Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Wild Food guide to Rosebay Willowherb along with all the Rosebay Willowherb containing recipes presented on this site, with 10 recipes in total.

This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the Cornish recipes added to this site.

These recipes, all contain Rosebay Willowherb as a major wild food ingredient.

Rosebay Willowherb, Epilobium angustifolium, (also known as Fireweed) is a perennial herbaceous plant in the Onagraceae (Willowherb) family. This is a common plant on acidic soils in open fields and moorland. It's alternate name of 'Fireweed' derives from the species' abundance as a coloniser on burnt sites after forest fires (indeed, the seeds need to be heated to germinate properly). The plant has erect stems some 50cm to 2.5m in height with lanceolate and pinnately-veined leaves arranged in spirals up the stem. The flowers form a radially-symmetrical spike at the top of the plant and each flower is pink in hue and has four pink petals. These mature to a seed capsule that contains a number of minute brown seeds with silky hairs that aid their dispersal on the wind. The plant is a native of Europe, temperate Asia and North America.

All parts of the plant (except the seeds) are edible and the young leaves and young shoot tips can be eaten raw in salads or cooked as a vegetable. The young shoots make an excellent asparagus substitute if peeled and gently boiled. The flower stalks can also be cooked and used as a vegetable. The flower stalks are also useful in salads if added when the flowers are still in bud. The dried leaves can be made into a tea (this is called kaporie tea in Russia) and they are sometimes used as an adulterant in China tea. Be careful if using older leaves as some reports indicate that they might act as a soporific (ie they stupefy a person).

The boiled young leaves are a rich source of vitamins A and C and make a wholesome vegetable. The root can be eaten either raw or cooked. Roots can also be dried and ground to a powder which can be used as a thickener or as a flour adulterant. The pith of young or older stems can also be cooked as a vegetable. This is sweet and pleasant to the taste, but a single plant does not yield much. The pith also acts as a thickener (it is gelatinous) and makes an useful addition to soups.

References:

[1]. David Evans Notes from field observations, tastings and cookery experiments.
[2]. Huxley, A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992
[3]. Tanaka, T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World.
[4]. Lim T.K. Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants, Vols 1–8.
[5]. Thomas, G. S. Perennial Garden Plants
[6]. Milner, E. Trees of Britain and Ireland
[7]. Rose, F. & O'Reilly, C. The Wild Flower Key (Revised Edition) – How to identify wild plants, trees and shrubs in Britain and Ireland
[8]. Streeter, D. & Garrard, I. The Wild Flowers of the British Isles
[9]. Clapham, A.R.; Tutin, T.G. & Moore, D.M. Flora of the British Isles
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[11]. Jordan, P. & Wheeler, S. The Complete Book of Mushrooms: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Edible Mushrooms
[12]. Bunker, F.; Brodie, J.A.; Maggs, C.A. & Bunker, A. Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland.
[13]. Facciola, S. Cornucopia — A Source Book of Edible Plants