What's in your garden?

[siskiyou]

There isn't a lot of thistle in the lowlands, unless you are next to a water source, but thistle is supposed to make good eating. Actually, even Bedstraw (Galium, that nasty sticky stuff that catches your clothes and depostits sticky seed pods on you) is supposed to be edible.


Pigweed is supposed to be edible too.

Pigweed is actually VERY toxic!

REDROOT PIGWEED

Amaranthus retroflexus

(pigweed family)

TOXICITY RATING: High. The plant is quite common and very toxic.

ANIMALS AFFECTED: Cattle and swine are the animals most likely to be affected; goats and sheep can also be poisoned.

DANGEROUS PARTS OF PLANT: Leaves, stems, roots.

CLASS OF SIGNS: Breathing problems, trembling, weakness, abortions, coma, death.

PLANT DESCRIPTION: Redroot pigweed (fig. 33) is a large (to 5 feet tall), coarse, annual with red stems and simple, egg-shaped, wavy-margined, alternate leaves. The green, inconspicuous flowers are borne in short, compact clusters along with green spines. Seeds are small, shiny, and black. Fields, barnyards, and waste areas are the favorite habitats of this weed.

SIGNS: Pigweed contains a nephrotoxin that causes kidney failure, and also contains soluble oxalates and is capable of accumulating nitrates. Therefore, toxicity can be due to any combination of these toxicoses.

http://www.vet.purdue.edu/toxic/plant33.htm