Tag Archives: Symphytum uplandica

365 Frankendael day 30

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

In just a 1 meter square patch of land, on the outer edge of park Frankendael, I found all these useful herbs today…

Medicinal Comfrey (Symphytum uplandica):

Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) and Ground Elder (Aegopodium podograria) growing amongst each other:

Also, Burdock (Arctium lappa)

Poisonous member of the Carrot family, Hemlock (Conium maculatum):

Notice how similar it looks to Chervil. It has a smooth stem and leaves. It smells a little unpleasant and has notable purple staining on the stem. This is not a plant to be handled or foraged at all! This plant was used in ancient Geek executions, including that of Socrates. The Latin name means to whirl, pertaining to one of the symptoms of hemlock poisoning, vertigo. This plant is deadly poisonous and I show it here as so many foragers are keen to find plants such as wild carrot. It is very easy to confuse members of the family, especially those with finely divided leaves such a hemlock, carrot and sweet cicely
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Lastly another beauty which is not helpful to foragers. A Labrador delivering a little fertilizer to that interesting 1m square patch of park edge!

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365 Frankendael day 1

365 Frankendael, Wild herbs, , , , , ,

<img class="alignleft My new project to identify and document herbs in Amsterdam’s park Frankendael, every day for a year, began today. It’s quite damp and cold at present but many herbs are looking resplendent in Amsterdam. The parks give a good indication of biodiversity in the city as a whole. Here are a few photos of useful plants which are in full foliage or flower today, in Park Frankendael. They show Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare, a powerful emmenagogue) Purple Dead Nettle (Lamium purpureum, a salad and pot herb) and Comfrey (Symphytum uplandica). Hover over the photos for the names, if you are not sure which is which.
Some days I’ll be adding less photos and more information about the plants, other days will be more focused on photos. I’m really looking forward to watching the plants throughout the year, to sharing more ways to use them and find them on the streets and verges of Amsterdam and to improving my photography skills!
Several people have kindly offered to get involved with taking photos from time to time. There will be a little meeting on Sunday May 13th to share ideas.