Daylily Identified

Identifying and eating daylily (Hemerocallis fulva) has been on our plants-to-eat list for a long time. It is a plant with several useful parts and is available through two seasons, so it would take us awhile to observe, experiment, photograph, and learn. It seemed that by the time we should be searching for shoots in the spring, we were always too late to taste and photograph them, and had to put this plant off until next year. Finally, 2012 is our daylily year. While there are many varieties of cultivated and hybridized daylilies, we are only eating the wild orange daylily. Daylilies are common and widespread throughout North America, from Canada through Florida and to the Pacific Northwest. Originally from Asia and Europe, they are considered naturalized in most areas, and invasive in some. They spread readily through underground rhizomes and can often take over areas they grow in. They can tolerate just about any soil and light conditions, making them a successful garden plant, roadside colonizer, and an opportunistic plant of disturbed areas. Some people have digestive problems eating daylilies, so this is a good plant to go slow with, eating small quantities at first.

Mid-March was when we took a very early-spring tour with Wildman Steve Brill, and he showed us the shoots of the daylily. The light green shoots are one of the first wild vegetables you can gather that early in the season, and they can be gathered in abundance to use raw in salads, boiled in soups, or cooked in a vegetable sir fry. The shoots appear like stacked, curved swords growing from the basal rosette, and each emerging leaf has parallel veins. They are best picked when they are smaller than 6" or so, otherwise they are too fibrous and tough. The texture is crunchy and succulent, and the flavor is mildly onion-y. I personally did not like the taste, and the shoots left an acrid taste in my mouth, but Robert and Gillian both enjoyed the shoots.

Tubers still attached to the shoots

Digging up the small shoots in the early spring also yields a clump of edible tubers. The tuber clumps are best gathered in the early spring or late fall when the tubers are very firm. In the summertime, the tubers will get spongy and are not very good to eat. While cleaning a bunch of dirty tubers is time consuming, peeling them is even more so. We scrub them very well with a stiff vegetable brush to remove the dirt and don't bother with the peel, as it is not tough. Snipped from the clump, the tubers can be boiled like new potatoes, and they have a slightly sweet and nutty taste. We also lightly boiled some and pickled them with malt vinegar. Our favorite use was to shred a bunch of scrubbed tubers in the food processor, and use them in a cake like carrots, where they took on a toasted coconut-like flavor. We also fried up the shredded tubers as hash browns for breakfast.

Flowerbuds ready to be steamed

In the early summer, flower stalks will emerge from the center of each clump of long leaves, growing up to 3 feet tall. Daylilies get their common name from the fact that each flower will open in the morning and wilt at the end of the day, hence only blooming for one day. Often on each flower stalk, only one or two flowers will be open at a time, while some buds get ready to open and other wilted flowers remain on the stalk. This way, a large stand of daylilies appears to bloom for weeks on end. On each leafless stalk will be 6-15 short-stemmed flower buds.  The unopened buds are green, blushing orange the day before they open. The unopened buds can be eaten cooked as a vegetable, tasting like green beans. We gathered a bunch of them and steamed them about 5 minutes before adding them to other recipes like casseroles and baked pasta dishes. Unfortunately, I did not follow the common advice about eating small quantities of a new food, and we gorged ourselves on the unopened buds because they were so delicious. Robert did not experience any problems, but I was terribly ill with gastric problems for about 12 hours. Next time I'll have to take it slower!

The orange flower of the daylily is edible raw in salads, or nice battered and fried. The flavor is slightly sweet. Even the day-old wilted flowers are edible, and we had been buying them for years at the Asian grocery in packages to add to hot and sour soup. When adding the flowers fresh or dried to soups, I remove the bottom green part, as it can be tough and bitter. The dried flowers add a nice texture and slightly thicken soups. The flowers and flower buds are a good source of beta-carotene and iron, and have several medicinal uses in traditional Asian medicine. Overall, the daylily is an abundant and useful plant to know.

Partridge Berry Identified

These berries were still on the plant in the spring, even as it is getting ready to flower for the season

Often called partridge berry, squaw berry, or two-eyed berry, Mitchella repens is a common, native plant in North America. It ranges from eastern Canada to Florida, and as far west as Texas. It prefers moist woods, and we find it often in conifer-filled forests of pine and hemlock, often blanketing the forest floor with its creeping stems.

Partridge berry is a very small, woody-stemmed shrub, with about 6"-12" long stems. The woody branches produce opposite pairs of small, dark green, ovate leaves, about 1/2" long, with white or yellow mid-ribs. At the nodes where the leaves grow from the stem, the plant may produce additional roots where it contacts the ground, helping the plant spread into great mats. It is easily propagated by cuttings, and makes a handsome ground cover in shady areas.

Photographing the flower was a bit of a challenge for us, since we always seemed to miss that short time in the late spring when the blooms are out. The flower is unusual in that they are produced in pairs, fused at the base, sharing a common calyx. The trumpet-shaped, white flowers are covered with fine hairs, and each flower has four petals, one pistil, and four stamens. Before they bloom, the bud has a pink hue.

Unripe berry

The pair of flowers will produce one berry with two "eyes" on the underside. The berries ripen from green to bright red in July, and can persist on the plant through the winter and into the spring when the plant starts blooming again. There are several small seeds inside. While pretty and technically edible, the berries are mostly flavorless and a bit dry. They are great for kids to find and eat, and could go into a mixed wild foods salad. This is more of a survival food, as the berries last on the plant for so long, and can even be found under the snow. They are a good food source for many wild birds and small rodents in the forest.

Berry underside, with the two "eyes" visible

Sweet Cicely Identified

We have been seeking out sweet cicely (Osmorhiza longistylis) in Connecticut for a couple years, but it was not until Wildman Steve Brill physically showed it to us one day last autumn that we encountered it. It turns out that the green foliage dies back in the summer, and unless you know what the seed pods and dried stalks look like in the forest, you will not find sweet cicely easily. Robert dug up a few roots and replanted them in a large pot outside so we can observe the plant during all seasons, watch how it changes, and use it as a good indicator of when to seek it out in the wild. With this familiarity, we can find sweet cicely all the time in its different stages in places we commonly visit.

As tall as Gillian

hairy stalk

Sweet cicely is an herbaceous perennial that grow from a fibrous taproot. It is native to North America, and there is another cicely that also grows in Connecticut, Osmorhiza claytoni. The two cicely species are differentiated by root size, flavor, and by examining the seeds. The cicely we find often is the Osmorhiza longistylis, the more fragrant and flavorful plant whose seedpods have double points and longer roots. Sweet cicely grows in rich soil in shady woods from southern Canada to Alabama, and as far west as Colorado. In spring, the leaf stalks emerge from a single basal rosette, reaching from 1'-3' tall. The leafstalks are often purple and covered with fine hairs. In late summer, the foliage dies off and the dry leafstalks remain behind with the dried seedpods. In the autumn, new leaves will emerge from the basal rosette again, for a second chance to seek and harvest the plant.

Sweet cicely is related to carrots and parsley, so the leaves are large, compound, and toothed. This may not be an ideal edible for beginners, as it could be confused with poison hemlock. The leaves are doubly-compound and divided into groups of three irregularly toothed and lobed leaflets. The green leaves are lightly hairy, very tender, taste like anise, and can be eaten raw or steeped in a tea. The plant produces an umbrella-like cluster of five-petaled white flowers on the stalks in the spring, which are also edible.

Flower cluster, or umbel

Dry, mature seedpod

Handful of the immature seed pods

The seedpod of the sweet cicely develop after the flowers pass, in the late spring. When they are small, only about 1/2" long,, they are very tender, succulent, and intensely sweet and anise-flavored. As the seedpods mature, the will be about 1" long, curved, and black. The seedpods of the sweet cicely end in one or two pointed ends, depending on species, and this pointed end works like a hook to allow the seeds to be transported on animals or your pants to another site.

The root is the strongest tasting part of the plant. It is light beige, branched and gnarly, up to 6" long. The main taproot is rather fibrous, but can be grated on a microplane to be added to a cookie dough or cake batter. Gillian likes to chew on them raw while walking in the woods. The roots make a good tea to relieve an upset stomach. Robert is infusing some sweet cicely roots into vodka for an aromatic spirit.

Wild Ginger Identified

There are some wild edibles that we read about long before we find them. We have an ever-changing wishlist of plants we want to find, photograph, and taste in different stages of growth and in different seasons. Wild ginger is a plant we had unknowingly encountered in the past, admiring it for its unusual flower and pretty foliage. Upon becoming interested in the edible and medicinal properties of ginger, we have had a difficult time finding it in our immediate area. We finally got a tip on where to find large patches of wild ginger, and looked for it this weekend while in the western side of Connecticut. Wild ginger (Asarum canadense) is not closely related to commercial ginger, but the flavor and aroma are similar, and the rhizome can be used in the same ways as commercial ginger. Wild ginger is found in moist, shady forests from southeastern Canada into the mountain regions of Georgia, along the east coast of the United States, and as far west as the Dakotas. The rhizomes like undisturbed, rich soil and can be dug from spring to autumn.

Wild ginger is a native herbaceous perennial that spreads through its rhizomes underground. Colonies of ginger will carpet the forest floor in dense patches. The pretty, heart-shaped leaves are 4"-7" wide, reach up to 12" tall, and grow in pairs. They rise directly from the rhizome on fuzzy leafstalks, and the leaf is dark green on top and lighter green on the underside. The leaves are veined and completely soft and fuzzy. Because of the handsome appearance of the foliage, wild ginger makes a good addition to a shady, moist area of your yard as native landscaping.

In April and May, a flower grows on a short stem from the crotch of each paired leafstalk. It is an unusual and beautiful bloom, often hidden beneath the leaves and laying against the ground. The color of the petal-like lobes is a dark maroon, or purplish-brown, and the interior of the flower is cream colored. Even the exterior of the flower and the curled back lobes are softly fuzzy like the leaf stems and leaves. The flower grows close to the ground because it is pollinated by ants. Often, you will have to clear away forest debris and leaves to find the flower. A fleshy, six-celled fruit will develop later in the spring.

The rhizome of wild ginger is what is gathered and eaten, and used for medicinal purposes. It often grows just beneath the top of the soil and is easy to dig. Collect just a small percentage, less than 10%, of the roots from a patch to assure the health of the colony. The rhizomes are branched and covered with many smaller roots, connecting much of a patch together. They are about the thickness of a pencil and brittle, snapping apart easily. The aroma is fragrant and spicy, and the rhizome can be prepared in many ways, using greater quantities than commercial ginger since the flavor of wild ginger is more subtle. It can be dried and powdered, candied, and used grated in recipes. Medicinally, wild ginger is used to settle an upset stomach and to alleviate gas, nausea, and fevers. Wild ginger has antibiotic and antifungal properties, and was used by Native American tribes as a seasoning and medicine.

Photo Collage - Dandelion

The humble dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) is a naturalized invader from Europe that is found all over North America and Canada in hayfields, pastures, lawns, parks, empty lots and other disturbed areas. It is  an herbaceous perennial that grows all of its leaves from a basal rosette. Each leaf stalk has a lighter green midrib, and the leaf is often deeply lobed with tips that point back towards the base of the leaf. Flower stalks are hollow tubes, sometimes smooth and sometimes covered with a fine fuzzy wool. Each flower stalk carries a single composite flower head composed of many ray florets, forming the familiar yellow flower that dots the landscape. Shortly after blooming, often the next day, the white, fluffy head of seeds is formed. Each seed is attached to a pappus of fine hairs that works like a parachute to catch winds and disperse the seeds over wide areas. The taproot of dandelion is fleshy and long, becoming woody with age. It is difficult to eradicate dandelions from a lawn because the taproot is difficult to dig up in one piece, often breaking and still managing to grow back. All parts of dandelion exude a white sap when broken or cut.

Dandelion greens are a common food in Italy and France, and we can find them in our local grocery stores alongside the other leafy greens like kale and mustards. There is always a bit of bitterness associated with dandelion greens, but that level of bitterness can vary with climate, time of year, and habitat of the plant. Robert gathers the greens only in the early spring before the dandelions flower, or in the late fall. He gets them from a meadow next to a seasonally flooding river that receives full sun, and quickly boils them to wilt the greens and store them in the freezer for later use, adds them raw to salads, and cooks them in recipes calling for greens. As he will pick about 5 gallons of greens at a time and boil them in a big pot of water, he is then left with a big pot of dandelion tea filled with vitamins, minerals and iron, that he sweetens and chills to drink. When the flowers appear, we pick them in abundance to use the yellow petals in jelly, wine, and added to breads and muffins. Gillian will powder her face with pollen as she munches the flower heads fresh from the field. Robert digs the roots in the autumn to dry slowly in the oven and powder in the coffee grinder, then uses the powder as a coffee substitute. The smell of the roasting roots is similar to chocolate, and the "coffee" is bitter, but really good dressed up with sweetener and cream. Dandelions are versatile, common, and one of our favorite free, organic, and wild foods.

In two weeks, we are taking a little road trip to the Dandelion Festival in Ohio. We are looking forward to sampling some dandelion-filled foods, some music, crafts, and fun for kids. We  ordered the cookbook that Breitenbach Wine Cellars produces in collaboration with the Festival, and it is filled with fun recipes using the greens, flowers and roots.

Photo Collage - Garlic Mustard

Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) might be one of the first wild edibles we tried a few years ago. It is incredibly abundant her in southern New England, and highly invasive. The flavor is indeed garlicky with a hint of hot mustard, with a bit of bitterness in the leaves at different stages of growth. Garlic mustard is a biennial herbaceous plant, meaning it does not produce flowers and seeds until its second season. Beginning in late fall, and early spring, the first year's growth of kidney-shaped leaves is produced in a basal rosette from a white taproot. These leaves are a bit tough and best suited for pestos and a recipe where they are chopped and cooked for awhile. The second year is when the flower stalk is produced, and the stalk bears triangular-shaped leaves that are more tender, but also more pungent. The flower clusters look a little bit like broccoli and the tiny white flowers are edible, with a hot bite. Shortly after the flowers pass, long seed pods called siliques grow, turning from green to brown. The seeds fall in mid-summer, leaving behind the dry, brown plant stalks.


The entire plant is edible to certain degrees. The white taproot from the first year basal rosette can be dug and grated like horseradish, or chewed raw for a sinus-stimulant! The leaves can be gathered to use like other greens in normal recipes, like a roulade, ravioli filling, or greens-stuffed bread. Using the garlicky and spicy flavor of the leaves to enhance food is done by adding the greens to a more neutral recipe like hummus, or an already spicy felafel. Some find the slight bitterness unpleasant, and that can be lessened by boiling the greens in two changes of water before using the greens. We like to eat the top 4" or so of the flower stalks, stripped of the leaves and stems, and boiled like pasta. We also like to eat the immature, green seed pods with some butter and salt. The seeds can be gathered quite easily in quantity, and we use them in a spicy mustard and dressings, and sprinkled on bread.

Photo Collage - Japanese Knotweed

Japanese knotweed is very prevalent and highly invasive in New England. Its point of entry into the United States was through Boston as an ornamental, and it has spread into 39 of 50 states. In the early spring the shoots begin to pop up from the bases of last season's growth, as it spreads mainly through rhizomes in the ground. The hollow stalks grow quickly, unfurling leaves at each "joint" beneath a papery sheath until they reach up to 12" tall. The stalk is green, and often speckled red, looking similar to rhubarb. The leaves have an odd, flat base on the stem end and are simple, oval and pointed. Large stands of Japanese knotweed are easy to spot by the forest of tall, dead stalls left behind from last season.

We gather the stalks when they are 3"-10" tall, as they become tough and stringy as they get too much taller. At the smaller sizes, the stalks can be peeled to use raw, or cooked many ways into recipes. Most of the recipes we have developed are sweet, as the tart flavor of knotweed pairs well with sugar. Jelly, dessert bars, muffins, wine, cold soup and tapioca are some ideas for a sweet dish, and we recently tried it raw and savory in a wild food-filled summer roll. Gillian will chew on a raw stalk while we are out, and likes to sip the water that accumulates in the lowest hollow joint of the larger plants.

Photo Collage - Ramps

Robert has been putting together some photo collages with the extensive library of photographs he has taken over the last few years. In April, we look forward to the ramps (Allium tricoccum) poking up their leaves through the forest floor. Ramps are fairly common here in southeastern Connecticut, and we gather the leaves from several large patches. We don't usually bother to dig the bulbs, since that will kill the entire plant and ramps are slow to reproduce. Four years ago, we transplanted 12 bulbs into a patch of dirt outside our back door, and today 12 plants still come up. The bulbs have not yet divided to produce new plants, and all of our attempts to germinate ramps from seeds have failed.

It is the green leaves that we do almost all of our cooking with. They are tender and easy to cut into thin slices for recipes, and sometimes large enough to stuff like cabbage leaves. The flavor of ramps is a funky onion and garlic blend. We add them to biscuit and bagel recipes, soups, any mixed vegetable stir-fry, and make a pungent pesto from the raw leaves. I mixed some chopped leaves into softened cream cheese to spread over toast in the morning with a side of scrambled eggs and sauteed ramps.Our spring favorite is a Chinese-style pancake filled with ramps. The chopped greens store well in the freezer if packed tightly into a container, and we have successfully dehydrated and powdered the leaves to add to pasta dough.

Japanese Knotweed Identified

Knotweed flowering

Japanese knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum) is a wonderful wild edible, but a horrible invasive species. It came originally from Asia, and has spread to the US from the UK as a planted ornamental plant for its pretty white flower sprays in summer and fall. Japanese knotweed will grow just about anywhere, next to water, on the side of the road and railroad tracks, anywhere there is ample sunlight. It will also grow in just about any type of soil, so it easily excludes native vegetation. It spreads mainly through rhizomes underground, but the seeds have "wings" to better ride the winds. The rhizomes are strong enough to grow through asphalt and retaining walls, causing damage to structures. The thick layer of last season's decomposing dry stems will outmulch all competitors, creating large stands of impenetrable knotweed forests.

Last season's dry stems

The shoots appear next to the last season's dry stems, first as pink shoots, then growing quickly into tall, red-speckled green stems with a crown of curled, green leaves. The shoots have a sour, green apple-like taste, but with an odd vegetal quality. It is probably one of those love-or-hate tastes. Some recipes may call for you to peel the stalks, which we do with a potato peeler. When the shoots are about 3"-8" tall is the best time to gather them to use in recipes like dessert bars, tapioca, or a jelly. If the stems are about 8"-12" tall, we still pick them to make the jelly or wine. When they get too much taller, more leaves will unfurl and the stems become tough and stringy, almost more string than flesh. The stems can grow 6'-12' tall, and there is a second species that grows in our area that is even bigger, the giant knotweed (Polygonum sachalinense).

There are several very distinct identifiers, including the jointed stem which looks like bamboo, a membranous sheath at each of the stem joints, and leaves that are broadly oval with an oddly straight base and a pointy tip. They unfurl into leaves about 5"-6" long and 2"-4" wide. When sliced, knotweed has a mucilaginous quality. Japanese knotweed does contain some oxalic acid and should not be consumed in massive quantities. It also contains resveratrol, which is the same compound found in grapes and red wine that might positively affect heart disease. Most resveratrol nutritional supplements are derived from Japanese knotweed.

Japanese knotweed chilled soup

Spicebush Identified

Spicebush Swallowtail on milkweed

The spicebush shrub is a favorite spice we like to use to season teas and beers, and add to stewed apples or to baked goods. It is a deciduous shrub or small tree, known by several names: common spicebush, Benjamin bush, or wild allspice. It is native to eastern North America, ranging from Maine, through Kansas and into northern Florida. It is a favorite food of the Spicebush Swallowtail Butterfly and its larvae.

Spicebush grows as an understory shrub in wet forests, along trails, in swamps, and rich woodlands. In the early spring, they are often the first shrub or small tree to produce their flower clusters, which are small, yellow and fragrant. The flowers are produced before the leaves appear, and are either male or female. The shrub is not self-fertile, so both male and female plants must be present for the production of viable berries and seeds to be produced on the female shrubs.

The leaves are alternate, simple, oval and broader after the mid point of the leaf. They are bright green, about 2"-6" long. The bark is grey/brown and spotted with small bumps called lenticles. When picked fresh, the twigs can be used as a seasoning for teas and skewering meats over a grill, with a mildly spicy/citrusy flavor.

The berries are drupes,, about 1/2" long and oval, ripening from bright green to red in August and September. In the center of each berry is a seed covered with a dark, leathery shell. The berries are highly fragrant, like allspice or cloves mixed with lemon. Soon after the berries are picked, they oxidize to a dark reddish-black, so we preserve them several ways throughout the year to use in recipe. We add them to vodka, keep them in sugar, or freeze the whole berries, since they contain lots of volatile oils that dissipate if the berry is dried. Robert likes to add spicebush berries to beers that he brews.

Hairy Bittercress Identified

This is a new spring green for us, one that is ready to eat right now. "Wildman" Steve Brill had asked if we were finding hairy bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta) in our area yet, but we had never looked for it before. I browsed through a few books to look for it with no success, but it was listed on his app "Wild Edibles", available in the android Marketplace.

Hairy bittercress is known by other common names like pepperweed, snapweed, and land cress. It is in the mustard family, and has the same peppery, bitter flavor as other mustards. It is best to gather the greens very early in the spring, or in the late fall when the leaves are tender. The many leaf stalks grow from a basal rosette, can reach about 4" long, and are sparsely hairy. Each leaf stalk has 5-9 paired leaflets, and the largest unpaired leaflet is at the tip of the stalk. From the center of the basal rosette, flower stalks will grow up to 10" tall, with several more leaf stalks growing from the main stem. The flowers are very small, white, and have 4 petals, and will bloom while the seed capsules are forming. The seed capsules are small, about 1/2"-1" long, and olive green. When the seed capsules are mature, they can explode and spread the tiny seeds far from the parent plant. While the flowers and flower stalks are edible, they may seem a bit tough compared to the more tender leaf stalks and leaflets.

Hairy bittercress may be considered an invasive lawn weed, as it will form dense mats of rosettes over an area. It likes to grow in disturbed soil, in a sunny area that may be a bit wet. A great place to find it is invading greenhouses and newly potted plants and gardens. We found some growing next to buildings, where a micro-climate is produced by the building insulating the soil and rainwater is dropped from the roof. Hairy bittercress is originally from Europe and Asia, but now widely spread throughout North America..

To gather the hairy bittercress, we just lift up the cluster of leaf stalks and cut them with a knife near the ground. Then we wash the greens and pick through them, discarding the yellow leaves and pinching off some of the larger stems and flower stalks. They add a peppery bite to raw salads, and can be cooked with soups or in a recipe like other greens. We did eat a big salad with a yogurt and bittercress dressing for dinner one night, and may try some potatoes cooked with bittercress and field onions into a breakfast hash this week.

Field Garlic, or Yard Onions Identified

Cleaned bulbs of field garlic

Even with the warm, early spring, most lawns are brown and dead except for some tufts of long, green field garlic. We have always noticed the bunches growing along roadsides, in fields, and lawns coming up before most other edibles. It looked like an onion, it smelled like an onion, it had to be an onion, right? There are many different types of wild onions and garlics like ramps (Allium tricoccum) and the European ramsoms (Allium ursnium) that Robert is familiar with, and other species of wild garlic that grow in isolated areas of the western US. The wild garlic that appears most frequently in our area is probably one commonly known as field garlic (Allium vineale).

Field garlic is native to Europe, and is considered an invasive species in a few states. A few years ago when I was trying to Google "yard onions" I mostly came across people complaining about the plant, and looking for advice on how to eradicate it using herbicides, poison, and digging. Now there is more information on the edibility of your yard onions, but still a lot of opinions on the desirability of the plant. Some clusters seen to naturally produce narrower leaves that are more tender, and some clusters produce thick, tough leaves that are attached to a larger bulb. Using the correct stage of the plant is crucial to enjoying this edible weed. This is  a plant that could easily be added to any recipe calling for onions, garlic, or chives. Gillian likes the large bulbs grilled with a bit of salt and olive oil.

Grilled with olive oil and salt

bulbs of field garlic

The leaves of field garlic are slender, waxy, hollow tubes that can grow 12"-18" tall. The bulbs can be 1/4"-3/4" in diameter, and are covered with a fibrous outer layer that is easily removed. The bulbs sometimes have small cloves covered in a hard shell attached to them under the fibrous layer. The big bulbs can be used like an onion, and although the tiny cloves are a pain to peel, they have a sweeter taste. The tender, smaller leaves can be used like chives in many recipes, chopped into salads, and added to soups. Once the leaves get larger, they get a bit tough and stringy, but are still good to cook with in soups.

The field garlic flowers in June, growing on a tough stem. A ball of tiny bulbs, called bubils, grows at the top of the stem. From some of the bubils a six petaled, purple flower forms before the tiny bulbs fall to the ground to propagate. This flower is also edible, making a pretty, savory addition to an early summer salad.

Star of Bethlehem-see the white stripes?

There is one poisonous look-alike to field garlic, a common wild flower called Star of Bethlehem (Ornithogalum umbellatum). It comes up at the same time and often right next to some field garlic. It is easily distinguished by the flat shape of the long leaves, a white stripe along the length of the leaf, and no onion odor. It produces a white, 6 petaled flower. The bulbs of this flower contain alkaloids and cardenolides, which are toxic to humans and livestock.