10 Edible Weeds You Can Forage In New Zealand
Foraging safety tips
- Correct Identification: Use multiple sources to ensure accurate identification as some lookalikes can be toxic. You can download plant identification apps or take a good foraging book with you. Johanna Knox and Peter Langlands are amazing New Zealand foragers you can follow (both have great books you can get from your local library).
🌿Related: The 10 Best Books On Herbal Medicine To Read
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Harvest responsibly: Take only what you need, leaving plenty for wildlife and regrowth. Always ask for permission if you are on private land.
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Avoid polluted areas: Never forage near busy roadsides, sprayed areas, or contaminated waterways.
- Consult an expert: If you’re unsure - leave the plants! Seek advice from a knowledgeable herbalist or foraging guide before picking something.
1. Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus)
Where to find it: Gardens, fences, and disturbed areas.
How to identify it: Round leaves, vibrant orange-yellow flowers, and trailing vines.
Uses: Add peppery leaves to salads, pickle the seed pods, or use flowers to decorate dishes. The leaves have been used medicinally for coughs, both the flowers and leaves can be added to your own spring vinegar infusion that can be used on salads or in hot drinks.
2. Plantain (Plantago spp.)
Where to find it: Lawns, driveways, and pastures.
How to identify: Broad leaves with parallel veins and a rosette growth pattern. It also produces small stalks with seed heads.
Uses: Eat the young leaves raw in salads or cook them like spinach. Medicinally, plantain can be used as a poultice for insect bites or cuts as well as helping with coughs and upset stomachs.
3. Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
Where to find it: Everywhere—lawns, roadsides, and gardens.
How to identify: Bright yellow flowers, jagged leaves that grow in a rosette, and a hollow stem filled with milky sap.
Uses: Add the tender leaves to salads or brew the (dried) roasted roots into a coffee-like tea. The flowers can also be turned into syrup or wine.
🌿Related: 10 Of The Best Edible Flowers In New Zealand You Can Eat And Grow
5. Nettle dioica)
6. Watercress
9. Central Otago thyme (Thymus vulgaris)
Where to find it: Hillsides and dry, rocky areas, particularly in Central Otago.
How to identify: A low-growing shrub with small, woody stems and tiny, aromatic leaves. In summer, it produces purple flowers.
Uses: Use the leaves fresh or dried to season meats, soups, and stews. Medicinally, thyme tea can help soothe both dry and wet coughs and help support immunity. Central Otago thyme is unique as it grows in such extreme conditions, this increases its volatile oil - thymol which in turn helps to support our health when we consume it.
🌿Related: Everything You Need To Know About Wild Thyme In New Zealand
10. Californian poppy (Eschscholzia californica)
Where to find it: Hillsides, riversides and dry, rocky areas, particularly in Central Otago.
How to identify: Bright orange or yellow flowers that close at sunset.
Uses: California poppy can help you with sleep, anxiety, pain, travel sickness and even bedwetting in your little ones. You can add fresh flowers to hot water for a relaxing herbal tea before bed, or you can dry the flowers to use them in a tea blend. A general ratio for making Californian poppy tea is 3 grams per 150ml.
🌿Related: 5 Reasons You Need To Start Using Californian Poppy This Summer
1 comment
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Posted on by Eva BarrI have dandelion, nasturtiums, plantain in my garden, oregano which I have planted as well as comfrey parsley ginger. I love herbs and find them so helpful with my challenges that Fibromyalgia brings, I feel your anti flam tonic is so awesome and helps me a lot so thank you very much keep up the good work, as well as passing on the knowledge we need you to encourage more people to keep these wonderful plants safe in their wild habitats.
