Water celery or poison hemlock? Don't pick wild vegetables on the roadside

As spring arrives and the temperature rises, many people start to go out with small scissors and shovels to dig wild vegetables. But are the wild vegetables on the roadside really edible? Some wild vegetables themselves contain substances that are harmful to the human body, such as tannins, alkaloids, glycosides and toxic proteins. Some wild vegetables are difficult to distinguish from poisonous plants, such as water celery, which is very easy to mistake. There is a news report that a family of four was admitted to the ICU after eating wild vegetables.

When you go out to play, don’t pick wild vegetables on the roadside!

Today, follow Xiao Er to learn about the more common wild vegetables.

1. Bracken

Image source: Hunan CDC

Also known as fern vegetable and dragon head vegetable, it is common among wild vegetables. Wild fern can play an antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and laxative role. However, because fern contains an ingredient called protopteroside, if consumed in excess, mild symptoms of poisoning such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal distension, and abdominal pain may occur, and severe symptoms of neurological symptoms such as dizziness, headache, vertigo, and occasional unconsciousness may occur.

Therefore, the bracken needs to be blanched in water, preferably baking soda water, before frying or mixing, to decompose the toxic prototaxol in it.

2. Toona sinensis

Image source: People's Daily Online

Toona sinensis is rich in certain nutrients. For example, the zinc content of 100 grams of Toona sinensis is equivalent to the zinc content of 6 apples, which is about 1 kilogram of apples.

Toona sinensis is warm and bitter in nature. Regular consumption can dispel wind and dampness, stop bleeding and relieve pain. This wild vegetable has medicinal effects all over the body.

3. Shepherd’s Purse

Image source: People's Daily Online

Shepherd's purse is a rare wild vegetable, growing on hillsides, fields and roadsides. The basal leaves of shepherd's purse are clustered in a rosette shape, with irregular coarse serrations or nearly entire edges; the stem leaves are narrow lanceolate or lanceolate, clasping the stem, with notches or serrations on the edges.

The whole plant of shepherd's purse is used as medicine, which has the effects of diuresis, hemostasis, heat clearing, eyesight improvement and elimination of accumulation. The stems and leaves are edible vegetables, and the seeds contain 20-30% oil, which is a drying oil and is used to make paint and soap.

Although shepherd's purse is delicious, you should also pay attention to whether there is pollution such as industrial wastewater, automobile exhaust, pesticides and fertilizers around it to avoid excessive heavy metal content.

4. Water celery

Image source: Hunan CDC

Shilongrui Image source: wikimedia

Watercress has pinnately lobed leaves, similar to poison hemlock and ranunculus.

Poison hemlock belongs to the genus Conglinum and is mainly distributed in northern China. It contains toxic cyperone, which can cause food poisoning. Ranunculus ruticosa is widely distributed throughout the country and looks very ordinary, but it contains highly toxic cyperone, so accidental ingestion can also lead to serious consequences.

5. Amaranthus

Image source: Jiangsu Traditional Chinese Medicine

Li Shizhen recorded in "Compendium of Materia Medica": "Its leaves are like orchids but larger, its flowers are like chrysanthemums but purple. It is commonly known as the largest thing, which is the horse, hence the name." Therefore, Malan is also called purple chrysanthemum.

The tender stems and leaves of Amaranthus not only contain rich trace elements and multiple vitamins. According to traditional Chinese medicine, Amaranthus is pungent, bitter and cold in nature, and enters the lung, liver, stomach and large intestine meridians. It has the effects of clearing away heat and detoxification, dispersing blood stasis and stopping bleeding, and eliminating accumulation. It can treat colds, fever, coughs, acute pharyngitis, etc. It can be used externally to treat sores, carbuncles, mastitis and traumatic bleeding.

The method of eating Amaranthus is also very simple. After picking the tender tips, wash and chop them, mix them with dried tofu and mix them cold, or stir-fry them, or use them as stuffing for pancakes. It is not only delicious, but also has certain therapeutic effects.

6. Dandelion

Image source: People's Daily Online

Dandelion can clear away heat and detoxify, reduce swelling and promote diuresis. It has a broad-spectrum antibacterial effect. It can also stimulate the body's immune function and achieve the effects of gallbladder and liver protection.

The common way to eat it is to wash the dandelions, then add sesame oil, chili, salt, vinegar and other seasonings and mix well.

How do we avoid wild vegetable poisoning?

When using wild vegetables, be careful to consume them in moderation to avoid poisoning from accidentally eating them or consuming them in excess.

1. Carefully identify and eat with caution. Do not pick or eat, buy or sell wild vegetables that you are not familiar with, do not recognize, are easily mistaken for, or are contaminated. To meet public demand, some wild vegetables have been artificially cultivated on a large scale, and you can purchase them through regular sales channels.

2. Proper storage and reasonable cooking. Wild vegetables should not be stored for too long. Raw wild vegetables should be cleaned thoroughly. Wild vegetables that are not suitable for raw consumption need to be soaked, steamed, cooked, etc. before they can be eaten.

3. Before eating wild vegetables, leave a little or take a photo so that you can identify the type after poisoning. If you feel unwell after eating wild vegetables, seek medical attention immediately.

4. It is not recommended for infants, pregnant women, nursing mothers, the elderly, people with a history of allergies to wild vegetables, or people with digestive system diseases to eat wild vegetables.

Wild vegetables are delicious and nutritious, containing a variety of essential minerals, vitamins, amino acids, etc. However, from a nutritional point of view, wild vegetables have no nutritional advantage over fresh vegetables. Wild vegetables may also be contaminated. For example, wild vegetables grown near roads and factories may have high levels of heavy metals; wild vegetables grown in parks and green belts may have been sprayed with pesticides and herbicides. In addition, picking wild vegetables with a shovel will damage the local ecological environment.

If you like to eat wild vegetables, you can choose to buy them in regular supermarkets, but it is recommended that your daily diet should mainly consist of various fresh vegetables sold in the seasonal market.

References:

[1] Guo Shoupeng, Li Jialai, Lü Liang, et al. Study on the edible safety of three kinds of special wild vegetables[J]. Anhui Agricultural Sciences, 2016, 44(36):145-148. DOI:10.13989/j.cnki.0517-6611.2016.36.048.

[2] Yang Jinsong, Chen Wenxue, Zong Jiang, et al. Food safety of wild vegetables[J]. Tropical Agricultural Sciences, 2008, 28(05):101-104.

Review expert: Qu Daofeng, director of Zhejiang Science Popularization Federation, professor and doctoral supervisor of Zhejiang Gongshang University, deputy director of the Digitalization Office, head of the department of national first-class major in food quality and safety, national technical committee member of slaughtering and processing standardization, expert of ISO/TC 34/SC 6 domestic technical counterpart working group, special invited expert on meat food quality and safety of Zhejiang Province, and science popularization expert of Hangzhou City.

Sources of information and pictures: Science Popularization China, Hunan Disease Control, People's Daily Science Popularization, Jiangsu Traditional Chinese Medicine, Wikimedia