Scientific name
Tripolium pannonicum
Family
Compositae
Botanical description
The plant yields blue-purple, daisy-like flowers with bright yellow stamens among a sea of long, slender green leaves.
Status
Native to Britain, Europe, North Africa, and Asia.
Habitat and distribution
Sea cliffs, saltmarsh, salt water, coastal mud flats.
Parts used for food
Shoots, leaves, stems.
Harvest time
Harvest from late Spring through Summer.
Food uses
In pre-industrial Sweden sea asters were one of many wild species gathered for stews and soups. However, these plants were also considered fodder for livestock and may only have been gathered for human consumption during times of famine.1 Today the plant is among one of the wild plants sold by a small southern-Swedish foraging enterprise to the restaurant NOMA in Copenhagen.
The salty, fleshy leaves could be made into a pickle or chopped and added to salads, soups and stews by more adventurous cooks.
Recipes
- Buttered sea aster
- Grain-free sea aster tabbouleh
- Sea aster pate
- Sea aster and tomato soup
- Sea aster fish bake
- Braised sea aster with asparagus
- Sea aster and monkfish
Nutritional profile
One study suggests the leaves have a particularly high protein content.
Herbal medicine uses
English herbalist John Gerard (1545–1612) recommended sea aster as a wound herb,but there are no records to indicate how useful the plant was to coastal communities in this regard. Gerard also prescribed sea aster for dropsy and as an antidote to poisoning.
Other uses
The flower is particularly attractive to rabbits, who obviously came to their senses about sea aster long before we did!
Safety note
Shaibur and team (2008) studied arsenic levels in sea aster, which was found to be largely concentrated in the roots and not of significant concern to the plant’s overall toxicity.
The lack of data on contraindications, side effects and toxicity of a plant is not absolute proof of its safety.
Always exercise caution when using a new wild edible, particularly during pregnancy or when breastfeeding.
References
Svanberg, I. (2012) The use of wild plants as food in pre-industrial Sweden. Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae. [Online] 81317–327.
Luczaj, L. et al. (2012) Wild Food Plant Use in 21st Century Europe: The Disappearance of Old Traditions and the Search for New Cuisines Involving Wild Edibles. Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae. [Online] 81 (4), 359–370.
Luczaj, L & Pieroni, A. (2016) Nutritional Ethnobotany in Europe: From Emergency Foods to Healthy Folk Cuisines and Contemporary Foraging Trends, in María de Cortes Sánchez-Mata & Javier Tardío (eds.) Mediterranean Wild Edible Plants. [Online]. New York, NY: Springer New York. pp. 33–56.
Khot, S. & Joshi, A. (2004) Edible Succulent Halophytes as Good Source of Proteins for Restoration of Salt-Affected Soils.
Grigson, G. (1996) The Englishman’s Flora. Oxford: Helicon.
Eland, S. C. & Lucas, G. (2013) Plant Biographies.
Shaibur, M. R. et al. (2008) Critical Toxicity Level of Arsenic and Elemental Composition of Arsenic-Induced Chlorosis in Hydroponic Sorghum. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution. [Online] 191 (1–4), 279–292.