So many people have told me that the "bluebell" is edible, and yet, despite my growing collection of wild edible plants literature, I have found only one reference to it as a food source. Thus, much of my evidence for the plant's edibility is circumstantial.
"The leaves are awesome," said my friend Rachel Sowers, a gardener by trade, as we rode up the chairlift late season at Arapahoe Basin. "If you're camping in the backcountry you can add the leaves to a salad. They're super tasty," she said.
And Gregg's sister Wendy has a friend who supposedly "goes gaga for bluebells," but who has, on occasion, eaten enough of the small blue bell-shaped flowers to become sick.
Last summer I tentatively tasted a few flowers at Gregg's behest because he, too, had a memory of eating them, even though he was unable to recall when or how he came by the knowledge of their edibility.
I found the information I sought only in Gregory L. Tilford's Edible and Medicinal Plants of the West
In his entry, Tilford refers to the plant as "chiming bells" rather than "bluebells" in an effort to make a distinction between Mertensia species (the ones he says are edible) and "dozens of other unrelated plants, such as Campanula species" that are also commonly referred to as "bluebells." Even within the genus Mertensia there is a wide range of different species, including M. ciliata, M. paniculata, M. oblongifolia, M. longiflora, M. bella, and M. perplexa, to name a few. Tilford's edibility suggestions apply to all of the Mertensia species, however, of which he says the flowers and the leaves "are an excellent trail snack, but lend themselves best to a good stir-fry dish," before cautioning that they may contain "alkaloids and other constituents that can be toxic if consumed in large quantities."
Let's think about that for a minute. Even if I trust that Tilford's account of Mertensia does not contain "a statement of questionable accuracy," how do I know how much Mertensia constitutes a "large quantity," and why can I only find one reference to its edibility out of the ten or so wild edible plants identification guides that I own?
I found the lack of corroboration troubling, especially since I had already discovered a field of Mertensia bluebells and gathered about 70 small leaves in the hopes of cooking them up in a stir fry for dinner that night.
The next logical step was to conduct a search on the internet. I found a web page dedicated to Mertensia ciliata (a different Mertensia than mine) from plant-life.org, in which they state succinctly that the leaves and flowers are edible. Gregg also found a Wordpress blog by a woman in Alaska who enjoys bluebell and fireweed salad. I found similar claims on quite a few sites, but I did not find anything more detailed than Tilford's account.
Common sense dictates that in this scenario a person should play it safe and try just a few leaves or flowers, then wait 24 hours to see how he or she feels. But I had 70 leaves in my possession already (it's really only about 1/2 cup), and the last thing I wanted was for those wild treasures to wilt away in the refrigerator. So, in the end, I threw caution to the wind and fried all 70 leaves up with chicken and udon noodles for dinner despite my better judgment.
Bluebells are also called "oyster leaves" for the oyster-like taste they are purported to have. I definitely found them to be flavorful and distinct, although my experience with actual oysters is too limited to make the comparison. Gregg smiled wistfully upon tasting a raw leaf, stating that the taste reminded him of the Poconos and "the smell of the woods in the summer in the mountains."
The leaves are hearty, or as Tilford describes them, "somewhat succulent in texture." As such, they did not disappear into the stir fry but instead enhanced the flavor quite nicely. I'd like to use more next time, seeing as my portion of the 70 leaves produced no ill effects.
"This year is different," Gregg told me--or something to that effect--as we drove home from our most recent wild edible plant harvest. "Last year we tasted things in small quantities, like they were spices. This year we're getting enough to make actual dishes."
Yes it's true. I'm getting bolder with wild edible plants in my old age--bolder, or perhaps a little more reckless. Thus far, the rewards have been worth the risk. Still, the old adage, "Do as I say, not as I do" is good advice for the would-be forager, particularly those of you who are starting out in the sport.
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