Sweet and Sharp: Five Flavours to Forage in Late May

There is a particular pleasure in foraging that has nothing to do with rarity or difficulty. It is the pleasure of the ordinary walk — the lane you take every day, the meadow edge behind the car park, the woodland path you know so well you stop seeing it. Late May is the week when that ordinary walk becomes extraordinary. The hedgerow is at maximum abundance, the flavour range is wider than at any other point in the year, and five of the most interesting plants on the calendar are all within arm’s reach of each other.

This week’s guide takes a flavour-led approach: sweet and sharp. The five plants here span the full spectrum from the anise sweetness of sweet cicely to the clean tartness of wood sorrel, with ribwort plantain, hawthorn leaves, and elderflower filling out the range in between. All are at peak right now. All are identifiable with confidence once you know what to look for. And all have genuine, PubMed-backed science behind them.

1. Sweet cicely (Myrrhis odorata) — the natural sweetener

Sweet cicely is the gentlest flavour on this list, and possibly the most surprising. The whole plant — leaves, stems, unripe seeds — tastes unmistakably of anise, but with a mild sweetness underneath that makes it unique among British wild plants. It was traditionally used to sweeten tart fruit, reducing the amount of sugar needed in pies and crumbles, and it genuinely works.

Identification: A large, ferny umbelliferous plant with delicate, deeply divided, feathery fronds — similar in appearance to cow parsley but softer, more delicate, and growing in shadier spots (hedge bases, stream banks, northern-facing slopes). The whole plant smells strongly of anise when crushed. Stems are hollow and slightly downy. Flowers are white umbels, currently at or past peak. Unripe seeds are long, ridged, bright green, and taste intensely of anise — this is the most useful part at this time of year.

Safety note: Sweet cicely grows in similar habitats to hemlock (Conium maculatum) and fool’s parsley (Aethusa cynapium). The anise scent is the clearest distinguishing feature — hemlock smells unpleasant and musty. Never harvest any umbelliferous plant without being completely certain of your identification.

The science: The dominant compound in sweet cicely is anethole — the same aromatic molecule responsible for the flavour of fennel, anise, and star anise. A 2025 comprehensive review in IBRO Neuroscience Reports (PMC11750503, Khodadadian et al.) documented anethole’s effects on the central nervous system: anxiolytic, antidepressant, anticonvulsant, and neuroprotective activity via modulation of GABAergic and glutamatergic neurotransmission, alongside antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. A separate 2024 systematic review (PMC11196516) found that dietary anethole protects against features of metabolic syndrome through antioxidant and anti-inflammatory mechanisms. This is the same compound you taste when you crush a sweet cicely frond.

How to use: Stir chopped fronds into fruit compotes and crumbles instead of sugar. Add unripe seeds to salad dressings for a clean anise note. Make a sweet cicely and gooseberry jam — the combination is classic for a reason. Leaves can be used fresh in salads, though the flavour is best cooked or macerated.

2. Wood sorrel (Oxalis acetosella) — forest floor sharpness

Wood sorrel is the easiest plant on this list to eat straight from the ground, raw, without any preparation — and the reaction it gets is always the same. People pick a leaf, chew it, and immediately look surprised. It is sharp, clean, almost lemony, and quite unlike anything else in the British flora. Children love it. Chefs love it. And it is hiding on almost every woodland floor in the country.

Identification: Trifoliate leaves — three heart-shaped leaflets joined at the centre — that closely resemble clover but are a brighter, more vivid green, and fold downward at night and in bright sunlight (a behaviour called nyctinasty, which is itself a useful ID feature). White flowers with fine violet veining, five petals, currently blooming. Grows on shaded woodland floors, mossy banks, and hedge bases. Cannot be confused with anything harmful at this growth stage — the combination of trifoliate leaves and white veined flowers is distinctive.

The sharpness explained: The tart taste comes from oxalic acid, which forms oxalate salts in the plant tissue. This is the same compound found in common sorrel (Rumex acetosa), though at higher concentrations in wood sorrel. Oxalic acid is an antioxidant at the concentrations found in food plants, and gives wood sorrel its characteristic flavour. It is safe to eat in normal culinary quantities, but those with kidney stones, gout, or rheumatoid arthritis should use it sparingly. We have written in more detail about wood sorrel’s nutritional profile previously — worth reading alongside this guide.

How to use: Raw in salads — it needs nothing. As a garnish for fish, pan-fried scallops, or anything that benefits from a sharp citrus note. Blitzed into a simple sorrel sauce (wood sorrel leaves, olive oil, a little salt) to serve with salmon or mackerel. In a cold soup alongside cucumber and yoghurt. The flowers are edible and beautiful scattered over a plate.

3. Ribwort plantain (Plantago lanceolata) — the overlooked verge staple

Ribwort plantain is everywhere — every road verge, every lawn edge, every meadow path. Most people walk past it a hundred times a year without a second glance. That is a significant nutritional oversight. The leaves are mild, slightly bitter, with a faint mushroomy quality when cooked, and they contain a bioactive compound profile that has been attracting serious research attention.

Identification: Long, narrow, lance-shaped leaves (hence lanceolata) with prominent parallel ribs running the length of the leaf — these ribs are the most diagnostic feature. The leaf base tapers to a short stalk. The flower spike is a tall, upright, slender poker with a ring of small white-yellow stamens — currently beginning to appear on longer stems above the leaves. Not to be confused with greater plantain (Plantago major), which has oval, broader leaves with more widely spaced veins — both are edible.

The science: Ribwort plantain contains three major plant secondary metabolites: aucubin, acteoside (also called verbascoside), and catalpol. A 2025 study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (PMC12100708, Sivanandarajah et al.) found that aucubin has significant antimicrobial properties, while acteoside promotes beneficial fermentation profiles and reduces ammonia production in gut models. Separate research has documented anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and wound-healing effects for the whole plant extract. Aucubin in particular has been studied for hepatoprotective and neuroprotective activity. This is not a flavour-forward plant — but as a mild, nutritious green that is available 12 months of the year and has a genuinely interesting bioactive profile, it deserves far more attention than it gets.

How to use: Young leaves raw in salads — mild enough to use as a base green alongside more pungent plants. Blanched briefly and added to soups or stews. Dried and used as a herbal tea with a slightly earthy, faintly bitter flavour. The leaves can also be used as a wrap for small parcels of rice or grain salad — they hold their shape well when briefly warmed.

4. Hawthorn leaves (Crataegus monogyna) — bread and cheese from the hedge

The traditional name for hawthorn’s young leaves is “bread and cheese” — a description that feels odd until you eat a handful and understand it perfectly. The texture is dense and slightly chewy; the flavour mild, nutty, faintly earthy, with none of the bitterness of many hedgerow greens. They are one of the most palatable raw wild greens in the British flora, and they are just past their absolute peak now in late May but still very much worth harvesting.

Identification: The deeply lobed, glossy green leaves on thorny stems are unmistakable once you know hawthorn. The five-petalled white blossom (may blossom) will be fading or finished by now in most areas, but the small round developing berries — bright green, hard — are just beginning to form. Pick the young leaves from the tips of new growth, which will still be more tender than older growth lower on the branch. Avoid leaves from trees near busy roads.

The bioactives: Hawthorn leaves contain oligomeric proanthocyanidins (OPCs) — the same compound class studied extensively for cardiovascular support and addressed in detail in the elderflower and nervous system post and, particularly, in the hawthorn nervine piece. The flavonoid vitexin is also present in the leaves, and has documented antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. Hawthorn is one of the most extensively studied cardiovascular herbs in European phytomedicine.

How to use: Eat raw on a walk — this is genuinely the best way to experience the “bread and cheese” quality. Add to salads as a base green. Stir into an omelette. Use as a wrap or layer in a grain bowl. The leaves become slightly more bitter as the season progresses, so the window for the mildest flavour is roughly April into early June.

5. Elderflower (Sambucus nigra) — the season’s final days

Elderflower season is ending. In most parts of southern England the flat-topped creamy flower heads will be at or just past their peak by late May, and in the next week or two the edges will begin to brown and the berries will start to form. This is the last real window — and it is worth using it.

Identification: The large, flat-topped corymbs of tiny creamy-white flowers on elder are unmistakable — there is nothing quite like them in the British flora at this season. The scent is sweet, slightly floral, with a faint cat-pee undertone that actually indicates peak ripeness (this is from the linalool content). Harvest flower heads that are fully open and fragrant but before the edges start browning. The stems, leaves, and unripe berries are mildly toxic — only the flowers and ripe berries are edible.

The science: We covered elderflower’s nervine properties in depth — including its tiliroside and quercetin content, its anti-inflammatory activity, and its traditional use as a calming, diaphoretic herb — in the elderflower and nervous system post. It shares flavonoid chemistry with the lime blossom we covered yesterday, and the two together make one of the finest floral teas in the British foraging calendar.

How to use this week: Make cordial now if you haven’t yet — the window closes fast. Infuse into honey. Use fresh heads in a tempura batter as fritters. Float individual florets over a cold soup. Add to the gooseberry crumble alongside the sweet cicely, which reduces the sugar need and adds a complementary anise note — one of the classic late May combinations.

A flavour map of the late May hedgerow

What makes this week unusual is the range. Most foraging windows are flavourally narrow — October is bitter and earthy, February is peppery and green. Late May is the exception: you can go from clean anise sweetness (sweet cicely) to bright lemon-sharp (wood sorrel) to mild nutty green (hawthorn) to the delicate floral of elderflower, all in a single half-hour walk. That range is what makes this the most useful week of the year for the wild kitchen.

The five plants here will work together or separately. A salad of hawthorn leaves, wood sorrel, and ribwort plantain with an elderflower vinegar dressing and sweet cicely fronds as a herb is a genuinely complete wild green plate — no garden needed. Scatter elderflower florets over it and you have something that earns its place at a dinner table.

References

• PMC11750503 — Khodadadian R et al. A comprehensive review of the neurological effects of anethole. IBRO Neuroscience Reports. 2025.
• PMC11196516 — Dietary anethole: a systematic review of its protective effects against metabolic syndrome. 2024.
• PMC12100708 — Sivanandarajah K et al. Effects of Plantago lanceolata metabolites aucubin, acteoside, and catalpol. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 2025.

Medical disclaimer

This content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Wild plants can be dangerous if misidentified. Never consume any wild plant unless you are completely confident in your identification. Wood sorrel contains oxalic acid and should be avoided in large quantities by those with kidney stones, gout, or rheumatoid arthritis. Sweet cicely (Myrrhis odorata) must be distinguished from hemlock (Conium maculatum) and other toxic umbellifers — never harvest without confident identification. Always consult your GP before using wild plants medicinally, particularly if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or taking medication.