Lamb's lettuce
Lamb's lettuce is the wild version of the mâche that you can buy at the store. It goes dormant for winter and is ready for picking at a time with there's not much else available.
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Where to Find It
Lamb's lettuce can be found all over Denmark, but it's less common in western Jutland. It thrives in open landscapes in dry, sandy soil near gravel pits, along roads, and on dry slopes. You're most likely to run across it in salt marshes and on the beach near decomposing seaweed, where it can get plenty of nutrients.
Salt marshes, beaches.
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When to Find It
The leaves of lamb's lettuce are dormant through the winter and are tastiest in early spring and until April. You can pick the flowers from May until June.
Leaves: March, April. -
How to Spot It
Lamb's lettuce has long leaves shaped like spackling knives or tongues, with a rib running down the middle. The plant can reach up to 20 cm and grows in a rosette that looks like a bouquet gathered at its root. The flower stem grows out of the rosette of leaves and splits into branches. Its delicate blue flowers grow in clusters at the top of the stem.
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How to Pick It
Choose the large leaves in the rosette from dormant plants and spread your picking across several plants. Use scissors to clip the flowers so you don't accidentally uproot the whole plant.
Flowers: May, June.
Risk of misidentifying the plant
There is no risk of mistaking the plant for another dangerous or undesirable plant.
