- Type
- Leafy Greens
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Season
- Spring
- Sowing
- From seed
Catchfly
Silene firma
Saponins · a common spring green of fields and field margins
Catchfly is a pink-family plant common in fields, along field margins and on roadside banks. The young shoots of spring are picked, blanched and dressed as a namul, and by summer white flowers in tiers up the stem make the plant easy to name. Its leaves are opposite and narrow, and the stem nodes stand out — the look of the whole group. Saponins have long been reported in the pink family, which is why blanching and rinsing is the basic preparation even for the young shoots. The Donguibogam lists it in the Herb section as wangbullyuhaeng and gives the Korean name as dyanggosae. It records a neutral nature, a taste both bitter and sweet, and no toxicity, and says the plant is found everywhere. The leaves resemble those of sungnam (woad), the entry notes, the flowers are red and white, the husk around the seed resembles that of sanjang (Chinese lantern plant), and the seeds are round and black. As for the name wangbullyuhaeng itself, which refers to the seed: in China it is applied to the seed of cowherb (Vaccaria), while in Korea it has been applied to catchfly, so the name and its source plant have never settled into a single line.
Year-Round Calendar
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Where It Grows
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Wild population
Common nationwide in fields, on field banks and on roadside slopes. Harvest April, May
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- Wild population Grows across a wide range from northeastern to central China.
- Wild population Found in fields and along roadsides from Honshu to Kyushu.
- Wild population Distributed in the southern part of the Russian Far East, including Primorsky Krai.
It is a wild plant of temperate East Asia, ranging across Korea, China, Japan and the Russian Far East. Because it is not a crop sown and harvested in fields but a namul — wild greens gathered in spring — there are no national production statistics, and its use as an edible wild green is most prominent in Korea.
- Optimum
- 15~25℃
- Range
- 5~30℃
- Hardiness
- Hardy
It is not particular about soil, growing anywhere sunny and well drained — open fields, the banks around cropland, roadside slopes. Seed germinates in autumn or early spring, the seedlings overwinter as small young plants, shoots rise in spring, and the plant flowers in summer. It tolerates poor, dry soil and drought well.
In Korea Nationwide
It grows nationwide wherever there are fields, field banks or roadsides, and the young shoots are picked in spring. In the south the shoots come up from late March; in the central regions and mountain areas, from mid-April.
How to grow
- Light
- A sunny spot. Coming up wild in fields and margins, it also tolerates part shade
- Soil and depth
- Undemanding. It comes up in thin soil so long as the drainage is good
- Spacing
- 15 to 20cm between plants. Broadcast the seed and thin afterwards
- Watering
- Water when the surface dries. Once established it carries itself on rainfall
- Feeding
- Too much feed only lengthens the stems and coarsens the shoots. A thin dressing of compost worked in before sowing is enough
- Harvest
- April and May. Cut the young shoots at the base before the flower stem rises. Once the stem stands and the nodes show, the fibre coarsens beyond what blanching can fix. The Donguibogam records gathering shoots and stems in the fifth lunar month
What makes the difference. Plunge picked shoots briefly into boiling water, rinse in cold, then use. Throw the blanching water away. Blanch a large batch, press out the water and freeze it in portions to last into summer
Why this one is harder. The seed drops readily and comes up all over the following year. Cutting the flower stems before the seed sets keeps it within bounds
Common problems
- Aphids You will see Colonies on shoot tips, leaves curling What to do Wash them off with a jet of water. Where the shoots are to be eaten, do not spray
- Slugs You will see Holes in young leaves overnight and a silver trail What to do Collect them by hand in the evening and clear fallen leaves from around the plants to remove the hiding places
This page describes how a crop is grown and used. It does not claim health effects for any food, nor is it intended to prevent or treat disease. Component and study notes are references only and do not mean the same result occurs in people. Consult a medical professional about health concerns.
Health Benefits
The old record — wangbullyuhaeng (王不留行). The Donguibogam lists it in the Herb section as wangbullyuhaeng and gives the Korean name as dyanggosae. It records a neutral nature, a taste both bitter and sweet, and no toxicity. The plant is found everywhere, the entry says; the leaves resemble those of sungnam (woad), the flowers are red and white, the husk around the seed resembles that of sanjang (Chinese lantern plant), and the seeds are round and black, about the size of millet grains. Shoots and stems are gathered in the fifth lunar month and dried in the sun, and root, stem, flower and seed are all used. Jeongeumhwa ("cut-gold flower") and geumjaneundae ("gold cup, silver stand") are given as other names. What an old medical text wrote differs from how it is judged today.
The name and its source plant. The name 王不留行 is applied in China to the seed of cowherb (Vaccaria), while in Korea it has been applied to catchfly. It is a case of one old name attached to more than one plant, so the name alone is not enough to treat them as the same thing. This concerns the history of a name.
Saponins of the pink family. Repeated analyses report the isolation of saponins from plants of the pink family. It squares with the long-standing practice of blanching. This is an analysis of composition.
Nutrition
- Saponins (reported across the pink family) — glycosides that foam when drawn into water
- Dietary fibre (the bite of the young shoot) — fibre that softens with blanching
- Chlorophyll and carotenoids (leaf pigments) — the pigment group that runs together in deep green leaves
Blanched and rinsed Saponins have long been reported across the pink family, and catchfly shoots are accordingly blanched and rinsed in cold water before being dressed. A brief plunge into boiling water and a cold rinse takes the harshness out and brightens the colour. Throw the blanching water away.
Saponins Saponins are glycosides that foam when drawn into water, and they have been reported repeatedly in the pink family. Some of it leaches into the water during blanching. This entry stays with the compositional record.
The texture of a young shoot Catchfly is tender only until the flower stem rises. Once the stem stands upright and the nodes begin to stand proud, the fibre coarsens and blanching will not soften it. A shoot two finger-widths tall, cut at the base, is about right.
A short season Like most spring greens, catchfly has a narrow picking window. Blanch a large batch at once, press out the water and freeze it in portions, and it lasts into summer. Use the frozen batch in soups and stir-fries, and freshly blanched shoots for a dressed namul.
Pairings
○ Doenjang and perilla oil — Blanched catchfly dressed with doenjang and perilla oil has its bitter finish held down. A little garlic and a hand-mixed toss spread the seasoning evenly. Squeeze the shoots only lightly, or they go dry and crumbly.
○ Doenjang soup — Adding the blanched batch to a doenjang soup carries the spring-green aroma into the broth. Long boiling kills the colour, so put it in at the end. It goes in straight from the freezer.
○ Stirred through rice — Blanched, chopped fine and stirred through freshly cooked rice with a soy dressing, it makes a namul rice bowl. A little sesame oil adds aroma. Stir through only as much as will be eaten at that meal.
△ Not eaten raw — Catchfly shoots are not eaten raw in a wrap. Saponins are reported across the pink family, so plunge them briefly into boiling water, rinse in cold and then use them. Throw the blanching water away. Slicing them raw into a salad is not advisable.
△ Spring picking — do not gather greater celandine with it — Greater celandine comes up in the same places as catchfly. Cut its stem and a deep yellow sap runs out; its leaves are pinnately lobed, and it is not a plant to eat. Catchfly has opposite, unlobed leaves and no yellow sap at a cut. Cut one stem and check the sap before picking, and if you are not certain, do not pick.
△ Where roadsides and field margins are involved — The places catchfly is commonest are precisely roadsides and field margins. Avoid the verges of roads with traffic, the edges of worked fields, and paths where dogs are walked. Before picking on a field margin, ask the owner whether herbicide has been used there.
Varieties
- Catchfly (Silene firma) (seed) — The common species. Upright stems with white flowers in summer tiers
- Lesser catchfly (seed) — Smaller in every part, flowers included. It comes up mixed in with the larger species
- Sweet william catchfly (seed) — A naturalised ornamental in the same genus, grown in borders. Named for the sticky band below each stem node
Source: Donguibogam, Herb section (Chobu), wangbullyuhaeng