WILD FOOD foragers safe and provide with danger - especially as toxins an exciting range of food tend to be heavily concentrated options including roots, in tubers. By far the most deaths KNOW YOUR CARROTS shoots, buds and seeds from apiaceae poisoning have throughout the growing arisen from misidentification of year. 20 or so species can roots (notably mistaking hemlock With the possible exception of be mastered over time. water-dropwort for wild parsnip) fungi, no group of wild foods AUTHOR PROFILE: To become familiar with and I recommend focusing on fills the average forager with more than a couple of above-ground parts until you as much trepidation as the dozen varieties requires feel very familiar with individual carrot family. I have met highly MARK WILLIAMS methodical focused species and their lookalikes. proficient foragers of many Mark Williams shares his lifelong love of wild research over a wide area for Shoots, leaves, stems, buds and years’ experience who don’t foods through his free online learning resource, a sustained period. seeds will be our main focus here. harvest any of them for fear GallowayWildFoods.com and as a full-time of misidentification and the foraging tutor. With clients ranging from Michelin potentially life-threatening chefs to bushcraft schools and primary school repercussions this might have. pupils, Mark passionately believes that wild THE CARROT TOXIC SPECIES & foods should be accessible to all. He runs courses FAMILY IN A LOOKALIKES et if I were forced to choose UK-wide, but is happiest at home harvesting for only one group of plants to friends and family in the forager’s paradise of Galloway, south-west Scotland. BUSHCRAFT The rewards of the carrot family to rely on for food and flavour He has worked as a chef and fisherman and served in Mountain Rescue CONTEXT the forager-gastronome are huge, Y Teams since he was 15. You can Tweet with Mark on @markwildfood but the risks are also significant. it would be this remarkable and diverse family. Sure, the stakes are In a bushcraft or survival Several highly toxic species are high. But, by investing a little focused species worldwide. Parsley and celery family are also setting, the carrot family native to the UK. Of these, two in time on a regular basis, the risks become negligible and widely used as labels, but carrot family reflect its best is most useful as a food particular represent the greatest the rewards endless. Perhaps surprisingly, winter is the known cultivated member in the average Western source. Having said that hazard on account of their wide best time to start learning. This allows careful scrutiny I have had some success distribution, virulent toxicitiy and over time of the different growth stages of key members, kitchen. Anyone with a culinary or horticultural leaning using the dry seed heads similarity to edible species. They allowing you to “tune in” before hedgerows become too might also recognise fennel, coriander and dill as of common hogweed are hemlock (conium maculatum) busy. Plant Protein membersin g per of the100g same ofgroup. edible Botanists parts and adventurous (heracleum sphondylium) Hemlock Water-Dropwort leaf structure and hemlock water-dropwort Curly Kale (cultivated) foragers will know3.0 lots more - over 70 species are native as tinder, and the “basket” and unopened flower head. Note the (oenanthe crocata). ReferredStinging to more scientifically Nettle as the apiaceae to the UK, or have5.9 made their home here. structure of wild carrot pinnate divisions, smooth, hairless stem (pronouncedCommon ay-pee-ay-cee-eye Hogweed or A-P-A-C-I) or Knowledge of 6.7a dozen or so key wild species (including (daucus carota) seed heads and "rounded serrations" of lobes Nobody should consider eating umbelliferae, the carrot family includes more than 3,700 important toxic varieties) is sufficient to keep most make excellent combustible any wild-harvested members of receptacles for superior the carrot family unless they can Plant Protein in g per 100g of edible parts tinder. The smoke smells differentiate these species with Vit C in micrograms per 100g of edible parts PlantCurly Kale (cultivated) Protein in g per 100g3.0 of edible parts great too! 100% certainty. StingingSpinach Nettle(cultivated) 525.9 Curly Kale (cultivated) 3.0 Some species have medicinal properties, notably StingingCommonBroccoli (cultivated)Nettle Hogweed 1145.96.7 Fat Hen 236 sanicle (sanicula europaea) and angelica (angelica Common Hogweed 6.7 sylvestris), both of which can be used to treat a Cow Parsley 179 range of conditions including digestive problems PlantGround Elder Vit C in micrograms 201per 100g of edible parts and coughs/sore throats. PlantSpinachCommon (cultivated) Hogweed Vit C in micrograms 291per52 100g of edible parts SpinachBroccoli (cultivated) 11452 I can find little authoritative analysis of the Fat Hen 236 nutritional values of the wild members of the Broccoli (cultivated) 114 carrot family. What evidence does exist indicates FatCow Hen Parsley 236179 nutritional benefits far in excess of cultivated CowGround Parsley Elder 179201 so-called “superfoods”. They even measure up GroundCommon Elder Hogweed 201291 well against other more commonly used wild CommonPlant HogweedWater Potassium Phosphorous Magnesium291 Calcium Iron plants such as nettle. (%) (mg/100g) (mg/100g) (mg/100g) (mg/100g) (mg/100g) Curly Kale (cultvtd) 86.3 490 87 31 212 1.9 Many of the apiaceae have substantial roots Stinging Nettle 84.8 410 105 71 630 7.8 Common Hogweed 79.8 540 125 75 320 3.2 which can provide carbohydrate throughout the year. However, identification of roots, especially Hemlock (deadly - left) and Cow Parsley (edible - right). Note: Wild plants of the apiaceae family Source: Auswertungs und Informationsdienst für where a mixture of species are growing, is fraught Make careful note of how similar these look. This is why highlighted in green. Nutritional values can vary Ernahrung, Landwirtschaft und Forsten, Bonn, 1987 cited Plant Water Potassium Phosphorous Magnesium Calcium Iron all identifications MUST be based on multiple features. widely between species and stage(%) of growth.(mg/100g) in(mg/100g) Cooking Weeds by(mg/100g) Vivien Weise, 2004(mg/100g) p@ (mg/100g) Curly KalePlant (cultvtd) Water86.3 Potassium490 Phosphorous87 Magnesium31 Calcium212 Iron1.9 Stinging Nettle 84.8(%) (mg/100g)410 (mg/100g)105 (mg/100g)71 (mg/100g)630 (mg/100g)7.8 CommonCurly Kale Hogweed (cultvtd) 79.886.3 540490 12587 7531 320212 3.21.9 22 • BUSHCRAFTStinging & Nettle SURVIVAL 84.8SKILLS MAGAZINE410 105 Follow Bushcraft71 & Survival630 Skills Magazine7.8 on Facebook BUSHCRAFT & SURVIVAL SKILLS MAGAZINE • 23 Common Hogweed 79.8 540 125 75 320 3.2 WILD FOOD HABITAT ROOTS Knowing these will keep you DISTRIBUTION/ All identifications (of any wild food) should start with As mentioned earlier, roots are tricky, and I recommend much safer and you should LOCATION habitat. Habitat will never give you a definitive positive not uprooting plants until you are proficient in identifying actively seek them out. Also ID, but it will rule out a lot of species. So, for example above-ground parts. Apart from being illegal without be aware of other, rarer/ Consider distribution early - it (and most usefully), hemlock water-dropwort always has the landowner’s permission, uprooting is likely to kill less toxic species like fool’s will help you to narrow down its feet wet. If you are on well drained sandy dunes, you the plant. If you are intent on looking at roots, follow parsley and other water- likely suspects. For example, can eliminate it from your enquiries (though be aware all the guidance for above-ground ID here, then very dropworts (oenanthe spp). you are unlikely to find sweet cicely in southern England, or it often grows on carefully follow the foreshores where stem down to the Confidence can be gained alexanders in western Scotland. springs emerge and root, ensuring it is only by observing living Be aware of how common damp field edges). attached. plants (both edible and species are in general - for Conversely, if you toxic) on a regular basis example, hemlock water- are on a soggy Having said that, throughout the year, noting dropwort is hyper-abundant riverbank, expect it you should certainly the development of multiple in south west Scotland, while to be lurking. familiarise yourself features. Flicking through a hemlock is found only in a few with the distinctive reference book or looking at coastal locations. This doesn’t “dead man’s fingers” a few images online is not mean you can be complacent roots of hemlock sufficient. about ever finding poisonous SMELL species that are rare in your water-dropwort Flower smell (pictured). These You need to get down and area, but you can have realistic isn’t particularly are often exposed dirty with these plants on expectations about what you useful here - most or washed up after a regular basis. Every year are likely to find. apiaceae are floods or high tides I run “Confidence With pollinated by flies, Dead Man's Fingers - The roots of Hemlock Water-Dropwort and resulted in the Carrots” courses for already hoverflies and are potentially deadly, but apparently are quite mild tasting. deaths of many experienced herbalists, SEASON midges, which they Decoctions of these roots have historically been used to (greedy) dogs foragers and bushcrafters Where laymen see cow parsley attract through a administer death sentences. These were washed up on the around the UK looking to refresh or flowers in the hedgerows from range of dung and shore after a storm alighting next to edible sea beet leaves. after the big winter improve their knowledge. spring to late autumn, the decay-like smells. storms of January experienced apiaceae forager Instead pick and 2014. will be aware of a distinct crush the leaves, stem or seeds then smell them.