Identify Common Wild Plants in Your Backyard

When you know how to identify edible plants, you quickly realize the benefits of gardening without all of the hard work. 

According to Plants for a Future, we consume only a fraction of the plant species we could be incorporating into our diets. Although there are more than 20,000 plant species across the globe, we rely on 20 of them to supply 90 percent of our food. 

While the edible wild plants available near you are largely dependent on your landscape and climate, there are a few that you can find almost anywhere. 

Plantain

Find it: Across the United States in fields and yards 
Identify it: Narrow, rounded leaves with long and deep ridges
Harvest it: Cut the leaves or dig out completely by the roots 
Use it: Plantain's traditional uses are medical. When chewed, it can treat bites, cuts, and rashes, as well as remedy internal conditions such as kidney stones, urinary tract infections, influenza, and more. Consume it as part of a salad or dry the leaves for tea.

Dead Nettle

Find it: In backyards and gardens almost everywhere in North America, and on roadsides 
Identify it: Layered, fuzzy, green and purplish leaves erupt from a square stem, while pink flowers adorn the crown of the plant; typically found in dense patches 
Harvest it: Find the stem of the dead nettle and move your hand about a 1/2 inch from the ground, and snip
Use it: As a member of the mint family, parts of dead nettle have a sweet flavor, the pink flowers especially. Use them, as well as the leaves as a garnish or alongside other foraged greens such as dandelion greens and chickweed Definitely try to fit them into your diet because they are rich in Vitamins A and C, and deliver your body with iron. Like plantain, dead nettle has many medicinal benefits and can be ingested as a poultice or dried and turned into tea. Grow Forage Cook Ferment also uses dead nettle as feed for her chickens!

Dandelion Greens

Find it: Dandelions, and by association, dandelion greens can be found anywhere in the northern temperate zone, which includes the United States. You'll find them in moist and sunny places, so fields are a good bet. You'll have a harder time finding them in the winter if it gets cold during that season in your area as they go dormant. 
Identify it: This one is easy to spot if you know what a dandelion looks like. The yellow flower will be your first indication that you've got dandelion greens on your hands. The leaves will have jagged edges that look like alternating triangles. 
Harvest it: Pick the green leaves surrounding the dandelion as close to the spot where the stem meets the ground.
Use it: Although a tad bitter, dandelion greens make a great addition to a salad, and are also great roasted like any other vegetable. 

Wild Onions

Find it: Near pooled water, especially around marshes, lakes, rivers, or streams 
Identify it: Wild garlic may look like tall grass at first, but upon further inspection, you'll notice that they are thicker and hollow. Garlic has more than 690 species, so you are sure to find one near you! 
Harvest it: There are a few ways you can harvest wild garlic. You can either take just the main part of the plant, cutting it off where it meets the ground or just above that spot, or you can completely remove the bulb, which will be hidden underneath the soil. If you remove the bulb, you'll effectively be killing the plant, but if you don't the garlic will regrow over time. 
Use it: Once you find these in your backyard or at a water source near you, you'll never buy garlic from the store. You can add it as an element to nearly any meal from egg hash (our favorite) to steak.