***PLEASE NOTE: This is the handout provided to attendees at the 2014 Organic Growers School Spring Conference class Woodland Growing: Wasabi and ‘Wild Mountain Vegetables’ with Joe Hollis of Mountain Gardens. While it was intended to be read in conjunction with the speaker’s presentation, we believe it can still be a great resource. Enjoy!***

SANSAI PLANTS

first priority:

ramps Allium tricoccum

solomon’s seal Polygonatum commutatum

indian cucumber root Medeola virginiana

ostrich fern Matteucia struthiopteris

Hosta Hosta spp.

mitsuba, honewort Cryptotaenia canadensis

bamboo Phyllostachys spp.

udo Aralia cordata

kinome Zanthoxylum piperitum

woods nettle Laportea canadensis

 

next ten:

Jap. knotweed Polygonum cuspidatum

Canada lovage Ligusticum canadense

tall bellflower Campanula americana

anise root Osmorrhiza longistlis

aralia / acanthopanax spp. shrubby ginsengs

crinkle root / toothwort Dentaria diphylla

Smilax greenbrier

Chinese wolfberry Lycium chinense

arrowhead Sagittaria latifolia

Oenanthe water celery

From www.shizuokagourmet.com. This website has a nice photo of each item.

 

Allium victorialis ainu negi

thistle azami

akebia chocolate vine (fruit)

Polygonatum odoratum amadokoro

Petasites giant butterbur fukinoto

Glehnia littoralis hamaboufuu

Senecio cannabifolius hangonsou

Lonicera caerulea hascup hasukappu

flying spider monkey tree fern hikagehego

Urtica thunbergiana irakusa

Polgonum Japanese knotweed itadori

Erythronium dogtooth violet katakuri

Hosta fortunei plantain lily kiboushi

Matteucia (?) ostrich fern kogomi (exists as green & red)

Acanthopanax sciadophylloides koshiabura

Lycium Chinese wolfberry kuko

Clerodendron harlequin glory bower peanut butter shrub kusagi

silver vine (fruit) matatabi

canadense mitsuba Japanese honewort

Anemone faccida nirinsou

Allium macrostemon nobiru

Synurus pungens oyamabokuchi

Clethra barbinervis ryoubu

Actinidia arguta sarunashi

Japanese parsley seri

Portlaca common purslane suberiyu

bamboo shoots takenoko

Taraxacum dandelion tanpopo

Aralia elata tara no me

Equisetum (arvense?0 horsetail tsukushi

Adenophora triphylla tsuroganeninjin

Arali cordata udo

” ” yamaudo (bundle of blanched shoots)

Hosta montana urui

Pteridium aquilinum warabi

Vitis crimson glory vine (fruit)

wild horseradish yamawasabi

Osmunda japonica zenmai

aiko

akamizu

aomizu

 

Sansai – ‘wild mountain vegetables’

“Sansai convey a strong sense of spring and are a great favorite of vegetarians, often featuring in the menus of shojin ryori (zen buddhist cuisine)… The following is a list of the commonest plants used:

lamb’s quarters Chenopodium album var centrorubrum

asatsuki chive Allium ledebourianum

ashitaba Angelica keiskei

Japanese butterbur, unopened buds Petasites japonicus

chive Allium victorialia var platyphyllum

Japanese knotweed Polygonum cuspidatum

water shield Brasenia schreberi

licorice Glycyrrhiza uralensis

dog’s tooth violet Erythronium japonicum

ostrich fern fiddleheads Matteucia struthiopteris

indian plantain Cacalia delphiniifolia, C. hastata ssp. orientalis

sasa bamboo Sasa kurilensis

red garlic Allium grayi

plantain lily Hosta sieboldiana

saltwort Salsola komarovii

water dropwort Oenanthe javanica

green brier Smilax riparia

angelica tree shoots Aralia elata

field horsetail, fertile shoots Equisetum arvense

acanthopanax Acanthopanax gracilistylus

nettle Elatostema umbellatum v. majus

bracken Pteridium aquilinum v. latiusculum

udo Aralia cordata

aster Aster yomena

wormwood Artemisia princeps

royal fern Osmunda japonica “

Richard Hosking A Dictionary of Japanese Food (Tuttle, 1995)

Another list of plants is in the Wikipedia article on sansai.

For more information and availability of seeds and bare root planting stock, please visit:
www.mountaingardensherbs.com

There are some plant videos on line: Mountain Gardens @ youtube

Joe Hollis
Mountain Gardens
joehollisherbs@gmail.com