Dandelion (Taraxacum off.) leaves are smooth on the back. They are often
confused with chicory, shepherd's purse, and wild lettuce.

Chicory (Chicorium intybus) leaves are hairy, and much bitterer; few like it in salads.

Shepherd's purse (Bursa capsella-pastoris) leaves taste like cress.

Wild madder (Galium mollugo) tips are yummy in salads.

Cleavers (Galium aparine) sticks to your tongue; wait a while, until it has seeds on it, then we will tincture some.

Cronewort (Artemisia vulgaris) leaves and roots are still mild enough for salads.

Sheep sorrel (Rumex acetosella) leaves add a sour tang to salads

Baby burdock (Arctium lappa) leaves spring up from the overwintering root. Too bitter for me, and definitely not for salad, but they are served as a cooked green by some Italian-Americans.

Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) is big enough to harvest for soup.

DO NOT EAT marsh marigold (Caltha palustris). Just admire the beauty, soon gone, of another spring ephemeral.

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One of my favorite herbs -- oatstraw -- is a grass. Oatstraw (Avena sativa) is the dried leaves, or straw, of the plant that gives us the grain oats, found in most households as rolled oats. I use a full ounce (by weight) of dried oatstraw, with or without seeds, in a quart of boiling water, steeped at least four hours, to make a restorative tonic.

Oatstraw is considered an herb of longevity in India. American herbalists value it as a strengthener and nourisher to the nerves. Like oats themselves, oatstraw infusion is heart healthy and cholesterol-lowering. Many a menopausal woman has praised oatstraw's cooling, calming ways.