Horsetail - the wild edible ｜ 馬尾草

Different stages of horsetails.

The medicinal plant that dates back millions of years when dinosaurs still existed.

Horsetail is a perennial plant and an invasive species that originated from temperate regions.  This plant produces two types of young shoots: fertile and vegetative shoots.  Every year, starting in early spring, this wild edible will appear in many watery areas.

Fertile shoots of the field horsetails.

The fertile shoots have brownish colour and appear asparagus like. They can be eaten raw or cooked.  Each node of the shoots contains water; it is juicy and with almost no taste when eaten raw.

However, after giving them a quick fry with some oil and garlic, these young shoots resemble the taste of the Asian dried daylily, which have a crunchy, slightly sweet and savoury aftertaste (recipe is below).  I personally prefer cooked young shoots.

A big patch of vegetative shoots (on the left). The confiler-like foliages started to grow from the stem (on the right).

Vegetative shoots emerge after fertile shoots, and usually are good from spring to early summer.  They have bright green conifer-like foliage growing around the stems. People consider vegetative shoots as a tonic rather than food due to the rich content of silica, diuretic, and minerals in them.  It is said to improve hair, nails, bones, bladder, and kidneys.  They can be dried and stored as tea leaves.

When gathering vegetative shoots, try to look for the green tops that are bright green with upward foliages.  These green tops can be dried to make beneficial tea.  It tastes somewhat similar to Japanese green tea (recipe below).  However, the green stalk and rihizom should be avoid for consumption since the enzymes inside can destroy Vitamin B1 and thiamine. Also, long-term alcohol users, people who are Vitamin B deficient, pregnant or nursing women should avoid using horsetail.  Personally, I drink horsetail tea only one or two times a week as a treat (it is really delicious) while trying to get the medical benefit from it, but I will not recommend to drink it more than that.

A colony of scouring rush besides a stream. It belongs to horsetail family.

Scouring rush belongs to the horsetail family.  It also has no leaves and no flowers.  In early spring, this plant will produce young shoots that bear lots of spores to reproduce.  Because of the roughness of this plant, people in the old time used it to polish their pots.  I haven’t yet tried this method myself, but I am planning to do it this summer when I go camping.

Stir fry Field Horsetail Shoots

Ingredients:

A handful of Field Horsetail fertile shoots

2 cloves Garlic, sliced

1 tablespoon Vegetable Oil

Salt to taste

How to make:

1. Peel off and discard the black papery rings around the stems. Rinse the shoots a few times to remove the sand and dirt.

2. Heat up the oil over medium high heat. Add garlic.  Fry it until slightly brown.  Add the shoots.  Continuously fry them until they are fragrant; about two minutes.

I tried them as a warm side dish or cold appetizer.  Both were tasty.

Field Horsetail Tea｜馬尾草茶

Ingredients:

Horsetail Green Tops

Hot Water

How to make:

1. Carefully rinse the horsetail in water to remove the sand and dirt (they are quite dirty).

2. To dry the leaves, roughly cut them into 1–2 cm long.  Place them on parchment paper evenly.  Roast them in the oven at 220F until they are totally dried and be crumbled into pieces easily.  Store the leaves in a air-tight container.

3. To make the tea, bring a cup of water to a boil.  Add a tablespoon of tea leaves in a cup, then pour the hot water over it.  Let it steep for about 5–8 minutes.  Enjoy.

Japanese Knotweed - wild edible

Have you seen Japanese knotweed before?  It is a beautiful plant that may remind you of bamboo.  I think it was the reason why knotweed was introduced to North America from Japan as an ornamental plant long time ago.

In Japan and China, people are more focused on the medical benefits of the knotweed.  Knotweed contains a high amount of resveratrol, a potent antioxidant compound that can also be found in red grape skin or blueberry.  I'm not an expert on this one so I can't tell you much about how this organic compound works in our body.

For me, knotweed is a gift from nature and it tastes wonderful.  It has the tangy and subtle sweet flavour that resembles rhubarb.

Knotweed on the left, and horsetail grass on the right

Before I came across Japanese knotweed, I more often encountered horsetail grass, a species that looks very much like knotweed.  However, you can distinguish them very easily. 

In spring, Japanese knotweed is plump and round, and has reddish purple dots.  The leaves are heart shaped with two subtle purple lines on each.  Horsetail has no spots on the stem, and it has papery texture.  Both species are bamboo-like and invasive; however, knotweed is edible and the other is not.

A young leaf of the Japanese knotweed.  The two lines will subside when the leaf grows more mature.

Knotweed

Young knotweed usually starts to come out in early April.  This fast growing species can grow nearly 10 cm each day up to 3 meters in height, and the root can spread up to 10 feet in depth.  The root system is very vigorous and can even break through concrete, causing much damage in houses or roads.  A strong reason why our Government wants to get rid of it and puts it under the Invasive Special Act.  I think our government has done a very good job because I rarely see knotweed around to forage anymore.

  

When foraging knotweed, we look for the young shoots that are easy to break off and are no more than 6 inches tall. Past this stage, the plants will start to become woody and will no longer be good for consumption.

Since Japanese knotweed tastes tangy and sweet, I used it to make some knotweed jam for the yogurt dessert.

Japanese Knotweed Jam

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Young Knotweed Shoots

3 tablespoons Sugar

3 tablespoons Rum Raisin

I infused the raisin three years ago and I only use it for special dessert.  If you don't have some on hand, just use raisin and a splash of rum.  Or just omit the rum.

How to make:

1. Rinse the knotweed carefully; cut it into bite sized pieces.

2. In a non-stick pot, add the knotweed and a cup of water.  Bring it to a boil and cook continuously until the knotweed is totally soft and the liquid has almost evaporated. It takes about 5 minutes.

3. Pour the cooked knotweed in a blender, including the cooking liquid.  Add raisin.  Pulse until the mixture incorporates.

Japanese knotweed Jam

Da, da, da, da~

It is the dessert for tonight.  I must say it feels great to eat the food I forage or grow with my own hands.  There is a bond between the nature and the me inside.

Knotweed jam on greek yogurt, plus some hemp seeds and bean cracker for the garnish.