Top Native Edibles
Jerusalem Artichoke/Sunchokes (Helianthus tuberosum)
Right: Jerusalem artichokes in flower (image source gardeninggarden.com); Left: tubers washed and ready for cooking (image source: planetgreen.discovery.com)
If you are confused with the photo above, that's because Jerusalem Artichoke is a member of the sunflower family (Helianthus). Jerusalem Artichokes range throughout eastern North America in moist meadows, woodland edges, and thickets. They grow rapidly, providing a prolific amount of food for practically no effort. If you have a well-established patch of Jerusalem Artichokes in your yard, you can leave them in the ground and dig them up for a healthy meal at your leisure. And unlike other starches, Jerusalem Artichokes contain inulin, a fructose-based polysaccharide that helps the body absorb calcium, increases beneficial microbes in our guts, and may prevent colon cancer.
USDA Cold Hardiness Zone: 2~10
Sun: full sun
Water: moist
Soil: slightly acidic~slightly alkaline, do not grow well in heavy clay soils
Height & Width: 6~12 ft tall, but Jerusalem Artichoke can spread indefinitely (all the more to eat!!!)
Uses: edible tubers, bright yellow cut flowers
Functions: pollinator attractor, weed barrier, beneficial native insect shelter
Growth pattern: fast and vigorous, spreads by tubers
American Groundnut (Apios americana)
Top: image source bradspictures.com; Bottom: image source Dave Berry
American Groundnut is a perfect companion to Jerusalem Artichoke. The Artichoke stalk provides a perfect trellis for the Groundnut vines to climb during summer months, and, just like Artichokes, Groundnuts can be dug up any time of the year. A member of the Pea Family (Fabaceae), Groundnut is packed with protein (up to 16%) and fixes nitrogen in the soil to fertilize surrounding plants. Historically Groundnut was a staple for many Native American tribes, and with how easy it is to grow, whyshouldn't it still be one for us today?
USDA Cold Hardiness Zone: 3~10
Sun: full sun, partial shade
Water: wet, moist
Soil: slightly acidic~neutral
Height & Width: 4~8 ft tall, and like Jerusalem Artichoke can spread indefinitely
Uses: edible tubers
Functions: nitrogen fixer, pollinator attractor, native insect shelter
Growth Pattern: fast, spreads by tubers
American Hazelnut (Corlyus americana and cornuta)
image source treehugger.com
A great edible hedgerow for your yard, hazelnuts can spread quickly by suckers to form a thicket wherever you desire privacy (and food). They occur naturally along streams, so if you have any water features on your land you can easily add hazelnuts nearby.
USDA Cold Hardiness Zone: 3~7
Sun: sun
Water: wet, moist
Soil: neutral~alkaline
Height & Width: 6~12 ft tall and wide
Uses: edible nuts, medicinal
Functions: wildlife forage, pollinator attractor, coppice
Growth Pattern: medium-fast, spreads by suckers
USDA Cold Hardiness Zone: 3~7
Sun: sun
Water: wet, moist
Soil: neutral~alkaline
Height & Width: 6~12 ft tall and wide
Uses: edible nuts, medicinal
Functions: wildlife forage, pollinator attractor, coppice
Growth Pattern: medium-fast, spreads by suckers
Persimmon, American/Asian (Diospyros virginiana, kaki)
Top: American Persimmon (forestry.tennessee.edu); Bottom: Asian Persimmon (artisopensource.net)
American Persimmons are native to the eastern US from southern Indiana to Florida. They disease and pest resistant, extremely easy to grow and produce a sweet golf-ball-sized fruit--but don't eat them before they're ready to fall off the tree or you'll be unpleasently surprised! In Asia another variety of persimmons diverged parallel to the American strand, one with fruit the size of an apple. Luckily, we can have the best of both worlds--large Asian Persimmon fruit on disease and pest resistant American roots. Ripened fruit hangs on trees like Christmans ornaments long into autumn and early winter after the leaves have fallen.
USDA Cold Hardiness Zone: 5~9
Sun: full sun
Water: dry, moist
Soil: slightly acidic~alkaline
Height & Width: American Persimmon 50~75 ft tall by 35~50 ft wide, Asian Persimmon 25~40 ft tall by 25~40 ft wide
Uses: edible fruit
Functions: beneficial insect shelter, coppice, striking contrast in landscape
Growth Pattern: slow-medium
Blueberry, Highbush (Vaccinium corymbosum)
image source usefulplants.org
Nobody can resist a cool, plump, juicy blueberry during the mid-summer heat. Why not have a couple of these in your front yard so you can have all the fresh blueberries you want in season, or a dozen bushes if you want to have enough to store and eat year-round? In addition to providing delicious fruit, the red autumn foliage is a delight for the eyes as well. Best of all, blueberries require very little maintenance, making it an ideal landscaping plant.
USDA Cold Hardiness Zone: 4~8
Sun: full sun
Water: wet, moist (blueberries like being near water if possible)
Soil: acidic
Height & Width: 6~12 ft tall and wide
Uses: edible fruit, food for native birds
Functions: breathtaking autumn colors in your landsacpe
Growth Pattern: fast, reproduces readily by suckers
USDA Cold Hardiness Zone: 4~8
Sun: full sun
Water: wet, moist (blueberries like being near water if possible)
Soil: acidic
Height & Width: 6~12 ft tall and wide
Uses: edible fruit, food for native birds
Functions: breathtaking autumn colors in your landsacpe
Growth Pattern: fast, reproduces readily by suckers
Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis)
image source bodyandsoulreconnection.com
Nothing flowers or produces an abundance of berries quite like a mature elderberry shrub. In the spring it explodes in dense flower clusters and can yield up 25 gallons of berries. Elderberry likes to grow in riparian zones (along water), and it's berries are used to make natural cough medicine (such as Sumbucus) and treat cold and flu symptoms. Like all of these native plants, growing elderberry needs practically no attention--it can thrive and provide you tons of rich, nutritious berries if planted in the right environment.
USDA Cold Hardiness Zone: 3~10
Sun: sun, part shade
Water: wet, moist
Soil: neutral
Height & Width: 6~12 ft tall and wide
Uses: edible berries, medicinal (berries and flowers), berries also good for making wines & meads
Functions: pollinator attractor, gorgeous robust flowers in spring
Growth Pattern: fast, spreads by suckers
USDA Cold Hardiness Zone: 3~10
Sun: sun, part shade
Water: wet, moist
Soil: neutral
Height & Width: 6~12 ft tall and wide
Uses: edible berries, medicinal (berries and flowers), berries also good for making wines & meads
Functions: pollinator attractor, gorgeous robust flowers in spring
Growth Pattern: fast, spreads by suckers
Sochan, Green-headed Coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata)
image source edibleplantproject.org
Like the name suggests, Sochan is an edible relative of Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta). A great salad or cooking green in the early spring when leaves are largest. Like most plants, once it flowers leaves retract in size and become bitter. Another great Native American food I hope to see more people growing and eating again, Sochan has little to no pests making it a hassle-free green for the shadier parts of your property.
USDA Cold Hardiness Zone: 3~8
Sun: partial shade
Water: wet, moist
Soil: acidic~neutral
Height & Width: 3~6' tall, 3~6' wide
Uses: edible greens, cut flowers
Functions: pollinator attractor
Growth Pattern: spreads by rhizomes
USDA Cold Hardiness Zone: 3~8
Sun: partial shade
Water: wet, moist
Soil: acidic~neutral
Height & Width: 3~6' tall, 3~6' wide
Uses: edible greens, cut flowers
Functions: pollinator attractor
Growth Pattern: spreads by rhizomes
Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum)
image source photobucket.com
An tasty ground cover you can grow in shaded areas. Mayapple does not produce an abundant amount of fruit per plant, but it spread quickly and can create a carpet of yummy, crab apple-sized fruit in the summer.
USDA Cold Hardiness Zone: 3~8
Sun: partial shade, deep shade
Water: moist
Soil: acidic~neutral
Height & Width: 12~18" tall, spreads indefinitely
Uses: edible fruit
Functions: ground cover in the shade
Growth Pattern: spread quickly by rhizomes
USDA Cold Hardiness Zone: 3~8
Sun: partial shade, deep shade
Water: moist
Soil: acidic~neutral
Height & Width: 12~18" tall, spreads indefinitely
Uses: edible fruit
Functions: ground cover in the shade
Growth Pattern: spread quickly by rhizomes
Mulberry (Morus spp.)
image source yougrowgirl.com
One of my childhood favorites! I remember climbing mulberry trees in my neighborhood with friends and eating the sweet black berries until our hands and mouths were stained purple. People who keep backyard chickens might also want to consider planting mulberries so your birds can feast on the wealth of calcium-rich fruit that overflows from the tree every year. Another native, mulberries are very easy to grow and can survive periods drought. Besides being eaten fresh, antioxidant-packed berries are great for jamming or homemade wine. Good full-size varieties to grow in southern Indiana are Illinois Everbearing and Oscar, whereas Weeping grows to about 12 feet and will draw compliments from your neighbors as well.
USDA Cold Hardiness Zone: 5~9
Sun: full sun, but still produces well in part shade
Water: dry, moist
Soil: neutral, slightly alkaline
Height & Width: 30~50 feet tall and wide, weeping can be staked and pruned to 10~15'
Uses: edible fruit
Functions: accumulates calcium from the soil and concentrates it in the fruit
Growth Pattern: fast, has deep taproot
Pawpaw (Asimina triloba)
Right: image source veggiegardeningtips.com;
Left: image source usefulplants.org
Favorite of the founding fathers--both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson had their own pawpaw orchards at Mt. Vernon and Monticello. Despite being a temperate climate version of the papaya, few people know about the delectable pawpaw today. The fruit is compared to a banana-like custard--you can cut it in half and eat with a spoon. Pawpaw leaves also exude a natural insecticide which protects it from pests, and ambitious gardeners can use the leaves to make a compost tea to protect other plants from bugs as well!
USDA Cold Hardiness Zone: 5~7
Sun: full sun to full shade (produces best with more sun)
Water: wet, moist
Soil: neutral~alkaline
Height & Width: 20~35 ft tall and wide
Uses: edible fruit, medicinal, compost tea
Functions: wildlife shelter, coppice tree, natural insecticide in landscape
Growth Pattern: slow~medium, spreads by seed or suckering
Ramps (Allium tricoccum)
image source amycotler.com
Native forest-dwelling relatives of leeks, ramps once ran rampant throughout the eastern forests. Years of clearing for timber and agricultural use have reduced their numbers in the wild, but in places such as West Virginia where they still thrive ramps festivals still take place every spring. Ramps shoot up early in the spring and take advantage of the small window of light before forest trees send out their leaves. A pungent flavor mixed between garlic and onions, ramps can be used in the place of either when desired, and like most of my favorite plants, require no maintenance from year to year! Let's repopulate the forests with these hardy alliums
USDA Cold Hardiness Zone: 4~8
Sun: partial shade, full shade
Water: moist
Soil: slightly acidic~neutral
Height & Width: 6~10 in tall, spread indefinitely
Uses: edible greens, roots, culinary, medicinal
Functions: pest repellent, pollinator attractor
Growth Pattern: very slow, spreads by clumping bulbs which divide easily
Serviceberry, Juneberry & Saskatoon (Amelanchier spp.)
image source cbgarden.org
Imagine blueberries that grow on a tree and bear fruit in the spring...and you have a serviceberry! Like blueberries, serviceberries contain anthocyanins and antioxidants, have beautiful spring blossoms, and require practically no maintenance. Having a serviceberry in your yard can extend your season of berries-of-blue from spring to late summer.
USDA Cold Hardiness Zone: 3~8
Sun: full sun, partial shade
Water: dry, moist
Soil: acidic~neutral
Height & Width: Serviceberries come in tree and shrub varieties. Juneberry, a tree, grows from 35~50 ft tall and 20~35 ft wide. Saskatoon, a shrub, is 5~15 ft tall and 5~15 ft wide.
Uses: edible fruit, native wildlife forage
Functions: pollinator attractor
Growth Pattern: medium-paced,
USDA Cold Hardiness Zone: 3~8
Sun: full sun, partial shade
Water: dry, moist
Soil: acidic~neutral
Height & Width: Serviceberries come in tree and shrub varieties. Juneberry, a tree, grows from 35~50 ft tall and 20~35 ft wide. Saskatoon, a shrub, is 5~15 ft tall and 5~15 ft wide.
Uses: edible fruit, native wildlife forage
Functions: pollinator attractor
Growth Pattern: medium-paced,
