Dwarf Ginseng; Curiosity Fed the Forager

Dwarf Ginseng, Panax trifolius

What I have learned is that foraging requires an individual with a curious mind. When you come across an unknown plant you have to ask, "what is this?" and then follow it up with a bit of research. I find myself noting the plants that I am familiar with in my head while I walk down the trail, garlic mustard...winter green...field garlic...violets... It's a good feeling to see familiar plants but what I search for are the plants that are unfamiliar to me. It is an amazing feeling to discover a new plant and, after flipping open your Peterson field guide, learn that what grows before you is edible. This happened to me on the last leg of my hike. I was heading back to my car when I noticed this small plant with a little ball of white flowers just above a whorl of three leaves each with three toothed leaflets. Once this one caught my attention I all of a sudden noticed them covering the ground all around me. It is at times like these that I wonder how I had never seen it before. 

When I first noticed this small plant I did not think it was edible but out of curiosity I leafed through my guide to the "white flower" section and to my surprise and delight I discovered that its little tuber is edible. It can be eaten raw or boiled for 5-10 minutes. It grows in moist woods and I just so happened to be about to cross a stream. It flowers from April to June. Apparently the only time to collect them is in the Spring so I was in luck.

After trying to pluck one plant from the ground I learned that the stem of Dwarf Ginseng is very delicate. In order to extract the plant I had to gently remove the dirt surrounding the plant until I got to the base of the root. I then had to pull up from the root and not the stem or the stem broke. The tuber looks like the World if the water was dried up. You can tell that the surface used to be connected but as the girth expanded the outer layer broke apart and formed fissures.

I was so excited to taste this trail nibble that I brushed off the dirt, gave it a quick spit shine, and took a bite. It was a bit crunchy and had a somewhat nutty flavor. It was pleasant. I confirmed on the USDA plant database website that this plant is native to North America, it is a perennial, and it is neither endangered nor invasive. Happy foraging!