It’s the season for picking wild vegetables again. How do you tell whether they are edible?

The good times of “everyone digs with a hoe” have come!

But be careful

Don’t just pick up wild vegetables on the roadside

Beware of poisoning!

How to tell whether wild vegetables are edible?

Let’s learn together↓

Which common plants are edible wild vegetables?

Wild vegetables refer to wild plant communities that have evolved naturally and have not been cultivated by humans, and have significant ecological adaptability. As a country with the largest biodiversity in the world, my country has a rich variety of edible wild vegetable resources, with more than 1,000 species, mainly distributed in mountains, forest edges, around villages and along roads.

Typical edible varieties include dandelion, amaranth, shepherd's purse, water celery, purslane, etc., which have important resource value in the traditional dietary structure.

Dandelion

Also known as dandelion, it is a perennial herbaceous plant of the Asteraceae family. Its basal leaves grow in clusters, and the edges of the leaves often show wavy teeth or deep pinnate lobes. The base gradually shrinks to a petiole structure, and the petiole and main veins are mostly purple-red. The head inflorescence is golden yellow and consists of ligulate flowers. The plant is rich in unique triterpenoid compounds dandelion, sesquiterpenoid lactone dandelion, as well as β-carotene and various mineral elements such as calcium, iron, and potassium. It is one of the 87 medicinal and edible items promulgated by the Ministry of Health of my country. After blanching, it can be eaten as daily food.

Image source: "Chinese Wild Vegetables Illustrated Dictionary"

Malan

Commonly known as Malantou, it is a perennial herb with obovate or obovate leaves, which taper to a long winged petiole at the base, blunt or pointed at the tip, and blunt or pointed teeth with small pointed tips on the edge from the middle. It is now cultivated in a certain area in Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangsu and other places.

Image source: "Chinese Wild Vegetables Illustrated Dictionary"

Studies have shown that compared with general vegetables, its Se, Zn, Mg, and Ca content is higher. Both the tender stems and leaves are edible.

Shepherd's Purse

Also known as life-protecting grass, the plant has branches and is covered with hairs. The basal leaves are rosette-shaped and spread flat on the ground. The inflorescence is terminal and the flowers have small petioles and are white.

Image source: "Chinese Wild Vegetables Illustrated Dictionary"

Shepherd's purse contains a variety of amino acids, among which glutamate has the same effect as monosodium glutamate; it contains more vitamin A, which has a certain therapeutic effect on eye diseases such as cataracts and night blindness. The young leaves of shepherd's purse can be fried and made into soup, and the taste is fragrant and sweet.

purslane

Also known as horse snake vegetable, it is an annual fleshy herb that grows close to the ground, with light red stems and juicy leaves. The tender stems and leaves can be softened with boiling water and then stir-fried with other vegetables or meat, or used as stuffing.

Image source: "Chinese Wild Vegetables Illustrated Dictionary"

This plant contains a large amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids, which can inhibit the production of cholesterol and triglycerides and have a protective effect on the cardiovascular system.

Water celery

Also known as water celery, it often grows in low-lying wetlands such as rivers and paddy fields. It is a perennial herb with inverted triangular leaves. The tender stems and petioles can be used as vegetables.

Image source: "Chinese Wild Vegetables Illustrated Dictionary"

What are some common inedible wild vegetables?

• Poison Hemlock

Also known as wild celery, white-headed ginseng, and poisonous ginseng, it grows in humid places, its leaves are like celery leaves, it blooms in summer, and the whole plant has a foul smell. Its toxic component is cyperitoxin, the whole plant is poisonous, and the flowers are the most toxic.

The rhizome is the most poisonous. If a child accidentally ingests 10g, it can be fatal. It is highly toxic to mammals, and there are frequent reports of animals poisoning by consuming poison hemlock both at home and abroad.

• Mandala

Also known as the big trumpet flower, the plant is relatively tall, about 0.5-1.5 meters, the whole plant is poisonous, and the seeds are the most toxic. The toxic substances are hyoscyamine, scopolamine and atropine.

Both eating and applying Datura leaves externally can cause systemic poisoning. Symptoms usually appear 30 minutes after eating, and the onset is usually acute and sudden.

• Gray vegetable

A relatively common wild vegetable, it has diamond-shaped leaves with serrated edges and young leaves that are off-white in color.

Gray vegetables contain photosensitive substances (furanocoumarins) that reach the skin through air, direct contact or oral administration, and cause photosensitive skin diseases after exposure to sunlight. Patients with underlying diseases such as liver and kidney diseases are more likely to develop dermatitis after exposure to sunlight.

• Red broccoli

Also known as bloodskin vegetable, red-back vegetable, and wood ear vegetable, this wild vegetable is mainly distributed in Fujian, Zhejiang and other places.

It mainly grows under forests on hillsides, on the edge of rocks or in wet places by rivers. Red Phoenix contains a class of substances called pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA for short), which are hepatotoxic. Long-term or excessive consumption may cause damage to the liver.

Be careful when picking wild vegetables

At present, spring is becoming more and more abundant

While everyone is keen on finding wild vegetables

Also be wary of these situations

▼

1. Avoid polluted areas. Do not pick wild vegetables near pollution sources, such as near mining areas, roadsides, around farmland, and polluted rivers. Wild vegetables in these areas may contain heavy metals and other harmful substances, which may cause poisoning after consumption.

2. Reasonable processing. Picked wild vegetables should be thoroughly cleaned and soaked in clean water for a period of time. Before cooking, it is best to blanch them in hot water to remove harmful substances such as oxalic acid and nitrates.

3. Pick with caution. Do not pick vegetables that you do not recognize or cannot identify. Some vegetables may look similar, but have different toxicity and nutritional value, and eating them by mistake may cause serious health problems.

In addition, although wild vegetables are good, these people should never eat them ▼

People with unsuitable constitutions should not eat them . Wild vegetables generally have a cold property. People with weak constitutions should control their intake. Excessive consumption can easily cause spleen and stomach discomfort. People with allergic constitutions, especially those who take painkillers, sulfonamides for a long time or have a history of allergies, need to be more cautious in choosing wild vegetable varieties.

Pregnant women should not eat some wild vegetables. Pregnant women should pay special attention to the taboos on the intake of three types of wild vegetables: the first is the varieties that have the effect of promoting blood circulation and menstruation, such as motherwort and other wild vegetables that may stimulate uterine contraction; the second is wild vegetables containing medicinal ingredients, such as plantain, dandelion and other medicinal and edible varieties; the third is wild vegetables with cold properties. Take purslane as an example. Although it has the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, regulating blood sugar, etc., the special ingredients it contains may stimulate the uterus to cause contraction reactions, and there is a risk of inducing miscarriage, so pregnant women are advised to avoid eating it.