Wild Names for Wild Edibles

Many wild edible plants have funny common names that are associated with animals.  There’s Spiderwort, Little Hogweed, Cattails, Lambs Quarters and Sheep Sorrel to name a few.  But the craziest common name for a wild edible has to be False Hawksbeard or Oriental False Hawksbeard (Youngia japonica). 

You shouldn’t be put off by the crazy name.  False Hawksbeard is very tasty plant and is reputed to have wonderful medicinal properties as well.  It has garnered a lot of interest from medical researchers due to its antiviral and antibacterial properties.

My first foraging experience with False Hawksbeard was really a case of mistaken identity.  I thought it was a dandelion.  Both have lance-shaped deeply toothed leaves.  Both bear yellow flowers.  Fortunately for me False Hawksbeard turned out to be every bit as edible as a dandelion.

The lesson I learned is that you have to be certain that you can correctly identify a wild edible plant before you start eating it.  I should have noticed that dandelions have much larger flowers than False Hawksbeard and that False Hawksbeard often has multiple flowers on a single stem.  If you are interested in trying False Hawksbeard (Youngia Japonica) make sure you study a lot of detailed photographs first.

Usually you find False Hawksbeard growing in a lawn in an area of partial shade.  It’s considered more of nuisance plant than a serious pest for turf growers.  If I see a seedling sprouting up in one of my containers I usually just let it continue to grow as a companion plant.  It grows all year round which is a real benefit.  Once you eat this “weed” a few times you’ll be treating it as if it were spinach.

The young leaves of Youngia japonica are mild and tender.  The older leaves are a little bitter and less tender.  That’s why I use the younger leaves in salads and the larger, older leaves get boiled for just a few minutes to become part of a soup or a stew.  I’ve found that cooking the leaves for just a few minutes makes them very tender and delicious.