🌿urban weeds worth learning first, no scary lookalikes

start here before anything with a lookalike that can actually hurt you. always ask permission if it's not your yard.

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)

root to flower, all of it's edible. nothing in a yard looks close enough to worry about

Purslane (Portulaca oleracea)

fat succulent leaves low to the ground. spurge looks close and weeps milky sap when snapped, purslane never does (id before you eat)

Chickweed (Stellaria media)

tiny white flowers, look for the single line of hairs running up one side of the stem

Broadleaf plantain (Plantago major)

not the banana. the flat sidewalk-crack weed. young leaves only, older ones go stringy

Lamb's quarters (Chenopodium album)

a dusty white coating on the new leaves is normal, just rinse it off

Red clover (Trifolium pratense)

Wood sorrel (Oxalis)

heart shaped leaflets, tastes sour like green apple. skip it if you have a kidney stone history, it's oxalic acid

Common blue violet (Viola sororia)

leaves and flowers both fine, mild

Common mallow (Malva neglecta)

the little round seed pods kids call cheese wheels

Curly dock (Rumex crispus)

young leaves only, and cook them, the older ones are bitter and tough

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