| Garden Beds |
Herb Tidbits Perilla (Perilla fruiticans) can be green, or purple, or both. As a flavoring herb in Asian cuisine it is called Shisho. However it is poisonous to cows that eat it in pastures. Dew that collects on Alchemilla leaves is said to be magical. It is sometimes called Dew Cup or Lady’s Mantle. It is also a medicinal, dye, and edible herb. The flowers are lime green. Sweetgrass (Hierochloe odorata) is woven into baskets that smell like fresh hay or vanilla. It is also used as incense in Native American ceremonies. It is sometimes called Holy Grass or Vanilla Grass. Vanilla grass (Anthoxanthum odorata), which doesn’t have any scent until it is dried, is attractive to dogs; so the dried grass is used for dog bedding, and for scenting linens. Job’s Tears (Coix lacryma-jobi) seeds are used to make necklaces and rosaries. They are ready to string when the seeds are shiny and gray on the plant. In other parts of the world, the ripe white seeds are made into flour or porridge, or used medicinally. Valerian (Valeriana officinalis) is attractive to cats like catnip, and also to rats. It is said to be the charm the Pied Piper of Hamelin used to lead the rats away. The medicinal uses and unpleasant smell of its dried root, give valerian the common names All-heal and Phew. Rampion is the vegetable Rapunzel was stealing for her father when she was caught by the witch. The root was boiled and eaten like turnips. Its Latin name is Campanula rapunculus. Her father liked the vegetable so much, he named her after the plant. Turtle Head (Chelone glabra) got its name because the flower looks like a turtle’s head. Dragonshead (Dracocephalum moldavica) blooms with blue dragon heads, complete with fangs. Soft Lambs Ear (Stachys byzantia) leaves have been used as bandages. Leaves of Rose Campion (Lychnis coronaria) have been used as oil lamp wicks. All parts of the Passion Fruit Vine (Passiflora incarnata)are edible. I t is the favorite food of the caterpillars of Gulf Fritillary buttefly.When camping in the woods, Horsetail, or Scouring Rush, can be used along with suds made from Soapwort roots to wash pots and pans. The rush has silica in the stems. Both grow conveniently near streams. The horsetail family of plants (Equisetum) was around with the dinosaurs. Horsetail is also medicinal and a yellow dye; soapwort (Saponaria officinalis) is used medicinally, and in salads, and in beer to make the faomy ‘head’. Soapwort is used by museums to wash delicate textiles. Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) looks a lot like dill but fennel tastes and smells like licorice. The seeds and the leaves of both plants are used in cooking. ` Houseleek (Sempervivum tectorum) was planted on roofs to protect against lightning and witchcraft, by order of Emperor Charlemagne. Roof Iris (Iris tectorum) was planted on thatched roofs in Japan to ward off evil spirits. What do you think tectorum means? Marsh Mallow (Althea officinalis ) was the original source of the candy. The roots contain natural sugars and a mucilage that is soothing. It is used in medicine and cosmetics. Seeds, flowers, and young leaves can be added to salad, leaves eaten as a vegetable, roots boiled and then fried. Angelica (Angelica atropurpurea) stems were boiled in sugar syrup to make candy. The flower stem is about 6’ tall. Just about all parts are edible and the roots were used medicinally. The Chocolate Vine (Akebia quinata) has vanilla-scented purple flowers and purple, sausage-shaped, edible fruit. Sorry, no chocolate. The Chocolate Cosmos (Cosmos atrosanguininesis) is supposed to have chocolate-scented flowers; at least they are chocolate colored. One need never starve where Cattails (Typha) grow. In fall and winter, the starchy rhizomes can be peeled and cooked like potatoes or dried and pounded into flour. The dormant sprouts that grow from them are tastiest steamed, a dish known as Russian asparagus. In spring and early summer, the young shoots can be eaten raw or cooked, and the immature flower spikes can be boiled and eaten like miniature ears of corn. Later on, the abundant pollen produced by the male flowers that make up the top half of the flowering spike can be used without grinding as a fine-textured flour. The leaves are not edible, but they have been woven into mats for drying berries, and serving food, for seats, bedding, blankets, insulation in walls, and for making roofs. They are also woven into capes, baskets, hats and bags. The white seed fluff has been used to stuff pillows, mattresses, and diapers; and campers have found them good emergency replacement for down in sleeping bags and jackets. Flax (Linum usitatissimum) is another very useful plant. The seeds are culinary & medicinal, used to stuff herbal pillows, and pressed to make an important oil. Linseed oil is used in paint, glue, and linoleum. Fiber from the rest of the plant makes linen cloth. The byproducts from making all these other things are used in cattle feed, paper, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. Peanut butter doesn’t grow on bushes, but if you smell the leaves of
the Peanut Butter Bush (Clerodendrum
trichotum) you might think it does. The fragrant flowers of this
shrub attract butterflies and hummingbirds. Rootbeer Plant (Piper auritum) has many names. The species name auritum derives from Latin auris "ear" and means "(long)-eared", referring to the leaves' shape. The Spanish name hoja santa "sacred leaf"; maybe hints at cultic use of this plant in Aztec rituals. The English name ″root beer plant″ comes from the scent of the leaves which is similar to sassafras, which is used to make root beer. In Mexican cooking the whole leaves are used to wrap food for baking, steaming or broiling, and chopped leaves are used as an herb in sauces such as mole verde. Weathervane Plant (Anagallis cerulea) predicts rain by closing its flowers whenever it is cloudy. The red-flowered variety is known as scarlet pimpernel. If you chew a flower of the Toothache Plant (Spilanthes oleracea 'Peek-a-boo') your mouth will become numb temporarily. The flowers also give it the name ‘Peek-a-boo’ because they look like little yellow eyeballs. Ostrich Fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) was named in honor of Carlo Matteucci (1800-1868), an Italian physicist. Struthiopteris comes from the Greek, strouqeios (stroutheios), "of an ostrich", and pteris (pteris), "fern" because the fronds resemble Ostrich feathers. It is also called Fiddlehead Fern for the shape of the young coiled fronds. Ostrich Fern is grown commercially for the decorative fronds and for food. Fiddleheads (young coiled sterile fronds) are considered a delicacy. Collected in early spring, they support a local canning industry in New England and adjacent Canada. It is the State Vegetable of Vermont. Underground rhizomes of Sweet Flag (Acorus calamus) were once used to make a gingery candy. The leaves have been used since ancient times as a sweet-smelling floor covering. The inner portion of young stems can be eaten raw and young leaves can be eaten cooked; mature leaves are insect repellant. The powdered root and oil from the root is a fixative for fragrances. It is also used in toothpaste, bath products, insect controls, and added to tobacco. Native Americans used it for medicine and ceremonies. Camassia Lily (Camassia quamash), the blue camas, is commonly called "black" camas because the bulbs turn black when pit-cooked. After pit-cooking, the "black" camas (now soft, dark, and sweet) is either dried, ground and mixed with flour, water and a bit of butter to make a "gravy," or boiled before being eaten. Some tribes preferred to store the bulbs in the rafters of their homes. This was considered a better tasting bulb from those stored underground all winter. The larger "black" camas bulbs were reserved for elderly people; if young people ate them, it was believed that they would later marry an old person. Bulbs are edible and best when steamed for 24 hours. Care should be taken in collecting the bulbs, for death-camas (Zigadenus) will often be found in the same location. All parts of the Lotus plant (Nelumbo) are edible raw or cooked. The underwater parts contain large quantities of starch. Dig the fleshy portions from the mud and bake or boil them. Boil the young leaves and eat them as a vegetable. The seeds have a pleasant flavor and are nutritious. Eat them raw, or parch and grind them into flour. Hardy Water Lilies (Nympheae) are found throughout much of the temperate and subtropical regions. The flowers, seeds, and rhizomes are edible raw or cooked. The rhizomes should be peeled before eating raw; or sliced thinly and allowed to dry, and then ground into flour. You can dry, parch, and grind the seeds into flour. The liquid resulting from boiling the thickened root in water is a medicine for diarrhea and a gargle for sore throats. Water Chestnut (Trapa natans), also called the Chinese water chestnut or the water caltrop, is a tuber vegetable that resembles a chestnut in color and shape. One plant in a pond makes a pretty rosette of floating triangular leaves; however this native of Asia is considered an invasive species in the US where dense mats of plants endanger the ecology. The spiked seeds which float to the shore can puncture shoe leather. In China and Japan, ground Kudzu (Pueraria montana var. lobata ) root (called kuzu) has been a common ingredient in foods and medications for centuries. Kudzu is respected and enjoyed there. It's far more versatile than say, turnips. But kudzu grows better in the South than it does in its native lands. Its natural insect enemies were not brought to the U.S. with it. Originally promoted as a fragrant ornamental vine, it was also planted as a nutritious forage crop for farm animals, and for erosion control. The rubbery vines are good for basket-weaving, and some artists make kudzu paper. The flowers and leaves are edible, and current research is testing for medical value. See at |