Page 83 - The Forager’s Guide to Wild Foods

Largeflower Triteleia/Wild Hyacinth,

Triteleia grandiflora (ASPARAGACEAE)

Matt Lavin, CC-BY-SA-2.0

Thayne Tuason, CC-BY-SA-4.0

LARGEFLOWER TRITELEIA / WILD HYACINTH, al- edible raw, can be cooked as a potherb, and make an
so known as Largeflower Tripletlily and Largeflow- excellent green. Harvest while still green in early mid-
ered Brodiaea, is native to western North America summer. Corms are edible raw but are better boiled.
and can be found in Montana south to California, and They were traditionally harvested in early spring.
in Utah and Wyoming as well as British Columbia, Make sure to leave twice as much as you take, and
Canada. It prefers grasslands, open forests, valleys, take the opportunity to replant a few corms for next
and lower montane areas often among sagebrush or year. They are at their best when slow roasted. They
pine forests. It is a sparse, almost leafless, grass-like have a sweet, nutty flavor and can be used like pota-
perennial with bell-shaped ruffled flowers. It grows toes. They can also be boiled and dried for storage.
1 to 2 ½ ft. (0.3-0.75 m) tall from a bulb-like corm.
ROASTED LARGE FLOWER TRITELEIA: Collect ½
FLOWER: Six ruffled petal-like segments make this cup large flower triteleia corms and wash well. Chop
flower stand out. It blooms from April through July. Its into 1-inch (2.5 cm) pieces. Peel and chop 2 carrots,
funnel shaped flowers are on smooth, erect stems in 3 potatoes, 2 parsnips, and 1 large, sweet potato
umbel-like clusters of multiple flowers (usually 6-20 into 1-inch (2.5 cm) pieces. Toss in ½ cup olive oil, 1
at the top of the flower stem). The flowers are up to crushed garlic clove, 2 tbsp. vinegar, salt, and pepper.
1 ½ inches (3.5 cm) long. The flower is pale to deep Lay in a single layer on a baking sheet for the oven or
blue in color with a darker blue-purple mid-vein.
in a Dutch oven for the fire. Roast at 275°F (135°C) for
LEAF: Just 1 or 2 grass-like linear basal leaves that are 60-90 min., turning occasionally.
1 to 2 ½ ft. (0.3-0.75 m) long. Leaves are ⅛ to ¾ of an
POISONOUS LOOK-ALIKES: Mountain Death Cam-
inch (0.3-2 cm) wide.
as, Anticlea elegans (formerly Zigadenus elegans) and
EDIBLE PARTS: young seedpods, and bulb-like corm Meadow Death-Camas, Toxicoscordion venenosum,
HOW TO HARVEST AND EAT: Young seedpods are grow in similar areas but have white flowers.

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