! Stinging Nettle Gather with gloves when plants are youngish, less than 1.5 foot tall. Must be cooked or dry to eat. Food: An amazing, abundant tasty vegetable adaptable to many recipes. Medicinal use: Overall tonic and stamina builder, very effective for allergies, nourishing, blood building, mineral rich.
Miner’s Lettuce Food: Salads, sandwiches, soups, snacks. High in Vitamin C.
Horsemint or other mints except Pennyroyal — Backpackers favorite! Mints always have square stems. Food: Very tasty tea herb for beverage. Medicinal use: Use for tummy trouble/nausea/flatulence. Add a few sprigs to a cup and pour boiling water over. Sweeten if desired and goes well with lemon.
Elderberry — Never pick the Red Elderberry from north coast, only the blue to purple berry varieties. Some people can get queazy from the berries unless cooked or dried. Use only the flowers or berries Food: Sprinkle flowers or dip while flower heads in pancake batter and fry. Ad to muffins, cakes, etc. Ripe berries can be earn off the bush, fresh or dried can be make into a delicious tea, added to muffins, pancakes, etc. Fantastic as a syrup. Makes an excellent sour dough starter. Medicinal Use: Anti-viral for fevers, colds and flu. Anti-oxidant and vitamin rich. Flowers make a good skin or wound wash steeped in hot water.
Edible Berries Food: Blackberry, Raspberry, Currant family (Ribes), Serviceberry, Huckleberry, Thimbleberry, etc. I.D. before eating. A treat and a pick-me-up. All rich in anti-oxidants.
Wild Rose
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Food: Flowers and hips for tea. Flowers make a lovely garnish. Vitamin C rich rose hips can be a great snack but eat the red outer part only and spit the seeds out as the hairs on them can be irritating to the digestive tract if you get too many.
Juniper Berry — Do not use this during pregnancy! Food: Delicious as a tea but not for every day use. Medicinal: Tea is anti-fungal and can be used as a wash for ringworm and other fungal infections on people and animals.
Plaintain
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There are narrow and wide leaf varieties. 21