Plants with Fruit
Actindia varieties |
Kiwi |
Fruits better with male pollinator, smaller but sweeter than commercial grown |
Akebia quinata |
Fiveleaf Akebia |
Fruit is gooey and has a great, sweet taste but seedy. The skin though is bitter. Not self-fertile. |
Amelanchier species |
Serviceberry |
Sweet, small fruit ripen in June, can be used raw, cooked or dried |
Aronia melanocarpa |
Chokeberry |
Fruit tastes vary by variety, used in jelly & juice, self-fertile, rich in pectin |
Chaenomeles speciosa |
Flowering Quince |
A stringent tartness dissipates with cooking, used in jelly. Pick after frost. |
Cornus kousa |
Chinese Dogwood |
Fruit is used raw or cooked, sweet and juicy, custard-like flesh. Ripens late summer. |
Cornus mas |
Cornelian Cherry |
Tart cherry-like fruit ripen in August. Use in jelly and jam. |
Gaultheria procumbens |
Wintergreen |
Round ¾ inch bright red berries have wintergreen flavor. Best picked after frost. |
Malus domestica |
Eating apples |
Domestic fruit, grown for apples. Cultivars range in texture and tartness. |
Malus dolgo |
Crabappe |
Can be used in jellies and jams. |
Sambucus canandensis |
Elderberry |
Cooked flowers/fruit are very flavorful, useful in pies and jelly. Must be cooked, never eat raw. |
Vaccinium |
Blueberry |
Useful raw, cooked or dried. |
Vaccinium macrocarpon |
American Cranberry |
Classic cranberry, tart fruit is usually dried or cooked, high in vitamin C. |
Viburnum (native) |
Viburnum |
V. cassinoides, lentago, prunifolium have edible raisin-like fruits in autumn. V. trilobum in jelly and jam. |
Plants with Nuts & Seeds
Carya ovata/lacinosa |
Hickory |
Edible nuts are sweet raw or cooked into cakes and pies |
Castanea mollissima |
Chinese Chestnut |
Sweet nuts when cooked, low in fat and oils but high in good carbohydrates and protein. |
Cephalotaxus |
Japanese Plum Yew |
The seed and fruit are eaten in Japan. Fruit is said to be better from Fastigiata. Not self-fertile |
Corylus species |
Filbert |
Edible Hazelnuts, excellent raw or can be used in baking. Ripens mid to late fall. |
Fagus americana |
American Beech |
Sweet nuts in fall, with a good texture. Can be used raw or cooked. |
Fagus sylvatica |
European Beech |
Edible nuts can be toxic in large numbers. |
Juglans |
Walnut |
Produces large nuts with age. Raw seed is sweet and rich tasting. |
Pinus korainesis |
Korean Pine |
Pines are not self-fertile. Seeds are delicacies. |
Pinus parviflora |
Japanese White Pine |
Pines are not self-fertile. Seeds are delicacies. |
Quercus |
Oak |
Nuts can be sweet. Can be used raw, cooked or ground. |
Plants with a Tropical Feel
Asimina triloba |
Paw Paw |
A relative of the tropical Custard Apple, the fruit tastes of banana custard. Fruit ripens in fall and needs cross-pollination. |
Ficus ‘Chicago Hardy’ |
Chicago Hardy Fig |
Fruits are purplish-brown with a good sweet flavor when fully ripe. |
Passiflora incarnate |
Hardy Passion Vine |
Fruit has a sweet taste cooked or raw, once ripe. Useful in jelly, little pulp. High in niacin. |
Phyllostachys aureosculata |
Yellow Groove Bamboo |
Young shoots are excellent after cooking, barely bitter. Can also be used raw. |
Phyllostachys nuda |
Snow Bamboo |
Young shoots are excellent after cooking, barely bitter. Can also be used raw |
Edible Flowers
Aquilegia species |
Columbine |
Flowers are very sweet, rich in nectar, and make a beautiful garnish. |
Asclepias tuberosa |
Butterfly Weed |
Flower buds cooked. Flower clusters can be boiled down to make a sugary syrup. |
Hemerocallis |
Daylily |
Daylily buds and flowers can taste a bit like asparagus/green peppers |
Hibiscus syriacus |
Rose of Sharon |
Flowers and young leaves have a mild, sweet flavor |
Monarda |
Bee Balm |
Leaves and flowers add pleasant aroma to salad and tea, reminiscent of Earl Grey tea |
Perovskia atriplicifolia |
Russian Sage |
Flowers have a sweet taste, lavender scent, useful in salads or as a garnish. |
Tradescantia |
Spiderwort |
Flowers (raw) and young leaves (raw or cooked) edible. Flowers make a nice garnish. |
Aromatic Foliage & Seasoning
Agastache |
Anise Hyssop |
Sweet anise taste to the leaves that can be used raw or cooked. |
Lavandula angustifolia |
Lavender |
Raw leaves and flower petals used as aromatics only in moderation. |
Myrica pensylvanica |
Northern Bayberry |
Leaves can be used as bay leaves, remove after cooking. Delicate but subtle flavor. |
Thymus species |
Thyme |
Leaves raw or dried give a nice aroma and flavor to food. Harvest early summer if drying. |
Stems & Roots
Acorus |
Sweet Flag |
Stalks and spadix taste good when tender, rhizomes are candied or dried and ground. |
Asarum canadense |
Wild Ginger |
Roots edible, spicy flavor, aids digestion |
Dryopteris filix femina, Matteucia struthiopteris, Osmunda cinnamonea |
Ferns |
Young fronds , before they fully unroll, are thick and succulent when cooked. |
Pontaderia cordata |
Pickerel Rush |
Whole plant can be eaten raw or cooked, nutty flavor. Seed can be cooked like rice or roasted. |
Sagittaria latifolia |
Arrowhead |
Root has texture of potato and flavor of sweet chestnut when roasted. Harvest late summer. |
Typha latifolia |
Cattail |
Highly edible plant with many uses and preparations. Young flower shoot tastes like sweet corn. |
Tea
Galium odoratum |
Sweet Woodruff |
Leaves make an excellent tea, flowers a tasty garnish. Scent of freshly mown hay. |
Rhus typhina |
Staghorn Sumac |
Fruit has a tart lemony flavor high in vitamin C. Soak in hot water for a lemonade substitute. |
Rosa rugosa |
Rugosa Rose |
Very sweet fruit used raw or cooked, high in vitamin C. Flower petals edible too. |
Sassafras albidum |
Sassafras |
Collect roots in spring when tree is dormant. |
Important to Bee Keepers
Nyssa sylvatica |
Black Gum or Tupelo |
Source of tupelo honey. |
Oxydendrum arboretum |
Sourwood |
Pollen source for late season honey. |
Other Uses
Acer saccharum |
Sugar Maple |
Sap is used in production of maple syrup, harvested late winter, early spring. |
Betula alleghaniensis |
Yellow Birch |
Usefulness as flavoring, tastes of a sweet wintergreen. Sap is harvested early spring. |
Humulus lupulus |
Hops |
Used mainly for the flavoring for beer. |
Juniperus communis & scopulorum |
Juniper |
Dried fruits of these varieties can be used for flavoring. Communis is used to flavor Gin. |