Comment by sriacha
Comment by sriacha 2 days ago
There are so many interesting native plants that provide alternatives to our extremely rigid globalized food systems.
Also to note Ilex vomitoria is in the same genus as yerba mate, Ilex paraguariensis.
I enjoy checking all the native plants growing on my place. I discovered another yesterday that I would love to eradicate since it really takes over quickly.
It's in the geranium family Geraniaceae, and is one of the most ancient cultivated plants around. Its use was so common that it has spread from the Mediterranean area where it is native to most every other inhabited place. People ate it and fed it to their animals and it was used as a medicine so they had multiple reasons to carry some with them as they migrated across the landscape.
Redstem Stork's Bill [0]https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/47687-Erodium-cicutarium
Supposed to taste like a parsley. I ate some yesterday and agree that it is close to parsley with a slightly more sharp flavor if you just eat the leaves and stems. I tried some of the seed pods and that was a no-go. They would need to be cooked to be edible since they are hard and fibrous raw. I haven't tried the root yet.
It's unlikely that I will ever eat my way out of this invasive infestation but I will add some to the salad to see whether my wife notices.