The internet has been lying to you about wild lettuce!
People comment on my videos about wild lettuce all the time, saying theyâre âstill on the lookout for Lactuca virosa.â Unless you live in a very specific area, youâre not going to find it, and you donât need to!
I didnât get a chance to cover lookalikes to this plant in the video, but the only plant I can think of that looks remotely like it would be sow thistle (Sonchus), which is edible.
We have a lookalike guide for those two in Gather, my foraging app, if youâre curious!
People also always ask me if I can send them seeds of a lot of the plants I cover, and while Iâm not able to do that, my app will tell you exactly when you can collect the seeds in your area. (I donât recommend planting this one as itâs invasive, but there are a lot of great native wild lettuces that are amazing to plant, like American Wild Lettuce, Lactuca canadensis)
You can comment âgather app,â and Iâll send you my link to get you a free month-long trial!
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Foraging education for all! đż
What happens if you touch poison hemlock?
Here, I want to reiterate that I am NOT suggesting you conduct ANY of the tests that I show in this video; I am seeking to educate on the proper caution required when interacting with poison hemlock, to replace fear with understanding.
As the video states, if you are removing this plant, you should wear gloves, a long sleeve shirt, long pants, and closed shoes.
The Illinois Extension article is called âCarrots gone bad: Wild parsnip, giant hogweed and poison hemlockâ
The study mentioning the content of furanocoumarins in poison hemlock (Conium maculatum) is âDiversity of Secondary Metabolites in Roots from Conium maculatum L.â by Chizzola and Lohwasser.
And the guide on poison hemlock removal is âField Guide for Managing Poison Hemlock in the Southwestâ, though it does apply to the rest of North America.
Let me know what toxic plant you want me to cover next!
29/05/2026
Here is a set of detailed comparison photos of wild carrot (Daucus carota) vs. poison hemlock (Conium maculatum), which you can save and use as a companion to my video on poison hemlock from earlier in the week.
Right now, I am working on a follow-up video about the safety of handling poison hemlock and how to remove it properly and effectively.
As always, I want to remind you that the aroma of the roots alone is NOT a reliable way to distinguish these two plants.
These photos highlight the features that most easily distinguish them.
In Gather, my foraging app, we have dozens of other lookalike guides which show you side-by-side photo comparisons of only those most important details, so youâll be able to learn how to distinguish edible plants from toxic ones more effectively.
You can comment âgather appâ and Iâll send you a link to get you a month-long trial to try it out!
The deadly plant that took over America
The study mentioned in the video is âThe killer of Socrates: Coniine and Related Alkaloids in the Plant Kingdomâ by Hotti and Rischer.
For information on poison hemlock (Conium maculatum) removal and management, I would recommend the document âField Guide for Managing Poison Hemlock in the Southwestâ by the US Forest Service (it is applicable beyond just the southwest).
If you or a loved one ever accidentally ingests this plant, please call poison control (US: 1-800-222-1222) and prepare to go to the emergency room. Though there is no antidote for the toxins in poison hemlock, it is possible to manage the symptoms until your body is able to process out the toxins on its own.
As you can see in the video, Iâm very comfortable around this plant despite its toxicity. Like many poisonous plants, the real danger is in ingestion, not light topical contact. That being said, I take precautions after being around the plant for extended periods of time, like showing and washing my clothes afterward.
I would generally recommend wearing a long-sleeve shirt, long pants, and gloves to the average person dealing with poison hemlock.
It is often claimed that this plant has the photodermatitis-inducing chemicals found in plants like giant hogweed and parsnip, but I suspect this is a myth. Iâve tested this on myself (so you donât have to) and did not find it to be the case for me.
Comment âgather appâ and Iâll send you a link to get a month-long trial to learn about plants around you that you can forage and how to distinguish them from their lookalikes!
The tragedy of American Wild Lettuce (Lactuca canadensis)
Share this video with a friend who lives in its range so we can try to make at least 1% more Eastern Americans aware of this amazing wild edible plant.
This video focused on the food aspects of wild lettuce, but I can make another for those of you who may be interested in the herbal uses as well. Let me know if youâd be interested in that!
Iâve tested the sap color detail with six of the most common species of wild lettuce in ENA. There is one species in Texas (Lactuca ludoviciana) that I suspect may also oxidize to a yellow immediately, but that one may taste good, too! Please let me know if you have eaten it before.
Comment âgather appâ and Iâll DM you a link that will get you a free month-long trial to find out if this plant grows near you and when you can *gather* it!
Never let a good teaching opportunity go to waste! (With pokeweed, Phytolacca americana)
04/05/2026
âI had no idea you could eat pokeweed stems!â
Iâm so excited to see people learning about the ability to eat (cooked) pokeweed stems (see my latest video for more details). In this post, Iâll answer a few more of your questions (and comments) about this incredible plant.
Q: âPokeweed is supposed to be red! Are you sure that is pokeweed?â
Yes, I am sure, but this does bring up a good point! Many people were surprised that a plant as large and tall as the one I was showing could be pokeweed (Phytolacca americana) because all the ones theyâd seen at that stage were already red/magenta.
Pokeweed coloration changes over its life. The very youngest shoots are often magenta, then it turns mostly green, and then finally back to vibrant magenta at maturity. How quickly it turns to magenta is highly variable. Greener stems on larger plants are often a sign of a vigorously growing pokeweed plant, which is ideal for stem vegetables. This often occurs in shadier conditions as well.
So itâs actually a characteristic that Iâll seek out.
Iâll do a follow-up video on the distinctive characteristics of pokeweed soon!
Q: âHow long do you boil the stems for?â
I boil my pokeweed stems for about 7 minutes. I personally donât do any changes of water after that (for the stems only, I do multiple changes with the leaves). I saw some people mention that they never pre-boil the stems, but just sautĂ© or fry them directly in the pan, and if that works for you, donât let me be the one to convince you otherwise!
I think the best metric for âwas that enough boilingâ is to go by the taste and texture. Properly cooked pokeweed should not be bitter, acrid, or woody.
Q: âIs there any nutrition left after boiling?â
Yes, and I have proof! There used to be a pokeweed product on the market before it was outcompeted by mass-market greens. The product was canned and had a nutrition label.
It contains significant amounts of several minerals, including calcium, manganese, copper, and iron (plus more). Plus vitamins as well, A, C, K, and B vitamins.
You can see the data yourself if you search for âpokeberry hootsâ on the USDA FoodData Central website.
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Comment "gather app" and I'll send you a link to my foraging app that will get you a free month trial to learn about all the amazing wild edible species you can find around you, tailored to your specific area!
Read me before eating this incredible vegetable!
I had to cut out a few pieces in order to make this under 3 minutes, so I want to share a few more things here for clarity.
Watching back the footage where Iâm testing the woodiness of the different parts of the stem, they both *look* relatively easy to cut through, but when youâre actually doing the slicing, youâll be able to tell the difference pretty distinctly.
In addition, youâll notice that the woody fibrous part will be quite tough. Even if you got all the way to cooking them, if you tried to eat them, your mouth would tell you that itâs not something you are going to enjoy eating.
The toxicity of pokeweed is usually extremely overstated. A lot of people will say itâs ânot worth the risk,â but there are many common foods that are mildly to moderately dangerous to eat without proper cooking/preparation, like potatoes, beans, and even chicken- weâre just more familiar and thus more comfortable with those. Like I mentioned, with the tender, peeled stems, in my experience, all they need is a single boil before being sautĂ©ed, but start with at least two changes of water if itâs your first time!
If there is any acrid sensation when eating poke, this usually means they need an additional change of water.
I have a long-form video which goes into much more detail than I had time for here and also debunks the myth that poke can âstill be toxic even if gathered and prepared properlyâ. Itâs on my YT channel if you want to check that out!
Let me know if you have any more questions about eating poke!
Have you eaten this plant before?
You can comment âgather app,â and Iâll send you a link to my foraging app, which can tell you if pokeweed grows in your area and more on when to gather it.
16/04/2026
Answering your questions about Sochan!
First, I just wanted to say how excited it makes me to see so much interest in this plant. Iâd easily put Sochan in my top five criminally underrated wild foods, so itâs nice to see it getting more recognition! (And I just posted a video about another member of that top five today)
Question #1: What zone are you in?
Iâm guessing people are asking this to gauge when they can find it.
Iâm in Zone 8a, but I have a far better way for you to determine its timing! I made a foraging app where you can enter your location, and it will show you seasonal windows for wild species like Sochan that are *tailored to your specific area,* no more guessing!
Comment âgather appâ and Iâll send you a link that will get you a whole free month-long trial!
Question #2: Where does it grow?
Iâve included a screenshot from my app of the range of this plant. It primarily grows in eastern NA, but also pops up in the Rockies, particularly around Colorado.
I donât know if this is a natural distribution or if it was human spread. âSochanâ is the English spelling of the Cherokee name of the plant. It has been and still is an important food plant to the American tribes who live where it grows, so I wouldnât be surprised at all if it were spread through trade.
Getting more specific than just its range, in my area, it really prefers creeksides and floodplains (as do many other food plants). Thatâs where I would try to find it first! Speaking ofâŠ
Question #3: How do I find it?
If you want to find it easily, you should employ what I call âflower scoutingâ as itâs super easy to find and identify when it is flowering. It flowers in late summer to early fall, and yes, my foraging app can tell you when this happens in your area! đ
Question #4: What is its nutritional content?
I wish I could tell you, but North American native wild food is pretty much non-existent in âmainstreamâ health, so at the time of writing, Iâm not aware of any nutritional analyses that have been done. (Maybe we can figure out how to do this ourselves?)
Thatâs all I have room for now. Let me know if you have more questions and Iâll try to answer in another post!
Why you should know this âimposterâ plant!
Have you ever heard about this one before?
Comment âgather appâ and Iâll send you my link that will get you a whole free month-long trial to try it out!