1. Sow-thistle, White Lettuce, Cattail 30 APR 2013
EDIBLE PLANTS
Sow-thistle, White Lettuce, Cattail
30 APR 2013
SOW-THISTLE
PRENANTHES, WHITE LETTUCE
CATTAIL

2. PERENNIAL SOW-THISTLE Sonchus arvensis
Native to Europe
Perennial plant
Aka-field sow-thistle
Plants 0.5 to 2 m in height
Leaves 2-15 x 6-40 cm, pinnately lobed, margins prickly
Flowering heads loosely branched

3. PERENNIAL SOW-THISTLE Sonchus arvensis
Involucre bracts and peduncle covered with coarse, spreading, gland-tipped hairs
Bracts mm

4. PERENNIAL SOW-THISTLE Sonchus arvensis
Flowers: heads comprised of ray florets only, about florets per head, heads 3-5 cm across, achenes mm
A cosmopolitan weed
Used as a leafy green, quite variable in bitterness
Best to use the young leaves of spring and early summer
If too bitter mix with blander greens

5. COMMON SOW-THISTLE Sonchus oleraceus
Native to Europe
Annual plant
Plants: 0.1 to 2 m in height
Leaves 1-15 x 6-30 cm, note leaf bases clasping the stem

6. COMMONN SOW-THISTLE Sonchus oleraceus

7. COMMON SOW-THISTLE Sonchus oleraceus
Flowers heads comprised of ray florets only
Heads 1.5 – 2.5 cm wide, florets per head, achenes mm
Achenes with a wrinkled surface and with longitudinal ribs
A cosmopolitan weed
Uses: leaves used in salads or as a potherb
peeled tender stems make a good vegetable, raw or cooked
try stems in stir-fry or steamed with other vegetables

8. PRICKLY SOW-THISTLE Sonchus asper
Native to Europe
Annual plant
The leaf base is lobed and termed an auricle

9. PRICKLY SOW-THISTLE Sonchus asper
Flower heads comprised of ray florets only, heads cm
Head in visible light
Head as seen by insects
Achenes several-nerved
Uses: prepared stems as with S. olareous
young leaves are preferred due to spines of older leaves

10. PRICKLY SOW-THISTLE Sonchus asper

11. PRENANTHES, WHITE LETTUCE Prenanthes alba
Native
Aka white rattlesnake root, lion’s foot
Leaves: basal leaves deeply and erratically lobed, coarsely toothed, up to 30 cm in length, the petiole about as long as the leaf blade, usually several basal leaves may be seen in a cluster on the ground
Flowering: stems are hollow, unbranched, 0.5 to 2 m in height, leaf size decreases with height along the stem
Range: eastern N. Amer.
Habitat: forests and woodlands, commonly seen where soil has been disturbed

12. PRENANTHES, WHITE LETTUCE Prenanthes alba
Flower heads occur along the upper third of the plant, heads appear in nodding clusters with the styles protruding, heads appear white to pink in color, about nine florets per head, each head 8 mm long, flowering Aug to Sep
Heads with 8-15 florets
Involucre not hairy

13. PRENANTHES, WHITE LETTUCE Prenanthes alba
The basal leaves are used in place of wild lettuce and a great addition to salads
Older basal leaves are not any more bitter than younger basal leaves
Boiling reduces any bitter flavor when used as a potherb
The leaves along the stem are definitely more bitter than the basal leaves

14. COMMON CAT-TAIL Typha latifolia
Stems 1-3 m
Leaves flat, mm wide, 1-2 m long
Cosmopolitan, throughout our range, thee common sp inland
Seen in clean marshes and wetlands

15. COMMON CAT-TAIL Typha latifolia
Pistillate and staminate portions contiguous
Pistillate portion brown, 2-3 x cm at maturity

16. COMMON CAT-TAIL Typha latifolia
Young sprouts, harvest in the spring and prepare as asparagus
Young stems up to 1 m may be prepared similarly, remove the outer leaf and rind to obtain the spongy core, aka “Cossack asparagus” or eat raw, or add to salads
Green immature flower spikes while still contained in papery coverings, boil, coat with butter and eat as corn on the cob
Mature, dry pollen can be collected and mixed with wheat flour for a protein rich flour for muffins, fritters, pancake batter
Flour can be obtained from rhizomes by a wet method or dry method
wet- clean rhizomes, peel to get the fibrous core, crush in water, starch falls to the bottom , after settling pure starch results
dry- dried rhizomes are crushed starch is separated from the fibers by sieving or sifting

17. COMMON CAT-TAIL Typha latifolia
Sifting cattail pollen
Cattail pollen muffins

18. COMMON CAT-TAIL Typha latifolia
Cattail pollen biscuits
Cattail pollen pancakes

19. NARROW-LEAVED CAT-TAIL Typha angustifolia
Stems m
Leaves 5-11 mm wide
Pistillate and staminate portions separated by 2-12 cm
Pistillate portion deep brown, 1-2 x cm at maturity
This species is more tolerant of salts than the common cat-tail and is seen often along highway drainages