Welcome to part 2 of native edible plants in Ireland that you probably never heard of. Let’s do a little recap from part 1 first. I used the word probably because maybe you have heard of some these but I admitted that I hadn’t heard of some of them before moving to Ireland and now I grow some of them. Also some of these plants would be great for growing in the “every season in one day” weather we have out here in Ireland. I will also linked part 1 at the bottom of this blog so you can check it out as well just in case you missed it.

Comfrey – Comfrey is a flower plant that’s blossoms look similar to Bellflowers. They are purple and blue and sometimes fade from blue to purple. I am not really sure how people use them but I have been them being sold in shops. It is said they taste like bitter cucumbers.

Curly Dock – Curly Dock looks like two different plants. The flowers look like tiny little pink or yellow hearts with a small pea in the center. The Stalks are really long fill with a lot of tiny heart flowers at the top. At the base of the plant there are large leaves that look like giant dandelion leaves. Curly Dock taste like sour green beans. CAUTION: Cattle and sheep can not eat Curly Dock it is poisonous to them. I’m sure there are other animals that can’t eat them as well but sheep and cows make up a lot of the livestock here in Ireland so those are the two I know.

Nettles – Nettles kind of look like mint but they are not. This plant can burn and sting people but the leaves are edible if you can get them off without hurting yourself. It taste spinach and has a lot of benefits for things like skin, muscles, joints and yes those are topical and ingested benefits. It also helps with anemia and is high in iron and calcium.

Rumex Acetosella (red sorrel) – Rumex Acetosella has cute little red bud flowers that turn into flat left looking flowers that open to tiny little flowers and then turn into little fluff ball flowers. This plant is said to taste like vinegar and is being tested to see if it actually stops, prevents, and heals tumours which is one of things it has been used to treat for centuries. It would be nice to have science to back up those centuries of calms.

Irish Moss (Carrageen) – Is a type of sea algae that’s like kelp. It has not only been eaten here for before anyone can remember, but people use to have laws protecting it if it grew on their property. That’s right it was a delicacy and the most common way to eat it then and probably even now is in the form of a pudding. There are recipes online ‘it’s a thing.’ It has a slight sea like taste when cooked and raw it taste salty like calms.

Dillesk – Dillesk is type of Irish seaweed that is purple. This is a very interesting seasweed because it taste nutty and salty and does have to be cooked in order to eat it. It is also packed with so many vitamins and nutrients in such high number you could probably live off of this with no problem. Well you would probably have a sodium issue all jokes side it’s a wonder plant.

Willow – Willow is commonly used as a herb and a tea. It’s flavor is said to be like sweet cucumber. The flowers are very interesting as well. They are purple and pink with round and pointy petals on the same flower. You should look up a photo of them they are amazing. Although this plant does have medical value I would caution on consuming them because they can be tonic and have some unfavorable side effects that you wouldn’t want if you were on vacation.

I hope you enjoyed reading this blog which is part 2. The link to the first post is below. If you like this post and would like to see more blogs about these plant and other native Irish plants please leave a like or a comment below.