Bruce Ingram
Dryland cress as part of this tomato and vegetable soup entrée.
Not many of the Blue Ridge’s wild edibles can boast as many nicknames as dryland cress (Barbarea verna). Other appellations include land cress, highland creasy, creasy greens, and creasy salad, just to list a few. Whatever you choose to call this wild vegetable, there’s no doubt that it’s one of the most common plants in these mountains, often appearing in fields, woods and pasture edges, and along fencerows.
Land cress looks much like watercress with its small square leaves and also has a similar peppery or mustard-like taste, which makes sense because the plant is a member of the mustard family. I prefer to pick the leaves, which are high in vitamins, iron, and calcium, before the yellow flowers with four petals appear and cause those leaves to have a slightly bitter taste.
Bruce Ingram.
Gather dryland cress leaves when they are young and before the yellow flowers appear.
Sharon Angell, a retired Franklin County, Virginia farmer, explains how to prepare this edible.
“Folks around here cook creasy just like they do kale, spinach, turnip, or mustard greens,” she says. “They boil it with pork fatback and salt, then add some vinegar when they set down to eat. I like to cook mine with olive oil because it’s healthier and you get more of that peppery taste.”
Dryland cress is a traditional spring tonic in our region. This spring, try this edible yourself if you’re feeling poorly.
Bruce and Elaine Ingram will profile a different wild edible every month. For more information on their book Living the Locavore Lifestyle, contact them at bruceingramoutdoors@gmail.com