Ethnobotanical trail - edible plants

Name: Ethnobotanical trail - edible plants
Address: En face du gîte "Le Pas de l'Ane"Lieu-dit Arsine, Villar-d'Arêne, FRANCE
Location: Address

Cultural, Pedestrian sports, Course in Villar-d'Arêne

2.2 km

Wild herbs offer a well of possibilities for those who have the patience to get to know them. On the ethnobotanical trails you can learn about the properties of wild plants and how they were used by people in the valley on. The one in Pied du Col focalises on edible plants.
Sometimes you don’t have to go far to find what you need. A corner full of weeds can be as good as a pantry. Some plants we pull up are more nutritious and savoury than those we grow in our vegetable gardens. For instance, nettles and Good-King-Henry contain far more minerals than spinach.

In the old days, people picked because they had to. The poorest had the broadest repertoire. Today some great cooks particularly favour a little plant that was called “manure herb” when just a few... Read more
Sometimes you don’t have to go far to find what you need. A corner full of weeds can be as good as a pantry. Some plants we pull up are more nutritious and savoury than those we grow in our vegetable gardens. For instance, nettles and Good-King-Henry contain far more minerals than spinach.

In the old days, people picked because they had to. The poorest had the broadest repertoire. Today some great cooks particularly favour a little plant that was called “manure herb” when just a few years ago those who ate it were ashamed to admit it. Soup was the basis of the mountain farmers’ diet. Mostly it was made with potatoes and a few seasonal herbs. If it was too bland, a couple of leaves of the powerful “Maggi-herb”, which got its name from the stock cubes, would do the trick. In spring, baby leaves of various kinds awakened the taste buds.

The second ethnobotanical trail, in La Grave, focalises on medicinal plants.

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Departure

Villar-d'Arêne
Difference in height

55.6037 m
Plain text period

From 01/05 to 31/10 daily.
From May to October, depending on weather and snow conditions.
Spoken languages
Documentation
GPX / KML files allow you to export the trail of your hike to your GPS (or other navigation tool)