Health authorities advise spending more time outdoors for our general health and well-being, especially during the current pandemic. Now around this time of St Brigid’s Day, spring is beckoning us to get out in nature, as the days get longer and the weather milder. The poem, ‘Cill Aodáin’, by Antaine Ó Raifteirí (1779 -1835), is more expressive:
Anois teacht an earraigh, beidh ‘n lá dul chun síneadh
‘S tar éis na Féil’ Bríde, ardóidh mé mo sheol.
(Now, with the coming of spring, the days will be getting longer and after the Festival of Bríd, I will raise my sail.)
The crisp quiet month of February, the shortest month, when hibernation is coming to an end, spring slowly starts to herald in the promise of the new.
Breathe in deep, revive the body and nourish the mind while walking, cycling or pushing the wheelchair around the safer lanes, by the sea, or in mature woodland pathways that abound in many parts of Ireland. We can still see the shape of the trees without their cloak of leaves, with fluffy lichen and moss covering their branches. New growth is beginning to bud and bulge.
Heralds of Spring to Notice on a Walk – all are beautiful, many are edible!
Many wild plants are edible, but not all. We wouldn’t eat ivy, or yew, or deadly-night-shade, for example. If foraging is not your thing, then just take pleasure in what is around, appreciate the delicate scent of snow drop, crocus and hazel catkins. Like the rest of nature, it does us good to be patient, observant and self-aware. As winter begins to show signs of coming to an end, there are quite a few tender edible plants out there which are interesting to taste. Here is a list of 20 wild plants which are recommended in Robin Harford’s book, ‘Edible and Medicinal Wild Plants of Britain and Ireland’, published in 2019.
Bittercress – Cardamine spp. – the leaf can be eaten raw or cooked.
Burdock – Arctium spp. – the root can be eaten raw or cooked.
Cleavers – Galium aparine – the shoots can be eaten raw or cooked.
Creeping Thistle – Cirsium arvense – the root can be eaten cooked.
Dandelion – Taraxacum officinale agg. – the leaf can be eaten raw or cooked.
Fennel – Foeniculum vulgare – the root can be eaten raw or cooked.
Ground Elder – Aegopodium podagraria – the leaf can be eaten raw or cooked
Horseradish – Armoracia rusticana – the root can be eaten raw or cooked.
Lesser Celandine – Ficaria verna – the leaf can be eaten cooked.
Mahonia – Mahonia aquifolium – the flowers can be eaten raw.
Nipplewort – Lapsana communis – the leaf can be eaten raw or cooked.
Pink Purslane – Claytonia sibirica – the leaf can be eaten raw or cooked.
Red Valerian – Centranthus ruber – the leaf can be eaten raw or cooked, but root must be cooked.
Rough Hawkbit – Leontodon hispidus – the root can be roasted as a coffee substitute.
Saxifrage – Chrysosplenium spp. – the leaves can be eaten cooked.
Smooth Sowthistle – Sonchus oleraceus – the leaf can be eaten raw or cooked.
Three Cornered Leek – Allium triquetrum – the leaf can be eaten raw or cooked.
Violet – Viola spp. – the leaf can be eaten raw or cooked.
White Dead Nettle – Lamium album – the leaf and shoots can be eaten raw or cooked.
Wood Avens – Geum urbanum – the root can be eaten raw or cooked.
How Walks in Nature led to a PhD in Botany!
Rev. William Keble Martin (1877-1969) was an Anglican priest in England who took a serious interest in botany. He turned his walks in nature into works of art, drawing interesting flowers he saw on his travels. In 1896 he went to Christ Church, Oxford, to read Greek Philosophy, Church History and Botany. After qualifying, he felt called by God to life as a priest. Meanwhile, he earned a living as a tutor in Castletownroche, near Fermoy in County Cork, while waiting for a place at Cuddesdon Theology College.
Ministry and botany defined Rev. Keble Martin’s life. He amassed botanical illustrations of 1486 species recorded among the various parishes in which he served in Britain and during his time as chaplain in France during the First World War. After more than 60 years of writing and illustrating, he was encouraged to publish his work as a botanical companion guide for other people who enjoy a walk in nature.
When his book, the ‘The Concise British Flora’ hit the shelves on 10 May 1965, it was an instant best seller selling over 100,000 copies that year. Indeed, the Rev. Keble Martin became the best-selling author of 1965 – at the age of 89. The Post Office issued a set of stamps using his drawings. In 1966 the University of Exeter awarded Rev. Keble Martin an honorary PhD for his lifetime’s work on botany.
So whether you are a budding botanist, a curious forager, or a casual stroller, may the great outdoors help you connect with creation and with the Creator – and ultimately with yourself.
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me
and lead me in the way everlasting.
(Psalm 139: 23-24)