Welcome to the Celtnet Guide to Wild Foods Beginning with 'O'

Wild Food Guide — 'O'



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Welcome to the Celtnet guide to wild foods. As this recipe site has grown it has become obvious that to allow people to replicate some of the more ancient recipes on this site (especially from the Ancient, Roman and Medieval periods it is necessary to list modern alternatives but also to produce a guide so that the curious can find the original (often wild) ingredients for themselves. These pages are an attempt at bringing all these potentially useful and often forgotten wild foods together into one place. To use this guide simply click on the first letter of your term above or below. Alternativey why not just browse through the terms. You may well find something that surprises you!

This page covers wild foods beginning with the letter 'O' and includes both common and scientific names.

marker button  Oak marker button  Oarweed marker button  Old Man's Pepper
marker button  Orache (Common) marker button  Origanum vulgare marker button  Osmundea pinnatifida
marker button  Osterick marker button  Ox Tongue Fungus marker button  Oxalis acetosella
marker button  Oyster Mushroom marker button  Oyster Plant

Example Entry

Below, you will find an example wild food entry produced randomly from our database:

Wild Food Entry For: Henbit Deadnettle

This is the description page for Henbit Deadnettle (Lamium amplexicaule) and includes a description as well as an image, if available and a selection of recipes from this site that relates to the wild foodstuff: Henbit Deadnettle.

Henbit Deadnettle

Henbit Deadnettle, Lamium amplexicaule (also known as Greater Henbit) is an annual herbaceous plant of the Lamiaceae (mint) family. It is native throughout Europe and western Asia and north Africa which growis in a variety of habitats from open grassland to woodland, generally on moist, fertile soils. In the correct conditions this plant can grow to 25cm tall and has green cubic stems that bear broad, rounded, softly hairy leaves with a rounded base and a lobed margin. These leaves are superficially similar to those of stinging nettles (Urtica dioica) but do not sting  hence they are described as 'dead'. The flowers of this plant are pink to purple in hue and are often produced in spring in northern climes and throughout the year in warmer areas. It is often found alongside the similar species, Red Deadnettle (Lamium purpureum) which is easily mistaken for it since they both have similar looking leaves and similar bright purple flowers; they can be distinguished by the stalked leaves of Red Deadnettle on the flower stem, compared to the unstalked leaves of Henbit Deadnettle. Henbit Deadnettle propagates readily by seed and can often become an invasive weed.

The young shoots, leaves and flowers of this plant are edible and, once washed, can be simply cooked by adding to frying pan with a knob of butter some spring onions and plenty of seasoning. When sautéed for ten minutes they are ready to consume. Ideally finish with a twist of fresh nutmeg and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice before serving. The tops of young plants can also be used in salads or can be stir-fried as a spring vegetable. The flavour is best when the plant is in flower as it can be very insipid when young.


Recipes Utilizing Henbit Deadnettle

Fried Herbed Deadnettle
Springtime Fritters
Deadnettle and Chilli Soup
Deadnettle Beer
Plain Omelette with Onion and Deadnettle
Early Spring Salad
Deadnettle Greens
Fried Dead-nettle Greens
Bacon and Deadnettle Strata
Deadnettle Purée (a soup)
Fried Dead-nettle Greens


You can also use the search box below to find the wild food of your choice. You can use the common name or the scientific name or any text you choose:



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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Mushrooms and Fungi

If you're looking for a particular recipe, or a recipe using a particular ingredient or set of ingredients, why not try my recipe search facility. You can even use a combination of period and ingredient such as 'Elizabethan Lamb' or 'medieval eggs'.


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