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10 BEAUTIFUL WILD DESERT & BEACH EATS

by Peter Roome. Chatham Beach Plums.
Image: by Peter Roome. Chatham Beach Plums.

Beaches and deserts yield beautiful fruits, nuts, vegetables and elixirs. We’ve curated a collection of some old and new wild beach and desert favorite edibles. Check them out below.

Gorgeous edible beach plum and blossom near ocean.
Image: by Peter Roome. “Stage Harbor Beach Plum.”

Beach plums (Prunus maritima) grow on deciduous shrubs on beaches along the east coast of the US, from Maine south to Maryland. Springtime blossoms yield delicious tart fragrant fruit in August and early September. A forager’s manna, they are one of summer’s most beautiful last hurrahs.

Natali Vineyards in Goshen, New Jersey produces a wine from beach plums. Jalma Farms makes a gorgeous beach plum jam. And check out this beach plum gin!

 

 

 

Edible Prickly Pear Cactus and clear skies.
Image: by Alan Levine. “All Arizona All the Time.” Prickly Pear.

Prickly Pear Cactus yields fruit that is about 85% water, with a high sugar and fiber content.

 

 

 

Edible and beautiful Saguaro cactus flower buds in desert.
Image: by William Herron. “Saguaro Flower Buds Fruit.” Saguaro cactus.

Saguaro Cactus can grow to be 45 feet tall and live to be 200+ years old in the deserts of southwestern US and Mexico. They produce edible white flowers in springtime and bear edible large pink and red fruit through June.

 

 

 

Unique edible chia plant in desert.
Image: by Johnida Dockens. “Chia.” Chia Sage. Salvia Columbariae.

Chia Sage seeds are packed full of nutrition. The plant’s leaves and flower can be eaten raw or added to soups and stews.

 

 

 

Edible agave plants in desert.
Image: by sergio niebla. “Agave azul tequilana weber.”

Agave plants are entirely edible, including leaves, flowers, stalks, and seeds. But we love them most for the tequila factor!

 

 

 

Delicious pinyon pine cone with seeds.
Image: by Bandelier National Monument. “Pinyon Pine Cone with Seeds.”

If you love pesto, you have the pinyon pine to thank for its pignoli nuts. Varieties of pinyon are found growing in arid areas of Europe, Asia, North and South Americas.

Edible pinyon pine cones growing on tree.
Image: by James St. John. “Pinus edulis (pinyon pine) (Cold Shivers Point, Columbus Canyon, Colorado National Monument, Colorado, USA)”

Each pinyon cone produces 10 to 30 seeds. An average harvester can collect about 22 pounds (10.0 kg) of unshelled pinyon seeds per day. They were a vital source of food for Native Americans in the southwest. 

 

 

 

Edible and vibrant Mesquite tree seeds.
Image: by Ken Bosma. “Mesquite Tree Seed Pods.”

We know mesquite best for its aromatic wood, which, when burned, gives extra delicious flavor to grilled foods.

Mesquite trees also produce pods that can be dried and ground into a flour. Native Americans in the western deserts, where mesquite grows, use the flour for baking breads and cakes. 

 

 

 

Edible cholla flowers from cholla cactus in desert.
Image: by Alan Levine. “Cholla.” Cholla Blossoms.

Cholla cactus buds, flowers and fruits are edible and nutritious. The buds taste like asparagus, when lightly steamed or roasted. The sweet fruits taste similar to prickly pear.

 

 

 

Edible yucca plant growing fruit.
Image: by Joel. “Yucca plant in bloom.”

Yucca plants are entirely edible. Their leaves and roots can be cooked and eaten as a starchy vegetable. Their summertime fruits are wonderful both grilled and eaten raw.

 

 

 

Delicious coconut on beach.
Image: by Bernard Spragg. NZ. “Coconuts day at the beach.”

Coconuts are beautiful beach fruits, growing on coconut palms along tropical coasts. When they ripen and drop onto the sand, ocean tides swish them into a journey where they float for as many as 110 days, or 3000 miles, to germinate as far and widely as they can.

 

 

 

Beautiful coconut palm trees on beach.
Image: by Tomas Sobek. “Coconut palms on the beach.”

Read more about Desert & Beach Beauties all this week on BeautifulNow. And check out more beautiful things happening now in BN Wellness, Impact, Nature/Science, Food, Arts/Design, and Travel, Daily Fix posts.

Edible agave plant in desert.
Image: by Ken Bosma. “Agave and dog.”

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Edible Fiddle Neck, Chia Sage, and Mallow plants.
Image: by Dagmar Collins. “Fiddle Neck, Chia Sage, and Mallow.”
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