7 Wild Flowers to nibble on for National Flower Day
A celebration of Springtime foraging with Edible Flowers
If flowers provide a natural hit of dopamine why not stop and smell the roses a little more? Our natural world provides all of the colors and energy needed for a welcome boost of happiness. Flowers also have an affiliation with hope, love, affection and trust. The fragile stems are no match for the vibrant petal shouting at us to notice them.
Wildflowers are extra special in that they are not available all year round. Their rarity spread happiness at different times throughout the year, asking us to connect with the seasons and enjoy each one as it comes and goes.
Trying searching for some wild edible flowers and tossing them into your next salad or using them in fun filled ice cubes. They also provide the key ingredient to many of our favourite wild cordial recipes (you have to wait to summer to hear about some of my favs).
Happy National Flower Day to everyone!
Here are a list of wild edible flowers for you to keep a close eye out for on your next adventure:
Dandelion flowers (Taraxacum officinale)
Edible - Flowers, Leaves and Roots
Dandelions have a somewhat bad rep outside of the foraging world but this is a gigantic mistake in my opinion. In foraging circles, it is a staple in the foragers diet and as far as edible weeds go it is something of a special character.
When it comes to edible weeds, many people immediately think of dandelions. However, opinions about these plants are often divided - some people love them, while others hate them. Those who dislike them may not be aware of the many ways in which the roots, leaves, buds, and flowers can be used in cooking.
For example, you can pop off the unopened flower buds and use them to make a dandelion "caper" that has a taste and texture similar to true capers. If you don't have enough buds for a full jar, you can simply keep a jar of brine in your fridge and add the buds as you find them.
You can use the flowers to make dandelion wine, dandelion jelly and numerous other fresh recipes. Give this famous yellow weed a little love and they will give you back a lot of nutrients.
Wood sorrel flowers (Oxalis)
Add a little zest to your soups and salad with this pretty wild edible. Wood Sorrel is a perennial plant that grows close to the ground. Its leaves are trifoliate and have heart-shaped leaflets that wilt or close at night or under harsh conditions. The plant often forms extensive green carpets beneath the forest floor. Its flowers are white with tiny purple veins and feature five petals, while its seeds develop inside small green pods. Wood Sorrel can be found forming low-growing mats of lush green leaves in shady hedgerows and damp forests, often around the base of trees, throughout much of the year.
The plant produces delicate white flowers with pink or purple veining on relatively thin stems, rising above these green carpets. Both the flowers and soft green leaves fold up at night and under harsh conditions.
Wood Sorrel has diuretic and astringent properties, and it is also rich in vitamin C, which made it useful in the past for treating scurvy.
All parts of the plant, including the leaves, flowers, and stems, are edible, making it a versatile ingredient in various culinary dishes and recipes.
Wild mustard flowers (Brassicaceae spp.)
Also known as Black Mustard or Charlock, this edible flower can be found in most environments around the world.
Many of the world's most valued Brassica plants, such as kale, broccoli, cabbage, choy, mustard, and kohlrabi, originated from either the Mediterranean region or Asia. These plants were brought to America by European settlers and some have since escaped cultivation, growing abundantly as wild plants near open fields, old homesteads, and roadsides.
Wild mustard flowers have a sweet and distinctive mustardy flavor that pairs well in salads, sandwiches, or almost any savory dish you can imagine. Alternatively, you can grow your own by allowing a few of the Brassica plants in your garden to mature and flower.
You can spot these bright yellow headed flowers in Springtime.
Honeysuckle flowers
You won’t fail to recognise this arty looking flower once you see it once and the smell is just divine. Hence, the reason Jo Malone is making perfume based on the delicious flower. Honeysuckle has a growing habit somewhat similar to vines, but it doesn’t produce runners or completely take over your landscape. Dried honeysuckle is a keeper if you are interested in creating your own homemade wild teas (a passion of mine).
Honeysuckle flowers seem to taste best harvested in early Summer and in the morning time while the nectaries are still full.
Use honeysuckle flowers as a colorful and exotic garnish.
Wild roses
Did you know that all forms of wild rose are edible? The Dog Rose is the most common Wild Rose. It grows in most hedgerows and has aromatic edible flowers and juicy fruits that are high in vitamin C. Best picked fresh during the months of April to June.
Besides the wonderful smell, roses can be used for cordials, teas and a little sparkling rose.
Dog Rose is a deciduous shrub with long scrambling branches and arching, thorny stems. The flowers are white to pink and have 5 petals. The fruits are the rosehips, which are oval, glossy skinned and orange to red in colour.
During winter the dog rose bush producers rose hips to keep us going when the going gets tough. Rosehips are conveniently packed with vitamin C, containing much more than you find in oranges and blackcurrants. During II World War due to a shortage of citrus fruits, the British government encouraged the picking of rosehips to make nutritive syrup issued as a dietary supplement.
Elderflowers (Sambucus spp.)
If you haven’t made an elderflower gin from homemade elderflower cordial then you haven’t truly had a taste of nature. This is one of our favourite flowers to forage for here in Ireland. For many people, fragrant elderflowers are synonymous with summer and they’re at their best late May to June. The flowers and berries are the only edible part of the elder tree and require cooking to remove the small amounts of toxic chemicals.
To use the elderflowers make sure to shake them gently and rinse repeatedly under cold water to get rid of any insects hiding in the flower filled heads. They can be used fresh as flavouring for cordial, wine, tea, liqueur, syrup, jelly and desserts. You can also dip the flowers into a light batter and fry them to make elderflower fritters. Alternatively dry the flowers and use them as a substitute for fresh flowers in most recipes.
While elderberries are quite trendy at the moment as studies have shown them to boost immune systems, elderflowers are just as delicious and will brighten up any gloomy evening.
Three Cornered Leek (Allium triquetrum)
Hanging in clusters very much like a white bluebells with six petals, each with a green stripe, and can flower at almost any time of year, sometimes twice a year. All the local names refer to its garlicky smell; onion grass, onion weed, wild garlic, three-cornered garlic, three-cornered onion or three-cornered leek.
The flowers have a strong garlicky crunch. I love sprinkling them over salads and using them as an edible garnish. The buds are lovely pickled too. The flowers are white with a green stripe on them.
You can eat all of this plant - the roots, flowers, flower buds, leaves and flower stems. Here in Cornwall I start eating it through winter when the leaves are greener and before the flowers start to show.
Happy Foraging All!