Edible Native Plants For the Garden
When you think of how you connect to your native garden, you may not immediately think of it as a place you find something to nibble on. However, whether it be traditional veggies or some Berberis berries to roast for your rice, there is something immensely pleasing about growing food to put on the table! Native Americans, slow food enthusiasts and survivalists alike have found rewarding sustenance from our hills and valleys for generations. Below you’ll find a list from which to start your research on how to prepare our native edibles. You can find salad additions, make syrup or sip tea; California truly does have it all!
Take a look at our list of CA Native edibles! There are many more out there and our gift shop ‘Casa La Paz’ has tons of literature and pamphlets if you want to learn more.
| Acer macrophyllum | Bigleaf maple | Large Tree | Flowers raw or fired, sap cooked for syrup |
| Allium spp. | Wild onions | Bulb | Bulb and leaves |
| Atriplex lentiformis | Quail bush | Shrub | Young leaves raw, older leaves boiled, used to salt other foods |
| Berberis sp. | Barberry | Variety of Sizes | Berries raw or cooked |
| Cercis occidentalis | Western redbud | Small Tree | Flowers raw, seeds cooked |
| Dichelostemma capitatum | Wild hyacinth | Bulb | Corm boiled |
| Fragaria vesca | Woodland strawberry | Ground Cover | Berries fresh or cooked into jams and sweet toppings |
| Justicia californica | Chuparosa | Shrub | Flowers raw |
| Linum lewisii | Blue flax | Small perennial | Seeds cooked and ground |
| Monardella spp. | Native mints | Small perennial | Leaves and flowers for tea, syrup, jelly |
| Opuntia spp. | Prickly pear cactus | Variety of sizes | Pads cooked, fruit pulp raw or cooked for jelly or sweet toppings |
| Peritoma arborea | Bladderpod | shrub | Flowers cooked and immature seeds boiled |
| Prunus ilicifolia | Holly leaf cherry | Tree | Fruit pulp eaten raw or made into fruit leather or juice |
| Pycnanthemum californicum | Sierra mint | Small perennial | Used similar to other familiar mints |
| Rhus integrifolia R. ovata | Lemonade berry Sugar bush | Large shrub | Fruit used to flavor drinks |
| Ribes aureum | Golden currant | Shrub | Fruit raw or cooked into jams, pies, etc |
| Rosa californica | California wild rose | Shrub | Flowers for tea, hips raw or boiled, avoid seeds hips raw or boiled, avoid seeds |
| Rubus ursinus | California blackberry | Shrub/Vine | Berries raw or baked into pies, muffins, etc |
| Salvia leucophylla | Purple sage | Shrub | Leaves as seasoning, seeds raw or as seasoning |
| Sambucus nigra caerulea | Blue elderberry | Small Tree | Flowers and ripe berries fresh also baked or dried |
| Trichostema lanatum | Woolly bluecurls | Shrub | Leaves can be added to sweet treats and beverages |
Umbellularia californica | California bay laurel | Large Tree | Leaves added to stews or soups, buds as seasoning, nuts roasted |
| Vitis girdiana, V. californica | Wild grape | Vine | Fruit raw or in jam or wine, young leaves steamed |
