retreat in the late 80s, and a team of us at Turtle Lake Refuge continue to grow it for the community, and currently provide many local juice bars in town with the young grasses for wheatgrass shots. We purchase our wheat berries from a local farm that grows organic wheat about 30 miles away. It is an amazingly inexpensive grain for us to purchase. A 50-pound bag only costs $15.50, and the farmer delivers it to us. What a blessing! We plant close to 10 pounds of seeds twice a week, which grows about 30 trays a week.

Dylan biking to farmers’ market

During the summer, we load our three-wheel bikes with as many as six trays of wheatgrass plus another six trays of microgreens and pedal to the farmers’ market. One of our three-wheel bikes converts into a wheatgrass juicer by attaching a stainless steel grinder to a rotating spindle connected to an alternative chain. The wheatgrass juicer is attached to the bike between the handlebars. In order to juice grass and stay in a stationary place, we must disconnect the main chain. We have the option of juicing the grass while pedaling around town if we keep the main chain attached. The juicer is moved into action by a chain on the other side of the bike that rotates the grinder and presses the grass into juice. When customers order a wheatgrass shot from us at the farmers’ market, some choose the option to pedal their own juice to get a double dose of health.

Sometimes we get overzealous in planting more wheatgrass than we can use. During these times, the overgrown wheatgrass becomes fabulous wigs for dress-up events such as our local winter festival, Snowdown. We have taken the prize for the creativity category due to our wheatgrass wigs and unusual bicycle fleet several times over the years.

Wheatgrass wigs

In the early spring my favorite morning activity is to wander around the land before sunrise, find a place in the wild to sit by a little patch of young spring grass, and graze while I meditate and witness the sun rise over the horizon. It makes me feel so connected to the land, to the season, and to the effortless joy all around me. It is fun to taste each different kind of grass that may be growing in the area. They all taste distinctly unique, and I have highlighted in my mind where the sweetest tasting patches are close to my home.

There are so many varieties of grasses that grow on the planet and generally all of them are edible. Usually the best time to harvest the grass is in the early spring, when the blades are still tender and juicy. Some varieties, when they are young, will easily break down in the mouth when chewed and therefore will be digested. When I find a patch of grass to sample, I only swallow the fiber of the grass if it naturally disintegrates, otherwise I spit out the pulp after I have extracted the juice. As the season matures, the blades of grass become too fibrous and tough for eating straight, but they can still be harvested and prepared into a juice. When blending grass juice, it is important to strain out the pulp due to the excessive cellulose content. I find that if I cut the blades of grass into 1-inch strips or smaller and add plenty of water, most blenders can break through the cellulose walls and extract the vital chlorophyll-rich juice. Simply strain out the pulp and enjoy the diluted spring tonic as soon as possible!

If you have a wheatgrass juicer, it can also juice most of the wild grass growing outside as well. But because the wild grasses vary in texture, it is wise to go slow and not overload your juicer. I was once in Costa Rica teaching a wild edible foods class and we used the wild grass outside to make our cocktails. The owner became so excited about the great potential of all the local grasses that he enthusiastically loaded his wheatgrass juicer with the wild tough grass. Unfortunately it locked up and it took him hours to free the parts. Just as with all wild foods, it is key to go slow and ease into embracing their gifts to avoid learning lessons the hard way.

When harvesting wild grass seed, the grains are very small, so it is challenging to separate all the chaff from the seed. I tend not to worry about the chaff when I collect wild grain. I bring it home and grind it fine in the blender or coffee grinder. The extra fiber is beneficial to cleanse the colon of any past refined flour residues that may still be gumming up the walls. The wild grains are much more potent in nutrition and dense in minerals than many of the commonly used grains that have been hybridized, so even adding a small amount will increase the nutritional benefits of the recipe.

At our Local Wild Life Café, we use many members of the grass family for our biweekly lunch recipes. We sprout wild rye and grind it with wild mallow to make breadsticks. We sometimes use wild rice in nori wraps. We use soaked barley for making a pilaf dish with great texture. We use oats, sometimes in their rolled form and sometimes we germinate them in their whole groat form. We use local corn occasionally for making our own raw dried tortillas. And of course it is common to find a wheatgrass lemonade on the menu as the juice of the day. This simple recipe blends wheatgrass with a few local apples, fresh lemon, or ginger to give it just the right flavor to awaken the palate before serving our lunches.

We encourage everyone working and volunteering with us to have a shot of wheatgrass juice whenever they want. We have a hand crank wheatgrass juicer set up in our main grow room for this tradition. We often juice enough to give everyone a shot. Before drinking, everyone takes a slice of lemon and a pinch of kelp. After making a toast to our health, we “lick” the kelp off our hands, “shoot” the wheatgrass juice down in one gulp, and “suck” the lemon to cleanse our palates. It is a very invigorating tradition and initiates newcomers into our tribe!

History

The economic importance of grasses lies in their role as an important food source. Up to 70 percent of the world’s agricultural land is given to crop grasses, and probably even more if we consider the typical front and back lawns.

Plants in the grass family are the most widely distributed plants found anywhere. Fossils show that grasses evolved close to 66 million years ago. Grasses are so successful because of their growth processes and physiological diversity; they have evolved unique photosynthetic pathways for carbon fixation that allow them to adapt to cold climates, hot climates, and places with low carbon dioxide.

Humans began cultivating grass crops over ten thousand years ago, which marked a significant change in human civilization from the hunter-gatherer lifestyle to a culture based on agriculture. The practice of farming initiated a major shift in social evolution. The traditional nomadic ways shifted to focus on creating stability in one place in order to grow the seasonal crops. This stability encouraged the human population to increase and civilization and technology to advance. The advantages of agriculture are certainly many, but our modern practices come with a sacrifice of stress to an area and a high cost to the Earth’s resources. This price is being paid still today due to the depleting tendencies involved with commercial agriculture and civilized technological advancements. By contrast, the hunter-gatherer lifestyle does not burden an area as significantly. When a natural crop of food becomes scarce, the native community moves on to better pastures.

There are over three hundred wild grass species that have been harvested for their cereal grains throughout the world, and thirty-five of those have been domesticated into new varieties. The goal in crossbreeding specific plants was to create grains that produced more and bigger seeds that separated from the chaff more easily and also to prohibit natural seed dispersal tendencies that made it harder to harvest. Grasses were also favored for being able to grow in diverse conditions. Barley was one of the earliest grasses to be cultivated in southwest Asia. Corn became domesticated in Mexico and was originally used for popping. Rice originated in southeast Asia, and sourghum was developed in Africa for the sweet sap, molasses. In Ethiopia, teff (Eragrostis tef), a protein-rich grain that comes from an annual bunchgrass, was one of the earliest plants domesticated for food between 8000 and 5000 BC. Teff continues to be an important food crop for Ethiopia and it is being grown in India, Australia, and several states in the United States. Teff is similar to the grains of amaranth and quinoa because of its complete protein content, gluten-free nature, and exceptionally high sources of minerals including phosphorus, magnesium, aluminum, iron, copper, zinc, boron, thiamin, and barium. It contains more lysine than both wheat and barley.

Throughout history worldwide, alcoholic beverages have been distilled from grass seeds. Barley creates beer malt, rice makes sake, corn is used for bourbon, sugarcane is converted into rum, rye into whiskey, and wheat into vodka.

While the cereals have been and continue to be a primary food source for the world, bamboo may have more uses than any other plant on Earth. The young shoots of bamboo are edible, but because of its strength and lightness as a mature plant, it makes excellent building material for the construction of houses, temples, woven mats, bowls, trays, and paper.

Edible Uses

Generally, the entire grass family is edible, including all parts of the plant. However, as they age the blades of grass can develop too much cellulose—although the juice is still edible, the pulp has to be discarded. The majority of the grass family produces an edible grain. The cereal crops are still the main source of carbohydrates and proteins for most of humanity across the globe. In the middle of the seed is the endosperm, which contains a rich source of carbohydrates for the germinating embryo. When a grain is sprouted, the young growing plant consumes the endosperm as its food source. The amount of gluten in the seed decreases until it all disappears completely by the time it reaches its green grass stage. Out of the 102 minerals on Earth, grass grown in healthy soil contains 92 of them.

The grasses are a major source of complete protein. There are twenty-two essential amino acids utilized in our bodies. Fourteen of them we can create internally but eight have to be consumed from external food sources. The young grasses contain all eight essential amino acids. With these amino acids, our bodies build protein chains to create muscles. Even the juices alone contain the essential amino acids.

Grasses tend to be juicier and sweeter when young, and there are no two grasses that taste exactly the same. It is fun to explore the local wild grasses and see which ones appeal. Some are sweeter and some are more potent and strong tasting. Some varieties of grasses may be tender enough to chew and even swallow if they naturally break down in the mouth, but in most cases they contain a high amount of cellulose that does not break down by chewing. In this case, it is best to chew the grass to release the juices and then spit out the pulp.

Eventually the grass plant blades will mature into a grain like rye, wheat, rice, or corn. These, of course, have all been hybridized from their original wild cousins. The wild grasses make grain seeds as well, just smaller and often more challenging to separate from the chaff.

The majority of grass seeds can be ground dry or sprouted and made into nutritious sun breads, crackers, and used in an infinite number of recipes. It is exciting to explore local wild grass seeds as a food source. Collecting several handfuls of the wild grains, grinding them finely, and adding hot water makes a delicious breakfast gruel. The flour can also be added to bread recipes to increase the mineral content.

It takes some experimenting and determination to gather enough seeds to add to recipes, but the effort is worthwhile because the wild strains of seeds have been left untouched by human intervention. They are potent in nutrition, even consumed in small amounts. Many of the mainstream cultures around the world have relied upon the domesticated seeds of the grass family for their staple nutrition. In the process of hybridization, the grains have become bigger and easier to process. However, bigger does not mean better in nutrient value. In fact, it is often the opposite. The majority of grains today have far less nutritive value than the wild grains. Also in the hybridization process, much of the natural fiber has been removed—leaving the grains starchy, which has created a tendency of allergies in many people related to the refined grain products.

Wild grasses are still true to their integrity of nature and because of this still have the potential to offer humanity a wealth of nutrition and value. Many domesticated grains today no longer contain the eight essential amino acids required for a complete protein, but the wild grass seeds still do! The tiny grass seed of teff from Africa is still connected to its wild ancestors and is a complete protein that also contains more lysine than the domesticated wheat or barley. Grains such as rye or wheat have been bred to contain a greater quantity of gluten than the wild varieties. Because of the refining nature of finely ground white flours, the starch and lack of fiber have a tendency to slow the action of the colon. Similar to making papier-mâché paste, by adding water to white flour to make glue, white flour pastries, pastas, and breads do the same thing inside our colon. This chronic problem can possibly lead to allergies due to the lining of the colon becoming obstructed. The irony is that the grass from these same seeds in the raw state can be a supportive remedy in the form of grass juice enemas to help cleanse and clean the colon of the excessive buildup.

Ann Wigmore was one of the first people to bring wheatgrass as an edible grass juice to mainstream attention. She was born in Lithuania and was living with her grandmother because her parents moved to the United States without her. Her grandmother was a healer in World War I and treated wounded soldiers using compresses of rye grass juice and fresh goat milk. When Ann was seventeen years old, she immigrated to the United States to join her parents and siblings. But at eighteen, she was in an accident where a wagon wheel rolled over her leg. Her leg became gangrenous. The doctors and her parents thought she should have it amputated, but Ann had just turned of age, which gave her the right to decide herself. She refused amputation and chose to keep her leg. Luckily her uncle had compassion for her decision and left her in a park each day to sit in the grass while he worked. She remembered her grandmother’s ways in healing the soldiers, so she started eating the grass in the park lawn. A stray poodle befriended her and aided her healing by licking the wound, which drew out the infection. It healed completely and she was able to walk normally again. She later ran in the Boston marathon, which excluded female runners at that time—so she disguised herself and ran as a man.

Turtle Lake Refuge microgreens

Ann continued to teach health classes and lead healing retreats in Boston and Puerto Rico. She taught anyone interested in preventative medicine and people with major illnesses such as cancer and AIDS and other degenerative diseases about using wheatgrass juice and living foods as primary therapies. Her students experienced amazing success in healing these chronic life-threatening illnesses.

Before I founded Turtle Lake Refuge, my mom, Pat, and my aunt, Margie, started the Rocky Mountain Retreat, a healing retreat that hosted people for eleven days to learn and participate in a concentrated healing program. Wheatgrass was a core part of the program. During the retreats, guests participated in learning to grow young greens and prepare living foods; they participated in healing exercises, biofeedback, dream work, and other cleansing practices that supported their process. The guests used wheatgrass juice as a drink to bring concentrated chlorophyll into their systems and they also used it as enema implants. During this time, I worked at the retreat planting wheatgrass trays and sprouting grains, beans, and seeds—and generally filling in when my talents were required. Growing and drinking wheatgrass has always held a place of power in my life as a potent healing remedy.

Medical Actions

• Anti-inflammatory: reduces swelling and inflammation of the tissues

• Antibacterial: inhibits the growth of bacteria

Medicinal Uses

Whenever I find myself needing rejuvenation, I utilize grass. I use it as a juice, a mouthwash and gargle, for tooth repair, as an enema, in my bathwater, for poultices, and as an emergency food and source of hydration when I am hiking.

Wild grass juice increases inspiration and clarity of mind. I love to drink it when I need to focus or complete a project. I enjoy it blended in water in a diluted form mixed with lemon and apple, or just straight in a concentrated shot. It is easy to immediately feel the benefits from the abundance of minerals, oxygen, chlorophyll, enzymes, and vitamins found in the grass juice.

Raw unrefined chlorophyll is hard to produce in commercial quantities and is especially hard to store. In a matter of hours after extraction due to exposure to light and air, it loses its biochemical activity and color. This is why it is key to utilize fresh grass whenever possible for both food and medicine. Wheatgrass is easy to grow in the winter months when the wild grasses outside are not available for harvest. (Refer to the microgreens section in Chapter 2 for directions.)

Wheatgrass contains an enormous amount of chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is a molecule that absorbs sunlight and is able to synthesize carbohydrates from CO2 and water. The plants take the energy from the sun and convert it into the life force of the plant. I love to think of chlorophyll as vibrant green sun energy. When looked at chemically, it has almost the same chemistry as hemoglobin. The main difference is that hemoglobin contains iron and chlorophyll magnesium. In the 1940s chlorophyll was researched in depth. Doctor Benjamin Gurskin selected 1,200 patients and determined chlorophyll’s effects on each person’s complaints. Almost all problems lessened or disappeared, from deep internal infections to ulcers to skin and gum complaints.

Chlorophyll can rebuild, cleanse, and revitalize the blood in the body. Drinking wheatgrass juice or any wild grass juice is similar to a gentle blood infusion. It is especially helpful to people who are experiencing anemia. Chlorophyll also binds or chelates to toxins that have been stored in the body. It is one of the best sources of antioxidants. It chemically binds to free radicals, makes them inert, and then eliminates them through the urine and fecal matter. Free radicals are unattached cells that are charged and looking to bind with something; they have enough charge that they will break apart healthy cells functioning as tissues, muscles, and even vital organs. Excessive free radicals can contribute to premature aging and cause disruption of the body’s ability to function efficiently. Chlorophyll is a powerful force that binds to these free radicals and removes them from the body.

Fresh wheatgrass is rich in calcium. It is also a great source of iron, which is important for red blood cell formation and the transportation of oxygen from the lungs to the cells. Human blood under normal conditions remains at a slightly alkaline state of about 7.3 to 7.45 (on the scale, above 7.0 is alkaline and below 7.0 is acidic). Metabolic processes create acidic wastes and alkaline minerals serve to neutralize the blood. Wheatgrass has an exceptional amount of alkaline minerals, such as magnesium, potassium, and calcium, and it replenishes the blood and the whole body with these minerals.

Grass also can be effective in protecting the body from radiation exposure. With an increased amount of radiation in the atmosphere and environment currently, drinking a form of grass juice or simply chewing on grass daily can help protect from the potential exposure while increasing our focus for living in ways that make our hearts sing.

Roddy Woomble, a Scottish folk singer who I recently saw perform at Findhorn Ecovillage, has additional advice for those of us looking for a focus in life. “Gather with others and work like you can and live like you can!” The whole grass family can help reconnect us with our sense of purpose in service to all!

Recipes

Sprouted Wild Rice Nori Wraps

1 cup brown rice, sprouted

1 cup daikon radish, minced

4 dried nori seaweed sheets

1 ounce ginger, shredded

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 carrot, slivered

1 cucumber, slivered

1 red bell pepper, slivered

1 avocado, sliced

Wasabi (optional)

Hope, one of our Living Soil students, made this lovely nori wrap with sprouted rice. Sprouting rice generally takes a little longer than most other grain seeds, but basically follows the same procedure (refer to the sprouting section in Chapter 2).

Once the rice has sprouted, grind the rice with the daikon radish, ginger, and soy sauce in a food processor. Lay out a full dried nori seaweed sheet on a flat surface. Spread on a layer of the rice mixture and add a few slivers of all other ingredients. Skillfully roll the nori tightly and cut into six pieces. Make as many rolls as you have ingredients for. Serve as is or with an additional sauce of tamari and wasabi.

Japanese studies have demonstrated that sprouted rice compared to cooked rice has four times as much available fiber, three times as many B vitamins and magnesium, and ten times as much GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), a neurotransmitter that supports the pituitary gland’s optimal functioning.

Sprouted wild rice nori wraps

Wild Grass Seed Cereal

¹⁄₂ cup wild seeds, finely ground

1 cup other flour from grinding the seeds of buckwheat, oats, or millet

¹⁄₂ cup sunflower seeds

¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon coconut oil

¹⁄₂ cup raisins

Place all ingredients in a bowl and add hot water. Cover with a plate and let sit for five minutes. Enjoy this warming and filling breakfast to start off the day with plenty of energy to supercharge all your activities! Another option for preparing this cereal is to soak all the grains overnight before you grind them. Once soaked, you can blend them together into a paste and then add the rest of the ingredients and the hot water before eating. They are more nutritious if soaked or sprouted first.

Grinding the sprouted grain

Sprouted Rye Pumpernickel Sourdough Bread

Method 1

2 cups sprouted rye flour (sprouted grains dried and ground fine)

2 cups sourdough starter

2 tablespoons molasses

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons coconut butter or olive oil

Method 2

2 cups sprouted rye (ground in a food mill to make the dough)

2 cups sourdough starter

2 tablespoons molasses

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons coconut butter or olive oil

Sprout the grains. If you are ready to make bread when the sprouts are ready, grind them fresh in a hand crank food mill to make the dough. If you want to make your bread later, dry your sprouts in a dehydrator and grind them into fine flour in the blender and store in the refrigerator for later. When sprouting grains for bread, it is important to harvest the sprouts early when their first white tails begin to sprout from the seed. If you wait too long, the flavor and texture of the grains shifts and begins to taste like sweet grass or become stringy in texture. Once the sprouts have been ground, or if you are using the sprouted flour, add the sourdough starter to the mix with all the other ingredients and knead into a loaf. Set the loaf in a bowl in a slightly warm place, cover with a cloth, and let it rise for several hours. Knead the dough, leave to rise a second time, and then form into loaves. Place the loaves into baking pans.

I do not have an oven at my house, so I cook my bread in a solar oven or in my woodstove. This takes a little finesse because I am not able to control the temperature as easily. I find it personally more pleasurable because of the extra effort it takes, even if my bread doesn’t always turn out consistently. I prefer low-temperature baked bread. When I use my solar oven in the winter, the temperature rarely reaches above 150 degrees. In this case, I leave it in the solar oven almost all day long, which ends up being close to eight hours before the bread is done. If you have an oven, preheat it at 350 degrees and bake the loaves at 200 degrees for about forty-five minutes to an hour or until they are cooked to the middle of the bread.

Teff Morning Gruel

¹⁄₄ cup teff

2 cups water

¹⁄₄ teaspoon salt

Place all the ingredients in a pan and heat for thirty to forty-five minutes, stirring occasionally. The teff makes a wonderful buttery texture that is fun to eat for a warm wintery breakfast. Add raisins, bananas, or other additions to make this nutritious, high-protein cereal extra delicious and enjoyable.

Wild Grass Seed Sun Bread

1 cup wild seeds

3 cups grain seeds (such as buckwheat, oat, millet, or barley)

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon salt

Mix the wild seeds with the domesticated grain seeds like buckwheat, millet, or oats. Grind them both together dry in the blender until they form flour. Add coconut oil, honey, and salt. If the dough is too dry, add a little water to make it easier to knead. Shape the dough into 1-inch-thick mini loaves and place outside in the hot summer sun. Turn over after several hours of sun baking. The bread is usually done within one day. Another variation is to soak all the grains overnight, drain off the water, and let sprout for one day before grinding them together. This process initiates the life force within each seed to activate its full potential of nutrient power!

Wild sun bread

Wheatgrass Ginger Cooler

2 cups wheatgrass, chopped into 1-inch pieces

2 tablespoons honey

1-inch piece fresh ginger

5 cups water

Blend all the ingredients in the blender and strain out the pulp. Enjoy this tart and gingery beverage that supports optimal health in one of the most pleasurable ways.

Wheatgrass Tradition: Lick, Shoot, Suck!

Pinch of kelp

2 ounces concentrated wheatgrass juice

Wedge of lemon or lime

After a toast for health, lick the kelp, shoot the wheatgrass shot, and suck the lemon wedge for an invigorating and delicious burst of alive energy!

Rejuvelac: A Fermented Grain Beverage

Rejuvelac is a fermented beverage that originated from Ann Wigmore’s life’s work. In her research, she realized that numerous diseases stem from the inability to digest some of the foods humans eat. This chronic indigestion stems from the fact that standardized food is cooked and therefore void of its natural life-enhancing enzymes. Simply by increasing the active enzyme levels and the amount of healthy bacteria in the gut and intestines, the body’s ability to heal improves in leaps and bounds.

Wigmore highly promoted rejuvelac as a form of “living water.” She used it in replacement of water during her retreats because the tap water in Boston had unhealthy additives such as chlorine and fluoride. She distilled the city water and then enlivened it by fermenting the water with grains into rejuvelac.

Although she primarily fermented wheat because of its wide availability, any grain can be used, including millet, rye, rice, and the wild grass seeds. Pseudograins such as buckwheat, quinoa, and amaranth can also be used to make rejuvelac.

Ann Wigmore’s rejuvelac recipe in the 1980s used unsprouted grain and, according to my mom’s experience, had an unpleasant flavor. Other rejuvelac recipes use sprouted grains. We have experimented with both recipes and learned that by sprouting the grains the flavor is far superior and tastes lightly lemony. The key to making good tasting rejuvelac is to sprout the grains first and then blend them for the fermenting process.

• Sprout 1 cup of dry grains

• Blend sprouted grains with 2 cups clean filtered water in the blender

• Add the mixture to a clean gallon jar (the mixture should cover about 2 inches of the bottom of the jar)

• Fill the rest of the jar with clean filtered water

• Once the mixture has settled, scrape any foam or debris off the top of the liquid. This step is important! If the foam stays on the top, it can create an anaerobic condition for the rejuvelac. The foam “lid” does not allow oxygen to circulate and rather than create healthy aerobic microorganisms, this oxygen-deprived environment will spoil the rejuvelac.

• Partially cover the jar with a lid or a cheese cloth to allow a little air in.

• Allow the sprouted seed water to sit at room temperature for two days if a very dilute taste is desired or three days for a slightly stronger taste, occasionally stirring to make sure the ferment is oxygenated. The cultured water will become inoculated with wild yeasts from the environment and after about two to three days it will taste like a lightly bubbly, mild, lemon-tasting drink. The pleasant taste is a sign you have made a good batch! Pour off the rejuvelac water from the ground grain mixture on the bottom of the jar into another jar and store in the refrigerator. You can use the remaining bottom mixture to make another batch of rejuvelac. Add more water to the previously ground grain mix and follow the same procedure, but this time leave it out at room temperature for only one day. It will culture much faster the second time. Enjoy this beverage straight or add it in recipes. It is rich in vital active enzymes and natural beneficial bacteria that promote effective digestion and a strong healthy colon.

Wild Grass Juice

1 cup grass, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 apple

1 lemon

4 cups water

Choose young grass if possible, but if wild grass is too old to chew, it can still be blended into a juice. Gather a handful of grass from outside or from your indoor microgreen trays. Using scissors, cut the blades into 1-inch pieces directly into the blender. Add one apple, one lemon (peeled and deseeded), and 4 cups of water. Blend thoroughly. Strain the green juice and compost the pulp. It has too much cellulose to be of value internally. The pulp that you strain out can be used as a face mask, a poultice, or for making paper. Drink the juice while it is fresh and experience a subtle high of real energy from the hydration, liquid oxygen in the chlorophyll, and the enzymes entering your bloodstream.

Wheatgrass Mouthwash

2 ounces freshly juiced concentrated wheatgrass

Swish the juice in your mouth for ten to twenty minutes and spit out. The chlorophyll takes care of bad breath, cleans plaque and germs away from the gums, and alkalizes and remineralizes the mouth and teeth to prevent decay.

Wheatgrass Enema Implant

4 ounces freshly pressed concentrated wheatgrass juice

1 enema bag or bucket

Wheatgrass enemas are a wonderful support if on a juice fast. It is essential to continue to keep the bowels moving to eliminate waste material that is being detoxified as part of the cleansing fast. Using warm water, preclean the colon by taking water into the colon as you would in a normal enema. Release the water into the toilet. Place the wheatgrass juice in the enema bucket or bag and infuse the fresh juice into the colon by positioning the bucket or bag 2–4 feet above the body to allow gravity to deliver the juice. Hold the juice in the colon for as long as possible, ideally about fifteen to twenty minutes. During this time, lift up the pelvic area on a small bench or rolled-up towel and massage the intestinal area from right to left. When ready release into the toilet. There is a great sense of relief with freeing the excess that may be lingering inside the colon.

Wheatgrass Pulp Paper

1 cup wheatgrass pulp, leftover after making wheatgrass juice

¹⁄₂ cup flaxseeds, soaked

1 cup shredded paper

Optional coloring:

1 teaspoon turmeric (for yellow color)

¹⁄₂ beet (for red color)

2 ounces fresh wheatgrass juice (for brighter green color)

1 teaspoon lavender or dandelion flowers (for additional beauty and charm)

The pulp of wheatgrass juice is a superior ingredient for homemade paper. The green color eventually disappears after exposure to sun and time; however, the fibers are strong enough for the paper to be used in creating personalized cards. Blend all ingredients in the blender with plenty of water so as not to strain the blender. Remove and press onto a screen, allowing the water to drain out of the pulp. Place in the sun or in a dehydrator until dry. Remove, cut into preferred sizes, and use for decorative and festival cards or celebration paper.

May knotweed cultivate gratitude, grace, and generosity toward our natural environment.

“Knotweed is a wild buckwheat

Grows low to the ground and it’s hard to see it

It’s nutty, and it’s special indeed

The funny thing about it, it’s not a weed!”

Knotweed

Family: Polygonaceae

Latin Names: Polygonum aviculare (Polygonum means “many knees” or “many joints” and aviculare comes from avis, meaning “bird” because the leaves are pointy like a bird’s beak)

Related Useful Species: Chinese knotweed (Polygonum multiflorum), smartweed (P. lapathifloium), swamp smartweed (P. coccineum), Japanese knotweed (P. cuspidatum), lady’s thumb (P. persicaria), bistort (P. bistortes), alpine bistort (P. viviparum), pepper smartweed varieties (P. punctatum, P. densiflorum, P. hydropiperoides), wild black buckwheat (P. convolvulus)

Global Common Names: English (knotweed, knotgrass, joint grass, doorweed, nine-weed); Lebanese (farfeen); German (vogelknterich); French (renouée des oiseaux); Spanish (centinodia); Chinese (bianxu, fo-ti-teng, ho shou wu); Vietnamese (rau dang); Japanese (henchiku)

Knotweed

Description

Prostrate knotweed is a type of wild buckwheat that grows low to the ground and creeps along the soil. One of knotweed’s common names is doorweed because it is a plant that we walk over, step on, and easily overlook. One plant can cover over a meter of ground from the same root. It is a primary succession plant that finds its niche in barren soils and thrives in direct sun and will rarely be in shady places. It is found growing across the globe, establishing a new ecosystem for new life.

Knotweed reclaiming barren ground

Knotweed is a wiry annual with swollen joints at each “knot” place where the plants grow into a new leaflet stem. The whole plant branches into multiple stems, each with flowers at the node or joints. The flowers are miniature reddish to white blooms with five tiny petals that are sometimes hard to see. The leaves are smooth on all sides, long, narrow, and lance shaped. They narrow at the end attaching to the stem, where there is a brownish sheath and knot. The leaves form on alternate sides of the stem along the whole length of the plant. The fruits of knotweed ripen into a single seed, which is nutlike, nut brown in color, and flattened on three sides.

Knotweed is bisexual and can self-pollinate, although insects also pollinate the sweet flowers. Its root is a taproot that ranges in depth from 2 inches to 3 feet. The plants can be very well established in places, making them hard to pull out.

Knotweed can grow in very inhospitable soils, including those that have been contaminated by petroleum products and mine tailings. It can grow in soils high in salts and heavy metal contamination. In Iran, knotweed was the one plant that could still thrive in lead and zinc mine waste pools with high levels of cadmium, copper, iron, nitrogen, lead, and zinc. In China knotweed was able to grow well in very acidic soil with pH of 3.5. Knotweeds are one of the first plants to regrow after a fire. In Kansas, knotweed seedlings were sprouting two months after a prescribed fire. After an extremely hot fire in California of high-density chaparral bushes, knotweed grew back within one year. Knotweed is one of the important species that regenerates the Earth by keeping water in the ecosystem and the ground from drying out and blowing away, composting its leaves and stems each year, and breaking up compacted and compromised ground.

Japanese knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum) grows from shoots sprouting up from long underground rhizomes and can grow into thick stands that are over 10 feet tall. It is edible when the young shoots are harvested and prepared like asparagus. The roots are also very valuable in the treatment of lyme disease. Timothy Lee Scott, author and Chinese medicine practitioner, highly values the roots in herbal preparations. Japanese knotweed roots contain more resveratrol than any other plant studied. Resveratrol is widely utilized for its antiaging qualities.

Chinese knotweed (P. multiflorum) is a perennial vine native to China growing from a woody tuber with arrowhead-shaped leaves. A similar perennial variety, swamp smartweed (P. coccineum), loves moist soils and has pinkish flower spikes with narrow leaves ending in a point. Wild black buckwheat (P. convolvulus) is an annual low-growing vine with heart-shaped leaves and very edible seeds. Alpine bistort and bistort (P. viviparum and P. bistortes) have a white flower cluster at the end of a stalk and an edible pink root. All the various knotweed species offer amazing resources for food and medicine to humanity.

Wild black buckwheat

Current Uses

Prostrate knotweed holds my deep respect because it can be found when nothing else is growing. It has always caught my eye in my plant classes and personal wanderings because I commonly find it in the most random and inhospitable places. I gather the plants throughout their growing season and appreciate knotweed because it is hardy and can handle abuse, both from lack of optimal soil conditions and from trampling. The young plants are still tender and green in the early spring and summer. Although they are not bulky in their nature, they taste mildly delicious and can be added to almost any meal to increase the nutritional content and value. The flavor is very similar to the more common crop of buckwheat. The wild seeds are greater in nutritional value than the cultivated buckwheat and can also be used in making any kind of bread, pancakes, cereals, or crackers.

When there is a crop of knotweed in a clean area, I harvest it in quantity to use some fresh in my meals and allow the rest of the plants to dry. If I gather knotweed early in the season the plants will mainly be the leaves, stems, and flowers—but if I collect them later, the plants will also contain the valuable seeds. Many of them will naturally fall out onto the drying mat or in the paper bag depending on the drying method. Drying in a paper bag is a great way to gather the seeds with the least effort. The seeds make a special crunchy addition to a salad. Even if I only have just a handful of knotweed seeds, I will sprinkle them into dishes or grind them in a coffee grinder and include the flour in my homemade recipes to increase the nutrition of any meal.

Alpine bistort

A high alpine variety of knotweed, alpine bistort (P. viviparum), taught me a huge lesson one year. Each year for over twenty years, I have taken a solo walk about in the mountains where I center and renew my inspiration for being alive. In my earlier hikes, I would bring at least some food, usually in the form of some apples and avocados. One year I was hiking to Telluride, Colorado, to teach at the Telluride Mushroom Festival. I had brought several apples and avocados just in case. I love hiking and eating the wild harvest but I felt that I needed to bring some fat in the form of avocado to provide me with the necessary nourishment to get me through the strenuous hike. That year, in 2008, I hiked over a mountain pass to camp near a high alpine lake, Columbine Lake. All around the lake, at 12,000 feet of elevation, I discovered a huge patch of alpine bistort. The plants were all in seed, perfectly ready to drop and fall out into my hands. I spent about an hour gathering seeds and was able to collect a large enough amount to fill a bowl that I could easily share with the participants at the festival. I ate as many as I needed and realized that a little went a long way. I didn’t need to eat that many to feel fully nourished. They were packed with nutrition. I ate them raw right off the plant by pulling the seeds free with my teeth. In gathering a larger amount to share, I ran my fingers over the flowering stalks of the plant and the seeds fell effortlessly into my bowl. I shared the knotweed seeds in a wild salad for an event dinner at the festival after completing my hike.

Telluride Mushroom Festival salad

It was the high alpine knotweed that taught me there is so much abundant nutrition in the wild woods to nourish my journeys, and from then on I took a leap mentally and realized that I did not need to bring any additional food on my walkabouts. The seeds were such a great source of carbohydrates and fats that I let go of the fear that I would not have enough sustenance on my long hikes, and I now trust fully that what I need is available to me. Part of the journey in my letting go of this crutch is to embrace the realization that nourishment comes in many forms; I can receive energy from the smallest flower, the rain, breathing, the rising sun, a berry or leaf. Of course I do choose to take my longer walkabouts during the height of berry season. One year during a ten-day walkabout, I ate nineteen different kinds of wild edible berries in one day.

At the Turtle Farm another variety of knotweed has become a welcome and well-established resident, swamp smartweed, (P. coccineum). The variety we have at the garden is delicious when younger and tender. The slightly sour but pleasant flavor indicates the high content of vitamin C. If my tongue enjoys the flavor, I eat them; if the flavor starts to repel my tongue, I stop. As the plants get older, they can develop an astringency that is less appealing to the mouth and palate. We let them go to seed at that point. When they are younger, however, the leaves grow in such quantity that we can harvest a bounty of them for making green chips.

Smartweed harvested for green chips

Our green chips are often made with smartweed leaves as one of the main greens. We may also add amaranth greens, elm leaves, or hollyhock leaves to the mix. After harvesting a large bowl of greens, we marinate them with a delicious sauce, massage the flavors into the greens, and dry them to make a high-quality chip for a snack. This is one of the most popular treats that we include in our wild CSA program bags.

The roots of our variety of smartweed growing at the farm are long rhizomes that spread easily underground in moist soil such as the garden beds. The roots are pink and very astringent. The roots heated in water as tea make a powerful facial wash and addition to bathwater for toning the skin and removing wrinkles and blemishes. The root tea also makes a very useful hair wash for strengthening the hair follicles; the Chinese knotweed is used for hair regrowth and turning the hair from grey back to its original color. Medicinally this plant supports toning the kidneys, eliminating toxins, increasing fertility, and ceasing early signs of aging. I use the roots to make a mild-tasting tea that is pleasing to my tastes and sustaining to my health.

As I was doing research for this book on the benefits of knotweed, I discovered documentation about a Chinese man who was recorded to have lived an exceptionally long life in good health. He was a professor much of his life and taught about longevity. One of his daily practices was to ingest Chinese knotweed. As I further looked into Chinese knotweed, I found it was a very close cousin to our wild smartweed on the farm. Since then, I have been appreciating the smartweed in my garden as an incredible resource. This has given me more motivation to harvest the leaves, roots, and seeds and integrate it into my meals and personal care.

Smartweed at the Turtle Lake Community Farm

History

Knotweed originates from Eurasia and has been a primary food for humanity since recorded time. The two-thousand-year-old Tollund Man’s last meal included knotweed seeds. Other Iron Age people have been excavated in bogs with similar seeds discovered in their bellies. Vegetarian grain gruel was a common meal when fruit and other foods were not available. Knotweed seeds, along with a variety of other wild and cultivated grains, provided a complete source of protein, carbohydrates, and fats. According to the seventeenth century botanist and astrologist Nicholas Culpeper, knotweed is ruled by Saturn and Capricorn. In more modern cultural lore—the Harry Potter stories—knotgrass is a plant of magical proprieties. It is an essential ingredient of the Polyjuice Potion and in brewing Knotgrass Mead.

Knotweed is not only food for humans but for many animals and birds. In the stomach of a prairie dog, a scientist found more than twenty thousand seeds of knotweed. The Vietnamese have used it in soups and dishes since recorded time, and in Greece knotweed is recognized as an important honey plant because it produces a lot of nectar that bees harvest for their production of honey.

The medicinal benefits of knotweed were first recorded in China in 713 AD. Chinese knotweed (P. multiflorum) has a story behind its common name ho shou wu: “Mr. Ho’s hair is black” (shou means head, wu means black). A man, at the age of fifty-eight, had been impotent his whole life and turned to drinking. He came home drunk one night and fell asleep outside. When he woke he noticed two shoots in the field several feet apart had become tangled around each other. He found this interesting and dug them up. He asked everyone in town what plant this was. A jester told him that since he was impotent, old, and childless, perhaps this plant was his medicine. The man dried the plants, ground them to a powder, and began taking it. After seven days he remembered the principles of human life. He felt his strength and sexual desire return. He soon married a widow who bore him a son. His youthful appearance came back and his hair turned back to black. Over the years he had many more sons and daughters and lived to be 160 years old.

Edible Uses

The whole plant of knotweed is edible from the upper parts of the leaves, flowers, and stems to the root. The young greens and stems are great diced in salads and can be added to water and blended into juice. Later in the season knotweed produces an edible seed very similar to the cultivated buckwheat groat (Fagopyrum esculentum). Wild knotweed is often richer in nutrients than the commercial variety. Studies in China compared the nutrient levels of a cultivated crop of Chinese smartweed and wild Chinese smartweed, and the wild variety was remarkably higher than the cultivated.

The seeds are three-sided brownish triangles that fall off the stem in the later months. When gathering knotweed to use for later, dry the whole plant. If the plant has already matured into the seed stage, the seeds will fall off later in the drying process. The seeds can also be gathered on the plant later in the season by hand. It can be a time-consuming process—but what a joy to have even a small amount of potent seeds to include in your diet.

Kailas discovering knotweed

One way to use knotweed is to harvest the whole plant, dry it, and grind the stems, leaves, roots, and seeds together to make a green, high-protein staple food to add to recipes. The whole dried ground plant makes a great addition to flour for making bread, to cereals for breakfast, and really any recipes to offer a bonus of healing nutritive support. The plant is thin and wiry but when blended fresh or dried it becomes very palatable and delicious to eat. Once dry it grinds up easily. By including the whole plant, the highly nutritive components of the seeds are incorporated into the food. The taste is lightly nutty and quite mellow and delicious.

Knotweed is rich in carbohydrates, fats, fiber, and protein. It contains ample amounts of minerals including calcium, phosphorus, potassium, iron, magnesium, sodium, zinc, and a plethora of vitamins such as thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, and B vitamins.

Medical Actions

• Anthelmintic: destroys parasites

• Anti-inflammatory: reduces swelling and inflammation of the tissues

• Aperient: treats constipation and increases bowel movements

• Astringent: tightens, constricts, and tones while reducing secretions and discharges

• Cardiotonic: stimulates the heart

• Cholagogue: increases flow of bile from gallbladder into the duodenum

• Diuretic: increases the flow of urine and secretions

• Emetic: causes vomiting

• Emollient: softens and soothes the skin

• Expectorant: removes mucus from respiratory passages

• Febrifuge: reduces fever

• Hemostatic: stops bleeding

• Lithontripic: dissolves kidney stones

• Vasoconstrictor: increases blood pressure

• Vulnerary: treats or heals wounds

Medicinal Uses

Knotweed is particularly beneficial for tightening the gums and healing gingivitis. The whole plant, root and all, can be made into a tea and gargled or blended with water and strained. It decreases bleeding and inflammation associated with compromised gums. The flavonoids found in knotweed increase capillary resiliency while having a cortisone-like effect on the gum tissues. It is also documented that it reduces plaque adhering to the teeth due to inhibiting the metabolism of glucose, similar to the action of sodium fluoride.

In traditional Chinese medicine, knotweed has bitter and cool properties and is associated with the bladder meridian. It is taken internally to treat respiratory conditions such as bronchitis, cough, and inflammations of the mouth and throat; it has also been approved by the German Commission E for these conditions. In addition, it is used to treat certain skin disorders and internal parasites. In homeopathic applications, knotweed is used for rheumatism of the fingers. Knotweed is a thickener of blood—a blood coagulant helping ease internal bleeding. As a poultice, it also stops bleeding externally. It contains flavonoids, silicic acid, tannins, hydroxycoumarins, and lignans. These compounds help reduce inflammation and relieve congestion.

Knotweed is most commonly taken as a tea. The whole plant is useful to dry for the winter and utilize throughout the season. To prepare it for the winter, simply dry it and store in a glass jar or paper bag in a cool and dry place. The tincture is also an effective way to preserve its medicinal benefits.

Externally, knotweed is applied as a poultice for cuts, swelling, and inflammation. Internally, it tones the digestive tract and urinary system. The tincture and tea when taken orally ease pulmonary complaints because of the silicic acid content, which strengthens connective tissue in the lungs. The tea is used by pregnant women to ensure the baby’s health and to prevent premature births. It is mild and effective for a gentle toning of the female internal organs. The tea is tightening and toning for the bladder and urinary system. Drinking the tea eases painful urination and stomach aches.

Chinese knotweed (P. multiflorum) is highly prized for longevity and endocrine regeneration. It was the most commonly prescribed single Chinese herb in 2002 for insomnia. Chinese knotweed is believed to able to rejuvenate the body’s youthful qualities due to stibene glycosides, chemicals similar to resveratrol. Supplements of Chinese knotweed extracts have been found to improve learning and memory ability and reduce brain pathology. In a study in 2006, the glycoside in Chinese knotweed prevented the early stage learning-memory deficit in Alzheimer’s disease and also reversed the later stages of learning-memory deficit. It improved the fluidity of mitochondrial membranes. Another study in 1994 has shown that extracts of Chinese knotweed were found to be effective in reducing tumor incidences.

Recipes

Knotweed Bread

1 cup dried knotweed, whole plant

1 cup oats

1 cup cashews

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons coconut butter

2 tablespoons honey

Grind the dried knotweed in a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle until it is a fine powder. Add all the ingredients to a food processor and grind until the mixture gains a doughlike consistency. Shape into a loaf and dry in the sun for one day or a dehydrator for several hours until firm. This bread is a quick and easy way to get a dense nutrient load to the body for optimal functioning and energy.

Knotweed bread

Knotweed Coconut Curry Soup

1 cup fresh knotweed

1 cup coconut shreds

1 avocado

1 teaspoon curry powder

1 teaspoon chili powder

1-inch piece fresh ginger

3 tablespoons mellow white miso

2 cloves garlic

4 cups water

¹⁄₂ cup scallions, diced

Set aside the scallions and place the other ingredients in a blender. Grind until smooth. Warm the soup on stove or fire until perfect eating temperature. Add the green onions before serving. This is a warming, slightly stimulating, and toning soup.

Knotweed Salad Dressing

1 cup fresh knotweed

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons honey

3 tablespoons water

3 tablespoons tamari

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon thyme

1 clove garlic

Blend all ingredients in blender until smooth. Knotweed is a nutritious part of a salad by adding it as the dressing to a bowl full of other wild greens.

Knotweed Banana Crepes

Crepe Wrap

1 cup fresh knotweed

4 bananas

1 cup figs, soaked

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Crepe Filling

1 lemon, juiced

1 cup cashews

1 cup fig water

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 cup seasonal fruit such as plums, cherries, apricots, peaches, or blueberries

Blend the ingredients of the crepe wrap together in the blender until smooth. Pour mixture onto dehydrator sheets and dry for eight hours. Peel off when dry and set them aside; they should be flexible. Blend the filling ingredients together to make the creamy filling. Use only half the fresh fruit in the filling; dice the other half and sprinkle on top of the crepes before serving. This is a wild decadent treat to be shared.

Knotweed banana crepes

Knotweed Cinnamon Citrus Tea

¹⁄₂ cup fresh knotweed

1 quart water

1 cinnamon stick

1-inch piece ginger, diced

1 whole orange, sliced with peel

2 tablespoons honey (optional)

Add all ingredients to a pot and simmer for a few minutes. Turn off heat, wait for another five minutes, and enjoy this healing and delicious tea anytime of the day.

Knotweed Tincture

1 quart fresh knotweed

1 quart hard alcohol (I prefer to use homemade hard apple cider or a local distilled liquor, but any high-proof alcohol will work)

Mix the fresh herbs and alcohol and let steep for three to six weeks.

May lambsquarter reawaken our noble wild indigenous roots.

“Then there’s lambsquarter and amaranth

Guess which one makes the quinoa plant?

Both these two are high in protein

Eat them for muscles like Mr. Clean!”

Lambsquarter

Family: Chenopodaceae

Latin Name: Chenopodium album (Chenopodium in Greek means “goose foot” and album in Latin means “white,” referring to the whitish coating on the leaves)

Related Useful Species: Pitseed goosefoot (Chenopodium berlandieri), epazote (C. ambrosioides), nettle-leaf goosefoot (C. murale), quinoa (C. quinoa), kaniwa (C. pallidicaule), orache (Atriplex hortensis)

Global Common Names: English (lambsquarter); Hindi (bathua); Greek (krouvida, psarovlito); Mayan (huauzontle); Spanish (quelite); Andes (kaniwa)

Lambsquarter

Description

The genus Chenopodium contains about 170 species, all of which are edible in some form. Chenopodium album, which may have originated in India, is now a commonly found species across the globe. Another variety that closely resembles C. album is C. berlandieri, which is considered native to North America. The two species have been known to cross-pollinate, creating a hybrid.

Lambsquarter is a self-seeding annual plant that regrows easily from its effective dispersal of seeds year after year. The seeds can lay dormant for many years and still be able to take root when the conditions are ripe; there are lambsquarter seeds that have sprouted after being dormant for over forty years! Lambsquarter will thrive in disturbed soil such as annual vegetable gardens as well as neglected fields. It can handle a variety of elevations, commonly found growing at sea level and at 10,000 feet in elevation in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado. In the Andes of South America, there is a variety of lambsquarter that grows at over 12,000 feet.

Lambsquarter thrives in all types of soil with varying pH levels. When the soil is fertile, it will grow large and full in size and form very attractive stands of vegetation. However, it can also handle even the worst of soils. It has even been known to survive on coal-pit heaps. It is very cold hardy and therefore one of the later weeds to be killed by frost. When you see a large stand of healthy lambsquarter, it is likely that the soil is in good condition. Its presence is one of the best indicators for vital soil. Lambsquarter makes a fantastic cover crop and natural fertilizer because of its dense nutrient content. If it is turned under when still young, it rebuilds healthy fertile soil as it composts and redeposits its minerals back into the ground.

Three varieties of young lambsquarter

The different species of lambsquarter can have a variety of looks. It grows erect from 1 to 6 feet tall, but generally ranges around 3 feet tall. The stems are angular, sturdy in nature, and stout in shape. The color of the stem can vary between light silvery green to reddish or purplish. Sometimes the stems have characteristic reddish streaks that follow up the stalk. The plants grow with many branched stems, giving the whole plant a bushy appearance. Because of this, you can often find lambsquarter growing in large clusters or even sizable colonies because the seeds fall and sprout right beneath the mother plant. This makes harvesting rather easy when you find a good crop of them.

The young sprouts have an opposite-leaf pattern, growing on opposite sides of the stem from each other with silvery-green leaves, sometimes with a reddish tint. As the plant matures, the leaves form an alternating pattern up the stem. The leaves have a unique whitish dust on the underside as well as the tops of the younger new leaves. The white dust is a natural mineral accumulation that gives lambsquarter exceptional nutrition and flavor. The name album was given because of this white sheen on the undersides of the leaves and new shoots.

Whitish dust on the new shoots

The young leaves are diamond shaped, like an arrow with wings coming out from the edge nearest the stem and ending in a point. The edges are slightly jagged, with two distinct lobes at the wide end of the diamond. As the plant shoots up into its flowering stalk the leaves get smaller and less defined.

Lambsquarter produces nonshowy flower clusters that are whitish green to light yellow in color. The flowers are not easy to see but hidden in clusters at the top of the stem. The flowers do not have petals and are most commonly pollinated by the wind, although insects also play a role in their sexual reproduction.

The seeds form from these flower clusters later in the season at the terminal end of the stalk and are released later in the fall or winter months in abundance. The seeds of C. album are tiny and black; there are as many as one hundred thousand seeds per plant. They are highly nutritious and packed with protein and essential vitamins and minerals. Each seed is coated by a mealy, whitish-green sheath.

Lambsquarter going to seed

Lambsquarter roots are generally about 2 to 6 inches long and pull out of the ground if loose or wet. If they are growing in dry and compacted soil, the stems will often break when pulled, leaving the root still intact underground. The root will commonly regrow new leaves if it is left in the ground during the season and branch out in a circular pattern with many smaller taproots. The root is a whitish-colored taproot with a soapy nature if pounded due to the presence of saponin.

Although everyone may not recognize its full significance yet, the potential of lambsquarter as a valuable resource is almost unlimited. Once it is positively identified, lambsquarter is easy to find in common grounds, gardens, and neglected areas, making its beneficial qualities easily accessible. May we each seek out this plant and utilize it often as part of our daily lifestyle to increase our quality of life.

One of my favorites

Current Uses

Lambsquarter is one of my favorite greens to arrive in the early spring season. Its greenish leaves with a hint of white dust often show up way before most of the other garden seeds have even been planted. Nature does all the work, having already sown the seeds the previous fall. The local wild seeds are so acclimatized to the region that they know when to sprout at the earliest possible time to make a successful harvest the next year. We benefit from their brilliance! Lambsquarter is our local version of wild spinach. When compared side-by-side with store-bought varieties of spinach, the lambsquarter outshines other greens in every category, including convenience. Instead of taking the effort to go to the store to buy spinach, we can just gather it outside our door for free!

At the Local Wild Life Café, we serve a local green salad year-round. Throughout most of the winter months the majority of the salad is made from our inside-grown microgreens. Lambsquarter is such a blessing to our meals, offering its fine spring greens as a new outside addition to the salad when not much else is available yet. It is typically one of the first crops we harvest from the garden, and is often in its prime when we are ready to transplant other vegetables, motivating us to harvest it in large amounts to make space for the next wave of food in our evolving garden.

Purple orache

There is a variety of lambsquarter called orache (Atriplex hortensis), that is one of my favorites! This is a slightly purple-tinted variety of lambsquarter. A friend gave me some seeds many years ago and each year it reseeds itself so that I have never had to replant it. It is truly my favorite spring vegetable in my garden. I usually will not prepare a garden plot until most of the orache has been properly harvested. This also means that I need to wait until it is at its ideal growth stage before I shift the purpose of the garden toward another crop. The green-and-purple orache leaves tend to be delicious even after they shoot up and begin producing flowers. The leaves farther up the stalk are not as big and juicy, but they still have great value. The longer the plant develops its seeds, the less vital the leaves are. Let your tongue be the guide.

I find it most delicious when it is still quite young, before it goes into the flower stage. At this time, I do my best to harvest as much of it as possible. We harvest the greens for our winter food powder in early to midsummer because if we wait until the fall (like we can for some of the other greens like dandelion and mallow) the lambsquarter greens will be mostly smaller, faded greens. We gather the greens for fresh foods like salad, pesto, juices, and additions for our crackers, onion bread, and cookies. The excess we dry and store in a jar for winter powders and a dry green addition to some of our recipes like mint magic balls and other wild food treats. Adding lambsquarter into recipes vastly enhances the nutrition available in the dish. Like spinach, it is packed with chlorophyll but has value that goes far beyond any cultivated spinach variety. In addition, it is free and often found in almost everyone’s garden in the early spring season!

Here is a picture of wild lambsquarter still growing in October in northern Finland in the town of Enontekiö—in the Arctic Circle, at 68 degrees north of the equator.

Lambsquarter in Finland

In the fall, we harvest the seeds. Some varieties of lambsquarter seeds are easy to remove from the chaff and others are much more challenging to separate. The varieties that come out easily are the ones we focus on for gathering the seeds for making our local variety of wild quinoa. Chenopodium quinoa is the South American “grain” called quinoa that is now commonly found in many stores for purchase. The quinoa seeds are actually psuedograins that make up their own category. They are a gluten-free alternative for making great recipes including cereals, ricelike dishes, and breads. Lambsquater is a complete protein, containing all eight essential amino acids, and its nutritional content surpasses most other grains.

It is a good idea to make sure the lambsquarter seeds are fully dry before storing. A safe way to do this is to place them in the sun for a few days on a plate or in a dehydrator overnight. Once fully dried, they can be secured in a glass jar and stored for use throughout the winter months. Even in the middle of the winter, lambsquarter seeds can still be contained in the dried stalks. Recently, in early January, I harvested several lambsquarter stalks and removed the seeds into a bowl. It was a wild variety with small seeds growing in an open field mixed with wild alfalfa. I used a screen to separate much of the chaff from the seeds, but I was not able to remove all of it like with purchased quinoa from the store. I made breakfast from it by cooking the grains in water. As it cooked, I removed more of the tiny remnants of plant material like leaves and twigs. It opened eventually into white little spirals similar to all quinoa when it is cooked and sprouted. In my experience, I find that each variety of wild lambsquarter seeds all taste different, some being more palatable than others. This batch tasted good at first, although not long after the first few bites I could detect an overly potent flavor and knew that only a very small portion was all that my body wanted. With many wild foods, there is a process of learning and experimenting with your local variety to get to know the quantity beneficial to ingest.

History

Lambsquarter was once thought to be a native of Europe and Asia; however, recent archaeological studies show that the seeds were stored and used by Native Americans (Blackfeet) before European trade had come to the Americas. Archaeological evidence shows that lambsquarter has been used as a source of food since 6500 BC. It was one of the earliest plants to be domesticated in prehistoric times both in eastern North America as well as in Mexico and India. One popular domesticated variety is the modern pseudograin quinoa.

Lambsquarter seeds are one of the earliest crops found to be a staple of the human diet. A stash of the seeds discovered in several rock shelters in eastern North America was recorded to have been harvested back in 3700 BC. It has since been domesticated as a principal crop in the Americas and other continents.

Archaeologists identified lambsquarter seeds from carbonized plant remains found in storage pits and ovens on Roman sites in Europe. These seeds were mixed with other grains and are thought to have been stored there during the Iron Age around 1300 BC. The seeds have even been found inside the stomachs of human corpses naturally preserved in Danish bogs dating back to 8000 BC during the Mesolithic period. Lambsquarter seed stores have been found in many European Neolithic ruins and were also in the last meal of the Tollund Man, who died two thousand years ago in what is now Denmark.

I think the most significant story of how lambsquarter got its name is rooted in the Druid and Celtic traditions of celebrating the eight seasonal changes of the year. The seasonal cycle of celebrations marks the changing positions of the sun. The eight holidays mark the four main positions of the sun—summer and winter solstice and fall and spring equinox—with the other four holidays as the cross quarter marks in between each solstice and equinox (Beltane [~May 1], Lammas [~Aug 1], Samhain [~Nov 1], and Imbolc [~ Feb 1]). These cross quarter holidays are celebrated with other names such as May Day, Halloween, and Candlemass Day. Lammas, in early August, is the cross quarter time when the lambsquarter seeds are often ripe and ready to harvest. Another story around the name of lambsquarter is that wild harvested plants per weight have about the same amount of protein as a quarter of lamb.

Celtic Sun garden honoring the eight cross quarter holidays

Several species of lambsquarter have been domesticated in the South American Andes. Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) and kaniwa (C. pallidicaule) have been used as key food staples for protein in addition to vital sources of calcium and iron in the diet. The seeds are known to withstand the harsh conditions of the mountainous environments including high elevations, cold temperatures, and drought.

In many parts of India, lambsquarter greens are found growing even in the winter season and have been historically used for dishes such as soups, curries, and lambsquarter-stuffed breads. The seeds have been and continue to be used as an important food resource for Indian gruels called phambra. They are also traditionally made into an alcoholic fermented beverage called ghanti. Ghanti is made by combining the seeds of lambsquarter with local fruit and bottling the mixture for months to encourage an anaerobic type of fermentation process to occur. Ghanti is a locally made beverage most commonly still found in the Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh.

Edible Uses

Lambsquarter is exceptionally nutritious. As mentioned earlier, the whitish dust on each leaf is made up of mineral salts from the soil and is an indication of its mineral-rich value. Often the lambsquarter leaves will taste salty and therefore make quite a nutritious salt replacement or addition to dishes! Lambsquarter seasoning is made easily by drying the leaves and mixing them with other spices (see lambsquarter spice recipe below).

Lambsquarter is packed with essential vitamins and minerals. For example, 3.5 ounces of raw lambsquarter, which is about 1 cup of greens, contains 73 percent vitamin A and 96 percent vitamin C of your recommended daily allowances suggested by the USDA. It is also a fantastic source of the B vitamins complex including thiamine, riboflavin, and niacin.

Wild lambsquarter vary in their tastes. The flavor is related not only to different species, but also to the stages of growth and to the soil conditions. In general, however, all lambsquarter leaves are edible. The wild greens can be used just like spinach. They can be eaten fresh in salads, juiced, and added to any recipes that call for greens. They are best eaten when younger, however; when the leaves mature with age, the flavor can change due to a greater potency of oxalic acids. I find that when lambsquarter has built up too many oxalic acids, I experience a slight burning sensation in the back of my throat. This is why I recommend tasting the leaves by themselves before harvesting any quantity of them. This is especially important when making green juices or smoothies. When downing a liquid in several gulps, your body does not have the time to tell you to stop.

Two varieties of seed heads • Photo courtesy of Kurt Blair

The seeds make a highly nutritious food staple for multiple uses in recipes. They can be collected and ground into cereal or used as flour for bread. By sprouting the seeds the nutrition is enhanced. Sprouting quinoa is easy and it is quick to grow. The seeds can sprout in one or two days. Add the sprouts to any meal to benefit from the rich nutrients. Lambsquarter seeds also make great microgreens. They start out small and frail looking but given time grow into healthy plants with delicious flavor.

The seeds can be cooked and eaten as a high-protein food similar to quinoa. Our bodies can produce fourteen of the essential amino acids, but eight of them need to be found in external sources. Lambsquarter is one of those valuable sources.

All lambsquarter seeds are edible; however, some are easier to use for a food staple than others. The wild versions have varying natures of seed production. Some varieties are easy to harvest and separate the chaff, while others are quite difficult. When possible, separate the seed from the outer layer and always taste the wild grains alone before adding any seasoning or salt, to get the true taste of the food. This practice will protect you from overeating something that your body would normally tell you to stop eating.

Sprouted quinoa

Wild grains are more potent than domesticated grains and a small amount is often enough to sustain your energy. Another way to increase the seeds’ resources is not to cook them, but instead to sprout them. Sprouting the seeds is a natural way to let the outer layer fall off on its own. Using lambsquarter sprouts is a way to increase seed benefits and sustain your winter storage to last even longer! If wild plants are potent already and go a long way, sprouted wild grains are even more concentrated in nutritional value and truly go the extra mile for supporting your optimal health.

Medical Actions

• Antianemic: reduces anemia by increasing red cell production

• Astringent: tightens, constricts, and tones while reducing secretions and discharges

• Antiscorbutic: provides vitamin C

• Antidiarrheal: alleviates diarrhea

• Anti-inflammatory: reduces swelling and inflammation of the tissues

• Stomachic: strengthens and tones the stomach

• Laxative: promotes evacuation of the bowels

Medicinal Uses

Lambsquarter is an important source of food that can be considered a key staple, while at the same time it is also an extremely valuable medicine. When the leaves are chewed into a green paste and applied to the body, it makes a great poultice for insect bites, minor scrapes, injuries, inflammation, and sunburn. The greens are beneficial for soothing arthritic joint pain when chewed into a mash and placed directly on the sensitive areas. The leaves support the decrease of pain by reducing inflammation and bringing about an increase of circulation.

Drying lambsquarter

A tea of the leaves is beneficial for diarrhea, internal inflammation, stomach aches, and loss of appetite. The tea can also be used as a wash to heal skin irritations and other external complaints. Soaking the body in bathwater with lambsquarter tea added will support skin health by toning and tightening the tissues.

The green leaves when eaten in their fresh raw state are particularly beneficial for supporting the healing of anemic blood conditions. The leaves are exceptionally rich in iron and help to increase blood cell count and overall vitality of the circulatory system. The greens and seeds are very high in protein and phenolic content, and also have significant antioxidant capacity for eliminating unwanted free radicals in the body.

The roots contain a significant amount of saponin, which creates a natural soapy quality when mashed or beaten. In addition to the roots being extremely useful in making a cleansing soap, the composition of saponin also creates a cleansing and laxative effect in the body when drunk as a tea. Lambsquarter root tea is helpful for removing excesses from the body by the way of assisting elimination.

Lambsquarter roots

The young greens, especially when tender in the spring, can be juiced for their calcium and vitamins A, C, and B complex in addition to vital enzymes, chlorophyll, and trace minerals. The juice has a gentle detoxifying nature. Lambsquarter is an important green in this day and age of accumulated pollution. The greens are valuable for purifying the body of unwanted toxins due to their exceptionally high chlorophyll content. The chlorophyll binds with or chelates toxins that may be stored in fat cells and removes them in the urine. Our body is wise and tends to isolate toxins away from our vital organs by storing them in fat cells. When the toxins are released into the bloodstream it is key to have a source of chlorophyll to bind up the toxins until they are discharged from the body. We want to assure that they are not redeposited in the body while in the bloodstream. Fasting is a beneficial way to detoxify the body; however, because of the concentrations of petrochemicals found in our daily environment, it is wise to avoid fasting on water alone. It is best to have the support of wild greens in the form of dilute juices to protect our cleansing bodies from the potential side effects of environmental toxins causing harm on their way out.

The young lambsquarter green juice is delicious, but when the leaves get older, make sure to taste them first to know if the flavor is agreeable to you. The gentle astringent properties of lambsquarter make it healthy for tightening internal organs as well as externally for skin. The juice makes a beautifying and cleansing body wash. It is also a useful mouthwash for tightening the gums and eliminating bad breath.

Recipes

Wild Green Onion Bread

1 cup flaxseeds, soaked

2 cups water

1 cup sunflower seeds, soaked

¹⁄₂ cup quinoa, sprouted

1 onion

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons dried lambsquarter greens or ¹⁄₂ cup fresh lambsquarter greens

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon rosemary

Blend the flaxseeds with the water until broken down into a batter. Grind all the ingredients in a food processor. Mix in the flaxseed mixture and pour onto dehydrator sheets. Dry for approximately eight hours and cut into rectangle bread shapes. Enjoy this flavorful delight as flexible bread for sandwiches.

Sprouted Lambsquarter Tabouli

2 cups quinoa, sprouted

1 cup parsley, diced

1 cup tomato, diced

1 cup cucumber, diced

¹⁄₂ cup scallions, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

¹⁄₂ cup mint leaves, diced

1 teaspoon salt

¹⁄₂ teaspoon pepper

2 cups zucchini, finely chopped

1 avocado, diced

2 tablespoons olive oil

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and allow the flavors to mingle for about ten minutes before serving. It can also be placed in the refrigerator and served cold.

Lambsquarter Green Quiche

Crust

1 cup raw buckwheat groats, soaked

¹⁄₂ cup quinoa seeds, soaked

1 cup cashews

1 teaspoon lambsquarter spice (see recipe below)

Filling

4 cups young lambsquarter leaves (can be mixed with other greens such as spinach, dandelion, or mallow)

1 avocado

¹⁄₂ cup lemon juice

¹⁄₂ cup tahini

1 teaspoon salt

Toppings (Optional)

Diced tomato

Baby wild microgreens

Edible flowers

Grind the soaked buckwheat with the cashews and spice in a food processor. Press into a pie pan and let dry in the sun while preparing the other layers. Add all the filling ingredients to a food processor and mix well until smooth in texture. Layer the filling into the crust. Add toppings if desired and either serve fresh, chilled, or warmed.

Quinoa Stew

3 cups quinoa

1 cup carrots, chopped

2 cups cabbage, slivered

1 cup potato, chopped

1 cup sun-dried tomatoes (and/or 1 cup red bell pepper)

1 tablespoon chili powder

¹⁄₄ teaspoon cayenne pepper

¹⁄₂ cup miso

1 teaspoon dulse seaweed

1 red onion, slivered

3 cloves garlic

1 cup diced fresh lambsquarter leaves

Place all ingredients except miso in a Crock-Pot and cover with twice as much water. Set on low heat and allow the stew to simmer for one hour. Just before serving, add the miso and one cup of diced fresh lambsquarter leaves. Enjoy this hearty and complete protein meal, all in one stew!

Quinoa stew

Wild Seed Lammas Sun Bread

2 cups quinoa, sprouted

4 cups oats

1 tablespoon coconut butter

1 teaspoon coriander

¹⁄₂ teaspoon star anise

2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

¹⁄₂ cup raisins, soaked

Grind all ingredients in a food processor until well incorporated. Roll into hand-sized loaves and place on a hot rock in the sun for one full day in the heat of summer around August 1 to celebrate the Celtic cross quarter holiday of Lammas! Lammas is the midway point between summer solstice and fall equinox. Turn your loaf over midway through the day to evenly “cook” your sun bread. If this is not possible, alternative options are to place the loaves on a flat rock placed on a woodstove, in the dehydrator at below 115 degrees, or in an oven on the lowest setting. The goal is not to cook the enzymatic life force out of the bread. It is a wise practice to maintain the fluidity of wild aliveness in our food as much as possible. Invite your friends and family to celebrate this special bread with you to honor the time of year for the abundant harvest of ripe lambsquarter seeds.

Lambsquarter Green Salad

4 cups young lambsquarter greens, chopped

1 cup mustard greens, diced finely

¹⁄₂ cup wild edible flowers such as clover, mustard or dandelion

1 cup additional mild varieties of local greens such as lettuce or chickweed

1 cucumber, shredded

2 carrots, shredded

1 cup baby tomatoes, halved

1 apple, diced

¹⁄₂ cup quinoa, sprouted

¹⁄₂ cup sunflower seeds, sprouted

Dressing:

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon dulse seaweed

Combine all ingredients. Drizzle salad with lemon juice, sprinkle with dulse seaweed flakes, and add a splash of olive oil. Before serving, decorate with wild edible flowers such as clover, mustard, or dandelion.

Wild Paradise Energy Bar

1 cup figs, soaked

¹⁄₂ cup dates, pitted

2 tablespoons raw carob powder

¹⁄₂ teaspoon bee pollen

1 cup sunflower seeds, soaked

1 cup pumpkin seeds, soaked

1 tablespoon dried lambsquarter greens

Grind all ingredients in a food processor until they become a doughlike consistency. Shape into bars. Wrap individually and store in the refrigerator. They will keep for up to a month. This recipe is a favorite energy bar with the complete protein benefits of lambsquarter. It is delicious, easy to travel with, and offers exceptionally high vibration to any activity! Enjoy the day in its full paradise potential with these wild energy bars as your snacks.

Lambsquarter Spice

4 tablespoons dried lambsquarter greens

¹⁄₂ teaspoon dried powdered kelp seaweed

¹⁄₂ teaspoon dried dulse seaweed flakes

¹⁄₈ teaspoon cayenne pepper

¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt (optional)

¹⁄₂ teaspoon dried mustard seed, ground

1 teaspoon dried celery powder

¹⁄₂ teaspoon dried garlic powder

¹⁄₂ teaspoon dried lemon zest

Add all ingredients to a bowl, stir thoroughly, and store in a spice container to sprinkle onto food as desired. This spice can be made with or without salt. Depending on where you harvest your lambsquarter greens and which variety they are, they may be salty enough as they are without needing to add any additional salt. Either way it makes a delicious addition to most recipes. It offers a full range of flavors satisfying the palate while providing the body with the full rainbow of trace minerals for optimal health and beauty!

Lambsquarter Quinoa Wrap

When I challenged myself as a birthday gift with ingesting only the wild thirteen plants for two weeks, I came up with this wonderful simple recipe.

1 cup quinoa, sprouted

1 cup cauliflower, minced (or any other member of the mustard family such as cabbage or broccoli)

Large young lambsquarter leaves

Wild mustard greens, diced (arugula an option)

1 tablespoon mustard flowers

Prepare each wrap by placing a tablespoon of sprouted quinoa mixed with cauliflower on a lambsquarter leaf. Sprinkle on top a layer of mustard greens and flowers if available. Roll up into a delicious, nutrient-packed, wild lambsquarter wrap! This was truly one of my heartier meals that completely filled me up during my exclusive wild weed culinary adventure.

Lambsquarter quinoa wrap

Lambsquarter Soap

1 cup fresh lambsquarter roots, chopped

2 cups flaxseed water (soak 1 cup flaxseeds with 4 cups water for 8 hours)

Essential oil (optional)

The roots have a good source of saponin and can be made into a soapy liquid by blending the roots with the slimy water that is drained off after soaking flaxseeds. Flaxseeds are better digested when soaked first and the water, rather than being discarded, is best used to make liquid soap. When making amaranth flaxseed crackers, prepare the soap at the same time.

Cover 1 cup of flaxseeds with 4 cups of water, stir together and soak for eight hours. Pour off water from flaxseeds. Blend flax water and lambsquarter roots together and strain out the pulp. This slimy, sudsy mixture can be used to wash the whole body or used for cleaning the home. Essential oils can be added after straining for the additional benefit of their aromatherapy.

Lambsquarter Shampoo

1 cup fresh lambsquarter roots, chopped

1 cup mallow

2 cups mallow water or flaxseed soak water

1 cup fresh aloe vera leaf, skin and all, chopped

A few drops of essential oils (optional)

In my experience, anytime I use wild plants as shampoo on my scalp, I feel instantly smarter when I get out of the shower. The wild intelligence seems to be penetrating through my head and awakening my brain into a clearer state of mind. Wild shampoo equals a wild brilliance and free willed wit!

Add all ingredients to the blender except the essential oil and blend thoroughly until frothy. Strain out all fiber and then add the essential oil and mix it in by hand. Use this shampoo while it is fresh and experience the full exhilaration of its wild aliveness! If it goes flat, blend the mixture again to recreate the frothy, foaming nature. It will keep up to one week stored in the refrigerator.

May mallow manifest world peace inside and out through inspiring devotional life habits.

“Mallow is mellow and good for your skin

It’s slimy and demulsifying

Blending the whole plant into a goo

To make your own lotion and shampoo”

Mallow

Family: Malvaceae

Latin Name: Malva neglecta (Malva originated from the Greek word malkos, which means “soft” or “soothing,” and neglecta means “ignored” or “neglected”)

Related Useful Species: Cheeseweed mallow (Malva parviflora), bull mallow (M. nicaeensis), dwarf mallow (M. rotundifolia), high mallow (M. sylvestris), marshmallow (Altheae officinalis), hibiscus (Hibiscus spp.), hollyhock (Alcea rosea), desert scarlet globe mallow (Sphaeralecea coccinea), okra (Abelmosschus esculentus), Indian mallow (Abutilon incanum), chingma (A. theophrasti); other important plants in the Malvaceae family include cacao and cotton

Global Common Names: English (mallow, cheese weed); Turkish (ebegumeci); Japanese (fuyo); Greek (malache, malakos); Chinese (donghancai); Arabic (khubeza); French (mauve); Syeria (khebbese, mashushe); Hebrew (malluach, chalamut); Spanish (malva); Russian (mal’va); Romanian (nalba); Pima Indians (tashmahak); Aztec (alahuaccioapatli, aalacton, hierba mucilaginosa); New Spain (malba); Lebenon (halawa)

Mallow

Description

The genus Malva contains over twenty edible species of herbaceous plants that include annuals, biennials, and perennials. The most distinguishing character of the whole family is that every part of the plant contains large amounts of mucilage. This trait makes the entire family uniquely special for food and medicine. Civilization is truly blessed by the gelatinous and graceful nature of mallow.

The common mallow, Malva neglecta, is a perennial herb and one of the more common mallows found all over the world in civilized areas. Mallows can handle neglected grounds found around the edges of lawns, gardens, and walkways but also will accept the opportunity of fertile loosely tilled soil. When mallow is found growing in compacted areas, the soil eventually becomes more aerated, fertile, and viable for other species to live. Mallow is one of the earliest plants to arrive in spring and the last to die back in winter. At the Turtle Lake Community Farm our honeybees are actively visiting the mallow flowers still blooming as late as November and even December when all the other blooms are gone and withered. In more temperate places mallow stays green year-round, offering its generous gifts all season long. It is extremely resilient to cold and can even survive under a blanket of snow in regions of harsh climate. Even where I live, at an elevation of 7,000 feet in Colorado, I can find it still green in the winter if I dig under the snow.

Mallow is also adapted to warm climates and can be commonly found in tropical areas, in grasslands, and in fields. Mallow is acclimatized in high elevations and can be found thriving from over 10,000 feet to sea level. Malva neglecta is a truly adaptable and resilient plant that knows how to survive here on Earth. It helps us be as resilient as she is! When we ingest her, we become soft and flexible, and the ease of flow moves through us gracefully.

Mallow is a slightly fuzzy plant that has a distinctive circular leaf with wavy palmlike lobes and deep main veins running from the center of the leaf out to the edges. The edges of the leaf have tiny jagged teeth. The leaves form in alternating patterns along the stem of the plant. The circular shape has a break where the petiole meets the leaf. The petiole is the part of the plant between the leaf and the stem. The petioles of mallow can vary in length from 1 to 12 inches long.

Mallows have five flower petals. The flowers of common mallow are whitish to light pink in color and have pink stripes running up each petal on the flower. Mallow flowers are bisexual, meaning both the female and male reproductive parts are in each flower. In the center of the flower, the pistil sticks out. The ovary is located at the base of the petals and eventually ripens to produce the cheese wheel–like fruits. The fruits are circular and look like a miniature round block of cheese. Each fruit contains ten to twelve wedge-shaped seeds and is enveloped in a casing that can easily be peeled off. They are green and soft when developing and turn brown and dry when the seeds are mature. The seeds are small and black when fully developed. The seed wheel breaks apart into sections at maturity, releasing the black seeds individually.

Mallow flower

The common mallow is generally a low growing plant that has stems that can reach upward but are often found laying on the ground covering an area of 2 feet—all originating from one root. Later in the season, mallow can grow into a mass and reach about 2 feet high while still sprawling over an area 3 feet wide.

Mallow has a long white taproot with many spreading smaller root branches that can become well established in the soil, making it challenging to harvest. The older roots and main stems close to the ground can become tough and slightly woody. When the ground is moist, such as after a good rain, the deep roots pull right out—leaving the harvester with a feeling of great satisfaction!

Mallows can be susceptible to several fungal colonies, including mallow rust, which causes dark orange colored bumps to appear on the underside of the leaves. The cause of this fungus is often from an overly moist environment and a dense thicket of mallow.

Other Malvaceae species’ flowers can vary in color from darker tones of pink or red to white and yellow. The edible desert scarlet globe mallow (Sphaeralecea coccinea), found growing in drier desert regions, has distinctive orange flowers, whereas hollyhock and hibiscus grow with a variety of beautiful flower colors, from red to pink to yellow.

Current Uses

Mallow is an amazing plant being. It is subtle in its nature, often neglected, and yet contains a powerhouse of benefits.It has so many values for daily living. We use it in the Local Wild Life Café for our community’s biweekly lunches in entrees like salads, pesto, juices, and even desserts. One of our popular dehydrated products available in bulk in local stores and markets is wild mallow sprouted rye breadsticks (see recipes at end of chapter). We also use mallow as an important ingredient in our winter green power. It is mellow with a mild flavor so it can be used in greater quantity than other wild foods. Another favorite local wild and living food treat that we have been making for over ten years is wild mint magic treats. These are little pumpkin seed–date balls rolled in sesame seeds. Again the magic comes from the dried powder of mallow, dandelion, and mint that is added into the mixture.

Mallow midwife to the kale plants

I find the mallows such an important resource in my gardens. I allow the mallow to continue growing until I am ready to harvest it for its roots or greens. I find that the other plants growing alongside the mallow are perfectly content to have additional diversity mixed in. When the mallow is ready to harvest, their deep taproots have already aerated the soil for the other plants and maintained the moisture in the soil while the cultivated plants are young and tender and susceptible to drying out. Mallows make a wonderful midwife to other plants; they prepare the space until the garden plants are a bit older to create their own lush environment. I let them get old enough to be of service before I harvest them. Then when the time is right, I pull them out—roots and all—and make a variety of food, medicine, and beauty recipes from their freely offered richness.

Mallow is celebrated in our community as one of the best skin repair remedies around. As a face wash and healing mask, it repairs sun damage and rejuvenates the skin. It makes a wonderful green facial mask that removes skin blemishes and irritation amazingly quickly. I often rely on mallow as a late winter plant, which will still be vital and green when most other plants have died back. This year in December we experienced a lower-than-usual snowfall and the mallow is easy to find and use in my juices, baths, and lotions.

Hollyhocks (Alcea rosea) are a close relative of mallow and make a beautiful and delicious addition to the diet. We use hollyhock flowers for beautifying desserts. The leaves of hollyhock grow as large as a tortilla and we use them the same way. They make a fabulous wrap for a veggie burrito! We also use hollyhock leaves and flowers as part of our wild CSA program; the flowers make a gorgeous container to house fresh-picked strawberries from the garden.

Hollyhock strawberry basket

Instead of the traditional marshmallows found in the stores, we make a wild mallow marshmallow using Malva neglecta, the common mallow growing around our homes to make a tasty treat similar to the white commercial variety, but our local recipe is green rather than white and rather than leaving us sticky and gooey inside, it supports our vitality and pursuit of health and happiness!

History

Mallow is one of the earliest plants found in connection with humans and has been written about for over three thousand years. Its greens were found in prehistoric human remains dated back to 14,000 BC. Mallow is understood to have originated in Northern Africa and Eurasia. It is one of the earliest plants recorded in literature for its useful qualities both as food and as medicine. In 65 BC, Horace, a Roman poet, refers to mallow as part of his food staples for primary nourishment. He includes mallow in his poem along with olives and endive as having enough sustenance to live on.

The name of mallow in both Hebrew and Arabic derived from the word bread. Mallow is mentioned in the Bible in the Book of Job as well as in the Mishnah; it is called by its Hebrew name, chalamut, which comes from challah, the traditional bread. In Arabic bread is called khubez and mallow is named khubeza after the little mallow fruits that look like round bread—as well as from its staplelike qualities of nourishment.

A variety of mallow species have been appreciated as an edible vegetable among the early Romans, who used the leaves and roots of mallow as one of their delicacies for both desserts and main vegetable dishes. It is also recorded as being a staple vegetable in China for over 2,500 years.

Prospero Alpini, a Venetian physician and botanist, in 1592 noted that mallow was eaten by the Egyptians and prepared as a dessert. The ancient Egyptians may have been the first to make marshmallow from the mallow plant, although the French also used the mallow to create a similar dessert called pate de guimauve, which combines the mallow root, sugar, and eggs. The ingredients were boiled down and frothed to create a spongy dessert. Today’s modern marshmallow no longer contains any wild mallow and instead is filled with highly processed ingredients, including gelatin for texture.

Marshmallow (Althaea officinalis), in addition to being a dessert, has also been used as an important medicine in many cultures throughout history. Althaea means “healing” and officinalis means “medicinal plant.” The Aztecs used mallow mashed with water for easing difficult delivery in pregnancy. Pliny the Elder, a Roman naturalist in 23 AD, also recommended mallow for childbirth and for healing sores of the skin. He was known to speak highly of mallow, indicating that merely a spoonful could free one of any disease. In mythology, Demeter gave Hercules a mallow cucumber dish, which became famous for helping quench his thirst and giving him strength.

Many native cultures around the world are recorded as using mallow as part of their medicine dating back to ancient times. The Native American Arikara powdered the root of the globe mallow, Sphaeralecea coccinea, to drink for hemorrhaging. The Mountain Pima of northern Mexico use the whole plant to make a drink for enemas and stomach disorders. The Tarahumara of central Mexico traditionally heat the leaves with salt and drink the liquid to break a fever while at the same time washing their body with the same liquid. Mallow tea made from the leaves is given for easing headaches, gastrointestinal problems, and used directly on the body externally as a poultice for healing skin sensitivities. The Iroquois Indians made a cold water infusion with several plants including mallow and applied this liquid as a poultice to reduce swellings and heal broken bones. They also massaged it onto babies’ swollen stomachs or sore backs. The Cherokee placed mallow flowers in oil and, with tallow mixed in, applied it to irritations and sores. The Mahuna tribe used the plant for painful congestions of the stomach. The Navajo make a cold tea of plants taken internally and use it as a lotion for injuries or swellings. They also use mallow as a laxative for young children. In New Mexico, it continues to be drunk as a tea for facilitating labor in childbirth and as a wash for skin irritations in infants.

In 1948 in Israel during the battle for Jerusalem, mallow became a survival food staple when other foods were scarce. Many of the poorer inhabitants of Syria subsist for weeks on wild plants, and mallow is one of the most common—available even in drought conditions. In Syria a dish called khebbese is made with mallow greens, bulgur wheat, olive oil, and onions. Mallow has been and continues to be an important food crop in Syria, where research is being done on using mallow for increasing agricultural biodiversity in dryland areas. Even beyond its uses as a survival food, it continued to be a popular ingredient in the cuisine in eastern Mediterranean countries such as Greece, Turkey, Syria, and Egypt.

A translation of an ancient epigram from Greek times acknowledges that mallow was planted upon the graves of the deceased because of the great nutritional values of the plant. Even the dead could benefit from feeding on these ideal plants. The mention of mallows being used as food and medicine goes back through antiquity. Mallow’s value continues to be highlighted in past and present botanical and classical writers. Botanist Elmer Merrill, a highly regarded botanist who wrote The Botany of Cook’s Voyages in 1954, referred to mallow by saying, “This plant is possibly the richest in vitamins and minerals of any plant ever analyzed in nutritional laboratories of the world.”

Edible Uses

Mallow is a divine food! It is a gentle tasting and yet powerfully mineralizing ingredient to add to any recipe and is a common sight in many vegetable gardens, making it an easy plant to harvest for many people.

Mallow is an amazing resource for making green juices, smoothies, soups, milks, and desserts, for thickening recipes, and as an ingredient for winter green powder. The fruits, also known as cheese wheels, make a delicacy as a pickled vegetable similar to capers. The mallows are some of the last plants to disappear in the fall and the first plants to come back in the spring, making them an abundant source of nutrition for daily use.

Mallow is very high in the complementary minerals of calcium and magnesium while also containing an exceptionally rich amount of potassium, zinc, iron, selenium, sodium, iodine, vitamin B complex, vitamin A, and vitamin C.

One fun characteristic of mallow is when the whole plant is diced and placed in water for several hours, the water turns into the consistency of egg whites. For vegan recipes mallow water can be used as a replacement for eggs.

Mallow leaves are sold as a commercial tea in many places around the world and taste as good as or better than commercial black tea. Mallow can be chewed when water is limited to maintain moisture in the mouth, keep fluidity in the system, and prevent tissues from drying out.

The root of mallow is an edible vegetable with many uses. It can be used like a potato and cooked into recipes. I blend the root with water and strain out the fiber to make a local variety of creamy milk that replenishes the body with vital nutrients absorbed by the deep roots in the soil. It provides quick and simple local nondairy milk for cereals and other recipes (see mallow root milk recipe at end of this chapter).

A root extract called halawa in Hebrew is made from boiling the root of mallow down into a sweet sticky substance and using it to flavor and thicken desserts and in the familiar traditional snack called halva. I use our local mallow to make a delicious raw mallow halva recipe using the whole plant in its raw form. This was a featured treat at a recent holiday farmers’ market (see raw marble malva halva recipe).

The leaves are a mild-tasting, nutritious addition to salads, casseroles, and soups. The whole plant when blended and strained makes a great soup base. The natural mucilaginous qualities give a texture and thickening quality to soups and other recipes that need a binding ingredient. We like to add mallow leaves to our crackers and breadsticks, as the natural gelatinous texture is effective for helping the dough stick together.

Hibiscus is a larger member of the Malvaceae family that grows in more temperate climates. It creates beautiful multicolored flowers that are commonly used as a tea in Mexico. When I spent several months surfing in a small village on the west coast, the gracious families who befriended me often served me the hibiscus flower drink called jaimaca when I came to visit. The bright red tea is sweetened with honey and served as a regular addition to the day for rehydrating and revitalizing. Hibiscus provides so many benefits to health in addition to its delicious flavor. It has astringent and antispasmodic qualities and is slightly diuretic and antibacterial. It also combats intestinal worms through the tannins’ astringency. It is good to remember that when food is our medicine, we avoid getting sick!

Medical Actions

• Anthelmintic: expels parasitic worms from the body

• Antibacterial: reduces bacterial growth

• Anti-inflammatory: reduces swelling and inflammation of the tissues

• Astringent: tightens, constricts, and tones while reducing secretions and discharges

• Demulcent: creates a soothing protective film over mucous membranes

• Diuretic: increases the flow of urine and secretions

• Laxative: promotes evacuation of the bowels

• Emollient: softens and soothes the skin

• Expectorant: removes mucus from respiratory passages

Medicinal Uses

Mallow is an exceptionally useful medicinal plant due to its mild and mellow characteristics with potent and effective results. Mallow’s nature is demulsifying, slimy, gelatinous, and extremely effective in its power of drawing, clearing, lubricating, cleansing, soothing, and easing toxins out of the body. Mallow produces a large amount of mucilage, a thick, gluey substance produced in some degree by nearly all plants, composed of polar glycoproteins and exopolysaccharides. The mucilage plays an important role in the plant’s ability to store water and food, seed germination, and for thickening membranes. This richness in mucilage makes mallow a very valuable medicine for humans. It contains roughly 35 percent mucilage, which soothes and lubricates inflamed areas of the body and forms a protective coat over aggravated mucous membranes. Tannins and flavonoids add to its healing effects. The fatty oil in mallow contains the beneficial oleic, palmitic, and stearic acids. It also contains asparagine, an astringent, which adds additional soothing and toning qualities to the skin and internal tissues.

Mallow is identified as an emollient, which softens the skin; an astringent, which tightens tissues; a demulcent, which coats and sooths mucous membranes; and also an expectorant, which removes toxins from the body. All these effects play a significant role in healing and beautifying our bodies.

When lightly crushed and placed in water, the mallow leaves and liquid become thick and slimy. This slippery thick liquid is the power of mallow as medicine. Internally it coats the mucous membranes, tissues, and organs and gently draws toxins from the body. Externally it is an effective wash and medium for a poultice to heal all types of skin problems from the severe to daily maintenance.

Mallow leaves crushed and applied as a slimy green poultice are very effective for drawing out boils, acne, and other skin sensitivities. The leaves mashed and lightly warmed are laid on the skin to help heal sprains, bruises, and other injuries. It is very useful in drawing out poisonous venom from insect bites, bee stings, and spiders. If stinging nettles or poison ivy irritate your skin, mallow is the friend to ease the pain, swelling, and itching.

In addition to mallow being a force in healing, it also works as a good pain reliever. The plant contains salicylic acid, the natural source of synthetic aspirin and an analgesic alkaloid. To relieve pain, it can be made into a tea or juice depending on if there is access to fresh or dried leaves. Mallow makes delicious and soothing tea for treating muscle pain and tension headaches, and the poultice from the pulp can also be applied to the area of discomfort. Fresh juice is preferred if that option is available.

Whenever possible find and harvest the fresh plants to use for your medicinal needs because they contain the highest amount of mucilage. Drying mallow can remove as much as one third of the mucilaginous qualities, although using dried leaves will still provide many of the benefits such as the mineral content. However, when making mallow tea either make a Sun tea or use water that has been only lightly heated to steep it. Boiling mallow breaks down the valuable mucilaginous qualities almost completely and should be avoided if possible. Luckily fresh mallow is fairly easy to find much of the year in many places with moderate climates around the world. Even at 7,000 feet elevation, I still seek the fresh plants whenever possible. Sometimes I resort to finding a few mallows still hiding in the corners of my greenhouses when I am out of the dried leaves and roots during the snowy winter season.

Mallow water is one of the simplest ways to access the mucilaginous benefits of the plant. Drinking mallow water is an effective way to move phlegm out of the body; it is made by placing whole mallow in water and leaving it to soak as a cold infusion. Any part of the mallow can be used including the roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and fruits. I dice the whole plant as finely as I can before adding the slightly pulverized plant to a jar. I fill half the jar with mallow and the other half with water to achieve the greatest mucilaginous quality. It becomes ready to use after about an hour or two of soaking, although more time will continue to create thicker water. If you leave the mallow in the water for more than one day, it is necessary to place the jar in the refrigerator to keep it fresh. This water can then be used in many ways, from drinks to body washes to delicious recipes.

Mallow water in the making

Due to its ephedrine content, mallow possesses psychostimulant properties. Therefore, drinking mallow juice supports a clear mind and focus and brings an overall sense of well-being to the body. Mallow water is exceptionally beneficial to counteract the negative side effects of drinking caffeine. Caffeine tends to irritate the mucous membranes of the body and dry out tissues, and can also have the negative effects of creating stiff muscles and joints through the process of drying out and acidifying the body. Mallow water is an easy antidote. In my personal experience, I have periodically employed the stimulant nature of teas or cacao in my journey of writing this book. However, too much caffeine or chocolate can have its consequences. In my efforts to balance my body and sustain my ability to stay focused and healthy, I would drink mallow water after I consumed any type of stimulant. Instantly my body would breathe a big sigh of relief and begin to drop into a more relaxed and content state of being. I can easily feel mallow’s kind and gentle nature coming to my rescue by lubricating and soothing my internal system. When I drink mallow water instead of green tea, I experience a far greater sustained focus!

As a daily routine, it is a wise practice to place even just a few mallow leaves and stems in drinking water, as mallow leaves shift the water toward a more healing alkaline pH. The subtle thick texture of mallow water makes it gently lubricating to the throat. This protective lubricant assists the body in eliminating environmental toxins that we may encounter such as car exhaust or petrochemical residues. I continue to refill my water over the mallow plant as the day goes on. By placing the mallow water in the refrigerator at night, it can be reused for one more day.

Making juice is another method of using mallow that is incredibly beneficial for daily maintenance due to the chlorophyll gained from the greens. The juice is delicious and gently soothing while at the same time it eases stomach acids, bladder infections, colds, congestion, fevers, internal inflammation, and headaches.

Mallow calendula oil

Mallow juice is made by blending the whole plant with water in a blender and straining out the pulp. This is a way to quicken the extraction of the mucilage. If you want to achieve a thicker final juice, leave the water with the pulp for at least fifteen minutes before straining. If you use the whole plant, such as the woody stems and upper root, you will need to strain out the pulp before drinking, but if you just use the fresh leaves of mallow with water, leave them in. Drink the thick juice like a smoothie or a cold soup. Mallow creates fluidity in the joints, hydrates the organs and tissues, and clears out excesses and congestion. It is a gentle and incredibly effective ally! The mallow pulp can also be used as a body wash or poultice or added to bath water. Dried mallow leaves can be added to homemade body oil to make a soothing balm for the skin.

Mucilage is a soluble fiber that absorbs large amounts of water and swells to form a soft mass in the intestinal tract, which helps prevent constipation. As a complex sugar it also coats, cools, and moisturizes inflamed tissues. The mucilage increases immunity by stimulating macrophages, the white blood cells that rid the body of bacteria and unwanted germs.

Mallow works wonders for effective weight loss. Drinking mallow juice and mallow water daily rids the body of excesses while creating a feeling of being nourished and fed. It gently stimulates the bowels and stops water retention. It is very beneficial for cleansing and strengthening the kidneys. Another active ingredient in mallow is pectin, a water-soluble fiber that supports healthy elimination and stabilizes blood sugar levels.

Both mallow water and juice make an effective enema rinse and colon implant. The gently lubricating mucilage from the mallow liquid helps clean out the intestinal walls by drawing out toxins and moving them out of the colon. The best way to prepare the mallow for enemas is to gather the whole plant fresh. Blend it lightly with water and let it sit half an hour at room temperature. Strain out the pulp, warm it lightly to body temperature, place the gelatinous liquid in an enema bag, and infuse it into the colon as you would a normal enema. Massage the intestines from right to left and hold the liquid in as long as possible, then release and expel excesses from the colon.

The German Federal Ministry of Health promoted “high mallow tea” for inflammation of mucous membranes in the mouth and throat, gastrointestinal regions, and upper respiratory passages. Mallow juice or cold infusion Sun tea helps rid the body of a sore throat, cough, or any lung congestion. It is effective both consumed and used as a gargle. As a demulcent, it draws and pulls out mucus and lubricates the tissues of the tonsils and throat. It has this effect both internally and externally. Mallow is a very gentle and powerful medicine at the same time; it works in an unobtrusive and steadily consistent way. It is so subtle that a person may not even feel the effects of it working and yet the problem disappears quickly.

Mallow fiber

Mallow is also a wonderful source of natural fibers. The wild Indian mallow (Abutilon incanum) and chingma (A. theophrasti) were brought to the United States for fiber. Cotton and jute are members of the mallow family and particularly known for their useful fibers. Litmus paper was originally made from mallow fibers. The older stems and roots are particularly good for making homemade materials like bracelets, cordage, twine, and rope. By soaking them in water overnight and lightly crushing the roots, the fibers break apart and can be woven together to make useful housewares like baskets, mats, and toothbrushes. I have been making my own toothbrushes with mallow root, which continues to be a fun experimental project that I am still perfecting.

Recipes

Mallow Seed Cheese

1 cup sunflower seeds, sprouted

1 cup almonds, soaked

1 cup mallow greens, chopped

1 cup mallow water

1 lemon, juiced

¹⁄₂ cup chives

2 teaspoons salt

Grind all ingredients in the blender or food processor until smooth. Serve over spicy flaxseed amaranth crackers (see recipe in amaranth chapter). Store excess in tightly closed jar and use within ten days.

Wild mallow sprouted rye breadsticks

Wild Mallow Sprouted Rye Breadsticks

1 pound rye berries, sprouted

1 pound sunflower seeds

3 cloves garlic

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon caraway seeds

2 cups fresh mallow greens or ¹⁄₂ cup dried mallow greens

water to blend rye

What to do with extra mallow weed in your garden? Blend it into your bread dough. These delicious savory breadsticks are delicious dipped in avocado. Great flavor, great fiber, and great enzymes! Refer to the sprouting section in Chapter 2 for directions on how to sprout the rye berries. Fill blender to the 3-cup mark with rye and then add water up to the 4-cup mark. Blend the sprouted rye berries with the water. Strain out most of the solids; this will become the dough for the breadsticks. You can reuse the water to continue to blend the rest of the rye berries. Blend sunflower seeds dry in the food processor until they appear finely chopped and powderlike. In the blender, place the garlic, salt, caraway seeds, and mallow greens and blend using as little water as necessary. Mix all the ingredients into the dough and stir well. Use a frosting cone to squeeze dough into long breadlike strips onto dehydrator sheets. Breadsticks should be about ³⁄₄ by 4 inches. Place as many on each sheet as possible. Put in dehydrator at 115 degrees until firm.

Wild Mallow Marshmallows

1 tablespoon chia seeds

1 tablespoon mallow water

¹⁄₃ cup honey

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup mallow pulp and mallow water

1 avocado

Soak the chia seeds in the mallow water for half an hour. Add the thickened chia seed–mallow mixture to the blender and add the honey, the vanilla, and the mallow pulp and water. Add the avocado to thicken the entire mixture and blend well. Stop before you stress the blender. The thickness of the mixture must be firm enough to hold its form on the dehydrator sheets. Place a spoonful of the goo and sculpt it into the marshmallow shape you desire. Lay on dehydrator sheets in squares. Dry overnight until firm and chewy. Enjoy as a fine dessert with a thin layer of sweet cracker and a hunk of raw chocolate.

Mallow milk shake

Mallow Mint Ice Cream

2 cups mallow water (see recipe below)

1 avocado

¹⁄₂ cup honey

1 cup fresh mint leaves

3–10 drops essential oil of mint

Mallow adds so much value to ice cream. It imparts its medicinal demulsifying action while making a thicker, creamier texture. Blend the mallow roots with water and strain out the fiber. Place the mallow water back into the blender and add the avocado, honey, mint, and oil. Blend until creamy and freeze in a metal bowl, stirring every hour to maintain a creamy texture. Delicious!

Vanilla/Cacao Mallow Ice Cream

2 cups whole fresh mallow plants and roots, diced

3 cups water

¹⁄₂ cup honey

¹⁄₂ cup cashews

2 teaspoons vanilla

¹⁄₄ cup raw cacao or carob powder

Follow the same recipe as above with these ingredients. If you prefer to avoid nuts, you can use one avocado or two bananas to reach the creamy texture.

Mallow Cheese Wheel Salad

4 cups of wild mallow leaves, flowers, and as many cheese wheels as you can gather in a reasonable time

¹⁄₂ head butter lettuce, chopped

2 cups cabbage, sliced

2 tomatoes, diced

1 large cucumber, diced

¹⁄₂ cup raw almonds, crushed

Separate the mallow leaves, flowers, and cheese wheels from the stems. Thinly slice all the greens and place into a bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients, reserving the crushed raw almonds, the cheese wheels, and flowers for the top to garnish the salad before eating. Mix all together with the following marvelous mallow salad dressing and serve with smooth grace!

Marvelous Mallow Salad Dressing

1 cup whole young mallow plants, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons tamari

2 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon each any fresh herbs available such as thyme, dill, basil, or oregano

In addition to nutrition, mallow gives this dressing an extra smooth quality that creates almost a creamy texture. Blend all ingredients in the blender until smooth and serve over your mallow cheese wheel salad for a healing and delicious meal with a creamy wild weedy flair!

Pickled Mallow Fruit Capers

3 cups fresh mallow cheese wheel fruits

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon dill seed

2 cloves garlic, diced

1 cup apple cider vinegar

The seeds are a delicacy and can be pickled like capers. For efficient collecting of these tiny fruits low to the ground, gather the children in your neighborhood for the Mallow Caper Game! This game consists of giving each child a paper cup. Instruct the children to go out into the garden and gather enough cheese wheels to fill their cups. Many community gardens are great places for this game because mallow loves to grow in nearby pathways and in and around the beds. To make the game worth your effort, you will need at least five or six willing kids who can each gather one cup. This will amount to about 1 pint of mallow cheese wheel fruits. When a child brings the full or partially full cup back to you, the prize is a scoop of mallow mint ice cream or a drink of mallow milk shake.

Add the mallow cheeses, honey, and spices to the jar. Fill the jar with apple cider vinegar and close the lid. Leave at room temperature to ferment for one week. Enjoy the capers over your salads or as a garnish for other menus and dishes. They make a delicious addition to sandwiches and pasta. The pickle water can be saved and used as spiced and healing vinegar for salad dressings in the future.

Raw Marble Malva Halva

This is based on a traditional Middle Eastern recipe, which was inspired by my Iranian friend Elani. One traditional recipe used mallow root and another recipe used egg whites as part of the ingredients. When soaked in water overnight mallow root becomes just like the texture of egg whites and gives the recipes a special texture and nutritional value. I like to use both white and black sesame seeds to add variety, but if you only have one color you can still make this recipe because the carob or cacao will darken the other layer to create the marble effect.

4 cups sesame seeds, white

2 cups sesame seeds, black

2 tablespoons carob or cacao

¹⁄₂ cup honey

2 teaspoons cinnamon

¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons mallow root water

Grind the white sesame seeds in a blender or food processor until well broken. Take out and place in a bowl. Grind the black sesame seeds and place them in a separate bowl. Mix the raw carob or cacao powder into the black sesame seeds for the inner layers. Mix together the honey, cinnamon, salt, and mallow water and divide in half. Add one half to each sesame bowl and mix well. Start with the white marble layer and press about a fourth of it onto a plate in a square shape. Then add half of the black mixture on top. Add another layer of white, the rest of the black, and the final layer of the white sesame mixture on top. Place in the refrigerator to cool and set. Cut into squares and enjoy the sweet dessert of wild malva with a Middle Eastern root of tradition!

Raw marble malva halva

Wild Mint Magic Treats

4 cups pumpkin seeds

1 tablespoon dried mallow powder

13 drops edible essential oil of mint

5 cups dates

A bowl of sesame seeds to coat the balls

Put pumpkin seeds, mallow powder, and mint oil in food processor and blend together into a fine powder. Add mint oil very carefully with a dropper. Pit the dates and add them to the mixture in the food processor one by one as it is still blending. Empty all mint magic batter into a bowl. Separate batter into bite-size pieces and with damp hands roll each clump into a ball. Place in a container that is about half full of sesame seeds. Put the lid on and shake vigorously. Remove the balls and place in a small plastic bag for later or enjoy fresh. They keep for over a month in the refrigerator.

Mallow Water

1 cup mallow (all parts are good to use)

2 cups water

Chop the mallow using the whole plant and add it to the water. Leave at room temperature and wait a minimum of one hour and up to eight hours. Place the mallow water in the refrigerator to be able to use it on an ongoing basis without it going bad. Drink mallow water to soothe the belly, lubricate the tissues, calm the appetite, and as an ingredient for other recipes.

Morning Mallow Juice

2 cups mallow plant, chopped

4 cups water

1 apple

1 cucumber

¹⁄₂ lemon, peeled and deseeded

Harvest the mallow with the stems, flowers, fruits, seeds, and root. Add all the ingredients together and blend. Strain out the pulp if you want a clear juice or leave it in for a thicker texture. The pulp makes a great addition to salad dressing. This slightly gelatinous mixture is soothing for the stomach first thing in the morning. It gently draws out congestion from the night’s rest while rehydrating the body for the day. If you want to use the pulp for making a face mask, leave out the lemon and apple until after you strain the mallow and cucumber separately, then add them to the strained juice. For best results, use the mallow pulp within an hour of making your juice.

Mallow Root Milk

1 cup mallow root, chopped

3 cups water

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons honey

¹⁄₂ cup almonds, soaked (optional)

Blend all ingredients and strain out the white milky mallow liquid. Use in replacement of dairy or nut milks for a delicious and nutritious drink loaded with calcium and magnesium. For creamier, thicker milk, you have the option of adding a few nuts like almonds or cashews.

Mallow milk

Mallow Milk Shake

2 frozen bananas

1 cup ice

3 cups water

1 tablespoon agave nectar

1 tablespoon raw cacao powder

2 cups fresh mallow leaves or 2 tablespoons dried mallow leaves

Blend all ingredients together until creamy. Enjoy on a hot summer day out in the sun!

May mustard inspire alignment with the Earth’s rhythms and natural laws of giving and receiving.

“All mustard plants with petals of four,

Are spicy and sweet enough to make you want more.

The flowers come in pink, purple, yellow, and white

And get the creative juices flowing into the night.”

Mustard

Family: Brassicaceae (entire family is edible and medicinal)

Latin Name: Brassica juncea (Brassica originally came from the crucifers, which came from caulis meaning “stem” and juncea means “rush-like”; the term mustard came from the Latin name mustum ardens, which translates to “burning wine”)

Related Useful Species: Kale, broccoli, cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var.); black mustard (B. nigre); Chinese cabbage (B. pekinensis and B. chinensis); rutabega (B. napobrassica); turnip (B. rapa); radish (Raphanus sativus); wasabia (Wasabia japonica); horseradish (Armoracia rusticana); shepherd’s purse (Capsella bursa pastoris); pennycress (Thlaspi arvense); maca (Lepidium meyenii)

Global Common Names: English (mustard); German (mostrich); Italian (senape); Spanish (mostaza); French (moutarde); Portuguese (mostarda); Dutch (mosterdgas); India (rai)

Brown mustard

Luckily the wild mustards are plentiful on our farm. There are many different species that grow wild. Each kind of mustard tastes different and varies in flavor and texture. As you find new mustards to gather along your path, it is wise to taste each plant to determine if it will be a welcoming ingredient in a dish. Some mustard varieties are too pungent to be able to add much to a recipe without it being overpowering. In general the younger the mustard greens, the sweeter they are. As they mature, the flavors become more potent and sometimes even burn from their heat like an intense bite of wasabi.

I have found that both the mustard flowering bud and the young seedpods are a delicious addition in dishes ranging from salads to vegetable dishes. Their flavor is strong and the texture is unique. If the pods grow old, they become too fibrous to be enjoyable. The young seedpods can be made into a delicious pickle (see recipe).

During the time when I embarked on my personal wild thirteen weed challenge and only ate these thirteen wild weeds exclusively for two weeks, I found myself feeling especially supported by the mustard family. When I wondered what I would have for my next meal, I had a feeling of freedom in my choice of so many mustards. Arugula, spicy black mustard, cabbage, cauliflower, radishes, broccoli; the list goes on and they were all welcome! During this time when I felt I needed some more substantial food, I went to the mustards to fill up.

One of my favorite recipes during the journey was mixing together in the food processor cauliflower, sprouted quinoa, and French sorrel leaves. I would then make a burrito with a lambsquarter leaf with this mixture as the filling. I found this recipe very sustaining and filling due to the proteins from the quinoa and substance from the cauliflower. Another delicious mainstay in my simplified diet during the wild thirteen weed challenge was sauerkraut. When I cultured the mustard family, using varieties such as cabbage, I even appreciated it more. The cabbage became easier to digest and gave me more energy.

We have been working with our city to explore effective organic mosquito controls. We’ve found that placing crushed mustard seeds in standing water prevents mosquito larvae from developing. In addition to ingesting the mustard seeds in edible recipes, they impart a subtle body odor that can act as a personal repellent to mosquitoes.

Mustard could be considered one of the oldest condiments in recorded history. The seeds were found in the tombs of the pharaohs in Egypt. It originated with the early Romans from the practice of soaking mustard seeds in a lightly fermented grape juice called musk. The mixture of wine and mustard seeds was used as a stimulant to prepare for battle. In Greece, in the sixth century BC, Pythagoras utilized mustard as a medicine for treating the stings of insects including scorpions. Hippocrates also valued mustard for making medicine and used it in poultices to increase circulation and to help rid the body of inflammation and congestion. Mustard became well known for increasing the blood flow to an injured area and promoting healing with everything from toothaches to sluggish organs.

In China, mustard seed oil was one of the original fuels used for lighting torches before the more modern petroleum products, such as kerosene or white gas, became widely available.

According to the legend, around the fourth century BC, King Darius of Persia sent Alexander the Great a large sack of sesame seeds to try and intimidate him with a perception of the greatness of his army. Alexander’s response was to send back the same sack full of mustard seeds. His message communicated that his army was even more powerful because more of the smaller seeds would fit in the sack, and the fiery nature of the mustard seeds showed he had the strength to win the war.

In the thirteenth century, the French began perfecting mustard as a sauce and Dijon mustard, originally made in the city of Dijon, grew in popularity and continues to be a favored choice. In England in the 1600s, a special horseradish mustard sauce was created in the town of Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire. Shakespeare brought a lasting fame to this type of mustard by referring to it in his play Henry IV: “His wit is as thick as Tewkesbury mustard!”

The mustard seed is quoted as a poetic metaphor throughout the Bible to honor the strength of even that which is small. “What shall we say the Kingdom of God is like? What parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade; if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain; remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove.”

Each summer the Turtle Lake Community Farm, serving as a worksite, hosts several church groups in community service. We have been blessed to have amazing volunteers for the last ten years. One summer, the group presented me with a Bible as a token of appreciation for allowing them to serve and work on the farm for three days mulching trees, reapplying a coat of mud plaster on the straw-bale composting toilet, and a variety of other projects. In their beautiful way of saying thank you and of supporting my journey in writing about wild plants, they had underlined every passage in the Bible that referred to plants. Many of the passages cited the mustard plant. I am still deeply touched by their effort and care!

Mustard greens are a delicious and spicy addition to salads and dishes, wraps, and nori rolls. The seeds can be made into homemade mustard relish, stored as a spice, or extracted into oil.

Nearly all of the mustards available for purchase come from three main varieties—the spiciest flavored black mustard seeds (Brassica nigra), the medium heat brown mustard seeds (Brassica juncea), and the mildest yellow seeded mustard (Brassica hirta). Dijon mustard exclusively uses the brown mustard seeds, French mustard solely uses the yellow mustard. The spiciness and pungency of mustard develops not from an oil-based species such as in chili peppers, but from the reaction of the enzyme myrosin. When the seeds are ground and exposed to air and cold water, the enzymes catalyze the production of a sulfur compound, ally-isothiocyanate (a mustard oil), which creates the familiar taste and burning sensation. The mustard oil in large quantities can irritate the mucous membranes of the sinuses, throat, and eyes. Wasabi, a Japanese mustard, is commonly used in sushi restaurants as a spicy condiment. To maintain its heat, the wasabi must be preserved in vinegar. The mustard oil vapors are what we experience when we take a large bite of wasabi and the sensation goes to the nasal passages more than to the tongue.

I find that gathering mustard seeds is easier than many of the other wild seeds. The seed heads can be collected in the fall by hand and placed in a paper bag. Some of the pods will open spontaneously and spill the seeds in the bag, while other pods may need the encouragement of hands rubbing over them to open and spill their seeds. Once they are fully dry, the seeds can be stored in glass jars for homemade condiments and for flavoring dishes, as well as for medicinal purposes.

Brown mustard is grown mainly for its seed in Asia, Europe, and America for the extraction of vegetable oil. In regions of the former Soviet Union, mustard oil is used as a substitute for olive oil. There is caution with using mustard oil because of the high concentration of erucic acid, and in Western countries its use as edible oil is restricted.

In India, the seeds are commonly used in traditional cuisine, such as curry spice. The mustard seeds are known by the name rai. The seeds are placed in hot ghee to pop and then added to recipes for additional flavor. The seeds have a significant amount of fatty oil. When the seeds are cooked, some of the spiciness is lost, making them less concentrated because the enzyme that causes the taste experienced becomes denatured with heat. Mustard seeds contain between 25 and 35 percent protein. The leaves are a fantastic source of calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and vitamin B complex.

Maca is a mustard root similar to radish or turnip that grows in the highlands of Peru and in the Andes. It is commonly grown at elevations of 11,000 to13,000 feet above sea level and is gaining popular attention for its edible qualities as well as its aphrodisiac, energy, and medicinal benefits. Maca is a common ingredient in raw cacao bars and energy smoothies in health food stores throughout North America.

Making your own oil from the wild mustard seeds is a fairly simple process. Start by adding a cup of the seeds to a dry cast-iron skillet and toasting them on medium heat for a couple of minutes. Once they are cooled, use a mortar and pestle or coffee grinder to grind the seeds down into a fine powder. Add the ground seeds to a pan of water (approximately 3 cups) and boil for about five to ten minutes. The mustard oil will rise to the top of the water. Turn off the heat and cool. Scoop the mustard oil off the top of the water and store in a separate container. This mustard oil is very potent and can cause irritations if it directly touches the skin. It can be used in a dilute form medicinally by adding an additional oil or mixing it with flour or mud to create a stimulating poultice.

• Rubefacient: topical application causes dilation of capillaries and an increase in blood flow to the skin

Mustards make powerful medicine. Mustard seeds are generally more potent than the leaves, but both have strong qualities and are best used in dilute concentrations. The leaves can be mashed with a little water and used as a poultice for insect bites and stings. This poultice is also very effective for stopping bleeding. When the leaf poultice is warmed, it makes a gentle stimulating and warming wrap for the kidneys. Both the seeds and the leaves stimulate circulation in the body. Mustards help people decrease obesity by stimulating overall circulation in the body. The seeds can be ground finely and added to socks to warm feet during long backcountry ski outings. It is a good idea to wear two pairs of thin socks and place the mustard powder in between the two pairs of socks so that the powder does not touch the skin directly. Make sure to bring another pair of clean socks to use when your feet have heated up enough.

The whole plant in a tea makes a beneficial wash for preventing infection, tightening skin, and healing wounds. The tea also works well as a mouth gargle for sore throats, and helps to eliminate congestion. The tea also contains fumaric acids, which are known to reduce the growth of tumors.

The mustard plant is highly validated by the seventeenth edition of the US Dispensatory with a long list of values and uses. In general, mustard gives positive relief in excessive menstruation, while also relaxing and increasing the flow of urine. It is a stimulating diuretic, relieves hematuria or blood in the urine, and is useful for internal hemorrhaging. The wild mustard, shepherd’s purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris), contains valuable blood-clotting agents such as vitamin K and the alkaloid bursine, known for its hemostatic, antiscorbutic, diuretic, stimulant, and tonic uses.

Mustard paste when applied to the body on an area of congestion such as a swelling or tumor will increase the circulation and promote healing. There is a chance of burning the skin from direct exposure to the seed paste depending on the strength of different mustards, so as a precaution it is wise to layer the skin first with some coconut or olive oil for protection or dilute the powdered seeds with half flour prior to making the paste. Ground seeds of the plant mixed with honey are widely used in Eastern Europe as a cough suppressant. The oil is used as hair conditioner, which stimulates a healthy scalp treatment for helping get rid of dandruff.

Bach Flower Remedies prescribes mustards to those who lack interest in present circumstances or are depressed for no discernible reason. I personally like to put mustard flowers in my drinking water to benefit from the creativity that mustards inspire. Mustard is heating and can also act as an aphrodisiac. We serve a mustard-spiked raw cacao hot toddy drink at the end of our annual Valentine’s dinner to enhance our guests’ evening with the ancient secret of romance and love.

A vegetable sauerkraut or kimchi can be cultured from a number of the mustard species including cabbage, daikon radish, turnips, or bok choy. Sauerkraut is traditionally not spicy and made from basic green cabbage whereas kimchi is classically spicier in nature. I like to play with a variety of recipes including wild roots, seaweeds, and spices. Follow the basic sauerkraut recipe and then add your own creative embellishments to increase the spice, flavor, and zing. Use the ingredients that are local to your area whenever possible.

Grind the cabbage in a food processor or chop by hand until well diced. Add salt. Using a wooden dowel, beat the cabbage and salt until the juices begin to flow. Pack the mixture in a glass jar tightly with your clean fist, making sure that there are no air pockets. Fill the jar as full as possible and press down firmly to make sure that the juices rise to the surface, covering the cabbage. Close the lid loosely so that excess liquid can escape if necessary. Place the jar on a plate to catch the spilled juices. Cover with a cloth and leave out at room temperature for one week to ten days. Harvest the sauerkraut when the smell is ripe. If necessary scrape off the discolored layer at the top. The discoloration and sometimes mold will happen if the juices overflowed and left the upper layer exposed to air. The sauerkraut packed tightly below is still edible and tasty! To prevent this from occurring, as necessary, add salt water to the top of the jar to ensure that the cabbage is always in an anaerobic state with no air exposure.

Grind all ingredients together in a food processor and continue to follow the basic sauerkraut recipe.

To make the crust, first grind oats, dates, and salt together until the mixture forms a doughlike consistency. Press into pie pan. For filling grind apples with lemon juice and cinnamon and layer into pie pan. For final flair, decorate with a variety of mustard flowers in as many colors as you can find. The nature of mustard flowers creates a perfectly full rainbow experience when balanced by the sweetness of apples and dates along with the tartness of the lemon.

Get your creative juices flowing into the night! Add fresh mustard flowers to water and allow mixture to steep in the sun for one hour. Enjoy a burst of creative energy that comes from the inspiration of the mustard flowers as you drink this hydrating and slightly stimulating tonic water. Mustards can be considered the artists, poets, painters, and sculptors of the plant world.

Blend all ingredients and only if desired strain out the pulp. Otherwise enjoy this soothing internal elixir for optimum health benefits!

Blend the purslane with the water in a blender and strain out the fiber. Apply this hair strengthening gel-like shampoo directly to your scalp and massage it in for as long as you have time. Rinse off and experience extra sheen and vitality in your hair.

Blend the purslane leaves with the water and strain out the fiber. Add the warm coconut oil and essential oil and mix in by hand. If you prefer a thicker lotion add liquid back into the blender and thicken with avocado. This homemade lotion regenerates and heals the skin quicker than any commercially formulated lotions!

The bottom line, however, is that when we spray a toxic chemical herbicide on the ground to kill any plant we are assaulting all of nature! Not only the individual plant’s life, but the entire ecosystem of insects coexisting on and around the plants and all the microorganisms in the soil are affected, leading to a lessening of soil fertility and continued disturbance. Nature sends in the thistle plants to restabilize disturbance. When we interfere, nature has to start all over again and new diverse plant species are further delayed in naturally taking root and finding their niche.

Thistle is considered native to the Mediterranean area and was eaten as a primary food by the ancient Greeks and Romans as well as early Africans. One of the larger species of thistle is the common artichoke. Wild artichokes are still found and eaten as a wild food in northern Africa.

Thistles have been the national emblem of Scotland since the 1200s when Alexander III ruled Scotland. They also honored it by including an image of the thistle on their silver coins in the 1400s. The Encyclopedia Britannica, which originated in Scotland, also uses the thistle flower as its emblem. It has been used as a Celtic symbol for nobility and strong character throughout time. According to legend, a Viking army was attempting to invade Scotland. They were in the process of sneaking up at night upon a Scottish camp. One Norseman was barefoot and stepped upon a prickly thistle. He cried out in pain and alerted the sleeping camp to the impending invasion, thereby saving the day for the Scots. Since that time thistles have been honored as a symbol for many important Scottish groups, teams, and national ranks.

When I was recently at Findhorn Ecovillage in Scotland, I gave a presentation about the work I do with Turtle Lake Refuge. I finished my slideshow by serving everyone some freshly made thistle juice with lemon and apples and told them all that this was Scotland’s true national drink. Everyone, although surprised, thoroughly enjoyed the juice! Although thistle is still used as a token icon in the country, ironically it also is now on the noxious weed list and attempts are made to eradicate it from the landscape.

In Norse mythology the thistle was considered to be the lightning plant and Thor, the god of thunder, would protect anyone who used or wore thistle. I find value in this myth still today. Thistle is an amazingly protective guide; it helps create clear sacred boundaries and offers its service to ward off intruding energies that may distract us from our important purposes in life.

Thistle may look alarming and dangerous and, yes, it is prickly and can be painful to the touch, but underneath the prickle is a fabulous ally for food and medicine. Thistles have so many valuable benefits that it is nature’s brilliance to protect it with spines or everyone would eat them. Thistles can be harvested from the early spring with the new basal leaves, through the summer using their stems and flowers, and into the fall and winter gathering their seeds and roots. I harvest thistles at different stages according to when they are ready to eat and make room for other garden plants at the same time.

Thistle flowers are absolutely beautiful, and I am not the only one to think so. The insects, in particular the honeybees and butterflies, love the nectar that it produces. They come in many colors, but many of the thistles have a deep-purple flower. The flowers are sweet and delicious and can be eaten as chewing gum. I love to pinch a clump of the flowers off the main flower head and chew the fluff attached with the colorful top together to create a sweet chewing gum that lasts as long as I feel inspired to chew. First pick some fresh flowers off the stalk by pinching a little off with your fingers. Below the purple color is the white fluff of the seed. Chew all of it. The purple part is where the nectar and sweetness is and the white part, once chewed, becomes the chewing gum that lasts until you are ready to spit it out. It is a great pastime while working on an outside project. The thistle flower helps clean your teeth and provides minerals for reinforcing their integrity at the same time.

The seeds collected and freed of the fluffy fiber end make delicious and nutritious milk. Blend the seeds with water, honey, and vanilla and strain out any pulp. Thicken the milk with another nut or seed if desired. The thistle supports the liver in regenerating healthy liver cells. Milk thistle is a common variety that is often used to make seed milk, but all the thistles can be utilized for making homemade milk as well.

The thistle has a valuable root, which is extremely beneficial for the liver. The roots when they are young and fresh are like a wild potato or a carrot. Eating them fresh out of the ground after washing them is a wonderful food. They are crisp and tender and the taste is mild and enlivening. Many species are taproots although some thistles, like Canadian thistle, spread by a rhizome root system. All thistle roots can be dug and either eaten or used as food when they are young and tender. If they are older, it is best to chop them up and dry them for making tea throughout the winter months.

We blend the thistle roots into our homemade chai tea (see the recipe at the end of this chapter). Mix the fresh root with spices and strain out the fibers. By adding honey and homemade cashew milk, this local healing beverage is popular with all ages. The taste is delicious and spicy but with an added grounding mineral-rich component that only the thistle can offer. Our thistle root chai tea at Saturday farmers’ markets in Durango sells out each week.

The greens make delicious, mild-tasting thistle lemonade. Harvest the succulent leaves in the early summer, and continue to gather the leaves for juice at any stage of their growing season, because they do not get more bitter with age, as some plants do. Blend them with water, lemon, and honey. Strain out the pulp, which includes the prickles. The flavor is subtle, earthy, and green, and the color is a rich shade of jade. The feeling after drinking thistle juice is one of being fully alert. My body opens to the aliveness of the thistle.

Thistle stems are a delicacy. The thistle stalk tastes like a sweeter version of celery. To harvest the thistle stalk when it is still in its prime, choose a thistle that is growing toward flowering but has not yet opened its flower head. With a knife or tough fingers, peel the leaves and spines off the stalk. Inside the outer skin is a succulent, tender, green juicy treat. Once the stem is free from spines, take a bite from the skinny end closest to the flower head. If the fibers increase as you take bites, peel back the outer stringy fibers like peeling a banana and continue to eat down the stalk until the fibers get too tough down at the base nearest to the ground. The younger stalks close to the unopened flower head have the most amount of liquid juice without as much pith in the stem yet. Thistle stalks contain a significant amount of sugars. The stalk is mild in flavor but sweet and juicy. We provide thistle stems at the farmers’ market and serve them with lime, chili pepper, and salt like jicama in Mexico.

Although it takes some detailed peeling and patience to remove the spikes, the price at the end is worth the effort. I personally love the whole process. When we have the opportunity to harvest our food right in the field, we benefit from a fully engaged “dwell time” that connects us to our environment and sense of place. My father coined the term “dwell time” for me, which refers to the moments when we can immerse fully into our relationship with the land and all the mystery, magic, and connection that it offers.

Thistle stalks are a great source of mineralized water. When we can harvest wild water fully mineralized and still contained within the plant itself, we have found a valuable resource! If you find you are thirsty outside and come upon a thistle, it can be the very blessing to quench your thirst. The thistle gives more than just water; it gives living water charged with minerals. The water found in the stem of the thistle is highly alkalinized. Thistle water is alive with the brilliance of the thistle plant. The cells of the thistle are bursting with fluidity and rich with life force. What a treat to share this fine gift with others who may not be as appreciative of the thistle’s values yet.

Some years ago I led a field trip for a biology class from Fort Lewis College up the Colorado Trail. Not long after we started hiking, we came upon a huge garden of musk thistles in their prime. They were all clustered together along the side of the trail. I stopped and began speaking about the alkaline quality of thistle. Thistle greens are one of the more alkaline greens of any plant. I shared how marijuana and psychedelic mushrooms create the sensation of being “high” through an alkaloid that temporarily gives the body an alkaline experience, although once the effect wears off, the body is actually left more acidic in its chemistry than before. In contrast, I explained that when you juice thistle greens, the thistle offers the body a true alkaline experience that does not go away. The thistle actually shifts the internal body chemistry to a more alkaline state in the long term, and therefore the thistle provides a permanent high that sustains. As soon as I finished my story, about five of the students began harvesting the thistles in earnest and loading their backpacks with the large prickly leaves to explore the wonders of getting high on thistle juice. I personally have found that the practice of harvesting and ingesting most all the wild plants creates a true high for life. When we have a source of wild intelligence coursing through our bodies connecting us to the soil, the sun, the rain, and all the living beings around us, it is effortless to be high on life!

As soon as someone ingests the thistle into their body, they actually become part thistle; indeed, we are what we eat from the subtle to the obvious. The thistle becomes us as the minerals, sugar, water, vitamins, and proteins transform into our cells that make up our body. The exciting realization is that when we eat thistle, the thistle starts to shift the way we think, as if we were the thistle itself. When we ingest thistle, we cannot help but love the thistle in the same way that we love ourselves. Thistle teaches us to embody the natural state of love that it does so effortlessly! Appreciation is a state of being that promotes health. When we can appreciate every plant on the Earth as having an important purpose, we live in a greater state of health and happiness.

Thistles have been used as medicines since early prehistoric times. Thistles offer a vital support for the elimination organs and particularly for regenerating the liver. The roots and the seeds are the most potent part of the thistle as a medicine; however, even the juice of the green leaves and stems is valuable for cleansing the liver and rebuilding vital core health of the entire body. An edible oil can be gathered from pressing the seeds. Use a hand crank press to grind them in the raw form or roast the seeds, crush them finely with a mortar and pestle or coffee grinder, and add them to boiling water. After steeping for a few minutes, scrape the oil off the top. I like to blend the seeds with water, strain out the excess fiber, and then drink the thistle seed milk to benefit from the oils.

Milk thistle (Silybum marianum) has been used medicinally for over two thousand years, most commonly for the treatment of liver disorders such as jaundice and gallbladder disorders. Milk thistle products are popular in Europe and the United States for various types of liver disease including cirrhosis of the liver. Milk thistle is currently being used by HIV-positive patients to protect the liver from diseases such as hepatitis and damage from the drugs taken for HIV or AIDS. A flavonoid in the thistle seed called silymarin is a powerful antioxidant that protects the cells of the liver. Silymarin blocks harmful toxins from entering the liver and helps remove existing toxins. It stimulates liver and gallbladder activity, which regenerates injured liver cells.

Blessed thistle (Cnicus benedictus) is recorded in traditional medicine as far back as the early sixteenth century as an appetite stimulant, astringent (toning organs and tissues), blood purifier, choleretic (stimulating bile flow), diaphoretic (stimulating sweating), digestion enhancer, diuretic (increasing urine), expectorant (removing phlegm and mucus), fever reducer, memory improver, menstrual flow stimulant, and salivation stimulant. It was purposely cultivated in the monastery gardens to cure smallpox, malaria, dangerous fevers, flatulence, constipation, and indigestion. It continues to be honored by being an important ingredient in Bénédictine liqueur.

A festive way to honor the medicine of wild thistle growing around your community is to harvest the roots, dry them, and add them to your favorite local hard liquor. We use locally made rum from our area. Fill a glass jar with the dried roots and pour over the local brew. Let it steep in the jar anywhere from a month to a year and enjoy the powerful root liquor with friends as a way to celebrate wild wisdom and your health.

Drinking a cup of thistle root tea twice a day is a great choice to help eliminate chronic headaches. Not only does it support purification, it helps alleviate stomach and digestive problems, gas in the intestines, and constipation.

Thistles currently may be considered the bane of society, and yet the wise ones know that thistle is also the secret weapon to eradicate illness. The alkaline nature of thistle promotes core healing and regeneration, which is especially important in the present modern twenty-first century. Close to 90 percent of human diseases are rooted from an acidic condition within the body. We are often exposed to pollution, pesticides, and preservatives in our foods. Additional acidity comes from beverages like colas, coffee, as well as refined and cooked foods. Stress is one of the biggest influences that can create an acidic condition in the body.

When we ingest raw greens in our diet, especially in their wild forms from green juices to green salads, we begin to shift our internal chemistry toward alkalinity. Healthy blood is naturally slightly alkaline and supports health through efficient oxygenation of our cells and effective elimination of wastes. When our system is acidic, our blood flow and circulation can slow down. This stagnancy within our system creates a host of symptoms from the common cold to tumors and degenerative disease. A very simple preventative and curative measure is eating local and wild greens and, in particular, thistles!

Celebrate our global wealth by honoring the thistle on all lands of planet Earth. It is a simple way to feel so connected, rich, and safe here on the Earth in these wild changing times. They inspire creative action, the expression of joy, and support us in following our hearts.

Choose the thistles you want to harvest when they are young, before the flowers have opened. They may be starting to form a flower bud. Cut a few to sample and get to know the tenderness of the stalks. Once you have mastered the art of choosing the best and most tender thistle stalks, harvest at least four or five. Once you peel them, you will not have as much as you may think, because it is likely that some of the stalk will be too tough. Peel the prickles and the skin off the stem. You want to choose the stems that have the most juice and the least amount of tougher fibers. When you peel the stalks, the tougher parts are on the outside and the most juicy and tender part is in the middle. Simply eat them as is or prepare them into a simple yet gourmet treat by squeezing the lime juice over the stems, sprinkling a light dash of salt, and an even lighter dash of cayenne pepper or chili powder depending on your taste for spice! Enjoy this taste, reminiscent of Mexico, using local abundance instead of the traditional jicama.

Cut off the white fluffy part and use the purple flower tops to decorate the fruit salad.

Take a variety of fruits such as bananas, apples, peaches, apricots, and cherries and chop them together. Add to a bowl and sprinkle in the thistle flowers before serving.

Grind all ingredients in a food processor or mince by hand. Place in a Crock-Pot and add the salt. Pound the mixture with a wooden dowel until the juices from the roots and cabbage come out. Pack the mixture tightly in a glass jar that is sized to hold all of it without much room left at the top. Press the kraut down with a clean fist or the wooden dowel until the juices are covering the top layer. Screw the lid on lightly so that the juices can flow out if necessary. Place a plate or bowl underneath the jar to catch the excess liquid. Cover the whole jar with a cloth. Leave the jar at room temperature to culture for one week to ten days or until the smell is ripe and ready to be harvested. The roots of the thistle add a wonderful flavor and texture and powerful medicinal value to the kraut!

Blend the leaves of mallow and dandelion with a stalk of thistle, which can include the leaves, flower, and stem. Strain and serve over ice. Delicious just as it is. If you prefer a sweeter drink, add an apple.

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