Edible Plants in Minnesota
*Please note that harvesting plants is NOT allowed in the natural lands. Additionally, the focus of this article is not to guide you in identifying these species, but rather to provide some basic information on these plants.
Stinging and Wood Nettles: “Look out, that plant might sting you!” is a phrase I have heard many times before, normally in reference to nettles. Nettles have small hairs on their stems and leaves that can poke your skin and cause it to hurt and itch almost immediately. While these stings rarely last more than a few hours, it can be enough to scare people away from these plants. Stinging nettles, as their name suggests, are one type that can sting you, but wood nettles also have a bad sting. However, if you are careful, both of these types of nettles can be harvested, and used for various purposes. When dried, the stems can be twisted and made into cord. The leaves and stems can also be eaten, and when dried or steamed, they won’t sting the inside of your mouth!
Black Raspberries: I’m sure you’ve seen both black and red raspberries in the grocery store, but there are similar fruits that grow in the woods of Minnesota as well. Black raspberries are a bit more difficult to find than those in the store, as the fruit is smaller, there are many other animals that also enjoy them, and their stems, or canes, have lots of thorns on them, but they are just as delicious! Their canes can grow quite long, and if they get too tall and heavy, they can bend back towards the ground, where the tip of the stem can grow roots and create an arch, which is easy to trip on when trying to walk through a patch of black raspberries. These plants are often found along roadsides in Southern Minnesota, or in forests or fields. Even though these plants are fairly common, there are many other similar species which can make them difficult to identify.
Cleavers: Cleavers, also known as bedstraw or sticky weed, is a very common plant in the northern hemisphere, where it can grow in forests, meadows, and prairies. It got the name bedstraw because people used to use it to stuff their mattresses. When dried, the many hairs along the leaves and stems trap air, which makes it at least somewhat comfortable for a mattress. The hairs also make it good at sticking to animal fur and peoples clothes, hence the name sticky weed. It’s one of my favorite plants to see in the spring because you can feel it stick to you! In addition to being good for mattresses and a fun plant to play with on your adventures in the woods, the young leaves and stems of cleavers are edible.
Virginia Waterleaf: As the name suggests, the leaves of Virginia Waterleaf have white patterns on them that look like a water stain. These distinct leaves are some of the first pops of green to appear in the understory of forests in the spring, and later in the year, they have purple or white flowers. According to the Minnesota Board of Water & Soil Resources, both “the waterleaf cuckoo bee (Nomanda hydrophylli) and Andrena bees (Andrena geranii)” are specialist pollinators, meaning that they prefer the nectar of Virginia Waterleaf flowers over nectar of over flowers. The young leaves of Virginia Waterleaf are also edible. The leaves and stems can be a bit hairy, but when mixed with other greens, they make a great spring salad!
Garlic Mustard: When I think of garlic mustard, the first thing that comes to mind is pulling it. Garlic mustard is an invasive species that was brought to the United States from Europe and Asia in the 1800s. It grows and spreads quickly through forests and fields, and because it comes up early in the spring, it can get established before other plants, and then shade them out. Pulling garlic mustard is a common and effective way to get rid of it, and it then provides space for a more diverse group of species to grow. Garlic mustard is also edible, and can be harvested when the plants are young. The Nature Conservancy recommends harvesting the entire plant, even if you don’t plan on eating it all, to help stop it from spreading.
Sources:
https://www.fourseasonforaging.com/blog/2017/6/10/stung-by-the-nettle
https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/shrub/black-raspberry
https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=GABO2
https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/flower/virginia-waterleaf