Local section · San Antonio, TX
Common edible plants in Texas
These plants are common in Central and South Texas and relatively easy to recognize. Even so: practice identifying them with a field guide or an expert before an emergency, eat only a little the first time (you could be allergic), don't gather near roads, ditches, land treated with herbicides, or contaminated water, and ask the landowner for permission. Gathering is prohibited in parks.
| Plant | What you eat | How to prepare it | Warnings and dangerous look-alikes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nopal / prickly pear (Opuntia) | Tender pads, ripe fruit, flowers | Remove the spines and glochids (very fine spines) by burning them off over a flame or scraping; peel. Boil or roast the pads. | Glochids irritate hands and mouth: use thick gloves or tongs, even with "spineless" varieties. Ripe fruit: dark purple and sweet-smelling. |
| Mesquite (Prosopis) | Ripe dry pods (sweet pulp) | Chew the pulp or grind the pod into flour | Pick dry pods straight from the tree; discard any from damp ground, moldy, or with holes. The seeds are very hard. |
| Pecan (Carya illinoinensis) | Nut | Raw or roasted | Official state tree of Texas, easy to recognize. Tree nut allergy. |
| Blackberry / dewberry (Rubus) | Ripe (black) fruit in spring | Raw | Thorny plants. Blackberries with the "little cluster" type of compound fruit are easy to recognize; don't confuse them with smooth berries from other plants. |
| Texas persimmon / black persimmon (Diospyros texana) | Fully ripe fruit, black and soft | Raw, removing the seeds | Green fruit is very astringent. It stains hands. |
| Agarita (Mahonia trifoliolata) | Ripe red berries (spring) | Raw or in jelly | Leaves have very sharp points: shake the bush over a cloth. |
| Purslane (Portulaca oleracea) | Fleshy stems and leaves | Raw or cooked | Dangerous look-alike: spurge (Euphorbia), which is also low-growing but has milky white sap. If milk comes out when you break the stem, it is NOT purslane. |
| Dandelion (Taraxacum) | Tender leaves, flowers, root | Raw or boiled leaves (bitter) | Has milky sap (an exception to the general rule); eat it only if you are sure of the identification. Avoid sprayed lawns and gardens. |
| Cattail (Typha) | Tender shoots, root (rhizome), pollen | Peel the shoots; cook the root | Grows in water that may be contaminated; cook everything. Toxic look-alike: wild iris, which lacks the characteristic brown "sausage." |
