Ground Elder

Medieval monks cultivated ground elder as a medicinal plant, but it later earned a reputation of a nuisance weed thanks to its rapid growth. Is there any redemption for this once useful wild edible?

Scientific Name

Aegopodium podagraria

Family

Apiaceae.

Botanical Description

The plant forms a creeping, pale green carpet across the ground. The oval-shaped leaves are long, hairless and toothed, and arranged in groups of three at the end of leaf stems. The small flowers appear in clusters turning from light-pink to white as they mature. The wind-pollinated seeds are flat vessels that develop from the mature flower heads.

Status

Native to Europe, Asia, introduced to Britain in the Middle Ages; later introduced to North America.

Habitat and Distribution

Often found growing in shrubberies, hedges, orchards, gardens, woodlands, roadsides, wasteground, banks, and alongside rivers and streams.

Parts Used for Food

Leaves, seed.

Harvest Time

This perennial plant flowers from June to August, but best picked in spring, and again in early autumn.

Food Uses of Ground Elder

In the Middle Ages, the plant was a potherb. In the markets of Medieval Cracow, Poland, it was sold as a wild vegetable.

In Sweden and Switzerland, the plant was collected for spring salads or also cooked as a wild leafy vegetable.

In Anglo-Saxon Britain, ground elder was used to clarify beers and may have been called ‘gill’ from the French guiller, meaning ‘to ferment beer’.

In parts of the Ukraine, it is still used as an ingredient of green borsh, a soup made of green vegetables.

Ground Elder Recipes

Nutritional Profile of Ground Elder

The young leaves contain high amounts of vitamin C and are best picked in spring for use in salads and soups.

Herbal Medicine Uses of Ground Elder

The plant was once used as medicine for various ailments, but its primary purpose was as a cure for gout and to relieve pain and swelling. For this reason, the plant was also known as goutwort.

Modern herbals still recommend ground elder as a treatment for gout, sciatica, rheumatism, haemorrhoids, inflammation, and water retention.

Other Uses

While we make little use of it as a food plant today, it is sometimes used as fodder for pigs and is so-called pigweed.

Safety Note

There is little information on its side effects. Seek medical advice before use during pregnancy, when breastfeeding or for specific medical conditions.

References

Grieve, M. M. (1998) A modern herbal. London: Tiger Books International.

Hatfield, G. (2008) Hatfield’s herbal: the secret history of British plants. London: Penguin.

Richard Le Strange (1977) A history of herbal plants. London: Angus and Robertson.

Sturtevant, E. L. (1919) Sturtevant’s notes on edible plants. Albany: J. B. Lyon.

Turner, N. J. et al. (2011) Edible and tended wild plants, traditional ecological knowledge and agroecology. Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences. [Online] 30 (1–2), 198–225.

Forty wild edible plants in the carrot family

This is a list of wild edible plants in the Carrot, Apiaceae, Umbelliferae family that have historically been used as food.

It is for information, education and research purposes only.

If you wish to experiment with these species you must do further research in order to find out how to cook and prepare the plants as food.

Where possible I have gone directly to the ethnobotanical research paper where the plant is listed as being used as food at some point in human culture.

I have not used pop-culture foraging books or websites that simply regurgitate “urban legends” on the edibility of a plant without citing any references.

The information here is simply a guide. A starting point.

Unless you are 100% certain how to identify and prepare members of the carrot family as food, then they are best left well alone.

Some edible species are almost indistinguishable from poisonous lookalikes. This is not a family for beginners or novices.

Many members of the Carrot family can cause phytophotodermatitis so their consumption or handling can increase skin sensitivity to sunlight. You need to gather the plants with gloves in order to avoid a “contact reaction”.

Plants hybridise, so what might have been recorded as safe to eat in the past (e.g. Middle Ages) may not be today.

This is just a partial list of edible members of the carrot family. It is in no way complete.

Please note that some species can only be eaten cooked. Never assume a wild food plant can be consumed raw. If in doubt, always cook plants.

I have deliberately not included photos, as I only had a few photos of some of the plants listed below. It is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to make absolutely certain you have identified correctly any plants in the carrot, apiaceae, umbelliferae family – Nature weeds out stupid people!

IMPORTANT: You must be 100% certain when it comes to plant identification. IF IN DOUBT, LEAVE IT OUT.

Ajwain: Trachyspermum ammi
RARE – Parts used: Fruits as a condiment. 3

Alexanders: Smyrnium olusatrum
ABUNDANT – Parts used: Shoots, leaf, leaf stalks, flower stalk, buds, flowers, fruit, seed, root. 36

Bladderseed: Physospermum cornubiense
RARE – Parts used: Unknown 40

Bullwort: Ammi majus
OCCASIONAL – Parts used: Leaves, fruits, root. 15

Burnet Saxifrage: Pimpinella saxifraga
ABUNDANT – Parts used: Young leaves and shoots eaten. 50

Caraway: Carum carvi
RARE – Parts used: Leaves, stems, seed. 26

Coriander: Coriandrum sativum
OCCASIONAL – Parts used: Leaves, leafstalks, flowers, fruits, seed. 41

Cow Parsley: Anthriscus sylvestris
ABUNDANT – Parts used: Leaves, stalk, flowers, fruits, seed 13, 26

Dill: Anethum graveolens
OCCASIONAL – Parts used: Leaves, seed. 41

Fennel: Foeniculum vulgare
ABUNDANT – Parts used: Leaves, flower, seed. 42

Field Eryngo: Eryngium campestre
PROTECTED – Parts used: Young shoots, root. 18

Fool’s Watercress: Apium nodiflorum
ABUNDANT – Parts used: Leaves. 15

Garden Angelica: Angelica archangelica
OCCASIONAL – Parts used: Leaves, leaf stalks, flower stalks. 31

Golden Chervil: Chaerophyllum aureum
RARE – Parts used: Stem 4, 11

Great Pignut: Bunium bulbocastanum
RARE – Parts used: Tuber 37

Greater Burnet Saxifrage: Pimpinella major
ABUNDANT – Parts used: Leaves, stems, roots. 12, 14

Ground Elder: Aegopodium podagraria
ABUNDANT – Parts used: Leaves, stem, seed. 26

Hartwort: Tordylium maximum
RARE – Parts used: Rosette. 21, 22

Hogweed: Heracleum sphondylium
ABUNDANT – Parts used: Young, shoots, leaf stems, root, fruit, seed, 8, 34

Knotted Hedge Parsley: Torilis nodosa
ABUNDANT – Parts used: Unknown. Scarce information available. 7, 32

Longleaf: Falcaria vulgaris
SCARCE – Parts used: Young shoots, leaves, leaf stalks. 28, 39, 51

Lovage: Levisticum officinale
OCCASIONAL – Parts used: Flowers, leaves, root, seed, stem. 42

Marsh Pennywort: Hydrocotyle vulgaris
ABUNDANT – Parts used: Young leaves. 29

Masterwort: Peucedanum ostruthium
OCCASIONAL – Parts used: Leaves, rhizome, root. 6, 45

Milk Parsley: Peucedanum palustre
RARE – Parts used: Root. 26

Moon Carrot: Seseli libanotis
RARE – Parts used: Shoots. 4, 24, 49

Parsley: Petroselinum crispum
OCCASIONAL – Parts used: Leaves, leaf stalk, root. 41

Pepper Saxifrage: Silaum silaus
ABUNDANT – Parts used: Leaves. 46

Perfoliate Alexanders: Smyrnium perfoliatum
SCARCE – Parts used: Flowers, leaves, stem. 17

Pignut: Conopodium majus
ABUNDANT – Parts used: Tuber. 20, 37

Rock Samphire: Crithmum maritimum
ABUNDANT – Parts used: Leaves, flowers, seed. 19, 25

Scots Lovage: Ligusticum scoticum
ABUNDANT – Parts used: Young shoots, leaf stalks, stem, root. 48

Sea Holly: Eryngium maritimum
ABUNDANT – Parts used: Shoots, leaves, root. 35, 43

Shepherd’s Needle: Scandix pecten-veneris
OCCASIONAL – Parts used: Young leaves, stem tops. 5, 9

Spignel: Meum athamanticum
OCCASIONAL – Parts used: Leaves, root. 10

Spreading Hedge Parsley: Torilis arvensis
OCCASIONAL – Parts used: Seed. 23

Stone Parsley: Sison amomum
ABUNDANT – Parts used: Leaves, seed, root. 38

Sweet Cicely: Myrrhis odorata
ABUNDANT – Parts used: Leaves, seed, root. 27

Wild Angelica: Angelica sylvestris
ABUNDANT – Parts used: Young shoots, flowers, seed. 2, 26

Wild Carrot: Daucus carota
ABUNDANT – Parts used: Leaf, root, seed. 16, 44, 47

Wild Celery: Apium graveolens
ABUNDANT – Parts used: Leaves, seed, root. 18

Wild Parsnip: Pastinaca sativa
ABUNDANT – Parts used: Root. 33

References Used For Wild Edible Plants of the Carrot Family

  1. Anon (n.d.) BRIT – Native American Ethnobotany Database.
  2. Anon (n.d.) Edible Wild Plant Use in the Faroe Islands and Iceland.
  3. Anon (n.d.) Nutritional, Phytochemical Potential and Pharmacological Evaluation of Nigella Sativa (kalonji) and Trachyspermum Ammi (ajwain).
  4. Anon (n.d.) Review of Wild Edible Plants on the Turkish Apiaceae Species.
  5. Anon (n.d.) Scandix Pecten-Veneris L.: A Wild Green Leafy Vegetable.
  6. Anon (n.d.) The Wild Food (plants and Insects) in Western Friuli Local Knowledge (friuli-Venezia Giulia, North Eastern Italy).
  7. Anon (n.d.) Traditional Use of Herbs, Shrubs and Trees of Shogran Valley, Mansehra, Pakistan.
  8. Bahadori, M. B. et al. (2016) The Genus Heracleum: A Comprehensive Review on Its Phytochemistry, Pharmacology, and Ethnobotanical Values as a Useful Herb. Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety. 15 (6), 1018–103   9.
  9. Belahsen, R. & Tbatou, M. (n.d.) Wild Edible Plants Traditionally Used in the Countryside of El Jadida, Coastal Area in the Center of Morocco Manal Tbatou1, Abdelmonaim Belahyan2, Rekia Belahsen.
  10. Boseva, K. Y. & Bosseva, Y. Z. (2016) Edible and Medicinal Plants in the Cloister Gardens of West Europe ( 800 S – 900 S AD ), in 2016 p.
  11. Çakir, E. A. (2017) Traditional Knowledge of Wild Edible Plants of Igdir Province (east Anatolia, Turkey). Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae.
  12. Cerne, M. (1992) Wild Plants from Slovenia Used as Vegetables. Acta Horticulturae. (318), 87–96.
  13. Chen, H. et al. (2014) Antitumor Constituents from Anthriscus Sylvestris. Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention: APJCP. 15 (6), 2803–2807.
  14. Christensen, L. P. & Brandt, K. (2006) Bioactive Polyacetylenes in Food Plants of the Apiaceae Family: Occurrence, Bioactivity and Analysis. Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis. 41 (3), 683–693.
  15. Della, A. et al. (2006b) An Ethnobotanical Survey of Wild Edible Plants of Paphos and Larnaca Countryside of Cyprus. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. 2 (1), 34.
  16. Dogan, Y. et al. (2004) The Use of Wild Edible Plants in Western and Central Anatolia (Turkey). Economic Botany. 58 (4), 684–690.
  17. Ersin Minareci (2012) Proximate Composition, Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Activities of Six Wild Edible Celeries (smyrnium L.). African Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology. 6 (13).
  18. Facciola, S. (1998) Cornucopia II: A Source Book of Edible Plants. Vista, CA: Kampong Publications.
  19. Franke, W. (1982) Vitamin C in Sea Fennel (Crithmum maritimum), an Edible Wild Plant. Economic Botany. 36 (2), 163–165.
  20. González, J. A. et al. (2011) The Consumption of Wild and Semi-Domesticated Edible Plants in the Arribes Del Duero (salamanca-Zamora, Spain): An Analysis of Traditional Knowledge. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution. 58 (7), 991–1006.
  21. Guarrera, P. M. (2003) Food Medicine and Minor Nourishment in the Folk Traditions of Central Italy (marche, Abruzzo and Latium). Fitoterapia. 74 (6), 515–544.
  22. Guarrera, P. M. & Savo, V. (2016) Wild Food Plants Used in Traditional Vegetable Mixtures in Italy. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 185202–234.
  23. Hadjichambis, A. C. et al. (2008) Wild and Semi-Domesticated Food Plant Consumption in Seven Circum-Mediterranean Areas. International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition. 59 (5), 383–414.
  24. Heywood, V. & Skoula, M. (n.d.) Current Knowledge of the Wild and Non-Food Plants of Turkey.
  25. Jallali, I. et al. (2014) Variability of Antioxidant and Antibacterial Effects of Essential Oils and Acetonic Extracts of Two Edible Halophytes: Crithmum Maritimum L. and Inula Crithmo?des L. Food Chemistry. 1451031–1038.
  26. Kalle, R. & Soukand, R. (2012) Historical Ethnobotanical Review of Wild Edible Plants of Estonia (1770s-1960s). Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae. 81 (4).
  27. Kays, S. J. (2011) Cultivated Vegetables of the World: A Multilingual Onomasticon. Wageningen Academic Publishers.
  28. Koca, I. et al. (2015) Some Wild Edible Plants and Their Dietary Fiber Contents. Pakistan Journal of Nutrition. 14 (4), 188–194.
  29. Kosaka, Y. et al. (2013) Wild Edible Herbs in Paddy Fields and Their Sale in a Mixture in Houaphan Province, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. Economic Botany. 67 (4), 335–349.
  30. Kunkel, G. (1984) Plants for Human Consumption: An Annotated Checklist of the Edible Phanerogams and Ferns. Koenigstein: Koeltz Scientific Books.
  31. L, L. et al. (2012) Wild Food Plant Use in 21 St Century Europe, the Disapperance of Old Traditions and the Search for New Cuisines Involving Wild Edibles. Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae. 81 (4).
  32. L, L. et al. (2013) Wild Food Plants Used in the Villages of the Lake Vrana Nature Park (northern Dalmatia, Croatia). Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae.
  33. Lim, T. K. (2016) Edible Medicinal and Non Medicinal Plants. Volume 9.
  34. Luczaj, L., Köhler, P., et al. (2013) Wild Edible Plants of Belarus: From Rostafi?ski’s Questionnaire of 1883 to the Present. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. 9 (1), 21.
  35. Luczaj, L., Zovko Koncic, M., et al. (2013) Wild Vegetable Mixes Sold in the Markets of Dalmatia (southern Croatia). Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. 9 (1), 2.
  36. Maggi, F. et al. (2012) A Forgotten Vegetable (smyrnium Olusatrum L., Apiaceae) as a Rich Source of Isofuranodiene. Food Chemistry. 135 (4), 2852–2862.
  37. Moffett, L. (1991) Pignut Tubers from a Bronze Age Cremation at Barrow Hills, Oxfordshire, and the Importance of Vegetable Tubers in the Prehistoric Period. Journal of Archaeological Science. 18 (2), 187–191.
  38. Mueller, F. von (1884) Select Extra-Tropical Plants Readily Eligible for Industrial Culture or Naturalization, with Indications of Their Native Countries and Some of Their Uses. Detroit, Mich.: G.S. Davis.
  39. Ozbucak, T. B. et al. (n.d.) The Contribution of Wild Edible Plants to Human Nutrition in the Black Sea Region of Turkey. 6.
  40. Pardo-de-Santayana, M. et al. (2007) Traditional Knowledge of Wild Edible Plants Used in the Northwest of the Iberian Peninsula (spain and Portugal): A Comparative Study. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. 327.
  41. Peter, K. V. (ed.) (2012) Handbook of Herbs and Spices. Volume 1. Woodhead Publishing series in food science, technology and nutrition no. 227-228. 2nd ed. Oxford?; Philadelphia: Woodhead Pub.
  42. Peter, K. V. (2016) Handbook of Herbs and Spices. Volume 2.
  43. Petropoulos, S. A. et al. (2018) Edible Halophytes of the Mediterranean Basin: Potential Candidates for Novel Food Products. Trends in Food Science & Technology. 7469–84.
  44. Pieroni, A. (1999) Gathered Wild Food Plants in the Upper Valley of the Serchio River (Garfagnana), Central Italy. Economic Botany. 53 (3), 327–341.
  45. Pieroni, A. & Giusti, M. E. (2009) Alpine Ethnobotany in Italy: Traditional Knowledge of Gastronomic and Medicinal Plants Among the Occitans of the Upper Varaita Valley, Piedmont. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. 5 (1), 32.
  46. Pistrick, K. (2002) Notes on Neglected and Underutilized Crops Current Taxonomical Overview of Cultivated Plants in the Families Umbelliferae and Labiatae. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution. 49 (2), 211–221.
  47. Savo, V. et al. (2019) When the Local Cuisine Still Incorporates Wild Food Plants: The Unknown Traditions of the Monti Picentini Regional Park (Southern Italy). Economic Botany.
  48. Spencer, C. (2011) British Food: An Extraordinary Thousand Years of History. London: Grub Street.
  49. Srivastava, T. N. (1988) Wild Edible Plants of Jammu & Kashmir State – an Ethno-Botanical Study. Ancient Science of Life. 7 (3–4), 201–206.
  50. Taysumov, M. A. et al. (2018) Forage Plants of Chechnya and Classification of Natural Forage Lands. December 2018 Atlantis Press.
  51. Turan, M. et al. (2003) Macro and Micro Mineral Content of Some Wild Edible Leaves Consumed in Eastern Anatolia. Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica, Section B — Soil & Plant Science. 53 (3), 129–137.

Ground Elder & Chicken Patties

The Ground Elder (Aegopodium podagraria) with its shiny young leaves is beginning to wake up.

I love her lemony, herby taste and having suddenly got into a “frying phase” having never really been a fan of fried foods (other than an occasional egg) I’ve been experimenting.

Ground Elder traditionally goes well stuffed or rolled in chicken, and so, having recently returned from SE Asia, and having a bit of a thing for all things Asian and Oriental I decided to create this Ground Elder recipe.

I hope you like it, because my sweetheart has already munched her way through at least a third of these scrummies, while I’ve been writing and posting this Ground Elder recipe up!

Ground Elder Recipe: Ingredients

  • 35g breadcrumbs
  • 1 green chilli
  • 350g chicken breast
  • 50g Ground Elder
  • 10g Three Cornered Leek or spring onions
  • 1 tbsp of Fish Sauce
  • 1 egg (beaten)

Ground Elder Recipe: Suggested Instructions

  1. Put the breadcrumbs into a bowl, then place the chicken breasts and chilli into a food processor and turn on until its turned into a mince like paste. Basically smashed to bits. Empty into the bowl.
  2. Next wash and spin dry the ground elder and three cornered leek and put into the food processor, then pulse until chopped up finely, empty into the bowl.
  3. Now add the fish sauce, and beaten egg, and mix thoroughly mix the ingredients.
  4. Heat 350ml of sunflower oil in a frying pan until hot enough so a little bit of bread starts frying, then spoon out 1 tablespoon of the mixture, roll in the palm of your hand, then slightly flatten, and plop into the hot oil. Gently fry each side for 5 minutes, making a total frying time of 10 minutes.
  5. Take the cooked patties out of the frying pan and place on kitchen paper. Serve on a bed of salad with a squeeze of lemon juice. As an option you can also serve them with sweet chilli sauce.

Makes: 15 ground elder patties

Further Reading

Ground Elder Quiche

Ground elder (Aegopodium podagraria) leaves are best picked when then are very young and have a shiny green to them, rather than the matt leaves that develop as the plant matures.

Ground elder of my favourite wild greens, its flavour only really comes out when it is cooked or marinated. This ground elder quiche recipe tastes awesome, even if it is reminiscent of 1970’s cuisine!

Ingredients

  • 100g shallots (finely sliced)
  • 100g blanched ground elder
  • 3 eggs
  • 150ml plain yoghurt
  • 150ml whipping cream
  • 50g grated cheese (your choice)
  • nutmeg
  • salt and pepper

Instructions

  1. Fry the onion until just translucent, then add in the ground elder leaves, stir and fry for a further minute.
  2. Whisk together the eggs, cheese, yoghurt, cream, nutmeg, salt & pepper.
  3. Heat oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
  4. Line a buttered 26cm quiche tin with pastry and pour in the filling.
  5. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until it has risen and golden brown.

Serves: 4

Further Reading

Ground Elder Gazpacho Soup

I try and eat as much of my wild edible plants in their raw state as possible. In this wonderful raw Ground Elder recipe, the vibrant flavour of Ground Elder (Aegopodium podagraria) goes perfectly with the Nettles (Urtica dioica).

Ground Elder Soup Recipe Ingredients

  • 1 handful of Ground Elder leaves
  • 10 Nettle tops
  • 4 medium sized tomatoes
  • 1 glug of olive oil
  • salt and pepper

Ground Elder Soup Recipe Instructions

  1. Wash the Ground Elder leaves and Stinging Nettles.
  2. Chop the tomatoes.
  3. Put the Ground Elder leaves, Nettles and chopped tomatoes into a blender.
  4. Add a glug of olive oil.
  5. Now blend for about 3 minutes until smooth.
  6. If the mixture is too thick, add a little water until you have desired consistency.
  7. Add salt and pepper if you like. I prefer to not season this soup that much in order for the plant flavours to come out on their own.

Serves: 1 person

Further Reading

Ground Elder & Tempeh Recipe

This Ground Elder Tempeh Recipe (Aegopodium podagraria) is a current staple wild food for my family at the moment. It’s prolific, and well worth harvesting. Try my quick vegetarian ground elder recipe, that I rustled up last night.

Ground Elder Tempeh Recipe Ingredients

  • 2 good handfuls of ground elder leaves (stalks removed)
  • 1 block of thawed tempeh
  • 3 good glugs of olive oil
  • 1/4 cup of brown rice vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons of tamari
  • 2 crushed garlic cloves
  • 1 red pepper
  • a handful of chopped black olives

Ground Elder Tempeh Recipe Instructions

  1. Cube the tempeh into small pieces.
  2. Combine the tempeh with the olive oil, brown rice vinegar, tamari and garlic and let sit for 3-10 hours (preferably stirring every hour). If you work away from home, cover the marinade and let it sit all day in the fridge.
  3. Turn the oven hob to high, and using a frying pan, quickly fry the tempeh and marinade mix until browned.
  4. Turn the heat down to mid-low, and add the red pepper and chopped black olives. Fry until the red pepper is cooked.
  5. About 5 minutes before serving, add the chopped Ground Elder and stir continuously until it looks like wilted spinach.
  6. Serve with accompanying vegetables of your choice.

Further Reading