Daniel Atha is an Associate Editor of NYBG’s systemic botany journal, Brittonia, and a researcher with specialties in floristics, taxonomy, and economic botany. He has also taught classes in anatomy and systemics at the Garden’s School of Professional Horticulture and is currently working on a project to develop identifying DNA barcodes for plants of the Northeastern United States.

Chickweed (left) and false chickweed (right)

Certain plants have a poor reputation, one that isn’t always deserved. And in the case of this particular “weed,” the old adage stands that if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em:

Stellaria media (L.) Vill. (chickweed)

This is a direct quote from Wikipedia: “… this plant is common in gardens, fields, and disturbed grounds. Control is difficult due to the heavy seed sets. Common Chickweed is very competitive with small grains, and can produce up to 80% yield losses among barley. [It] is edible and nutritious, and is used as a leaf vegetable, often raw in salads. It is one of the ingredients of the symbolic dish consumed in the Japanese spring-time festival, Nanakusa-no-sekku.”
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Jessica Blohm is Interpretive Specialist for Public Education.

The Garden’s 250-acre National Historic Landmark landscape includes thousands of edible trees and plants. Through signs and audio interpretation, visitors can learn about 57 of these edible plants on the Edible Plant Tour during The Edible Garden.

The tour features an array of plants, from the tropical coconut palm (Cocos nucifera) to our native sugar maple (Acer saccharum), source of that favorite breakfast topping, maple syrup. The tour also offers visitors a chance to share their stories and traditions about various plants and to listen to stories from other visitors, an exciting new feature.

Lotus (Nelumbo), pictured here, which has edible flowers, leaves, stems, and seeds, is just one of the many interesting plants featured on the Edible Plant Tour. Through the interpretive signage on the tour you would learn that the flower petals of the lotus can be used as a garnish and the stamens dried to create a fragrant tea. The leaves are used in infusions or to wrap other foods, and the seeds are eaten whole or combined with sugar to yield the paste found in pastries such as mooncakes. Its rhizomes or underground stems (often called lotus roots) can be stir-fried, braised, deep-fried, or even pickled in Asian cuisines.

See this plant and many others up close and personal when you visit The Edible Garden.