Sea Beet amongst seaweed and rocks. Photo by Steve Andrews
Sea beet is a common edible plant found at the top of
beaches and near the sea in the UK and Europe.
Its leaves are very good cooked as greens and taste
very much like spinach. This is not surprising because the plant is an ancestor
of cultivated spinach beet and beetroot. In fact, the sea beet is also known as
wild spinach.
It produces masses of glossy dark green oval or
diamond-shaped leaves in rosettes that can be found all year around. Its flowers
are small and greenish and form in summer and autumn.
Sea beet can be found growing amongst pebbles and
rocks at the top of a beach and on coastal land and is easy to recognise. You
are not likely to find anything else looking like poking its greenery through
the pebbles. It can be found growing where seaweed and other floating rubbish
has been washed up by the tide.
The leaves of Sea Beet. Photo by Steve Andrews
The stems of sea beet and the leaf stalks sometimes
have a purplish-red colouration which shows their link with beetroots.
The leaves of sea beet can be eaten raw in salads as
well as being cooked like spinach. Many people think their flavour is actually
better than spinach we grow and buy.
Richard Mabey recommends it strongly in Food For Free his
classic book on foraging which is now in its fortieth year and contains info with illustrations for some 200 types of edible plant and wild mushroom.
The sea beet is known to botanists as Beta vulgaris ssp. maritma and used to be classed as in the Chenopodiaceae but it is
now in the Amaranthaceae. Many other plants in this family, such as the
goosefoot (Chenopodium album), are
also edible.
The swallowtail butterfly is attractively marked in
yellow and black and is one of the rarest butterflies
in the UK being confined to the fenland in the Norfolk Broads area. This is
because in Britain its caterpillar will only feed on the milk parsley (Peucedanum palustre).
The swallowtail takes its name from projections on its
hind-wings which also have some blue colouration on them and a bright red spot.
The British swallowtail is one of the largest
butterflies to be seen in the country and is actually a subspecies known to
science as Papilio machaon ssp. britannicus.
Caterpillars of continental swallowtails will eat a
wide variety of food-plants including species in the Apiacae (parsley family)
such as wild carrot (Daucus carota) and
fennel (Foeniculum vulgare), as well
as the rue (Ruta graveolens).
Swallowtail caterpillars are easy to spot because they
have bold blackish stripes on their green bodies. They also have a weird forked
organ known as an osmeterium that is protruded if the insect larva is
threatened. This organ emits an unpleasant smell that is thought to help ward
off predators.
Swallowtail caterpillar on rue. Photo by Steve Andrews
Swallowtails are fairly common and widely distributed
in many parts of Europe and in Portugal, for example, they can be seen in
gardens where the eggs get laid on rue.
Swallowtails sometimes migrate from France to the UK
and there have been reports of them breeding but the only native species are to
be found in the Norfolk Broads as already noted.
There are many other types of swallowtail butterfly
found around the world. Some of these are common but others are endangered
butterfly species.
The swallowtail butterfly is a very beautiful insect
and it would be a very great shame if the British type ever becomes extinct.
Most people know that houseplants can contribute to a
natural atmosphere, but they might be unaware of the fact that indoor plants
can make them a healthier person. As always, being environmentally conscious is
important, but we should also be thinking about how to bring the natural world
into our living spaces using a variety of houseplants for our own health as well as considering them for their
natural beauty.
Indoor plants, as decoration, not only look good and add a
splash of colour but they can actually help make your home a healthier place to
live by cutting down on pollutants in the air. Aloe vera (Aloe barbadensis),
ivy (Hedera helix) and the mother-in-law’s-tongue or
snake plant (Sanseveria trifasciata), for example, are all recommended
for improving air quality.
Mother-in-law's tongue In Public Domain
One way you can plot out your plants is by using 3D design software on the Internet. This method can help you with deciding where each type of
houseplant is most likely to thrive. You can also get an idea of what space is
available and how much lighting there is by using a bird’s eye view.
Natural light coming in through windows, as well as keeping
plants in good condition, can enhance the foliage, casting some shadows that
add depth and create some interesting visual effects.
Most houseplants look best against a simple and uncluttered
background to provide contrast. Plants also help you scale the look of your
rooms, as including bigger plants in your space ironically gives rooms a larger
feel. The Swiss cheese plant (Monstera deliciosa) and the rubber plant (Ficus
elastica) have been very popular for many years but they need the space to
grow and really look their best.
Ficus elastica In Public Domain
You will be spending most of your time in the living room
so this is a good place to distribute them. Plants have been proven to have
positive effect on mood and they can help your relax. In fact your grandparents
were probably resting by an aspidistra or cast iron plant (Aspidistra
elatior). This traditional plant is easy to grow in the living room or
lounge.
Cilantro leaves Photo by Steve Andrews
Herbs like cilantro (Coriandrum sativum), chives (Allium
schoenoprasum) and basil (Ocimum basilicum) can be grown for
convenience in the kitchen and provide an array of health benefits. They also
add a touch of natural charm to your home and flavour to your cooking.
The symbiotic relationship plants provide extend even into
the bathroom. Ferns will benefit from the humidity and release oxygen into the
air to help you wake up in the morning. The maidenhair fern in particular (Adiantum
aethiopicum) loves cool damp air and has delicate pale green fronds.
Christmas cactus In Public Domain
You can even add a seasonal touch to your home by growing
bulbs like hyacinths indoors in spring, and the colourful Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera
species) will flower in the festive season.
The Red Admiral (Vanessa
atalanta) is a very well known butterfly that is often seen in gardens and
parks in the UK, especially in autumn when it is one of the last flying insects
to be seen before the winter begins.
It has very conspicuous red and black wings and
white spots on the wing-tips. The underside of the wings is mainly mottled and
provides camouflage when the wings are folded.
The Red Admiral is a migrant butterfly that arrives
in the UK and northern Europe each year and is believed to hibernate in small
numbers in Britain too. In late summer and autumn it can often be found feeding
on rotting fruit such as apples, pears and plums that have fallen to the ground
in gardens and orchards. Red Admiral adults can often be seen feeding on
Buddleia or the Butterfly Bush (Buddleia
davidii) in late summer. With its spectacular colouration the Red Admiral is one of the most popular and commonly sighted British butterflies.
The caterpillar of the Red Admiral is mostly found
on Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica)
but sometimes will also be discovered eating other plants in the Urticacae
including Pellitory of the Wall (Parietaria
officinalis) and the Small Nettle (U.
urens), as well as Hops (Humulus
lupulus) in the Cannabaceae. The Stinging Nettle is a familiar sight and often
forms large patches alongside fields, on river and railway banks, and on waste
ground and Pellitory of the Wall grows, as its name suggests, in the walls of old
and ruined buildings.
The male Red Admiral butterflies tend to be smaller
than the females but otherwise look identical. Females can be seen flying over
food-plants and stopping to lay eggs but otherwise they are mainly encountered
feeding on flowers or fruit or simply basking or flying in the sunshine.
Canary Red Admiral (Vanessa vulcania)
In Tenerife and the Canary Islands there is a very
similar species of Red Admiral though it is smaller and has slightly different
wing patterns. The red bands have black markings breaking them up. The Canary
Red Admiral (V. vulcania) tends to be
mainly seen in spring and lives in the cooler areas of the islands where there
is more vegetation.
Canary Red Admiral resting
This species is also found living in Madeira. It used to be
referred to as Vulcania indica the
Indian Red Admiral but has been declared as a separate species to this
butterfly. Like the Red Admiral its caterpillars feed on nettles and plants in
the Urticaceae.
Both species of Red Admiral butterfly are very
pretty creatures from the Nymphalidae family and not easily mistaken for any
other species.
Wall Pennywort (Umbilicus rupestris) is an
interesting edible wild plant that you are not likely to mistake for anything
else. It grows, as its name suggests in old stone walls, and also in crevices
in rocks, and has round leaves hence its name.
The Wall Pennywort is also known as Navelwort because
its leaves have a small indentation in the middle that could be likened to a
navel in a human stomach. The leaves grow in rosettes. An alternative name for
the plant is Penny-pies.
Wall Pennywort is found in the UK and parts of
southern and western Europe as well as in the Canary Islands. It has spikes of
greenish-pink flowers on stems that may be a reddish shade and it flowers in
spring and as late as May and early summer depending on location. These
flower-spikes can reach some 10in in height and the small flowers are
bell-shaped. It is a member of the
Crassulaceae or Stonecrop family and is adapted for surviving in dry
conditions. The leaves and plant are succulent and fleshy.
Wall Pennywort in flower
The leaves can be eaten as a salad and have been
compared with a crisp lettuce in flavour. They are best when found growing in
moist conditions or after rain when they are really juicy. Wall Pennywort tends
to turn a reddish colour in very dry conditions and will lose it succulent
fleshiness. Take care when gathering the leaves because Wall Pennywort is very
shallow-rooted and the whole plant can easily be pulled out of the small amount
of soil it is growing in.
Wall Pennywort has been used in homeopathic medicine
and is known as Cotyledon umbilicus
to practitioners. The plant is thought to be the “Kidneywort”, described by
Nicholas Culpeper in the English Physician.
The famous herbalist said of the Wall Pennywort: : "the juice or the distilled water being drank, is very
effectual for all inflammations and unnatural heats, to cool a fainting hot
stomach, a hot liver, or the bowels: the herb, juice, or distilled water
thereof, outwardly applied, heals pimples, St. Anthony's fire, and other
outward heats. The said juice or water helps to heal sore kidneys, torn or
fretted by the stone, or exulcerated within; it also provokes urine, is
available for the dropsy, and helps to break the stone. Being used as a bath,
or made into an ointment, it cools the painful piles or hæmorrhoidal veins. It
is no less effectual to give ease to the pains of the gout, the sciatica, and
helps the kernels or knots in the neck or throat, called the king's evil:
healing kibes and chilblains if they be bathed with the juice, or anointed with
ointment made thereof, and some of the skin of the leaf upon them: it is also
used in green wounds to stay the blood, and to heal them quickly."
Wall Pennywort is a
plant that is easily recognised and is worth adding to the plants you are
foraging for. It really is an enjoyable edible wild plant to be eaten as a
salad vegetable or to add to sandwiches.
Many years ago the Findhorn village in Scotland made
the news because of the gigantic plants and vegetables that grew there, and
this was believed to have happened due to the magical assistance of nature
spirits. Findhorn was soon to become a thriving New Age community and still is
to this day. Now a rare shrub known as Bencomia
caudata has been found growing to the size of small trees here in Tenerife
in the Canary Islands.
According to author and botanist David Bramwell in
his book Wild Flowers of the CanaryIslands, this particular species of Bencomia only reaches 2 m in height and
he describes it as a “small shrub.” However, whilst out walking with friends I
discovered a number of specimens of this rare plant that had developed into
small trees and reached 4 m or more. Some of these had proper branches and trunks
as well. They are of the beaten track and hidden away in the garden of an
abandoned house in the Cuevas Negras area above Los Silos.
Bencomia caudata tree. Photo by David Parkes
I contacted Bramwell and he has confirmed that the
small trees are B. caudata but a lot
bigger than usual. It is thought that the fertile soil where they are growing
has caused their fantastic increase in size. The Cuevas Negras ravine they are
in is sheltered and receives plenty of water. Most of the vegetation growing
there is very tall, green and luxuriant. There are very high plants of some
sort of Cabbage in the garden as well and my friend Holly van Heffernan was
photographed by one of these to show just how tall they are.
Holly van Heffernan with a Cuevas Negras cabbage. Photo by Steve Andrews
The Bencomia genus of shrubs is actually in the
Rosacae or Rose family but only an experienced botanist would be likely to realise
this because the shrubs do not look anything like the popular flower we all
know so well. They are evergreens and have attractive pinnate leaves. The
flowers are carried in inflorescences that later on turn into tightly packed
globular fruits. The flowers are either male or female and the plants are
dioecious.
Palo de Sangre the Stick of Blood. Photo by Steve Andrews
The leaf-form of the Bencomia species bears a
resemblance to those of the Stick of Blood or “Palo de Sangre” (Marcetella moquiniana) that is another
uncommon shrub found in Tenerife. It gets its name from having the upper parts
of its stems covered in bright red hairs. This shrub is in the Rose family too.
It grows on cliffs, slopes and in ravines in the wild but is frequently cultivated
in parks and gardens for its ornamental value.
There are another three species of Bencomia that are
endemics of the Canary Islands. B.exstipulata grows in various locations
in the highlands of Mt Teide, B.
sphaerocarpa is surving in small populations on the forest cliffs of El
Hierro, and B. brachystachya is a
shrub that is only found in Gran Canaria. All of the Bencomias are very rare
plants and protected species.
Summer is the hottest time of the year and has plenty of sunlight, but when
it comes toforagingfor wild foods it is the season in between spring and autumn, which means
that the spring greens are past their prime and the fruits and nuts harvested
in autumn are still not ready.
However, summer is a great season for gathering in the herbs that grow wild
and drying them to preserve them for future use and some like St John's Wort
are traditionally harvested at this time.
St John's Wort
St John's Wort(Hypericum
perforatum) is commonly found growing in grassy places, woodland
clearings and edges, roadsides, waste ground and railway banks and is in full
bloom and full potency at midsummer when it can be collected on St John's Day,
June 24. It is easily recognised by its golden yellow flowers starry 5-petaled
flowers with conspicuous stamens and the flowering tops are the part of the
plant that contains most of its active ingredient hypericin.
St John's Wort
St
John's Wort has become widely known and used as Mother Nature's answer to
Prozac and is on sale as a herbal tea or in other forms as a supplement from
health stores and distributors of such products. It is also a remedy for
anxiety and nervous tension, as well as having antiseptic and anti-inflammatory
properties.
Red Clover(Trifolium
pratense) is a plant that may well also be found in places where St
John's Wort grows and especially in fields and meadows but also on railway
banks and waste ground. TheNative Americansrecognised its medicinal properties after it had been introduced
to the continent and used it against cancerous tumours and skin diseases, as
well as taking it during pregnancy and childbirth and as a general tonic and
herb of purification.
The
flowers are the parts that get used as an infusion and these can be collected
and dried. Red Clover was once used to treat bronchial complaints and is also
thought to be good for balancing blood sugar levels.
Common name: Wild Marjoram - Scientific name: Origanum vulgare Photo by Leo Michels. Usage: Public Domain
Two
aromatic summer herbs that can be used in cooking as well as for medicinal
purposes areWild
Thyme(Thymus drucei) and theMarjoram(Origanum vulgare), both of
which favour grassy places on limestone or a chalky soil.
Wild
Thyme is a tiny little plant that you will have to get down on your hands and
knees to gather and it grows in clumps among short grassland and on downs and
heaths. It produces reddish-purple flower heads and is easier to find and pick
when in bloom, which occurs between June and August.
The
flavour and fragrant aroma of Wild Thyme is much milder than the garden variety
but it is just as useful for flavouring savoury dishes. Richard Mabey awards it
with an A category in his classic bookFood for Free.
Marjoram
is a much bigger plant and when in flower it is easy to spot clumps of it,
especially as it usually has bees and other insects in attendance eagerly
gathering the nectar from its pinkish purple flowers. This is a very aromatic
and spicy herb that is excellent for adding flavour to food.
In
Mediterranean cookery Marjoram has been much valued and made use of, although
in the UK it has often been neglected for some reason, even though one of its
local names is Joy of the Mountain. It is also known as Oregano.
Marjoram
is prepared by collecting some flowering sprigs of the herb, hanging them to
dry and then stripping the leaves and flowers from the stalks. Crushed up in
this dry form it can be stored in airtight jars for future use.
Marjoram
taken as an infusion is good for anxiety, insomnia, colds and chest complaints,
indigestion and tension headaches. It has antiseptic properties too.
Another
common summer herb isFennel(Foeniculum
vulgare) and although it grows inland on waste ground and
cultivated in gardens it really thrives on cliffs and other places by the sea.
It can reach as much as 5 ft in height and is easy to recognise with its
graceful appearance, feathery leaves and umbels of mustard-yellow flowers,
which appear from June to October.
If you
crush any part of the Fennel plant you will notice a strong smell of aniseed
and its flavour is similar too. The seeds are collected later on in the autumn
and are wonderful for adding to curries, stir-fries and other dishes as well as
making Fennel herb tea but the leaves and stalks are gathered in early summer
and hung up to dry.
Finely
choppedFennel leavesare good in salads, with parsnips, and even in apple
pie and the herb is good with oily fish as well. The whole plant is edible and
it really is one of the most useful wild herbs that can easily be found.
In
fact, Fennel is such a versatile plant that Pliny listed it as being a remedy
for no less than 22 complaints and it was one of the Anglo-Saxon herbalists'
nine most sacred herbs. Fennel tea is good for the digestion and it can be used
as a gargle for a sore throat and a mouthwash.
Fennel Tea
250ml/
½ pint/ 1 cup of boiling water 1 teaspoonful ofFennel seed½ thin slice of fresh orange or some grated rind
Crush
the Fennel seeds slightly and place in a teapot and pour the boiling water over
them. Cover and leave to infuse for 5 minutes.
Add the
orange slice or rind for extra flavour, and then strain before serving.
Olives with Wild Marjoram
1 lb of
pricked olives in a jar 1 cup of olive oil 1 teaspoon of Thyme 1 teaspoon of
crushed peppercorns 3 teaspoons of chopped Wild Marjoram
Add the
herbs and spices and olive oil to the olives in the jar, close it, shake well
and store in a refrigerator for at least 2 days.
Serve
the olives with red wine and cheese.
Common Mallow
TheCommon
Mallow(Malva sylvestris) is often
found growing in the same locations as Fennel and is another very useful herb
that flowers from June through until October. Typically encountered on
roadsides, on banks and on waste ground the Common Mallow stands out with its
showy pink five-petalled flowers that are produced on stems that can be as much
as 3 ft in height.
The
leaves, flowers and seeds are all edible as well as having medicinal
properties. The plant contains a lot of mucilage, which taken internally as an
infusion reduces inflammation and is a treatment for coughs sore throats and
bronchitis.
Young
leaves and shoots of the Common Mallow contain vitamins A, B1, B2 and C and can
be eaten raw in salads or cooked as greens. Unripe fruits can also be added to
salads and the seeds are known as "cheeses," due to their shape
rather than the mildly nutty flavour.
The
Romans cultivated the Common Mallow as a culinary and medicinal herb and by the
16th century it had gained a reputation as a cure-all. In sufficient quantity
it has a laxative action and so can help purge the body of toxins and disease.
Meadowsweet
One
more easily found and wonderful summer herb is the Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria),
which grows in damp places such as river and streamsides and by ponds, and
flowers from June until October with frothy creamy-white flower heads.
Meadowsweet has inspired poets Ben Jonson and John Clare, and the latter
included it in his poem To Summer.
The
flowers and leaves when dried smell of newly mown hay and can be added to
pot-pourri or used to make a herbal tea. It can be used to flavour soups and
stews but has medicinal properties too and is traditionally taken as an
infusion for heartburn and gastric ulcers.
Lime Tree
Besides
all the herbs described above that can be looked for in the countryside, there
is another, which grows much closer to home and is definitely worth knowing
about and that is theLime
Tree(Tilia x europaea), which
can be found in many parks, gardens and along city streets. In June and July
the delightful honeyed fragrance of this common tree perfumes the air and when
they are in bloom is the time to harvest its flowers.
Made
into a herbal tea, known as "Tilleul" in France where it has proved a
very popular beverage, Lime-blossom besides tasting good is good for anxiety
and insomnia because it has mildtranquillising propertiesas well as for treating high blood pressure. Dry the
entire flower head along with its winged bract and make the tea without milk.
In
early summer, before the Lime leaves get too old and tough, they can be eaten
in sandwiches but make sure to wash them first and collect them from out of the
way of roads and traffic fumes.
Summer
is an ideal time for enjoying the countryside and rambling due to the longer
hours of daylight and the warm and sunny weather. The fragrance and the many
uses of the herbs found growing at this time of year are surely another of the
many pleasures of the season.
Footnote:
This article was originally published inPermaculture Magazine,
number 48, summer 2006.
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