Top ten plants

[alick]

Prompted by the Plantlore thread :

...A good tip or saying I find useful, and often pass on to students is that you only need to know the ten most common plants in Europe and the America's to get by - these generally are already known to you i.e Dandilion and Cattail to name but two ....

So as an open question to all, which are the ten plants that I should know that are both common and useful and what are the key uses of each ?

#1 - I'm lucky to have a big patch of cattails (aka reedmace I think, and NOT bullrushes) nearby, so I know the uses of the heads for insulation and firelighting, and the roots as food.

#2 - I've heard of roasted dandelion root as a coffee substitute (but how long do you roast it for) and eaten dandelion leaves in salad (rather bitter even if the leaves are new - the kids weren't impressed !)

#3 - nettles as used in the famous nettle soup recipe here on BCUK, and stems for cordage

That leaves seven more for the UK :?:

Thanks, Alick

 

[TheViking]

Hi...

Alick: if you read my post in the Plantlore-thread yesterday, you may know that eating Dandelion is not good for you! Dandelion is toxic in bigger amounts! I don't know anything about coffee making from plants, but I know that you must not eat Dandelion. Why RM is showing this plant as edible in his books, I don't know! :?:

 

[Stew]

you may know that eating Dandelion is not good for you! Dandelion is toxic in bigger amounts!

I'm curious on how you know this as it's contrary to everything I've heard before. What do you class as bigger amounts?

 

[TheViking]

Hi...

Bigger amount: I would say it depends on which plant it is, but in this case Dandelion: would say a handful as a bigger amount!?! But i wouldn't eat as much as a leaf, because of the principle (eating toxic plants) in it!

 

[Gary]

Anything is bad for you in high doses - normally because of acids ect found naturally in plants and even some animals - rabbit starvation for example - but if you have a top ten then in theory you eat a balanced (ish) diet.

Off the top of my head I'd say something like,

Cattail
Dandalion
Burdock
Nettle
Beech
Hazel
Sorrel
Hedge garlic
Rosebay willow herb
Brambles

Thats not taking into account the less common fruits and the harder to use/gather nuts.

All of the above can you utilised is several ways - many have edible parts both raw or cooked and can be used with each other (salads and soups) or for stuffing meats ect.

Anyway something for you to think about! :-D

As for dandalion I have eaten leaves aplenty, roosted roots and munched em even ate the flower once (just to see) - but the vikings worries do prove a good point - the forum, word of mouth and books are great and hold a wealth of information but we all make mistakes so never take anybodies word for it that a plant is edible or inedible as an example take a look at Essential Bushcraft page 192 Ramsons and lesser Celadine.

 

[Ed]

Why RM is showing this plant as edible in his books, I don't know!

.... because people have been eating it, turning it into wine and beer, and using it in herbal medicine for a couple of thousand years in this country.......

Can you post some more info and sources please....

Thanks


Ed

 

[TheViking]

Hi...

This quote is from a danish man who is very much in to the hole plant thing and has solid knowledge on nordic flora:

Mht. mælkebøtter... Jeg har *aldrig* nævnt mælkebøtterødder som spiselige. Tværtimod indeholder de forskellige forbindelser som slet ikke er sundt for den menneskelige organisme. Bare rolig. Du tager ikke skade af at have prøvesmagt rødderne; men du skal ikke spise dem!

Jeg ved godt at visse danske bøger beskriver mælkebøtte som spiselig, jeg ved også at nogle mennesker bruger bladene i salater o.l. Det ændrer dog ikke på at mælkebøtte faktisk er giftig i større mængder! (Det er bl.a. rygning jo også; derfor er der dog alligevel mennesker der ryger!)

And to translate to english: Dandelion... I have never mentioned dandelionroots as edible. On the contrary they contain different connections which is definately not healthy for the human organism. Don't worry. You will not take any harm, of having tasted the roots; but don't eat them!

I'm aware that some danish books type Dandelion as edible, i'm also aware that some people use the leafs in salats. This does not change, the fact that Dandelion is toxic in bigger amounts! (Smoking are too; but there is still people who smoke!)

The Swedish Army's Survival manual doesn't say anything about Dandelion, but a very related version called 'Maskros'.

Well this is the info that I have been given and i'm gonna' stick to that. :wave: :biggthump

 

[Stew]

Well I googled toxic dandelion and edible dandelion - couldn't see anything that suggests that it is poisonous (quite the opposite) but then I thought :twak: why am I looking on the internet and believing everything? So I looked on PubMed
Safety examination of some edible plants, Part 2. suggests it's not carcinogenic. search on poisonous dandelion I can't translate German but I can acquire a copy of the article if someone whats to have a look at it.
Dandelion on it's own gives 90 results

 

[Gary]

Ed as just pointed out above your entry even trade mark man gets it wrong - although not in this case.

The Viking - military manuals are good but can often be misleading - in Swedens case they have some exceptions such as a poisons elder as well as the normal elder - having said that I have the swedish army pocket guide (in swedish) and it clearly says Danadalion is edible.

But as I say never take a single sor=urce as gospel - cross check every time!

 

[den]

Viking
I have been making coffee with dandelions for years now.
I have drunk hundreds and hundreds of cups. It has not done me no harm.

Den

 

[Justin Time]

I've checked the UK source book: Poisonous plants and Fungi: An Illustrated Guide (2nd Edition) by Cooper, Johnson & Dauncey published in 2003 by The Stationery Office

Dandelions are not mentioned at all in the book and it is a very authoritative source. The book contains information on all plants in the UK that are known to be poisonous to humans and animals whether in small or large doses. For example the first plants mentioned are Onions and Wild Garlic! Apparently eating large amounts of onions over long periods can cause a variety of health problems.

Just a thought Andy, you're not mixing up dandelions with daffodils perchance? That would make sense if it was a translating mistake.

 

[Stew]

Apparently eating large amounts of onions over long periods can cause a variety of health problems.

Bad breath?

 

[TheViking]

Hi...

No, pretty sure: Dandelion. :-D I'll try to get my source over here at BCUK.... If it's possible! :-D :-D

By the way: can guests post??

 

[Tony]

By the way: can guests post??

Nope
:-D

 

[TheViking]

Just wrote to him. Hope he register.....

 

[den]

Prompted by the Plantlore thread :



#2 - I've heard of roasted dandelion root as a coffee substitute (but how long do you roast it for)

 

[den]

.Sorry I have not got the knack of quotes yet.

Alick

I roast the roots at about the same temperature I would cook a chicken. If I am using an oven I’d give them about 20 minutes .Then when they start to crinkle up and are darkening I remove the root from the oven and crush into a fine powder. Return the powdered root to the oven. The second roasting will only take a couple of minutes.
At this point you want to keep an eye on the root to make sure it doesn’t burn. It’s a bit like making toast. When it starts to brown it goes really quick. I aim for a darkish brown colour.
You use it like fresh coffee, but you need about four times the amount .I add lots of milk with sugar.
Some batches do taste better than others. A bad one tasting really bitter and a good one is hard to tell from real coffee.
Den :-D

 

[alick]

Good one - thanks Den. Cheers Gary for the list.

 

[Keith_Beef]

..snip..
#2 - I've heard of roasted dandelion root as a coffee substitute (but how long do you roast it for) and eaten dandelion leaves in salad (rather bitter even if the leaves are new - the kids weren't impressed !)

The trick to dandelion leaves, is to cover them so that they don't darken. As the plant produces chlorophyl, it also produces the other compounds that give a bitter taste.

In the wild, you might find dandelions that have been covered by molehills. In your garden, you can use a riddle to sift light earth over the plant, or grow in pots, and cover with a slate (or whatever you have to hand).

I'd add ash and hawthorn (may) to the list. Hawthorn leaves are supposed to be quite nutritious, and you migh be able to use the flowers like elder flowers. Ash keys can be steeped in hot water to make tea, or the tea can be sweetened and fermented to make "frenet".

Mountain ash (rowan) berries can be used to make sauce for game.


Keith.

 

[Douglas]

When's the best time to eat dandelion? Before the flowering when they're youngest, or is it best to wait for them to get a bit older?