Friday, July 20, 2012

What's on Your Plate?





Hmm ....


  1. I've been told over and over that milkweed is poisonous?

  2. It's not, clearly, because I ate it, and I'm fine :) ... and, this isn't the first time ... and most of the wild edibles books and cookbooks I own have recipes for milkweed.

    The confusion comes with the fact that dogbane is similar in appearance in the very early stages, and someone, sometime ago, mistook dogbane for milkweed, and milkweed has had a bad reputation ever since.

    Milkweed is not poisonous, but the lesson is to be absolutely sure of what you have before you put it in your mouth.

  3. Interesting - I had no idea milkweed is edible. There's some growing not too far from here in an area that isn't sprayed - perhaps I'll give it a try, since it's also right by the wild garlic that I forage.

  4. Okay. I'll have to check my sources...I just saw a documentary a month ago which explained the reasons Monarch butterflies are poisonous is from the milkweed they ingest as caterpillars. However, perhaps it's just poisonous to the birds who eat the butterflies? It's obviously not harmful to the caterpillars!