Wild Food Guide — 'V'

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 'V' and includes both common and scientific names.

This is the description page for Greater Plantain (Plantago major) 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: Greater Plantain.

Greater Plantain, Plantago major (also known as: Broadleaf Plantain, Broad-leaved Plantain, Cart Track Plant, Dooryard Plantain, Greater Plantago, Healing Blade, Hen Plant, Lambs Foot, Roadweed, Roundleaf Plantain, Waybread, Wayside Plantain, White Man's Foot) is a species of genus Plantago, a member of the Plantaginaceae family which is native to most of Europe and northern and central Asia. It is also a common weed that's widely naturalized to much of the remainder of the world. It is a herbaceous perennial plant with a rosette of leaves 15–30 cm diameter. Each leaf is oval, 5–20 cm long and 4–9 cm broad, rarely up to 30 cm long and 17 cm broad, with an acute apex and a smooth margin; there are five to nine conspicuous veins. The flowers are small, greenish-brown with purple stamens, produced in a dense spike 5-15 cm long on top of a stem 13-15 cm tall (rarely to 70 cm tall).

It grows better than most other plants in compacted soils, and is abundant beside paths, roadsides, and other areas with frequent soil compaction. It is also common in grasslands and as a weed in crops. It is wind-pollinated, and propagates primarily by seeds, which are held on the long, narrow spikes which rise well above the foliage. The leaves are edible and used in herbal medicine, but can be somewhat tough. The taste is that of very bitter salad greens with a lingering aftertaste like spinach. Young leaves are recommended as they are more tender. The leaves when dried make a good tea.

Creamed Plantain and Ham
Mixed Wild Greens with Poppy Seed Dressing
Plantain in Spicy Yoghurt Sauce
Shrimp and Samphire Risotto