Parts used: all parts above ground (aerial parts)

You might know this plant as ‘stickyweed’ due to its excellent seed dispersal tactic of sticking to any item of clothing (or animal hair) that brushes past it. So it may surprise you to find out it’s not only edible, but rather tasty – and has uses in herbal medicine, too.

Find the creeping, straggling square-shaped stems that grow along the ground and over other plants from early spring. Cleavers forms dense carpets among hedges and grassy banks. It has very simple leaves that are positioned in whorls of six to eight at intervals up the stem. After washing, add to a jug of cold water to add a light cucumber flavour.

The plant is used in herbal medicine for its mildly diuretic action, gently flushing out lymphatic toxins that may have built up over the winter months. It is also thought to be a cooling and moistening herb, helping to relieve inflammation from the body.

Gorse flowers: Common (Ulex europeaus, Western Ulex gallii and Dwarf Ulex minor)

Parts used: blossoms

These yellow petals, described as having scents ranging from coconut to almond, can be seen in all kinds of habitats, from heaths and coastal grasslands to towns and gardens.

There are three similar species of gorse in the UK: Common gorse is widespread, flowering from January to June; Western gorse flowers, in late summer and autumn, are found in western UK; Dwarf gorse flowers later and can be found in south-east England. 

Add gorse flowers to your dough when baking your next loaf – the flowers keep their colour, leaving each slice speckled with gold. It has spiny branches with thin, spine-like, trifoliate leaves.

---

Guelder rose (Viburnum Opulus)

Parts used: bark

The bark of this ornamental shrub hold medicinal value. It has antispasmodic actions on the body and is used to relieve cramps, tense muscles and spasms. It is found almost everywhere in England, in hedges and along woodland edges, but becomes rarer as you move north and is almost entirely absent in Scotland. It grows to 4–5 m tall with opposite, three-lobed leaves that are long and broad with serrated edges and a wrinkled surface.

It’s easier to spot in August due to its bunches of bold, bright red berries.

---

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)

Parts used: leaves (flowers in summer and roots in winter)

Dandelion is fantastic for stimulating digestion and liver function through its bitter leaves. They are a common addition to springtime salads, and their bitterness combines beautifully with blue cheese and walnuts. Its leaves and flowers have been used for centuries to treat eczema and other skin conditions. In winter, its basal rosette of toothed leaves are widespread on lawns, roadsides, disturbed banks and shores of waterways. In late spring, bright yellow flowers appear, which can be used for their anti-inflammatory and mildly pain-relieving actions on the body.

Have you tried our dandelion coffee recipe?

---

Sweet violet (Viola odorata)

Parts used: aerial parts

It is said that the Romans spent more time growing violets for their wine than growing olives. This colourful little flower adds a purple and blue hue to most liquids, such as wine, tea, vinegar and honey. Its flowers are cooling and soothing (demulcent in action) and were used as a beauty treatment during Victorian times to keep skin youthful. You can see the bright purple flowers and heart-shaped leaves appearing in hedgerows, roadsides and lightly shaded woodlands.

Violets, along with pansies, are one of the UK’s prettiest edible flowers and add a lovely cheerful touch in cake decorating and in salads.

---

---