Wild Plants of Beira Baixa: 7 Edible, Delicious, and Healthy Choices!

10 July 2024

Wild plants are often found along paths and roadsides, unfairly labeled as weeds and pests. These herbs and flowers are frequently part of Portugal's flora heritage, contributing to biodiversity and enhancing soil strength. Moreover, they are edible, offering health benefits. Discover a handful of these roadside treasures.

Beira Baixa is no exception when it comes to this wealth of biodiversity (with dual utility)! There exists an incredible variety of plants, leaves, shoots, fruits, and seeds that we typically overlook due to ignorance or fear, yet they not only provide incredible flavors but are also nutritionally rich. All of this in a field near you, ready to be harvested!

In this article, we will highlight wild plants that are not only available in the Beira Baixa region but are also common and can be gathered without harming biodiversity.

Our selection of edible wild plants from Beira Baixa

Beldroega Portulaca oleracea

Found abundantly across various regions worldwide, this succulent plant thrives particularly from late spring to late summer. Recognisable by its thick, reddish stems and crisp, round leaves that vary from dark green to golden yellow, it is often mistaken for a weed. However, it is packed with exceptional nutritional and therapeutic benefits. Historically, purslane has been valued for thousands of years, with its medicinal use in Europe tracing back over two millennia.

While purslane is often featured in recipes where it is cooked, it is equally delightful when eaten raw, such as in salads and soups. Beyond its naturally occurring vitamins, minerals, and fibres, it is also an excellent source of omegas 3, 6, and 9.

The edible parts of the plant include its leaves, fruits/seeds, and flowers.

Carqueja Baccharis trimera

Carqueja is a perennial shrub, with flattened and winged stems, undeveloped leaves, and yellow flowers. It grows in low bushes on acidic rocks and has a long and consistent history of traditional use in our region.

Traditionally, carqueja is used as an infusion to relieve digestive problems, diabetes, urinary infections, as well as colds and flu. It is useful for lowering blood pressure and cholesterol.

In addition to infusions, carqueja is commonly used to make rice and rabbit. Carqueja flowers are edible and can be added to salads to decorate dishes and desserts and whatever else the imagination dictates. It has a slightly resinous taste of bush, between sweet, bitter, and astringent.

Parts that are eaten: winged stems and flowers.

Conchelos Umbilicus rupestris

It's a perennial succulent plant, characterized by its fleshy, nearly circular leaves that encircle a central stem, forming a small recess. Rising erectly, the stem is adorned along its length with clusters of white-yellow or reddish flowers and buds. Typically blooming from April onwards, it's commonly found in mossy walls, crevices, woodlands, tree bark, and rooftops.

The leaves are packed with calcium, potassium, iron, silicon, vitamin C, and tannins. Traditionally, they are used more externally than internally, applied directly to affected areas as crushed compresses or as strained juice.

They can also be used in cuisine, raw and fresh, maintaining a fresh and pleasing taste. They work wonderfully in salads, sandwiches, wraps, smoothies, or any culinary creation.

Edible parts: leaves, stems, and flowers.

Funcho Foeniculum vulgare

Esteemed for its anise-like fragrance, this robust plant features upright stems that can exceed one meter in height. Its large, finely divided green leaves are distinctly feathered. Initially solid, the ridged stems become hollow with age. At the tips, small yellow flowers cluster into umbels.

Both the finely minced leaves and stems impart a fragrant zest to salads and dressings. The thick bases of the leaves can be cooked as a vegetable, while the fibrous stems can be pickled in a sweet and sour vinegar marinade after weeks of soaking. Fennel seeds or fruits are widely employed in cooking, enhancing stews and also used to flavour liqueurs.

Fennel offers many benefits thanks to compounds such as anethole, saponins, flavonoids, tannins, coumarins, vitamins, minerals, and rosmarinic acid, which possess relaxing, anti-inflammatory, stimulating, antispasmodic, carminative, antiplatelet, vermifugal, digestive, diuretic and mild expectorant properties. Therefore, fennel is highly valuable in: alleviating stomach pain, improving digestion, assisting with regular bowel movements, controlling excessive gases, helping to resolve colds and flu, relieving nausea and vomiting, reducing anxiety and improving sleep quality, assisting in liver detoxification and toning.

Edible parts: leaves, stems, flowers and seeds.

Urtiga Urtica

This is a plant covered in stinging hairs, with erect quadrangular stems, opposite sharp-toothed dark green leaves. It bears small petal-less flowers in the leaf axils. Its roots are renowned for treating prostate issues like benign prostatic hyperplasia. Leaves, flowers, and fruits find various uses in cooking and herbal medicine. Nettles are rich in minerals such as iron, potassium, and calcium. They contain vitamin C, rutin, quercetin, malic acid, and chlorophyll. They aid in serotonin production and breastfeeding.

Despite being underappreciated, this herb is highly nutritious and mineral-rich. Nettle infusion serves as a diuretic and hemostatic. It proves beneficial for conditions like gout, cystitis, and urethritis by aiding in uric acid elimination. Additionally, they can be helpful in respiratory ailments.

In culinary use, they are versatile. After blanching or lightly boiling, their stinging properties are neutralized, making them harmless to the skin. Nettles are commonly used in bread-making, soups, egg and vegan omelettes (veganomlettes), juices, smoothies, rice dishes, and more. They are not eaten raw.

If you have heart or kidney issues causing edema, or if you're on diuretics or hypotensives, avoid consuming nettles.

Edible parts: stems, leaves, flowers, and seeds.

Sabugueiro Sambucus nigra

This medium-sized shrub or small tree belongs to the Caprifoliaceae family and thrives in damp, shaded areas. Its flowers and fruits are highly valued for medicinal and culinary purposes. "The flowers can be deep-fried in tempura batter, similar to 'peixinhos da horta,' used in beverages, champagne, ice creams, and other desserts, and pair well with rose petals," notes Fernanda Botelho.

An infusion of the fresh or dried flower helps combat allergies, coughs, colds, and flu, possessing anti-inflammatory and antiviral properties. Its black berries are rich in antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals, and are prized in jams, sweets, and beverages.

Edible parts: flowers, leaves and berries.

Mostarda-Brava Sinapis arvensis

Lovely and splendid, it belongs to the Brasicaceae family, which includes cabbages, rocket, and turnips. "It could be seen as a wild ancestor of our cultivated vegetables," says Fernanda. This means that we can eat its flowers and leaves, either raw or cooked, as well as its seeds.

Because of its spiciness, it stimulates digestion. Wild mustard is found on the edges of paths, where it has the very useful function of helping to stabilize embankments, thanks to its large roots. Butterflies and bees love this plant with tall branches.

Edible parts: flowers, leaves and seeds.

Check out our video on local medicinal plants!

https://youtu.be/RIEtO97i0Cc?si=UQ1h00waIIjzIMmR

Precautions when collecting these wild plants:

It is important to carefully examine the surroundings and ensure they have not been sprayed with herbicides or other chemicals, are free from animal or human urine, and are not contaminated by pollution. Therefore, it is advisable to avoid harvesting these plants from heavily trafficked roadside verges.

Be sure to correctly identify what you are picking. There are very similar species that can lead to mistakes. It is recommended to be accompanied by guides, such as books, digital applications, or local experts familiar with the species. Always harvest with moderation and respect, preferably in places where the plant is abundant. Remember that pulling the plant from the root can interrupt its cycle. Do so only if absolutely necessary.

We have taken utmost care to ensure that what we have written about is accurate, with regards to edible or medicinal plants. However, we will not claim responsibility for any incidences with people following in the information provided in this blog.

Important!

Never eat any wild plant unless you are 100% sure that you have identified an edible species. Always cross-reference the information you find on the internet with an expert, a foraging group, or several reference books. Have fun, but be responsible. Identification is entirely your responsibility.