Edible or Useful Plants of San Diego
Monday, March 24, 2008
Primitive Skills Plants Discovered (Part 2)
yellow dock (Rumex crispus)
Edible leaves, stems, or seed can be eaten raw or cooked. They can also be dried for later use. The leaves can be added to salads, cooked as a potherb or added to soups. Only the very young leaves should be used, preferably before the stems have developed, and even these are likely to be bitter.. The leaves are very rich in vitamins and minerals, especially iron and the vitamins A and C.
It can contain quite high levels of oxalic acid, which is what gives the leaves of many members of this genus an acid-lemon flavour. Perfectly alright in small quantities, the leaves should not be eaten in large amounts since the oxalic acid can lock-up other nutrients in the food, especially calcium, thus causing mineral deficiencies. The oxalic acid content will be reduced if the plant is cooked. People with a tendency to rheumatism, arthritis, gout, kidney stones or hyperacidity should take especial caution if including this plant in their diet since it can aggravate their condition. (Ref: Plants For a Future)
prickly lettuce (Lactuca serriola)
Young tender leaves can be eaten raw or cooked. Stems can be cooked. Oil can be obtained from the seed.
The whole plant is rich in a milky sap that contains ‘lactucarium’. Lactucarium acts like a feeble opium, but without its tendency to cause digestive upsets, nor is it addictive. It is taken internally in the treatment of insomnia, anxiety, neuroses, hyperactivity in children, dry coughs, whooping cough, rheumatic pain etc. Concentrations of lactucarium are low in young plants and most concentrated when the plant comes into flower. (Ref: Plants for a Future)