Native to many a northern coastline on the Pacific and Atlantic, this uniquely briny plant delivers the oceanic taste of oysters, anchovies and mushrooms in its fleshy blue-green leaves. A small bite of the leaf and you’ll think you’ve just slurped down a fresh oyster from the Puget Sound.  It’s quickly becoming a favorite with chefs and works well in many dishes to add a seafood flare without having to break out the shucking knife. With a similar leaf color to Sea Kale, you could make a fantastic oceanic perennial veggie garden with these! Maybe plant a thicket of Sea Berry behind it all and call it a plant life aquatic?

Finally, a vegan alternative to the briny bivalves for our vegan friend Colin! He says, “what’s a bivalve?”

Latin Name: Mertensia maritima
Site and Soil: Full to part sun and well-drained soil.
Hardiness: Hardy to -40° F.
Size at Maturity: 6″ in height by 2-3′ feet wide
Bloom Time: late spring
Pests & Diseases: Slugs love the leaves as much as we do. Strange as they taste so sea-salty and salt kills slugs. Plant in a container or mulch with something slugs don’t like.
USDA Zone: 3

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Gomchee Korean Mountain Vegetable arrived from Steven Barstow author of “Around the World in 80 Plants”. Read all about his story with this plant on his site-  Edimentals. Pretty much unheard of outside of Korea and Korean communities.

Ligularia fischeri also called Fiscer’s Ligularia or Gomchee as we are calling it is known as “king of the Mountain Vegetables” in Korean. Gomchee is a perennial temperate climate leafy green.

It is truly an obscure yet much-needed shape tolerant green. This plant will fill in and spread in the cool, moist, shaded habitat. Give it plenty of water (never let it dry out at all) and ample afternoon shade and it will take off! Be warned it is delicious so slugs and snails will devour it.

It is traditionally used as “wrap” leaf. We have tested this and it is incredible and clean tasting with a taste of chrysanthemum.  There is no sharp taste or after bite either. The smell is also mildly reminiscent of chrysanthemum. We think it is delicious! Eaten fresh as salad when young, used as wraps, cooked in soups, stir-fried or fried as tempura this is an all-purpose high-quality food plant destined for stardom!

Latin Name: Ligularia fischeri
Site and Soil: Gomchee should be planted in moist shaded areas, north side of trees, etc.
Hardiness: Zone 7. Dies back to the ground in the winter.
Size at Maturity: 3-4 ft. in height.
Pests & Diseases: Gomchee is susceptible to snails and slugs.

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