Edible Wildflowers in Ontario

Chives

• Chives (Allium schoenoprasum) are plants that are grown domestically but escape and become wild flora. These feral plants have purple flowers. Chives are good chopped into cream soups, baked potatoes and egg dishes. Chives, if planted near roses, emit a scent that discourages aphids.

Wild Leeks

• The Wild Leek (Allium tricoccum), like chives, is a member of the onion family. This plant with delicate white to creamy white flowers has both edible leaves and bulbs in raw or cooked form. Wild Leeks prefer medium-wet woodlands to medium-dry soil with full to partial shade.

Garlic Mustard

• Garlic Mustard (Alliaria officinalis) is a cultivated plant and member of the mustard family (Brassicaceae) that has spread out into the wild. This plant with small, clustered flowers is edible raw or cooked. Many communities list Garlic Mustard as an invasive species because it can displace native species and alter forest ecosystems.

Trout Lilies

• The Lily Trout (Erythronium americanum) and White Trout Lily (Erythronium albidum) have corms or tubers that are edible raw. The White Lily, also known as the White Fawn Lily, has white to pink flowers with yellow centers. The Lily Trout has purple leaves and red flowers that give it several names such as "Adder's tongue" and "Dogtooth violet," despite the plant's not being not a violet. These perennials prefer moist woods and forests.

Indian Cucumber Root

• Indian Cucumber Root (Medeola virginiana) is a member of the Lily family. These woodland yellow flowers have roots that taste like cucumber and can be eaten cooked or raw. The plant prefers sandy, alkaline soils and is found in moist shade.

Wood Lily

• Another member of the Lily family is the Wood Lily (Lilium Philadelphicum). This plant grows in moist areas that include plains, foothills and other lowland regions. It is a versatile plant with edible bulbs, flowers and seeds that can be eaten raw, cooked or dried for storage.

Common Milkweed

• The Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) has flower heads that can be fried in batter and eaten. The shoots, stems, immature fruits and roots are also edible. This plant with pink and dull purple flowers thrives in dry fields and roadsides.

Pokeweed

• The young shoots, berries and roots of Pokeweed (Phytolacca Americana) are edible if they are cooked. Eating the parts raw is toxic and causes gastric distress. This white flower thrives on damp soil in clearings and roadsides.

Purslane

• Purslane (Portulaca oleracea) seeds, leaves and stems can be eaten raw in salads or cooked as vegetables. Purslane has leaves rich in iron but contains oxalic acid that removes calcium from the blood and clogs the kidneys.