A couple of salt marsh edibles

In the swamp this afternoon seeing how the cattails and a few others edibles are coming along and decided to continue over the dyke into the salt marsh. Here in the photo is a plant with tasty edible leaves known as Orache, this is the most common Atriplex in this marsh and its leaves will start to shrink as it stretches upwards in the warmer weather, so now is a good time to gather a few.

Another look at its spear shaped leaf.

Some other animal has been walking over the dyke and has found and nibbled on these nice tender seaside plantain (Plantago martima), known locally as goose-tongue and passé-pierre.

In the marsh’s taller grass the seaside plantain had long slender succulent leaves over a foot long, harder to see and more difficult to graze as many other plants with similar leaves were well mixed in with them, I needed to check twice on some of them, here they are laying on some dried grass with a couple of orache sprouts in view. I think I’ll sit here for a bit and them home to steam some greens.

Goosetongue (Plantago maritima)

This very edible seaside plant is common in salt marshes and many other coastal environments included the clay banks rising from sandy beaches as shown below. The perennial goosetonge grows all the way up these salt spayed banks and a short distance into the field, if one is present.

Goosetongue can be added fresh to salads or cooked for 10 to 15 minutes and served as you would green beans. It is one of the most popular foraged greens in Atlantic Canada known by a few different names such as seaside plantain, goosetongue and passé-pierre.

Here is one from back in the salt marsh. ciao