The Feisty Forager: Spring Beauties
March Madness — Day 6
Spring beauties, also known as fairy spuds, are the very first of the flowering ephemerals (transitory, quickly fading plants, marked by their short life cycles) to appear in the Southern Appalachian woodlands, preceding violets, bloodroot, anemone, hepatica and trout lily.
Every day this week I have wandered out into the woods in search of that first delicate blossom to poke through the wintry leaves. Today my heart soars as I am rewarded at last by that first glimpse of white, striped with a soft pinkish-red reminiscent of Christmas candy canes.
Carolina spring beauties (Claytonia caroliniana) are edible, from their petals to their roots, which can be gathered and cooked for a potato-like snack. They are so tiny and so delicate that it would take a huge quantity to equal a potato, so I use them mostly for garnish, balanced atop a crostini, or any open-faced sandwich, sprinkled over a salad, ornamenting a soup, or gracing a cake.
Note: Virginia spring beauties, (Claytonia virginica) sport the same flower, with a longer, more slender leaf.
This article is one of a month-long series of foraged treasures. For more recipes from the field and forest, check out Appalachian Appetite: Recipes from the Heart of America.
