Friday Foraging #98 - 21st March 2025

Celandine - Lesser

Also known as Pilewort. It’s botanical name is Ranunculus ficaria and it is part of the Ranunculaceae family of plants. This plant belongs to the buttercup family, although celandine is edible.

The stem and leaves are bright green in colour and the younger leaves are heart-shaped and become ivy-like in appearance with darker markings. The shiny flowers are composed of seven to twelve golden-yellow petals with a green underside. The fruit appears like grains of corn, being globular and whitish.

Abundant across Europe and western Asia, it is found in fields, hillsides, along riverbanks and in woodlands.

The young leaves and root are edible and are picked before the flowers bloom. So harvesting is usually January through to the end of March.

The plant’s root swell up to form tubers, which can be eaten like any other starchy vegetable and the young leaves can be added to salads (after cooking) and used more like a pot herb.

In Cumbria it was noted that the plant was in fact used for cleaning teeth and did a very good job, this makes sense as it is also used to help support healthy gums and stop bleeding gums.

All parts of the plant do need to be cooked before consuming and some people do have a reaction to the buttercup family when the sap comes into contact with skin, so start off small.

To treat gum and mouth issues, gargle with a warm herbal tea solution.

For issues such as piles or wounds, a poultice wrapped in a fine cloth and applied to the skin works well and balms or light creams for treating wound and grazes.