Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Wild Food guide to Pineappleweed along with all the Pineappleweed containing recipes presented on this site, with 15 recipes in total.

This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the Cornish recipes added to this site.

These recipes, all contain Pineappleweed as a major wild food ingredient.

Pineapple weed is a new foraging species to me --- or at least its edibility is a new finding. Growing up on a farm it was a plant I saw every day, even into the depth of winter. Most commonly it grew on disturbed ground and around entranceways.

Matricaria discoidea, commonly known as pineappleweed, wild chamomile, and disc mayweed is an annual plant native to North America and Northeast Asia but which has become a cosmopolitan weed. It is in the family Asteraceae.

Despite its ubiquity in the UK, it's a fairly recently introduced species, being first recorded in England in 1871. During the 20th century it then spread extremely rapidly. Today it can be found in pretty much all lowland areas of Britain.

The plant is named partly after the flower head that resembles a pineapple, but more after the very distinct pineapple scent that emerges on crushing any part of the plant. The generic part of its scientific name Matricaria, comes from the old Latin root word – ‘matrix’, meaning womb. The old Latin word for mother is ‘matrice’. The second part of the scientific name gives us clues to its appearance; translating as ‘rayless disc flowers’. The plant was valued for its supposed ability to help regulating the menstrual cycle.

It is closely related to German chamomile (Matricaria recutita) but pineappleweed is a more erect plant.

Botanical Description: Matricaria discoidea is an annual herb that grows up to 30cm in height and like its cousin, chamomile, it's trampling resistant.

Leaves: Bright yellowish green, 2 – 3- pinnate. Up to 5 cm long, and looking much like the other notable species in the genus, German chamomile (Matricaria recutita). The thread-like, fleshy leaflet lobes are almost cylindrical, and grow to around 1 mm x 10 mm. The plant produces a crowded bushy habit.

Petioles: This plant tends to be sessile, or with a very short petiole.

Roots: Tap root and a fibrous root system.

Stems: Hairless, almost round, and pretty small, reaching about 20 – 30 cm in flower.

The stems can grow erect, or where under pressure from grazing or footfall, become more prostrate.

Flowers: Their flowers are distinctive for a daisy plant, because they have no ray florets; just hundreds of tiny yellow disc florets on a cone-shaped, composite head. Each flowerhead is approximately 10 – 15 mm.

Flowering season: Find this plant in flower from late April through into September (but it is not unusual to see individuals flowering through into December).

Fruits: Tiny dry, brown-coloured achenes.

Habitats: Pineappleweed’s success in establishing here was due to its small seeds being wind and railway assisted. By utilising high velocity gusts of wind along the freshly built railway lines, plants had found a new helpful seed dispersal method.

Pineappleweed especially likes field entrances, rough trackways, waste-ground and roadsides, as well as the numerous nooks and cracks in the urban environment. This annual plant is now found in all areas of Britain up to around 840 metres above sea level.

Pineappleweed is a tasty and aromatic addition to our wild culinary larder. The flowers make a pleasant tea, and you can use the chopped leaves sparingly in salads. The flowers can be infused into vinaigrettes for a fruity dressing.

More adventurously, the flowers make a great ingredient in desserts and cocktails. Try infusing sugar syrups, custards, and creams with the flowers.

If you’d like to eat your pineapple weed, toss the fresh flowers into a green salad and watch the faces of your guests when they bite into an unexpected burst of pineapple flavour. Or mix fresh flowers into chicken salad for a sweet, fruity taste. And why not sprinkle them on top of cold sesame noodles or potato salad?

You can also use pineapple weed to make wonderful desserts. Infuse them in cream to make panna cotta, custard, or ice cream. Pineapple weed tea can easily be used as a base for sorbet or granita.

This plant won’t make a meal, but it adds an interesting, unexpected accent to any number of dishes.

It is excellent infused into heavy cream or coconut cream and whipped into a topping,

References:

[1]. David Evans Notes from field observations, tastings and cookery experiments.
[2]. Huxley, A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992
[3]. Tanaka, T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World.
[4]. Lim T.K. Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants, Vols 1–8.
[5]. Thomas, G. S. Perennial Garden Plants
[6]. Milner, E. Trees of Britain and Ireland
[7]. Rose, F. & O'Reilly, C. The Wild Flower Key (Revised Edition) – How to identify wild plants, trees and shrubs in Britain and Ireland
[8]. Streeter, D. & Garrard, I. The Wild Flowers of the British Isles
[9]. Clapham, A.R.; Tutin, T.G. & Moore, D.M. Flora of the British Isles
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[11]. Jordan, P. & Wheeler, S. The Complete Book of Mushrooms: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Edible Mushrooms
[12]. Bunker, F.; Brodie, J.A.; Maggs, C.A. & Bunker, A. Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland.
[13]. Facciola, S. Cornucopia — A Source Book of Edible Plants