IV ETHNOBOTANY PROJECT
Cultural Landscape: The Truth About "Weeds"
When most people in the U.S. think of weeds, they most likely think of dandelions and thistles, or that unfamiliar thing growing in your garden. Weeds are the plants seen to have no use, or growing where they are undesired. In many places around the world, however, the idea of a weed does not exist. In Maya languages, for example, there is no word which translates as “weed,” because the uses of all plants have historically been known. Similarly, around California, if we look beyond the idea of “weeds,” we can see that many plants growing around us have value.
One person’s weed is another’s salad. Read on to learn about some of the “weeds” around Isla Vista.
WARNING: Because weeds are considered undesired, they may be sprayed with toxic chemicals. Make sure you forage in non-sprayed areas and always wash what you pick!
Chickweed
Latin Name: Caryophyllaceae Stellaria media
Season: All year
Parts to Eat: All
How to Eat: Raw or cooked
Nutrition: Vitamins A, D, B, C, rutin, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, zinc, manganese, sodium, copper, iron, silica
Other Uses: Medicines
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WARNING: Chickweed has a toxic Euphorbia lookalike which exudes a milky toxic latex.
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Learn More:

Common Sowthistle
Latin Name: Asteraceae Sonchus oleraceus
Season: Winter-Summer
Parts to Eat: All
How to Eat: Raw; cook or boil to ease digestion
Nutrition: Vitamins A, B, C, calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, zinc, antioxidants
Other Names: Hare’s colwort, hare’s thistle, milk thistle

Curly Dock
Latin Name: Rumex Crispus
Season: Curly dock can flower twice a year
Parts to Eat: Leaves and seeds
How to Eat: Raw, sauté, or boil
Nutrition: Leaves are high in beta-carotene, vitamin C, and zinc. Seeds are rich in calcium and fiber.
Cool Fact: Curly Dock is one of the most widely distributed seed in the world and can remain dormant in the soil for 80 years. Curly Dock was also an important food source during the Great Depression.
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Learn More:
http://eattheinvaders.org/blue-plate-special-curly-dock/
khkeeler.blogspot.com/2017/07/plant-story-curly-dock-uses-and-folklore.html

Dandelion
Latin Name: Asteraceae Taraxacum officinale
Season: Spring-Autumn
Parts to Eat: All (root, stem, leaves, flower)
How to Eat: Raw, boiled, as tea, and in many other forms
Nutrition: Vitamins A, C, K, E, B, iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium. The roots also promote healthy intestinal bacteria and are a good source of antioxidants.
Other Uses: Medicines
Other names: Blowball, Cankerwort, Priest’s Crown, Lion’s Tooth, Shepherd’s Clock, Fairy Clock
Cool Fact: Dandelion flowers open an hour after sunrise and closes at dusk, leading to the name “Shepherd’s Clock” or “Fairy Clock.”
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Learn More:
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/dandelion-benefits
https://www.healthline.com/health/ways-dandelion-tea-could-be-good-for-y...
https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-706/dandelion
https://www.thepracticalherbalist.com/holistic-medicine-library/herb-myt...

Fennel
Latin Name: Apiaceae Foeniculum vulgare
Season: All year
Parts to Eat: All
How to Eat: Raw or cooked
Nutrition: fiber, potassium, folate, vitamin C and B
Cool Fact: In medieval Europe, fennel seeds would be inserted into keyholes on Midsummer’s Eve to protect the home from ghosts. The fennel was hung over doorways to ward off malicious spirits. A thirteenth century physician noted, “he who sees fennel and gathers it not, is not a man but a devil.”
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Learn More:
https://www.seasonalfoodguide.org/fennel/california
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/284096.php
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/five-ways-to-eat-fresh-fenne...
https://www.cookinglight.com/food/in-season/discovering-fennel

Mallow
Latin Name: Malvaceae Malva neglecta
Season: All year
Parts to Eat: Leaves, Stalk, Seeds
How to Eat: Raw, Boiled
Nutrition: Leaves- Vitamins A, B, C, Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium; Seeds- 21% protein, 15% fat
Other Names: Cheeseweed
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Learn More:
Duke JA. CRC Handbook of Proximate Analysis Tables of Higher Plants. Boca Raton, Fl. CRC Press, 1986. 389 p.
http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Malva+neglecta
https://www.gardenbetty.com/mallow-the-everywhere-edible-weed/

Mugwort
Latin Name: Asteraceae Artemisia douglasiana
Season: Spring-Autumn
Parts to Eat: Leaves
How to Eat: Cooked or as a tea
Other Uses: Medicine, spiritual
Other Names: Dream Plant
Cool Fact: The Romans planted mugwort by roadsides for travelers to use for aching feet and it also flavored beer before hops were used. Many people place mugwort under their pillows to enhance dreams. It often grows near poison oak and can be applied crushed to the skin to prevent a rash.
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Learn More:
UC Irvine: Local natural history & ethnobotany ofArtemisia douglasiana (California Mugwort)

New Zealand Spinach
Latin Name: Aizoaceae Tetragonia tetragonioides
Season: All year
Parts to Eat: Leaves
How to Eat: Raw, Cooked, Boiled
Nutrition: High in antioxidants and fiber
Other Names: Warrigal Green
Cool Fact: James Cook took this plant on voyages to prevent scurvy
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Learn More:
https://www.cal-ipc.org/plants/profile/tetragonia-tetragonioides-profile/
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/australia-food-blog/2014/feb/02...

Stinging Nettle
Latin Name: Urticaceae urtica dioica
Season: Spring
Parts to Eat: Leaves, Roots
How to Eat: Soak in hot water, cook briefly. Can boil for tea, add to soup, quiche, or pasta.
Nutrition: High in Vitamin K, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Potassium, Manganese. In peak season, nettle can contain up to 25% protein
Other Uses: Medicines, Textiles
Cool Fact: Nettle is one of nine plants listed in the 10th Century pagan Anglo-Saxon Nine Herbs Charm. Burial Shrouds made of nettle have been found in Denmark dating back at least
5000 years where the stem fibers would be spun like flax. Nettle also produces a green dye which was historically used for war camouflage in Europe.
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WARNING: Stinging nettles sting. Do not attempt to eat without cooking first.
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Learn More:
http://www.sunriseorganicgardens.ca/stinging-nettle-useful-and-delicious/
https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/herbs-and-spices/stinging-n...
Gregory L. Tilford, Edible and Medicinal Plants of the West Hughes, R. Elwyn; Ellery, Peter; Harry, Tim; Jenkins, Vivian; Jones, Eleri (1980). "The dietary potential of the common nettle". Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture. 31 (12): 1279–86. doi:10.1002/jsfa.2740311210

Sourgrass
Latin Name: Oxalidaceae Oxalis pes-caprae
Season: Winter-Spring (in Santa Barbara)
Parts to Eat: All
How to Eat: Raw, Cooked, or Boiled
Nutrition: Oxalic Acid, Vitamin C
Other Uses: Medicine
Other Names: Bermuda buttercup, goat’s foot
Cool Fact: The roots of Sour Grass have been used to treat tapeworms.
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WARNING: Oxalic Acid can upset your stomach in large quantities.
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Learn More:
http://thrivingminimalist.com/articles/raw-food-foraging-sour-grass/
Duke, James (2000) The Handbook of Edible Weeds. CRC Press

Wild Mustard
Latin Name: Brassicaceae Sinapis arvensis
Season: Spring-Summer
Parts to Eat: Leaves and flowers
How to Eat: Raw or Cooked
Nutrition: Vitamins K, A, C, B, E, copper, manganes, calcium, fiber, iron
Other Uses: medicine
Other names: charlock, field mustard
Cool Fact: Legend has it that Spanish priests spread mustard seeds along the California coast as they travelled north building missions, so that they could follow the golden path home to Spain upon their return.
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Learn More:
http://ediblesanluisobispo.ediblecommunities.com/recipes/wild-mustard-mu...
https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-mustard-fire-pictures-2019-pho...
https://survivalweekly.com/719/wild-mustard/
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=93

Wild Radish
Latin Name: Raphanus raphanistrum var. sativus
Season: Annual or Perennial
Parts to Eat: flowers, leaves, roots
How to Eat: Raw. Boil to avoid upset stomach
Nutrition: Vitamins B, C, rutin, and minerals
Cool Fact: Radishes were domesticated in China, entered Europe in the 1500s, and reached the Americas by 1629.
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Learn More:
https://www.cal-ipc.org/plants/profile/raphanus-sativus-profile/
http://www.eattheweeds.com/radish-mustards-wild-rough-cousin/
