Colors of Edible Wild Plants

Red to Dark Burgundy

• The prickly pear cactus, found in the Southwest, bears a dark burgundy fruit in the fall that can be eaten raw or roasted. Wild strawberries have white or pink blossoms and bear a small strawberry that is red when ripe. Red elderberries grow in the Appalachian Mountains. The elderberry shrub bears white flowers and berries that are bright red when ripe. Many animals and humans are in competition for the berries. In western North America, a shrub called salmon-berry blooms in early spring and bears berries that resemble raspberries. The salmon-berry is a pale red, but the blooms are a very deep pink to purple. Wild cherry trees have white blossoms and make dark red cherries that are edible. Avoid swallowing the pits, which contain cyanide.

White

• Chickweed is a plant that bears starry white blooms on top of cupped leaves. The leaves wrap partly around the stem of the plant. The flower and leaves are sweet, tasting a bit like sweet corn. Wild white rose petals are edible. These wild roses are usually found growing along fence rows in the countyside. The leaves of Lamb's Quarters are coated with a white powdery substance that washes off when submerged under water and swished. These leaves are eaten raw in salads or cooked like spinach. Wild garlic bears a white flower that indicates the plant can be pulled up a couple of weeks later for the white bulb that tastes like the cultivated version. Toothwort grows in the Great Smoky Mountains. This plant has white flowers with four petals. The rhizomes are eaten because of their peppery-radish taste.

Green

• Mountain mint has tiny white flowers in dense heads at the end of each branch. The green leaves can be used fresh or dried for tea. Pine needles were used by Native Americans to make a tea for stuffy sinuses. The inner bark and seeds of pine trees are also edible. Kudzu, a plant that grows a foot each night, is a vine that invaded the South. The entire plant is edible, from the green leaves to the light purple blossoms that smell like grapes. Kudzu leaves contain vitamins C and A. The leaves of the sassafras tree are dried and used to thicken soups and gumbos. The tiny, pale green flowers make berries that can be used as a cinnamon substitute.

Violet to Blue

• All members of the violet family are edible. The flowers can be candied and used to decorate cakes. The flowers and leaves also make a nice salad. Wild blueberries grow on tiny bushes, some no more than a foot tall. The wild bush resembles the cultivated blueberry. The passion flower, which grows on vines, produces a large green seed pod that is edible and has a citrus taste. The purple flower is often used in punch as a floating, edible flower. Blue roses, like those of other colors, have petals that are edible. The rose petals can be sugared and candied or used fresh in salads or to decorate cakes.

Black

• Many berries that grow wild are edible. Positive identification is necessary to avoid any poisonous berries, many of which are black. The blackberry, dewberry, mulberry and elderberry are all black. Blackberries and dewberries grow on wild vines, whereas the mulberry grows on trees. The elderberry grows on small shrubs. The huckleberry is between dark blue and black in color. These berries taste much like blueberries.