# Watercress?



## TnTnTn (Dec 23, 2004)

Found some watercress(at least I was always told this was watercress) in a little spring seep this morning. It doesn't look quite like some of the watercress images on the net. The yellowing in the photo is an area where there was more direct sunlight on the plant leaves. How does one utilize/eat or prepare this for eating? TTT


----------



## oth47 (Jan 11, 2008)

Pull it up,trim off the roots..steam or cook it like any other greens.It's especially good raw in a wilted salad with a little onion,crumbled bacon,hot bacon grease and a dab of vinegar.There was a lot of competition for this in the area where I used to live,had to be on your toes or someone would have it harvested.The proper name in Tn is watercreases....Now I'm slobbering like a mad dog,I haven't had this in years!!


----------



## Riverdale (Jan 20, 2008)

I always have eaten it raw, in a salad with dandelion leaves and other wild greens.

With goat cheese and bacon pieces


----------



## harrisjnet (Jul 13, 2006)

You can cook Cress like any green or use it in place of lettuce in any recipe.
But that looks more like wild Ginger.


----------



## rockhound (Sep 25, 2009)

Prepare for eating? You don't. Not until you're positive what it is and trust me (or google) it is not wild ginger. Pull out one stem to make sure the leaflets are in pairs along the stem with one on the end. If they're not, it can't be watercress. Another clue is watercress will have a lot of long white roots trailing thru the water. Please don't eat any wild plant until you're sure, positive in your own mind what it is.


----------



## TnTnTn (Dec 23, 2004)

Yeah it is definitely not ginger. It is a barely anchored lush green matt in clean slow moving spring water. The roots are white and dangle below the greenery. The whole mass is easily lifted out of the water. It is what I have always heard called watercress from my youth. And of course it is mid Feb(14 this am) and this is the only green actively growing plant that I notice at this time of year. I haven't tried any yet but will go down to the holler and get some tomorrow. TTT


----------



## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

Sure doesn't look like wild ginger and I've got a lot of that. Definitely looks like the watercress that I've known almost all of my life. Besides, wild ginger doesn't grow in water.

Martin


----------



## Meconella (Dec 21, 2008)

Looks like young watercress that has not yet reached full maturity.

While watercress is exceptionally healthy, be cautious eating raw cress that grows wild near livestock.




> Avoid plants growing in water that drains from fields where animals, particularly sheep, graze. Due to the risk of it being infested with the deadly liver fluke parasite. If unsure, cooking the leaves, will destroy any parasites and render the plant perfectly safe to eat.


http://www.altnature.com/gallery/Watercress.htm


----------



## TnTnTn (Dec 23, 2004)

I ate a few leaves raw and it tasted good. The wc is in a spring seep adjacent to my main branch with no domestic stock above it. However lots of wild animals are on the property. I guess nothing is risk free. There are many other smaller starts of wc in the same spring. Thanks for the responses. TTT


----------



## NickieL (Jun 15, 2007)

looks like watercress to me. Wild ginger had heart shaped leaves and does not grow IN water.


----------

