Asparagaceae

Asparagus Family

Agaves

FAMILY: Asparagus family (Asparagaceae) – Agave genus. This genus has often been included in the lily family (Liliaceae) or agave family (Agavaceae).

SPECIES: #1 golden or goldenflower agave (Agave chrysantha Peebles). #2 desert agave or Maguey de Desierto (Agave deserti Engelm.). #3 Palmer’s agave (Agave palmeri Engelm.). #4 Parry’s agave (Agave parryi Engelm.). #5 Utah agave (Agave utahensis Engelm.).

TO UTILIZE AS FOOD: Warning! Some species of the genus may be protected in some areas. All species listed above have edible caudices (which are also known as crowns, heads, or hearts), flower stalks, flower buds, flowers, and seeds. The fitness of some of these parts to serve as food is debatable and extensive preparation is often required. The crowns and flower stalks are far more valuable than the other parts. Agave crowns can be gathered anytime, but they were traditionally gathered when the flower stalks emerged. Not all agaves are fit for consumption. Some species contain excessive amounts of irritating soap-like compounds called saponins. These compounds seem to plague all parts of agaves. Cooking reduces the saponins and improves the flavor, but the improvement may not be sufficient. Agaves typically bloom in late spring or early summer.

Agave flower stalks come in a variety of sizes and flavors. Some are huge, but others are too small or too distasteful to be worth gathering. They emerge from April to June depending on latitude and the influence of elevation and only remain soft for a few weeks. By flowering time, they’re way too woody to use as food. Emerging stalks have a texture somewhat like apples reinforced with strings. Lower portions often taste better than upper portions, but upper portions are softer. Traditionally, after chopping off the leaves and dislodging the plants, Native Americans baked the flower stalks and crowns overnight in fire pits and ate them the following day. Baking eliminates most of the acrid flavor, brings out a subtle sweetness, and softens the texture. Flower stalks turn to the consistency of wet spaghetti, but the fibrous crowns remain tough. Based on the few species sampled for this reference, agave stalks consistently taste better than yucca stalks. Agave stalks aren’t as soapy. Dislodging an agave requires some serious effort, and is best done with a sharp axe, or primitive tools that can be fashioned in the field. Emerging flower stalks are an obvious sign indicating the ideal time to harvest this age-old resource. To obtain the crowns, the leaves need to be cut off. This is easier said than done. Agave leaves are thick, rigid, reinforced with tough strings, and often guarded by vicious spines. They’re not quaint little tea leaves that cooperate without question. Baking the various parts seems preferable to boiling them. Baked crowns can be consumed immediately or stored for future use. In the past, they were a product of trade among Native Americans. Agave syrup can be made by adding water to the baked crowns and boiling this down to the desired thickness. Agave crowns and flower stalks rank among the most important wild foods of the Southwest. In many ways they defined the culture of people native to this extraordinary region.

Agave flowers (based on the species sampled for this reference) are not a good wild food. Acrid compounds ruin the flavor and impart a soapy aftertaste. Flowers gathered at any stage of development, from the youngest buds to the withering remains, are subject to this problem. Nectar of certain species was gathered by Native Americans, but an adequate supply of nectar could not be obtained for documentation in this reference. Agave flowers are best left for the wildlife that depend on them.

Agave seeds (based on the species sampled for this reference) taste awful and have little value as food. No method of preparation seems to adequately improve the flavor. Boiling produces a peculiar aroma that fails to inspire memories of food. The aroma is more like “old rice soaking in soapy dishwater.” That was the optimistic comparison! Carbohydrates can be extracted by boiling the ground seeds and filtering out the debris. The acrid compounds don’t readily dissolve in water. The resulting “broth” (wastewater) doesn’t taste very good and it may be unhealthy. Most species produce flat, black, penny-like seeds stacked within woody capsules that split open when mature. Harvesting and processing the seeds is easy, but safety data for agave seeds is scarce, so caution is strongly advised. Excessively acrid seeds should be avoided. Agave seeds generally mature in autumn, but these seeds are probably best left to repopulate the species.

IDENTIFICATION: About 35 species of the Agave genus are found in the United States, primarily in the Southwest. Agaves are easy to recognize. They’re distinguished from similar-looking plants by observing the flowers, leaves, and overall structure. Agaves always have ovary inferior flowers, while those of yuccas, nolinas, and sotols are always ovary superior. Agaves don’t have trunks and the rigid leaves usually have toothed margins (only a few species have stringy margins). Large rosettes of sword-like leaves and towering flower stalks are trademarks of agaves.

Description of agaves (the Agave genus): FORM stemless, shrub-like, evergreen plants up to 7 meters tall arising from thick, fibrous-rooted crowns; usually blooming once after many years then dying (monocarpic); LEAVES simple; branching outward in all directions to form rounded clusters at ground level; blades narrowly lanceolate, thick, stiff, rigid, sword-like, and up to 1 meter long; margins spiny or sometimes smooth or stringy; tips spiny; surfaces uniformly green or marked with white stripes; FLOWERS regular, perfect, ovary inferior, and arranged in showy spike-like racemes or panicles terminating very long stalks; tepals 6, united into tubes, and usually yellow, or accented with red, orange, green, or white; pistils 1; styles 1; stigmas 3; stamens 6, usually long exserted; FRUITS capsules oblong to ovoid and splitting lengthwise into 3 sections; seeds numerous, flat, and black; HABITAT diverse; deserts to mountains; Texas to California, also reaching southern Utah and Nevada; blooming in spring or summer.

REFERENCES: #1 golden agave (Agave chrysantha). #2 desert agave (Agave deserti). #3 Palmer’s agave (Agave palmeri). #4 Parry’s agave (Agave parryi). #5 Utah agave (Agave utahensis). Couplan (pp. 524-526) indicates that the crowns/heads (caudices), flower stalks, flower buds, flowers, and seeds of the preceding species are edible. Ebeling (pp. 468-472) also lists the same parts of these species (with the exception of A. chrysantha) as edible. Hodgson (pp. 13-43) likewise indicates that the crowns/heads (caudices) of these species were staple food items and presents a comprehensive discussion of agaves native to the Sonoran Desert.

Asparagus

FAMILY: Asparagus family (Asparagaceae) – Asparagus genus. This genus has often been included in the lily family (Liliaceae).

SPECIES: Garden or wild asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L.).

TO UTILIZE AS FOOD: Only the young shoots less than 20 cm tall are edible. All other parts are inedible. Wild asparagus is the same species as cultivated asparagus. No significant differences in flavor, texture, and aroma are hereby noted. Asparagus seems to be an “acquired flavor.” Wild asparagus is established throughout most of the United States, but it’s uncommon in the Southwest.

NOTES: A few plants in this book, including wild asparagus, were documented outside of the Southwest. I was tempted to just purchase some asparagus from a grocery store and photograph it in a wild setting, but that would defeat the purpose of this book. Plus, it would be cheating. Since the Southwest is known for having poor-quality soils, asparagus growing in the Southwest could taste different than asparagus growing elsewhere. It might even taste worse. Assuming it’s possible for it to taste any worse!

IDENTIFICATION: Only 1 species of the Asparagus genus occurs in the United States. In the Southwest, asparagus occasionally grows around farmlands, but it’s uncommon in the wild. Confusing it with other plants is unlikely.

Description of wild asparagus (Asparagus officinalis): FORM fern-like plants about 6-22 dm tall emerging from rhizomes; STEMS upright and photosynthetic; branchlets (cladophylls) green, thread-like, fascicled, and functioning as leaves; LEAVES simple; alternate; blades tiny, scale-like; FLOWERS regular, bell-shaped, unisexual or bisexual, ovary superior, and arranged individually or a few clustered in the axils; tepals 6, light greenish-yellow; FRUITS berries red with 2-4 seeds; HABITAT fields, meadows, and agricultural areas; uncommon in the Southwest; blooming July to August.

REFERENCES: Wild asparagus (Asparagus officinalis): shoots Brill (pp. 78-79), Couplan (p. 506), and Kirk (pp. 163-165).

Sotols

FAMILY: Asparagus family (Asparagaceae) – Dasylirion genus. This genus has often been included in the lily family (Liliaceae).

SPECIES: #1 green sotol (Dasylirion leiophyllum Engelm. ex Trel.). #2 Texas sotol (Dasylirion texanum Scheele). #3 common sotol (Dasylirion wheeleri S. Watson). 

TO UTILIZE AS FOOD: All species listed above have edible sap, caudices (also called trunks, hearts, heads, or crowns), and flower stalks. In addition, common sotol (D. wheeleri) has edible flowers and seeds. Sotols typically bloom from May to July, but they can also bloom later in the season if rainfall is sufficient. Since the caudices are always available, the gathering season is all year long, which is good to remember in winter when other wild foods are scarce. The flowers and seeds have a much more limited gathering season. Only the 3 species listed above occur in the United States.

Green sotol (D. leiophyllum) is found primarily in southern New Mexico and western Texas. This species differs from all other southwestern species by having marginal teeth on the leaves pointing backwards (toward the leaf bases) rather than forward (toward the leaf tips). Green sotol can be utilized like common sotol described below.

Texas sotol (D. texanum) is found primarily in the Chihuahuan Desert of southern Texas. It looks very similar to common sotol, except for being smaller and having bright green rather than dull, dusty, and bluish-green leaves. Texas sotol can be utilized like common sotol described below.

Common sotol (D. wheeleri) is found primarily in southern Arizona and New Mexico, where it was an important resource for Native Americans. Only the stalks and flowers were sampled for this reference. The trunks and seeds were not sampled.

Flower stalks of common sotol (D. wheeleri) typically emerge from April to June, or sometimes later in response to rainfall. Flowering occurs a few weeks after the stalks emerge. Stalks grow rapidly and soon become woody. Inner portions remain softer longer than outer portions. Likewise, upper portions remain softer longer than lower portions. Harvesting should be done before the stalks become woody. The texture is stringy, regardless of age. Common sotol stalks are green inside and generally taste good, somewhat like “sweet asparagus” with a soapy accent. Soap content varies, but it’s usually within tolerable limits. Cooking improves the flavor and softens the texture, unless the texture is woody, then no amount of cooking will soften it. Strings also survive the cooking process. Woody stalks can be tapped as a source of sap. Unlike agaves, sotols bloom more than once in a lifetime, so harvesting the flower stalks won’t kill the plants. Overall, common sotol flower stalks are an excellent wild food.

Flowers of common sotol (D. wheeleri) occur by the thousands in large spike-like clusters. They bloom toward the end of spring. A second bloom is possible in autumn or anytime rainfall is adequate. The flowers are a fantastic resource, indispensable for traditional desert cooking. When eaten fresh, the flavor is sweet, complex, delicious, and free of acrid saponins common among flowers of similar plants. It’s a natural compliment for corn. Cooked flowers are equally good. The flowers taste better than the stalks, and gathering a few flowers won’t harm the plants. Gathering the flowers is easy. Lower flowers are usually within arm’s reach, but upper flowers are usually out of reach without the aid of a stick. Bending the stalks to reach the upper flowers is unwise because they can snap. Common sotol flowers are a thriving metropolis of bugs, so they no doubt have a “high protein content” for flowers, maybe even about the same as meat! Cooking is recommended. Toasting sterilizes and dehydrates the flowers in one step. Sotols are tall plants, easily spotted in bloom, even from a distance. Common sotol flowers are a highly desirable wild food. Those of other species can presumably be used in a similar way, but no references were located to confirm this presumption.

IDENTIFICATION: The Dasylirion genus is represented by 3 species in the United States. All of which are native to the Southwest, and none of which have additional subspecies or varieties. Sotols have unisexual, ovary superior flowers. Agaves differ by having ovary inferior flowers, and yuccas differ by having bisexual flowers, and nolinas differ by having leaves with smooth to finely serrated margins. All these differences are obvious in the field. Sotols generally stay within their preferred territories.

Description of sotols (the Dasylirion genus): FORM shrub-like plants from large, woody, trunk-like, mostly subterranean caudices; dioecious (male and female flowers on separate plants); polycarpic (able to bloom more than once in a lifetime); LEAVES simple; arranged in globe-shaped clusters near ground level; blades long, linear, and ribbon-like; bases expanded; margins armed with stout teeth oriented in various directions; tips spiny; FLOWERS regular, unisexual, ovary superior, and arranged in large clusters on long stalks; tepals 6, free, white, green, or purple; and less than 10 mm long; pistils 1; styles 1; stigmas 3; stamens 6; FRUITS capsules dry, 1-celled, 3-winged, and not splitting apart at maturity; SEEDS light-brown, 3-angled, and 3 per fruit; HABITAT deserts, mesas, and lower mountains from California to Texas; blooming spring to autumn.

REFERENCES: #1 green sotol (Dasylirion leiophyllum): caudices/hearts West (p. 39) and Wauer (p. 35). #2 Texas sotol (Dasylirion texanum): caudices, sap, leaf bases, and flower stalks Couplan (pp. 526-527); caudices Newberry (pp. 11-12). #3 common sotol (Dasylirion wheeleri): caudices/hearts/crowns Austin (p. 34), Couplan (pp. 526-527), and Moerman (p. 99); sap Epple (p. 28) and Kirk (p. 282); flower stalks Castetter (1936 p. 38), Hodgson (p. 62), and Tull (2013); flowers Hodgson (p. 62); seeds Hodgson (p. 62). 

Snake Lily

FAMILY: Asparagus family (Asparagaceae) – Dichelostemma genus. This genus has often been included in the lily family (Liliaceae).

SPECIES: Snake lily, blue dicks, or wild hyacinth (Dichelostemma capitatum (Benth.) Alph. Wood ssp. capitatum = Brodiaea pulchella (Salisb.) Greene = Brodiaea capitata Benth. = Dichelostemma pulchellum (Salisb.) A. Heller ).

TO UTILIZE AS FOOD: Corms and flowers of snake lilies are edible fresh or cooked. The corms rarely exceed 1-2 cm in diameter. Additional berry-sized cormels may also be present. The corms are covered by a reddish-brown fringe that easily peels away to reveal solid white interiors. Sheaths, similar to the papery skins of onions, protect the interiors like natural safety seals. Fringe and sheaths are best discarded. Only the interiors are suitable for consumption. Snake lily corms taste absolutely delicious. When eaten raw, they have a delicate crunch and a fair amount of mucilage. Mucilage often imparts a soap-like texture and a harsh flavor to wild foods, but not with snake lilies. Instead, the mucilage acts like “a natural salad dressing,” adding to the appeal rather than ruining the experience. The flavor is potato-like, earthy, salty, tangy, and free of harsh overtones. With the addition of a few herbs, snake lily corms are perfect for soups or salads. Fire roasting also yields excellent results. Gathering the corms can be difficult, as they seem to prefer locations where they cannot be dug up, especially between rocks or the root systems of spiny shrubs. Digging for the corms in rocky soils can be as hard as breaking up a cement patio. Of course, dynamite could remedy this situation while simultaneously cooking the corms in one convenient step! Seriously though, their preference for these locations is not a coincidence. It’s a survival strategy. These locations provide safe havens from animals, including humans, looking for an easy meal to dig up. Snake lilies bloom throughout spring. Since the flowers greatly assist in locating and identifying these plants, it’s wise to gather the corms when the flowers are present. Rotting can be an issue with snake lily corms, but a good supply of healthy corms should be available to a determined forager. Overall, snake lily corms are an excellent wild food.

NOTES: Snake lilies, more often known as blue dicks, were very important to Native Americans. Virtually every tribe with access to them harvested the corms as a staple food source.

IDENTIFICATION: The Dichelostemma genus is represented by 6 species in the United States, of which only 1 occurs in the Southwest outside of California. 

Description of snake lily (Dichelostemma capitatum): FORM stemless, perennial plant about 20-40 cm tall emerging from an underground corm; LEAVES simple; basal; blades long, narrow, and grass-like; FLOWERS regular, perfect, ovary superior, bell-shaped, and arranged in bracted umbels terminating long stalks; tepals 6, all similar, light to deep bluish-pinkish-purple, and fused at the bases; stamens 6, all fertile, and 3 slightly shorter than the others; filaments united, bonded to the tepals, and bearing appendages that form short crowns; FRUITS capsules splitting open at maturity; HABITAT deserts, rocky areas, and mesas; California to Texas; blooming February to May. NOTES: Two subspecies, capitatum and pauciflorum, are currently recognized.

REFERENCES: Snake lily (Dichelostemma capitatum ssp. capitatum = Dichelostemma pulchellum = Brodiaea pulchella): corms Campbell (p. 68), Clarke (pp. 28-29), Couplan (pp. 521-522), Hodgson (pp. 59-60), Moerman (pp. 101-102), and others; flowers Hodgson (pp. 59-60).

Ajo Lily

FAMILY: Asparagus family (Asparagaceae) – Hesperocallis genus. This genus has often been included in the lily family (Liliaceae).

SPECIES: Desert or ajo lily (Hesperocallis undulata A. Gray).

TO UTILIZE AS FOOD: Warning! Ajo lily is protected throughout much of its range, so check local laws before gathering.

Native Americans living in the “Colorado Desert,” which is roughly southeastern California and southwestern Arizona, utilized the bulbs as food. “Ajo” is the Spanish word for garlic and refers to the shape of the bulbs. The flavor is more like potatoes than garlic, and the texture is more like onions than garlic. Ajo lily bulbs are buried deep, almost too deep to be worth gathering, even in sandy soil. They’re normally situated about 3-6 dm (1-2 feet) below the surface, directly below the stem base. Acquiring them can burn more energy than they provide in return, but few other choices exist in the Colorado Desert for potato-like wild foods, which makes ajo lily bulbs highly desirable. Although the bulbs are difficult to acquire, they’re fairly large (2-6 cm) and packed with nutrition. Finding ajo lilies can be challenging, but overlooking them is unlikely. Ajo lilies are beautiful in bloom. The attractive flowers are easily visible from several meters away. Ajo lilies prefer sandy habitats and bloom primarily from February to May. The key to finding them is when to look rather than where to look. They’re fairly common, but they only bloom when rainfall is sufficient. In drought years, relatively few of them bloom, thus making the bulbs impossible to find. Ajo lilies should only be gathered when the need outweighs the loss of these plants.

IDENTIFICATION: Only 1 species of the Hesperocallis genus is currently found in the United States. Ajo lily (H. undulata) is native to the northern Sonoran Desert of Arizona and California, which is unofficially known as the “Colorado Desert.” No additional subspecies or varieties are currently recognized. No other plants in the region look like ajo lily, so confusion with other plants is unlikely.

Description of ajo lily (Hesperocallis undulata): FORM perennial plant about 30-120 cm tall emerging from a deep-seated, garlic-like bulb; LEAVES simple; arranged basally and a few along the stems; blades linear, 15-40 cm long by 1-2 cm wide; margins often white and strongly wavy (undulate); FLOWERS regular, perfect, ovary superior, showy, funnel-shaped, 4-6 cm long, and arranged in open racemes; bracts thin, dry, and papery; tepals 6, all similar, united at the bases, and white with silver-green stripes on the backs; styles 1; stigmas 3-lobed; stamens 6; FRUITS capsules with flat black seeds; HABITAT sandy soils in the lower deserts of western Arizona and southern California; blooming March to May.

REFERENCES: Ajo lily (Hesperocallis undulata): bulbs Couplan (p. 511) and Hodgson (pp. 60-61).

False King Solomon’s Seals

FAMILY: Asparagus family (Asparagaceae) – Maianthemum genus. This genus has previously been included in the lily family (Liliaceae) and the lily of the valley family (Convallariaceae).

SPECIES: #1 “branched false King Solomon’s seal” or “feathery false lily of the valley” (Maianthemum racemosum (L.) Link ssp. racemosum = Smilacina racemosa (L.) Desf.). #2 “starry false King Solomon’s seal” or “starry false lily of the valley” (Maianthemum stellatum (L.) Link = Smilacina stellata (L.) Desf.). In my opinion, the name kingseal or queenseal seems better for these plants.

TO UTILIZE AS FOOD: Warning! Although the rhizomes, shoots, and berries of both species listed above can be eaten sparingly, these wild foods have some serious issues. When eaten raw, they are known to have a purgative action, so eating more than a small serving raw is inadvisable. Shoots and berries are the safest parts, followed by the rhizomes. Only a few Native American tribes that utilized these plants considered them fit for consumption. The various parts were generally cooked and consumed sparingly. M. racemosum was used more often than M. stellatum. Some authors contend that the rhizomes, shoots, and berries (or at least the shoots and berries) of M. racemosum can be eaten raw, but other authors disagree. In a 1932 book about the Ojibwe Indians Huron Smith wrote, “It [the rhizome of M. racemosum] is soaked in lye water and parboiled to get rid of the lye, then cooked like potatoes.” More recent authors often cite this reference. Lye water can be made by adding wood ash to water. The purpose of using lye is to rid the rhizomes of bitterness, but the rhizomes aren’t always bitter. Cooking the various parts in pure water also improves the flavor and reduces the purgative action. Based on the samples of M. racemosum obtained for this reference, all the parts mentioned above were surprisingly good. Samples of M. stellatum were vastly inferior and barely qualified as palatable. Berries of the western subspecies “clasping false King Solomon’s seal” (Maianthemum racemosum (L.) Link ssp. amplexicaule (Nutt.) LaFrankie = Smilacina amplexicaulis Nutt.) are also reported to be edible (Robbins p. 70), but the shoots and rhizomes are not. However, since many of the Native Americans that utilized M. racemosum were from the Pacific Northwest and only subspecies amplexicaule grows in that region, they could only have been utilizing subspecies amplexicaule, so the exceedingly minor differences between these subspecies are of no concern to foragers. The following assessment is based on subspecies amplexicaule.

Rhizomes of clasping false King Solomon’s seal (M. racemosum) are thick, starchy, stringy, and white with dark skins. True roots are fibrous and branch off the rhizomes in a tangled mess. Peeling the rhizomes is difficult due to the knobby surfaces. Based on flavor, the rhizomes would seem like a decent wild food. An hour of boiling in mountain spring water yields a “starchy” meal almost free of acrid, bitter, and soapy overtones. A foul accent may be present, but the flavor qualifies as palatable. The flavor is in a category of its own. An alliance to common foods beyond “starchy” is difficult to establish. The aroma matches the characteristic flavor. Discarding the cooking water is a good idea. Growing ends of the rhizomes and new shoots arising from the ends taste terribly acrid compared to other sections. These end sections are best avoided. Rhizomes are best gathered from autumn to spring when the starch value is high. Gathering is fairly easy since the rhizomes are located near the surface, but keep in mind this wild food is dangerous.

Shoots of clasping false King Solomon’s seal (M. racemosum) under 10-20 cm long have moist, tender, fleshy cores sheathed by developing leaves. Peeling away the developing leaves is easy. The shoots are white and grade into various shades of green in the upper portions. They taste reasonably good raw, similar to asparagus, except for having an acrid overtone. Some sweetness is usually noticeable underneath the acrid overtone. The texture is easily chewable, except for a few strings. Lower parts taste better than upper parts. The decline in flavor coincides with the transition from white to green. Using the lower portions is recommended. Cooking is unlikely to eliminate the acrid compounds. Raw and cooked flavors aren’t much different. Boiling draws out mucilage, resulting in a thick broth that tastes similar to the shoots. Taste testing a few shoots in a colony to check for palatability prior to gathering a supply is recommended. Shoot flavor varies considerably. Positive identification is imperative because many poisonous plants have similar-looking shoots. Remembering the locations of colonies and returning to those locations in following years is the best way to be sure. These plants are common and easy to gather.

Berries of clasping false King Solomon’s seal (M. racemosum) are red, sweet, juicy, and filled with 1-4 firm seeds. Distasteful flavors are mostly confined to the seeds, so removing the seeds is desirable. Fleshy portions are delicious, somewhat like cherries or rose hips. Attempting to separate the flesh and seeds is not so easy. Fleshly portions are fragile and adhere to the seeds. “Chewing around the seeds” is one option. Seeds can be spit out afterwards. Boiling whole berries draws bad flavors out of the seeds, thus ruining the broth and the berries. Acrid, bitter, and soapy flavors from the seeds overpower the fruity flavors of the flesh. Based on the sweet flesh, these berries would seem harmless, but consuming large quantities promotes a purgative action. Exactly what constitutes a “large quantity” depends on the person consuming the berries and the amount of irritants in the berries. Cooking supposedly reduces the purgative action. Although clasping false King Solomon’s seal berries are sweet, moderation is strongly advised.

Starry false King Solomon’s seal (M. stellatum) berries rank among the worst of all wild foods. When eaten fresh, they taste acrid, bitter, and similar to the seeds of agaves or yuccas. With great effort, human taste buds can detect traces of sweetness fighting a losing battle against the bitter oppression. Thankfully, cooking puts the distasteful characters at a tactical disadvantage, thus offering a tremendous improvement in flavor. Mature berries are dark purple, often with thick stripes similar to the symbol for radioactive waste. Most of the volume is filled with firm seeds. Meager amounts of flesh surround the seeds and possess most of the sweetness. The texture is chewable, but rather firm for berries, somewhat like apple cores. Boiling softens the texture and draws out both good and bad flavors. The resulting blackish wastewater has a fruity flavor overrun by an acrid bite. It’s a flavor on the edge of palatable, leaning more towards unpleasant than pleasant. After boiling the berries for about 30 minutes, the fleshy layers taste okay, but “chewing around the seeds” is recommended. Much longer boiling, at least 2-3 hours, is necessary to render the seeds palatable. Starry false King Solomon’s seal berries aren’t too horrible after cooking, but they certainly won’t score well on a flavor test.

NOTES: Considering all the dire warnings I read about false King Solomon’s seals, such as boiling the various parts in lye to rid them of poisons, I was reluctant to try these wild foods. Once again, nature surprised me. Plants on the borderline between edible and poisonous are rarely worth gathering, but false King Solomon’s seals seem to be an exception. It’s possible that the plants I gathered were exceptionally mild and flavorful, or it could be that the warnings are overemphasized. Most of my samples were from the Pinos Altos Range in southwestern New Mexico or the Fish Lake Hightop Plateau in central Utah. Since Native Americans only consumed these plants in small amounts, I recommend heeding that wisdom and avoiding large amounts. The difference in quality between M. racemosum and M. stellatum berries was unbelievable. Based on the berries I tried, I would only recommend those of M. racemosum. Berries of M. stellatum were barely fit for consumption, while those of M. racemosum were far better than I expected. Rhizomes and shoots of M. racemosum were also far better than I expected. The rhizomes were prepared in mountain spring water rather than lye water as some authors suggest. Perhaps lye is required for processing larger amounts, but the amounts I consumed (each occasion about a half cup serving) didn’t cause any adverse effects. The Ojibwe Indians added lye to remove bitterness. Whether or not the lye is required is uncertain, but it probably hastens the removal of harmful compounds that would otherwise elude the boiling process. Various parts of closely related plants, including true King Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum biflorum), have dangerous compounds called cardiac glycosides that affect the heart. These compounds are probably in Maianthemum species too, so keep in mind that even if these plants taste okay, consuming them carries a risk that’s not worth taking if preferable plants can be found.

IDENTIFICATION: The Maianthemum genus is represented by 5 species in the United States, of which only M. racemosum and M. stellatum are found in the Southwest. These species were formerly placed in the Smilacina genus.

Description of branched/clasping false King Solomon’s seal (Maianthemum racemosum): FORM upright or arching perennial plant about 30-90 cm tall emerging from rhizomes; bulbs not present; LEAVES simple; alternate; bases with short stalks or clasping the stems; blades lance-ovate; tips acute or caudate; surfaces with parallel veins; FLOWERS regular, perfect, ovary superior, and arranged in terminal panicles; tepals 6, all similar, free, and white; styles 1; stigmas 3; stamens 6, longer than the tepals; FRUITS berries globe-shaped, red with purple dots, 3-7 mm in diameter, often mottled, and filled with 1-3 seeds; HABITAT woodlands and shaded canyons; blooming May to July. NOTES: Subspecies racemosum of the eastern United States has an arching form, leaves with short stalks (1-4 mm), and caudate (tailed) leaf tips. Subspecies amplexicaule of the western United States has an erect form, leaves that clasp the stems, and acute leaf tips. Whether or not these “differences” are legitimate is debatable.

Description of starry false King Solomon’s seal (Maianthemum stellatum): FORM upright, perennial plant about 20-70 cm tall emerging from rhizomes; bulbs not present; LEAVES simple; alternate; bases with short stalks or clasping the stems; blades lance-ovate; surfaces with parallel veins; FLOWERS regular, perfect, ovary superior, and arranged in terminal racemes; tepals 6, all similar, free, and white; styles 1; stigmas 3; stamens 6, shorter than the tepals; FRUITS berries globe-shaped, 4-8 mm in diameter, greenish with dark, vertical stripes, becoming reddish-purple to nearly black at maturity, often mottled, and filled with 1-3 seeds; HABITAT woodlands and shaded canyons; blooming May to July.

REFERENCES: #1 branched false King Solomon’s seal (Maianthemum racemosum ssp. racemosum = Smilacina racemosa): rhizomes, young shoots, and fruits Chmielewski (p. 293), Couplan (pp. 515-516), Cox (p. 122), Kirk (p. 161), Kuhnlein (pp. 94-95), Moerman (pp. 151-152), Peterson (p. 52), and Vizgirdas (pp. 229-230). #2 starry false King Solomon’s seal (Maianthemum stellatum = Smilacina stellata): rhizomes, young shoots, and fruits Couplan (pp. 515-516), Kirk (p. 161), and Vizgirdas (pp. 229-230).

Nolinas

FAMILY: Asparagus family (Asparagaceae) – Nolina genus. This genus has formerly been included in the lily family (Liliaceae), nolina family (Nolinaceae), butcher’s broom family (Ruscaceae), and several other families.

SPECIES: #1 Bigelow’s nolina (Nolina bigelovii (Torr.) S. Watson). #2 beargrass, sawgrass, littlefruit nolina, or sacahuista (Nolina microcarpa S. Watson).

TO UTILIZE AS FOOD: Both species listed above produce edible flower stalks. Other parts, except for the seeds of beargrass, are not reported to be edible.

Bigelow’s nolina (N. bigelovii) is found primarily in western Arizona, southern California, and the Baja Peninsula of Mexico. Stalks of Bigelow’s nolina were gathered, roasted, and eaten by the Cahuilla Indians. The somewhat similar-looking Parry’s nolina (N. parryi), primarily of southern California, can be used in the same way. Differences between these species are seen in the leaves. Leaf margins of Bigelow’s nolina eventually shred into stringy fibers, while those of Parry’s nolina don’t. Both species are big, so the flower stalks have substantial food value. These species bloom in spring and prefer rocky hillsides in desert settings.

Beargrass (N. microcarpa) is the dominant species of the Nolina genus in Arizona and New Mexico. Compared to the previous species, it’s rather small, but it can still make a meaningful contribution to a forager’s diet.

Flower stalks of beargrass (N. microcarpa) are edible, but they tend to taste acrid, even after cooking. Baking is generally preferable to boiling. The flavor, texture, and aroma of beargrass stalks are similar to those aspects of yucca stalks. Starches are prevalent, but they’re overrun by acrid saponins. The flavor rarely qualifies as palatable. Beargrass stalks tend to be small, thin, moist, and stringy. Agave, sotol, and yucca stalks are usually larger (with a few exceptions). Gathering and processing techniques for beargrass are similar to those of related plants. Beargrass stalks are available in spring or summer.

Seeds of beargrass (N. microcarpa) taste terribly acrid, even after extensive processing. They also remain hard after extensive processing. Except for some starchy suggestions underneath the acrid flavor, these seeds seem to lack food value. References to the usage of nolina seeds as food by Native Americans are scarce. Edward Castetter, in reference to the people of Isleta Pueblo in north-central New Mexico wrote, “The seeds of Nolina microcarpa, beargrass, are ground by these people to make meal which is prepared and eaten in a manner similar to that of the above species.” Harvesting beargrass seeds is easy. Thousands may occur on a single plant. Each capsule contains up to 3 seeds, and each seed is contained within a separate compartment. The dry, brittle, papery capsules readily break apart and blow away as chaff. Beargrass seeds are available in summer or autumn, but they seem to be a wild food of desperate times.

IDENTIFICATION: The Nolina genus is represented by 10-15 species in the United States, most of which are native to the Southwest. The flower stalks (which are also called scapes, peduncles, or inflorescences) are easily mistaken for stems. True stems of nolinas are trunk-like and located below the somewhat globe-shaped rosettes of leaves. In some species, stems are absent or subterranean. True leaves are those of the rosettes rather than the leaf-like bracts on the flower stalks.

Description of nolinas (the Nolina genus): FORM shrub-like, evergreen plants up to 4 meters tall arising from large, woody, root crowns; with or without trunk-like stem bases; often growing in colonies; LEAVES simple; arranged in somewhat globe-shaped or grass-like clusters; bases expanded; blades linear and flexible; margins smooth, finely toothed, or stringy; tips spiny; surfaces with or without dusty coatings; FLOWERS small, regular, unisexual or bisexual, ovary superior, and arranged in dense terminal panicles on long stalks; tepals 6, free, white to light greenish-yellow; pistils 1; styles 1; stigmas 3; stamens 6; FRUITS capsules papery, winged, and consisting of 3 weakly united sections; seeds grayish or reddish-brown, rounded, and up to 1 per section; HABITAT deserts and transition zones; across the southern United States; blooming spring and summer.

REFERENCES: #1 Bigelow’s nolina (Nolina bigelovii): flower stalks Ebeling (p. 362) and Moerman (p. 161). #2 beargrass (Nolina microcarpa): flower stalks and seeds Couplan (p. 527) and Moerman (p. 161); seeds Castetter (1935-a p. 22).

Yuccas

FAMILY: Asparagus family (Asparagaceae) – Yucca genus. This genus has formerly been included in the lily family (Liliaceae) and yucca family (Yuccaceae).

SPECIES: #1 narrowleaf yucca (Yucca angustissima Engelm. ex Trel.). #2 banana yucca (Yucca baccata Torr.). #3 Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia Engelm.). #4 soaptree yucca (Yucca elata (Engelm.) Engelm.). #5 soapweed yucca, plains yucca, or our Lord’s candle (Yucca glauca Nutt.). #6 Mojave yucca (Yucca schidigera Roezl ex Ortgies). #7 Schott’s or mountain yucca (Yucca schottii Engelm.) #8 Torrey’s yucca or Spanish dagger (Yucca torreyi Shafer). #9 chaparral yucca (Yucca whipplei Torr. = Hesperoyucca whipplei (Torr.) Baker).

TO UTILIZE AS FOOD: Species listed above were utilized as follows: #1 fruits; #2 flower stalks, flower buds, flowers, fruits (ripe and unripe), and seeds; #3 terminal rosettes, flower buds, flowers, fruits, and seeds; #4 trunks, flower stalks, and flowers; #5 flower stalks, flowers, and fruits; #6 flowers and fruits (ripe and unripe); #7 fruits; #8 fruits; #9 flower stalks, flowers, and seeds.

The various parts of yuccas are often unfit for consumption due to acrid, soap-like compounds called saponins. Cooking improves the flavor by reducing or degrading the saponins, but the improvement may be insufficient. Unlike agaves, yuccas send up flower stalks every year, so harvesting the stalks won’t kill the plants.

Narrowleaf yucca (Y. angustissima), based on the angustissima variety of the greater Four Corners region, produces relatively small fruits that are barely palatable. Compounds called saponins are responsible for the bad flavor. Saponins are an unfortunate combination of sugar and soap. Cooking improves the flavor, but whether or not the improvement is sufficient is a matter of opinion. Narrowleaf yucca normally blooms in late spring or early summer. Fruits can be expected several weeks later. Only immature fruits are fleshy. Mature fruits are completely dry and unsuitable for consumption, so fruits need to be gathered prior to maturity. Flower stalks of this species are not reported to be edible, but they were sampled for this reference. Consumption is not recommended due to the overabundance of distasteful saponins. Since these compounds are concentrated in the growing tips, lower portions of the flower stalks tend to be more palatable. Peeling the flower stalks improves the flavor. Boiling also improves the flavor, but this improvement is at the expense of losing sugars. Both sugars and saponins end up in the wastewater. Baking retains the sugars and degrades the saponins, whether or not the saponins are sufficiently degraded is debatable. Overall, narrowleaf yucca seems to be a poor-quality wild food.

Banana yucca (Y. baccata) grows throughout most of the Southwest at low to mid elevations and produces 10-30 cm long, banana-like fruits that were a valuable resource to Native Americans. The name is based on the appearance of the fruits rather than the flavor. Mature fruits were unavailable during the fieldwork conducted for this reference, but other parts were assessed. None of the parts (flower stalks, flower buds, flowers, and immature fruits) even approached palatable, and cooking failed to improve the flavor. All these parts tasted extremely acrid. Mature fruits are expected to taste substantially better. Some people describe the flavor of mature fruits to be more like raw potatoes than bananas, while other people describe the flavor as sweet. Fruit production in this species is unreliable, so a few years may pass between good crops. Fruits of many species are dry at maturity, but mature fruits of banana yucca are fleshy. Banana yucca blooms in late spring or early summer. Mature fruits can be expected from midsummer to mid autumn.

Joshua trees (Y. brevifolia) are an icon of the Mojave Desert that can be utilized as a source of flowers, fruits and seeds. The entire rosettes at the branch tips can be baked and eaten, but these parts taste terribly unpleasant due to acrid saponins. Processing helps, but it fails to help enough. Young flowers are grayish-green and mushroom-like in texture and aroma. Adding them to salads would be a bad mistake. Using them as potherbs would also be a mistake. No method of preparation effectively subdues the flavor. Joshua trees produce plump, fleshy, greenish-brown fruits that dry out and drop soon after maturity. Seeds within the fruits are flat, black, rounded, and stacked like rolled coins. If the flavor wasn’t so acrid, these seeds would be the most valuable food in the Mojave Desert. Flavor can vary depending upon locale, but it rarely approaches palatable. Only the seed coats are black. Inner portions are white. Seeds are too hard to eat raw, but boiling softens them in about 45-60 minutes. After boiling, the seed coats have a texture like wet paper, and inner portions are “almost like real food.” The broth is clear and without any oils floating on the surface. Joshua trees typically bloom from late winter to mid spring and produce fruits sometime in summer. Seeds become available after the fruits mature. Joshua trees are common throughout the Mojave Desert, but their value to foragers appears to be minimal.

Soaptree yucca (Y. elata) has edible trunks, flower stalks, and flowers. The flower stalks taste mild when compared to those of other species, but not always mild enough. Flavor ranges from good to bad, usually closer to bad. The flower stalks are larger than those of most species, easily measuring 1 to 3 meters tall, which makes them very attractive to foragers. Only young stalks are suitable for consumption. Old stalks become tough, stringy, and woody. Upper portions remain tender until the flower clusters start to develop, but acrid saponins concentrate in the upper portions. Saponins seem to be less noticeable in raw stalks because sweetness masks the acrid bite. Various cooking methods such as boiling, baking, and sautéing produce mixed results, none of which seem satisfactory. Perhaps the trunk-like stems immediately below the leaf clusters taste better, but the trunks were not sampled for this reference. Flowers of soaptree yucca are often described as a “delicacy,” but that wasn’t my experience with these flowers. Sepals and petals look and taste about the same. These parts, along with the stamens, pistils, and other flower parts, generally taste acrid, except on rare occasions when they taste mild. Soaptree yucca typically blooms from late spring to early summer and grows from western Texas, through New Mexico and Arizona, to southern Nevada.

Plains yucca (Y. glauca) grows primarily on the Great Plains, from Texas and New Mexico to Montana. Flower stalks, flowers, and fruits of this species were utilized as food by several different groups of Native Americans, especially in New Mexico. Plains yucca has a form similar to narrowleaf yucca. The flower stalks are relatively small and the fruits are dry at maturity. None of the parts were sampled for this reference. Plains yucca typically blooms in spring.

Mojave yucca (Y. schidigera) has fruits that are plump, fleshy, 7-12 cm long, acrid, bitter, and terribly unappealing. Based on the fruits that I tried, they taste awful regardless of age and no method of preparation effectively improved the flavor. Flower stalks and flowers are barely fit for consumption. Mojave yucca fruits contain numerous dull-black seeds. No parts of this species appear to be worth harvesting. As its name indicates, Mojave yucca inhabits the Mojave Desert.

Mountain yucca (Y. schottii) grows primarily in southern Arizona. It produces large fruits that are available in quantity and reasonably palatable after cooking. Other parts are essentially worthless as food. When eaten fresh, the fruits have an acrid bite due to the presence of saponins. Cooking improves the flavor. The skins of the fruits are bitter and best removed. The fleshy interiors of the fruits have a squash-like texture and taste more like vegetables than fruits. These fruits serve well in soups and stir-fries. Dehydration counteracts the bland overtone by concentrating the complex carbohydrates. Dried pieces of these fruits make an ideal ingredient for trail mixes. The dried pieces are about the same light-green color as the fresh fruits. No tough, woody, fibrous, or unchewable characteristics hinder the texture. These fruits are satisfying. Seeds and flower stalks are considerably less satisfying and generally too acrid for consumption, even after cooking.

Spanish dagger (Y. torreyi) grows primarily in southern New Mexico and southwestern Texas. Its fruits can be utilized like those of mountain yucca described above. According to the “Integrated Taxonomic Information System,” Don Quixote’s lace (Yucca treculeana) is the same species as Spanish dagger, and neither of these species are significantly different from mountain yucca. Whatever botanists finally decide to call Y. schottii and Y. torreyi, foragers can be sure that the fruits of these species are edible.

Chaparral yucca (Hesperoyucca whipplei) is found primarily in southern California, especially in chaparral (shrub) communities. This species has edible flower stalks, flowers, and seeds. The flower stalks are the size of agave flower stalks, so they’re a substantial source of food. Due to legal restrictions in the area that I found this species, I was unable to sample any of the parts, but several earlier accounts indicate that the flower stalks and flowers have a pleasant flavor. Native Americans with access to this species gathered the flower stalks primarily in March and April. Fruits of Hesperoyucca species split differently than those of Yucca species, loculicidally versus septicidally, respectively. That was a primary reason for segregating the groups. Mature fruits of chaparral yucca are dry and unsuitable for consumption, but the seeds they contain can be prepared and eaten.

IDENTIFICATION: The Yucca genus is represented by about 25-30 species in the United States, almost all of which are native to the Southwest. Many of the species have additional subspecies or varieties, and often form hybrids. Yuccas are easy to recognize, and nothing that looks similar is poisonous. Agaves differ by having ovary inferior flowers, and flowers of nolinas and sotols differ by having tiny petals less than 10 mm long. Yuccas tend to have stringy margins, while agaves tend to have spiny margins, but this feature is inconsistent.

Description of yuccas (the Yucca genus): FORM shrub-like plants or trees; LEAVES simple; arranged in rosettes at ground level or elevated on trunk-like stems; blades narrow, linear, rigid, and sword-like; margins smooth, stringy, or toothed; FLOWERS regular, perfect, showy, ovary superior, bell- or globe-shaped, often hanging downward, and arranged in racemes or panicles; stalks positioned within or extending beyond the leaves; bracts ascending; tepals 6, white, free or united at the bases, and usually at least 20 mm long; pistils 1; styles 1; stigmas 3; stamens 6; FRUITS capsules fleshy or woody when fully mature; splitting into 3 sections or remaining closed; not lobed; and not winged; SEEDS numerous, flat, black, and arranged in 2 rows per chamber, thus appearing as 6 rows; HABITAT deserts to lower mountains; throughout the Southwest; blooming spring to summer.

REFERENCES: #1 narrowleaf yucca (Yucca angustissima): fruits Ebeling (p. 474) and Moerman (p. 276). #2 banana yucca (Yucca baccata): flower stalks and flower buds Ebeling (p. 473); flowers in bloom Ebeling (p. 473) and Moerman (pp. 276-278); unripe fruits Hodgson (pp. 46); ripe fruits Couplan (p. 528), Ebeling (p. 473), Hodgson (pp. 44-51), Moerman (pp. 276-278), and others; seeds Ebeling (p. 473) and Castetter (1935-b p. 23). #3 Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia): terminal rosettes Ebeling (p. 121), Coville (pp. 355-356), and Hodgson (p. 50); flower buds and flowers in bloom Ebeling (p. 121); fruits Moerman (pp. 278-279); seeds Couplan (p. 528), Ebeling (p. 121), and Hodgson (p. 50). #4 soaptree yucca (Yucca elata): trunks Moerman (p. 279); flower stalks Hodgson (p. 50), Moerman (p. 279), and others; flowers Ebeling (p. 473), Hodgson (p. 50), and Moerman (p. 279). #5 soaptree yucca (Yucca glauca): flower stalks, flowers, and fruits Moerman (p. 279). #6 Mojave yucca (Yucca schidigera): flowers Moerman (pp. 279-280); unripe fruits Hodgson (p. 49); ripe fruits Ebeling (p. 361), Hodgson (p. 49), and Moerman (pp. 279-280). #7 mountain yucca (Yucca schottii): fruits Moerman (p. 280). #8 Spanish dagger (Yucca torreyi): fruits Moerman (p. 280). #9 chaparral yucca (Yucca whipplei = Hesperoyucca whipplei): flower stalks and flowers Hodgson (pp. 43-44), Moerman (p. 280), and Ebeling (p. 360); seeds Ebeling (p. 360).