If You Can't Kill Them, Eat Them

My blog post last year about invasive plant species led me figuratively out into the weeds. I pursued a couple of threads that led into the world of foragers. From these expert foragers, I learned that some of my favorite foreign invaders are edible. I also discovered a lot of noninvasive species are not only edible but nutritious. This post will look at three purportedly tasty invasive plants. My next post will follow up on foraging and look at the potential for weeds to provide nutrition for hungry people.

Garlic Mustard

People in the western Baltic cooked with Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) as far back as 6100 BP. Eastern European immigrants brought this familiar pot herb with them to the US in the 1860s and used it for food and for medicinal purposes. In addition

to imparting a mild garlic flavor to dishes, it is a good source of vitamins A and C. Non-food uses include it as a disinfectant and a diuretic. Garlic mustard - also known as Garlic Root, Hedge Garlic, Poor Man's Mustard, and my favorite, Jack-by-the-Hedge - presents a significant hazard to other plant life, native and introduced. This biennial invader outcompetes for resources, and its roots exude a toxic chemical that kills off arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), which form mutually beneficial relationships with many forest trees. No AMF, bad news for trees. That's why it's on "least wanted" plant lists all over the US.

That said, this stuff IS edible, nutritious, widely available, and free; it's already growing lushly on our property in upstate New York. There's even a cookbook, cleverly titled From Pest to Pesto: A Culinary Guide, published by the Appalachian Forest Heritage Association. The subtitle is "Eat It to Beat It." I sincerely doubt that we can make a dent in garlic mustard by eating it. There's nothing wrong with trying, though. Recipes for the leaves run from pesto to salad to sauce for roast beef. The roots are spicy, like horseradish. Chicken weed wrap, anyone?

Japanese Knotweed

Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica in Europe, Polygonum cuspidatum Sieb. & Zucc. in the US), a member of the Buckwheat family, is related to rhubarb. When it

was first introduced in Holland (1845) and England (1850), horticulturists saw its potential both as cattle feed and as a lovely addition to the garden. By the early 1900s, though, gardeners were learning that this plant spreads quickly and is nearly impossible to contain. By this time, the plant was also established in the United States. The first time I saw knotweed in bloom, I thought it was an attractive plant. I've since learned that, at least in England, an infestation of knotweed lowers house values.

Japanese knotweed is edible - a "dreadable edible," according to Eat the Weeds. Like garlic mustard, this noxious weed is also very nutritious, a major source of resveratrol and Vitamin C. Edible parts of the plant include young shoots and growing tips, which can be steamed and eaten like asparagus. On the page link in the previous paragraph, I found recipes for a dessert puree and Japanese Knotweed Bread. Rebecca Louie, writing in the Huffington Post, suggests "eating the enemy" in the form of fruit leather. The rhizome, the thick underground stem by which knotweed spreads itself, is particularly rich in resveratrol. Resveratrol supposedly has potent medicinal effects, but current research has uncovered little evidence that resveratrol is a miracle compound.

Kudzu

Those CR4 members who live outside the US might not know that the Kudzu vine, Pueraria montana, is a symbol of the Southern US. Not an attractive symbol, like the Southern magnolia, but one referred to as the vine that ate the South. This rapidly-growing vine was introduced from Japan to the US at Philadelphia's Centennial Exposition (1876), as part of an exhibit of native Japanese plants. The glossy leaves and fragrant flowers made kudzu an attractive addition to gardens, mainly in the South. Fast forward to the Great Depression and the Civilian Conservation Corps, one of whose mandates was to stop erosion of farm soil. Their solution? Kudzu. Kudzu is also useful for animal feed, and since it is a legume, it increases soil nitrogen through a symbiotic relationship with nitrogen-fixing bacteria. It does stop soil erosion, but good luck getting rid of its roots and runners in order to plant anything else.

Kudzu is arguably a more valuable invasive plant than the other two discussed here; all parts of the plant are useful. The vines make excellent baskets; you could use one

to hold your harvested kudzu. Chinese traditional medicine has long used various parts of the plant to treat ailments ranging from high blood pressure, to digestive disorders, to alcoholism. One writer says it's the perfect nightcap. And it improves the soil.

Where kudzu really stands out, though, is the variety of edibles cooks have coaxed out of it. The roots can be used in soup or a tea. The leaves are endlessly useful, cooked like collard greens,e.g., stewed in salt pork until tender, or stuffed like Dolmades. Steam the leaves, chop them up, and put them in a quiche. Or make jelly from the flowers. Or make wine from the flowers. The Kudzu Cookbook (Carole March Longmeyer, 2015) and Kudzu Cuisine (Juanitta Baldwin, 2011) will tell you everything you need to know. You just have to get your hands on some kudzu, which won't be easy unless you live where it grows. I doubt anyone would want you to bring kudzu back from a trip down South … like the other two plants in this blog, it's the gift that keeps on giving, whether you like it or not.

Image credits: Bugwoodcloud.org; The Compostess; Wikimedia Commons

Resources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alliaria_petiolata

http://www.ediblewildfood.com/

http://ouroneacrefarm.com/foraging-garlic-mustard/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rebecca-louie/invasive-plant-recipe-japanese-knotweed-fruit-leather_b_7279058.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kudzu

http://www.marcussamuelsson.com/recipe/food-as-medicine-the-healing-power-of-kudzu