Category Archives: Foraging

Crypto Forest Walk

Foraging, Wild herbs

Thank you to Cryptoforest for a great foraging exploration of Sloterdijk today. I really enjoyed meeting other urban foragers and learning about food plants which I don’t usually notice. The photo shows Theun and a wild carrot which was found in the central reservation of a main road!

Here’s a selection of the food species we found today. I think you’ll agree that there is more to edible Sloterdijk than meets the eye when you travel through by car or train:
Wild lettuce, Burdock, Beech, Hawthorn, Hairy bitter cress, Chickweed, Wild carrot, Plantain, Horsetail, Mugwort, Sorrel, Stinging Nettle, Dead Nettles, Rocket, Ground Elder, Elder, Comfrey, Raspberry, Hazel… There was far more, which I can’t recall right now.

I’m sure Cryptoforest will post details soon. Hopefully they will organize another Foraging expedition on the first Sunday in May 2013. It was great fun and I liked the Pac Man random sampling edge, certainly different to my usual excursions!

365 Frankendael day 14

365 Frankendael, Foraging, Perennial herbs, Potions, Wild herbs, , , , ,

Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria, NL: Moerasspirea) is a waterloving perennial herb which contains an active ingredient called Methyl salicyclate, which when taken in combination with tannins and mucilage within the plant can bring about stomach healing. In contrast, when methyl salicyclate is used alone (Aspirin) it causes stomach bleeding.  As with most herbs, it is the natural combination of chemicals which work so well together to bring about healing.

Here’s a link to an extract from a wonderful book called Hedgerow Medicine, by Julie Bruton-Seal and Matthew Seal.  It is one of my favourite and most consulted books.  This extract explains how to make a useful and tasty, Meadowsweet glycerite.  Meadowsweet is also traditionally associated with love, peace and harmony.  There is an old custom of tossing a Meadowsweet flowerhead into water if you are seeking the identity of a thief.  If it floats the thief is a woman, if it sinks it is a man.

Meadowsweet will flower later in the year, from around midsummer.  The flowers produce a scent which is one of my favourites, a strong and heady sweet almondy aroma which really pleases my spirits.  As you can see in the photo. Meadowsweet can be found in the watery regions of Frankendael park.  It’s spikey leaves are difficult to miss as you walk across the modern wooden bridge, in the woodland area.

365 Frankendael day 13

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Today two beautiful climbers, one deadly the other delicious.

Here is a photo of Hops (Humulus lupulus) scrambling over an information plate in the woodland section of Frankendael. Several Hops plants are becoming obvious at the moment. They begin the season by growing tall thin stems which arch high above other plants, reaching out for a suitable structure to climb. Then their leaves broaden and identification becomes easier.

Hops has been a popular plant for centuries, since it was discovered that it added a delicious flavor to beer. Medicinally, hops is useful as a relaxant and sleep inducer. It is found in many herbal sleep blends. If you have access to enough, it is very simple to stuff a pillow with dried hops, which is then slept on to bring about restful sleep.


Now to the poisonous climber: White Bryony (Bryonia dioica) has some ancient medicinal and several magical uses but all parts of this plant are highly toxic. Even small ingested quantities can be lethal. It’s a member of the Cucumber family. I’ve been watching the plant in this photo grow for a few weeks, admiring it’s resemblance to squash plants but until today, not knowing it’s true nature. It really blends into its surroundings today but up close it has rather an out of place appearance. As if someone had planted melon seeds in the woodland. However this is a native plant, often found in woodlands and hedgerows.

Bryony has several colloquial names which suggest historical uses and appearance; English Mandrake, Wood Vine & Mad Root being my favourites. It was traditionally used in image, money and protection magic. The roots of this perennial were particularly significant. Here is a clearer photograph of Bryony, taken today in Oosterpark. An enchanting and deadly specimen.

365 Frankendael day 11

365 Frankendael, Foraging, Potions, Trees, Wild herbs, , ,

Here’s a Mayday Hawthorn bough, happily still attached to it’s tree! I’m sure that last Mayday the Hawthorns of Frankendael had opened their flowers by now. They certainly haven’t today and the weather is still not exactly encouraging the plants to grow as they could. None the less Hawthorn looks beautiful at the moment is most trees I see are loaded with green buds, ready to explode into a froth of white/pink blossom. Hawthorn is a spiky, irregularly shaped shrub or small tree which is easy to spot in hedgerows around town. It has unique, small, deeply lobed leaves, a froth of flowers around this time of year and bright red berries come autumn. It is long associated with heart medicine and Mayday country frolics.

Hawthorn is a renowned tonic for the circulatory system. The leaves, berries and flowers can be used to treat angina and several other heart conditions – obviously under the guidance of an experienced medical practitioner as heart disease is always a serious and often life threatening, condition. Hawthorn can be used as a preventative tonic, to guard against future heart problems. It can lower blood pressure, help dissolve cholesterol and calcium deposits.

365 Frankendael day 10

365 Frankendael, Foraging,


Today is Queen’s Day in the Netherlands and the sun has finally come out to play! Amsterdam is awash with orange people so what better herb to look at than Dandelion.

Dandelion is another foragers favourite and another much misunderstood and maligned herb. Yesterday I surprised a few friends by picking a dandelion, plucking it’s petals and eating them. I was quite surprised that they didn’t know anything about the plant, but I guess to most it is just a pretty weed. There are so many uses for this herb, it’s so prolific and so associated with folklore.

Not much time to write today but please see the link to a previous Urban Herbology post for further information and useful links.

365 Frankendael day 9

365 Frankendael, Foraging, Growing herbs, Trees, , , ,

Today was the monthly Puur Markt in Frankendael. At this time of year, there’s a great stall which sells herb plants quite cheaply. I picked up a small Curry plant for €2.75 and a little Verveine for €2. The stall is always there through the main growing season and they also work at the weekly Saturday Noordermaarkt. They don’t have a website but are well worth a visit.

I thought I’d take a photo of the newest section of Frankendael’s Lime tree avenue today. Lime is an under appreciated herb, in my opinion. It has a multitude of historic uses and come midsummer, yields the most heavenly fragrant flowers, which drive the city bees wild. With these you can make a wonderful, lightly intoxicating tea. At this time of year, Lime leaves can be eaten as an unusual and medicinal sandwich filling. They have a mucilage within which makes them very useful as a soother of the respiratory system. If you take a moment to chew a leaf you will feel the mucilage release from the leaf tissues. It’s more pleasant than it may sound!

There are lots of Yellow Dead Nettles (Lamium galeobdolom) in flower at present.  I’ll write more about them another day. The link above is to an interesting blog post about the plant.  The photo shows a large swathe of the plants at the back of this woodland undergrowth.

365 Frankendael day 8

365 Frankendael, Foraging, Wild herbs, , , , ,


It’s very cold, damp and windy here today, well relatively speaking, so not the most pleasant day for a walk in the park with a toddler. Of course, I did see some beautiful plants but most photos were rather windswept. I think that this one clearly represents the last days of April. Ramsons in flower, Ground elder swallowing up other plants, Cowslip standing tall, yellow and delicate and at the back, a wild Ribes bush (could be black current, white current, raspberry etc. but its too early to tell). I

One of my favourite city herbs is really coming into flower at the moment. Wild geraniums (Wood geranium, Cranesbill) are often used in urban planting schemes because they bulk up nicely as the spring and summer develop. You can find geraniums in city tree pits where they receive lots of nutrition from passing dogs. If you can locate relatively clean plants, perhaps try them in the summer when they have had a chance to grow and will withstand a little harvesting.

All geraniums and all parts of them are said to be edible, but some varieties are hairier than others! This variety is prevalent in the park, the pretty purple flowers are fragrant and taste good in a salad, the leaves add an interesting dimension to raw food and cooked they blend well with other spring greens. I prefer to thoroughly wash any that I harvest and then to cook them, like spinach. I reserve geraniums growing at home, for salads.

Now is a good time to learn the differences between the many members of the Carrot family, which grow wild in Amsterdam. The most prevalent and obvious at this time of year is Sweet cicely. It is a good faraging food, makes pleasant aniseed flavoured drinks and is sometimes used as a tonic herb. But beware! There are some extremely toxic members of the Carrot family and all look quite similar until you know how to differentiate them. At present Sweet cicely is in flower.

Endangered Plants NL – De Rode Lijst

365 Frankendael, Foraging, Wild herbs,

The list of threatened and endangered species in the Netherlands is extensive. I recently contacted a City Ecologist to find out more about the legality of foraging in this country and he kindly forwarded the list to me. Unfortunately, for non Dutchies like me, the common names are in Duth and the Latin names are not alphabetical. One day I shall try to work my way through the list and translate the common names. Many of the endangered plants will be of little interest to city foragers, but some will be, so before you decide to pick anything please look up the Latin name and check its status. I did find this list in English regarding endangered plants across Europe. I don’t feel it’s very comprehensive and it doesn’t mention The Netherlands, but it may give an indication of what is threatened.

A few plants which instantly stand out to me are Artemisia absinthe (Wormwood), Juniperis communis (Juniper) and Viola canina (Dog violet). Also Pennyroyal, Plantago media (a type of plantain), White Mint, Pulsatilla, Lesser Skullcap, Betonie, a type of Red Clover, Wild Strawberry, a type of Bedstraw and several types of Lady’s Mantle are on the list. Some are foraging favorites, others are wonderful herbs but all must be avoided and protected. Also, some species of fern, cling to existence on the local canal sides and must be protected. I’m not a fern eater myself but know that some international foragers seek them out.

I grow Wormwood in my geveltuin (pavement garden). It provides me with a great harvest every year and perhaps its seeds will spread the plant elsewhere. Growing-on your own rare plants, from seed or nursery plants, is a way to ensure you can use what you like.

365 Frankendael day 6

365 Frankendael, Foraging, Wild herbs

Willow (Salix alba, S. fragilis, NL: Wilgen) catkins have been my wild flavour of this afternoon. They taste very like Aspirin tablets because they contain the same active ingredient (Salicyclic acid). It is found throughout the tree, particularly in the bark but spring catkins are an easily measurable source of this natural pain reliever.  When catkins (which can be dried for use later in the year) are not available, simply chewing on a short length of a Willow tendril  may also the trick. The approximate equivalent of 2 Aspirin tablets is said to be about about 6 – 8 inches of tendril or 10-15 catkins (Linda Runyon). Treat the herb with caution and respect, as you would other medicines.  I find that Willow really helps for pain but that eating it on an empty stomach (especially the catkins), makes me feel a little nauseous.

There are many beautiful Willow trees in Amsterdam, including this wavy Willow and the play structures in Park Frankendael.

Other herbs of note today include Cleavers (Galium aparine) which are already speeding up some fences and my favourite Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca). It is too early to harvest either herb but a great time to find where they are growing.  Also, Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris), the dream herb is just starting to wake up.  It’s too early to harvest but it is becoming very obvious. Look for the silver undersides of the Chrysanthemum-like leaves and for tall dry stems from last year.  It is best to harvest this herb at midsummer.