Spring Beauty
In nearly every wild food book covering this plant, I have found an advisory against harvesting spring beauty, with exception of ‘desperate need’ or where ‘extremely plentiful.’ The reason? Its beauty. I, personally, don’t limit my wild gatherings to unattractive plants and, in general, believe that it is important to mindfully gather every plant while foraging~ always keeping ecological considerations and the health of each plant’s population in mind. The above advisory grows even sillier in the face of how easy it is to gather spring beauty greens without destroying the entire plant– simply avoid picking all of the stems from one root- easy enough.
Spring beauty grows abundantly throughout much of eastern North America. Belonging to the purslane family with around a dozen species~ they are all considered edible. The only species that I’ve seen in this area (Indiana,) however, is C. virginica. A typical spring beauty plant is less than 10 inches tall and is composed of several short, thin stems sprouting up from one root. There is a single pair of dark green leaves growing opposite each other roughly half way up the stalk. C. virginica’s leaves are lengthy and grass~like. It is best to familiarize yourself with spring beauty while they are in bloom. The flowers sport five white (or light pink) petals with darker pink veins that run along each petal. While the roots, stems, leaves and flowers of spring beauty are all edible, I tend to stick with the latter three…the plant is so small that it takes enough time just collecting the greens. The roots are so small and so tedious to gather that I know of few people willing to put the time into collecting them~ myself included;).
Spring beauty greens (the entire portion of the plant growing above ground) are mild in flavor. They are thick, juicy, a bit crisp and can be eaten both raw and cooked…their small size makes them a fun salad green.
Spring Beauty Salad with Pomegranate Dressing
(makes about 4 servings)
8 cups spring beauty leaves, stems and flowers
6-8 radishes, finely sliced
1/4 cup fresh pomegranate juice (or cranberry juice)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Combine pomegranate juice, olive oil, lemon juice, sea salt and thyme in a small bowl and mix thoroughly.
Drizzle over spring beauty & radishes…Enjoy!
