Botany Collection - Indian Cucumber Root, Medeola virginia

Eat the Root, Not the Fruit

The berries depicted in this beautiful Azor Vieanneau illustration are inedible. But the slender white tuber you can see extending from the stem at the right is a treat – eaten raw, it has the flavour of cucumber and the texture of radish.

Look at the leaves. With most plants, the leaves grow opposite or alternate to each other along the stem. But the leaves of the Indian cucumber root are arranged in attractive whorls, with the larger ones closer to the ground. You can find this plant in rich woods throughout Nova Scotia. As good as it tastes, Indian cucumber-root should only be lightly harvested in areas where it is abundant.