Grass

[Globetrotter.uk]

Not as in a joint or to snitch on someone.

Is the common green grass edible?

 

[chickenofthewoods]

Well, wheatgrass is sold as a wonder health food, so I don't see why not.

I do remember reading something about this in Vicomte de Mauduit's 'They Can't Ration These'. It also mentions canned grass (seriously!)

"It has all the vitamins

Plain grass is the richest source of all the vitamins contained in all fruits and vegetables according to evidence given to the American Chemical Society by three Kasa City Chemists.
They claim to have developed a powdered grass that can be canned and added to most foods in cooking.
They claim that 12lb of grass, dried, contains more vitamins then 340lb of fruits and vegetables, says the BUP. It contains all the vitamins except D.
The grass must be dried quicky in a high temperature to preserve the vitamins. When sun dried it loses its value."

(Extract from 'They Can't Ration These' circa 1941)

Do a search for the wonderfully barking Major JRB Branson*, B.A., LL.B :

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,764152,00.html?promoid=googlep

He apparently wrote a pamphlet called 'Grass for All' in 1939

*Major JRB Branson, B.A., LL.B (1872–1952)
James RB Branson was born in India on November 9th, 1872. He graduated at Trinity College, Cambridge, taking an Honours Degree in Classics; and later an Honorary Degree in Law. He was also a keen rower.

From records in Headley [Mr Laverty's notebooks], we note that his mother lived at Wishanger Lodge and died in 1923. James bought Headley Mill Farm 1915. We are told [by Sue Allden] that in 1920 he was just along the road at Lower House Farm, Lindford – but he still used Headley Mill Farm as the address on his pamphlets published in the 1940's.

Local memories of him [by Sue Allden]: He used to eat meat, but then said to Wakeford the butcher, 'No more steak from you', and became vegetarian. Used to cycle everywhere, even up to London.

He was a local Councillor, being successively chairman of both Headley and Whitehill Parish Councils, and was known as a local benefactor. He gave the ground and money for Lindford Working Men's Club, which opened in August 1927. He says in the introduction to 'Grass for All' that he left Headley for London in 1936. He died in 1952. Branson Road in Bordon is named after him. Richard Branson, the present-day entrepreneur, is his great nephew. (Which explains a lot).

So I think the answer is yes - should you really want to chow down on it. And according to the Vicomte, Major Branson even devised recipes for it.

Yummy....

 

[Toddy]

The only bits worth eating are the sweet juicy nodes and the seeds of some varieties, otherwise the silica grates your teeth down in short order, and unless pulverised we can't digest much of the leafy stuff. It's got minerals and some vitamins but that's sort of it really.
oh, and water, lots of water......have you seen how much 'effluent' one cow can produce

cheers,
Toddy

 

[forrestdweller]

depends if you are a human or a cow .grass might contain a lot of vitamins, yes, but as far as i know the human digestive system is not able to digest grass properly enough to get full benefit from the nutritions.

"disappointed by the monkeys, god created man. then he renounced to further experiments." mark twain

 

[chickenofthewoods]

That's the cellulose content. Human stomachs aren't designed to cope with the slow transit needed (same problem with sweetcorn kernels, they exit in much the same state as they went in).

Juicing would remove the cellulose pulp leaving the nutrients available to use. So I guess as with wheatgrass you 'could' make use of lush young grass shoots to get at the vitamins, minerals, amino acids, chlorophyll and enzymes. Seems like lots of work for potentially little gain though.

 

[xylaria]

The roots of grasses are stewable, and the seeds of grasses are edible if not infected with ergot. Most wild grasses will have some ergot or aspergillis infection but no grass seed is poisonious in its self, but it is highly likely that you will get poisoned by eating wild grass seed. Grass roots are eaten as the last ditch food source in third world during drought, from what I tasted of standard Brit lawn grasses, they are unpalletably squeeky and tough. Marsh grasses are supposed to have quite tasty roots.

 

[ilovemybed]

Yep.
Mooooooo!

 

[locum76]

you can juice it. ie the very trendy wheat grass juice.

 

[Wayland]

I have a dusty old memory rolling around in the back of my head from somewhere about the appendix being a redundant organ connected to eating grass and the like.

Probably completely wrong cos I don't even remember where I heard it but I'd be interested if anyone else knows anything about it.

 

[chickenofthewoods]

I'd been looking for info about Couch Grass tea & found this:

traditionally used in Europe and is approved by the Commission E as a diuretic and also to treat urinary tract problems including gravel, respiratory catarrh (mucous), respiratory inflammation, bronchitis, cough and laryngitis. The underground parts of the plant are especially recommended for preventing urinary gravel, infection and inflammation of the urinary tract. American Indians also used the tea as a diuretic to treat kidney gravel and urinary incontinence, and also as a worm expellant, a wash for swollen limbs and chewed the mildly sweet roots like licorice. In Africa, the plant is considered an antidote to arrow poisons. The variant name Quitch is thought to be derived from the Anglo-Saxon word cwice, which meant "quick." As a mild diuretic, it can be added to more powerful herbs to help treat urinary and kidney disorders. Some use it also to treat gout. The long roots have been made into flour for making breadstuffs during times of famine and roasted to make pioneer "coffee." Up to eight percent of the root is made up of a compound called triticin, a polysaccharide related to inulin - a complex carbohydrate or fructo-oligo-saccharide (FOS) that upon hydrolysis yields fructose. The root also contains approximately 10% mucilage. Based on clinical studies, intake of FOS and other sources of soluble fibre or mucilage significantly increase beneficial bifidobacteria within the gastrointestinal tract and eliminate bacterial pathogens. This ultimately stimulates the immune system and effectively suppresses abnormal cell growth.

Not bad for grass. I've decided to stop weeding my garden, there's too much useful stuff growing out there!

 

[chickenofthewoods]

Here you go Wayland, this explains it:

The vermiform appendix: background info
In humans, the vermiform appendix is a small, finger-sized structure, found at the end of our small caecum and located near the beginning of the large intestine. The adjective "vermiform" literally means "worm-like" and reflects the narrow, elongated shape of this intestinal appendage. The appendix is typically between two and eight inches long, but its length can vary from less than an inch (when present) to over a foot. The appendix is longest in childhood and gradually shrinks throughout adult life. The wall of the appendix is composed of all layers typical of the intestine, but it is thickened and contains a concentration of lymphoid tissue. Similar to the tonsils, the lymphatic tissue in the appendix is typically in a constant state of chronic inflammation, and it is generally difficult to tell the difference between pathological disease and the "normal" condition. The internal diameter of the appendix, when open, has been compared to the size of a matchstick. The small opening to the appendix eventually closes in most people by middle age. A vermiform appendix is not unique to humans. It is found in all the hominoid apes, including humans, chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, and gibbons, and it exists to varying degrees in several species of New World and Old World monkeys.
The caecum: a specialized herbivorous organ
Our appendix is a developmental derivative and evolutionary vestige of the end of the much larger herbivorous caecum found in our primate ancestors. The word "caecum" actually means "blind" in Latin, reflecting the fact that the bottom of the caecum is a blind pouch (a dead-end or cul-de-sac).
In most vertebrates, the caecum is a large, complex gastrointestinal organ, enriched in mucosal lymphatic tissue and specialized for digestion of plants. The caecum varies in size among species, but in general the size of the caecum is proportional to the amount of plant matter in a given organism's diet. It is largest in obligate herbivores, animals whose diets consist entirely of plant matter. In many herbivorous mammals the caecum is as large as the rest of the intestines, and it may even be coiled and longer than the length of the entire organism (as in the koala). In herbivorous mammals, the caecum is essential for digestion of cellulose, a common plant molecule. The caecum houses specialized, symbiotic bacteria that secrete cellulase, an enzyme that digests cellulose. Otherwise cellulose is impossible for mammals to digest.
The structure of the caecum is specialized to increase the efficiency of cellulose fermentation. As a "side branch" from the gut it is able to house a large, dense, and permanent colony of specialized bacteria. Being a dead-end sac at the beginning of the large intestine, it allows more time for digesting food to reside in the gut and ferment more completely, before passing through the large intestine where the resulting nutrients are absorbed. However, even though humans are herbivorous, the small human caecum does not house significant quantities of cellulase-excreting bacteria, and we cannot digest more than but a few grams of cellulose per day (Slavin, Brower, and Marlett 1980).

The pink highlighted bits are appendixes

(Borrowed with thanks from: http:/www.talkorigins.org/faqs/vestiges/appendix.html )

 

[Wayland]

Ha.....Nice to know the old memory box is useful for something these days...

 

[spamel]

I believe it also has something to do with books. I seem to remember that The Lord of the Rings has a large appendice!

 

[chickenofthewoods]

Sigh.