[pheka]

Ive got these plants growing everywhere and would really like to know if any part is edible... My gut feeling is that it is a dandelion but the flowers are different to those picture on the internet


the yellow flowers?


the stem and roots


this one is a bit blurred but its fluffy seeds that you can blow off

thanks in advance , any help is much appreciated

 

[3rdman]

They do not look like Dandelion. The leave appear to be to thin and the flower itself is not full like a Dandelion. You might look into picking up a couple books by Samuel Thayer. "Nature's Gardern" and The Forager's Harvest". The link below will take you to both books.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=Nature's+Gardern

 

[lynxx]

Definitely not dandelion, which has a long, deep taproot.

I am not familiar with plants growing in South Africa, so no advice for you. Can you find someone local who is knowledgable?

 

[-06]

It may be a distant cousin but would positively ID before consuming. First thinking is to leave it alone.

 

[edibleplantguy]

Greetings iiamNkanyamba and others,

As you suspect, the plant in your photos is not indeed a dandelion, Taraxacum officinale, although it is in the same (huge) family, the sunflower family (Asteraceae). When you find a dandelion, all the leaf bases and all the flower stems ALL originate from the central point that marks the top of the underground taproot. Dandelions also exude milky sap wherever they are injured. The plant in your photo has many branches (dandelions never have branches because of the structure described above) and I believe is one of the flowers in the genus Senecio; in fact I believe it is Senecio jacobaea, tansy ragwort.

This particular Senecio is quite toxic for all mammals, including us bipeds. This is the 'arm' of the sunflower family that produces pyrrolizidine alkaloids. These compounds are acutely toxic to the liver in large doses-causing hepatic venous occlusive disease. In tiny doses over time they change one risk for liver cancer--and NOT in a good way. They are responsible for significant livestock losses in your nation.

But, as you seek dandelions, the further you get into spring, the more likely you are to see some dandelions. Finding them early helps because they are at their sweetest right after they appear, then become bitter depending upon their exposure to sunshine.

I hope this helps you on your quest--they make excellent salad greens and the flowers make great fritters when fried in pancake batter.

Thanks for reading.

edibleplantguy

 

[pheka]

Thank you!!!:thumb:

 

[edibleplantguy]

Greetings iiamNkanyamba,

The two best references I know of for you (so far) are:

Food from the Veld by Francis William Fox and Desmond Hallowes.

and Edible Wild Plants of Sub Saharan Africa, by Charles R .Peters, Eileen M. O'Brien and Robert B. Drummond.

My counsel is that you will profit from having a plant identification field guide or handbook to use in concert with them. Of the two, the Food from the Veld might be more approachable as a first book (if that describes where you are in your edible plant 'career').

Here is a link to a pdf file:
http://researchspace.csir.co.za/dspace/bitstream/10204/2337/1/Vehmeyer_1986.pdf
The Edible Wild Plants of South Africa (a rather grainy scanned version)

This downloadable file is from 1986. It has quite a bit of info, but is mostly charts but outlining nutrient contents. May not be the easiest to use, since you will have to go from the names to a more complete source with ID and the works.

There is a pdf file to download here:
http://www.ajol.info/index.php/wsa/article/viewfile/49110/35456

This pdf has good info about leafy vegetables, but again may be more useful with a plant ID book to accompany it.

I will get back to you if I find a better reference.

Thanks for reading,

edibleplantguy

 

[survivormama]

Molo Nkanyamba

If you check out my profile details, there is a skype link for me, or a blog reference. I am now living in CPT, but originate from the EC - Imondi. I have a fair bit of info on SA variants of edible plants.
Our local dandelion is the one with the bright yellow flower which grows flat on the ground. The roots make a good coffee substitute when roasted and ground - that's why I make sure I know where to find them.... hahaaha. No using trying to survive without my daily cup of personality!

 

[hanzy4200]

The real dandelions are very much edible. We ate them often growing up. They are edible anytime, but at thier best in the spring when they are most tender. Our favorite way was to pick young flower heads, dunk in a simple flour batter and deep fry them. The leaves can be mixed in a salad. As a previous poster already said, the roots can be roasted and steeped to make a coffe substitute. We may not have done it right, but the coffee drink idea never went well for us.

 

[Corsican]

I remeber as a kid eating dandellion and bacon salads... :thumb:

 

[Enigma_1]

Dandelion gets confused with Cats Ear too, which is also edible. We also have a native called 'Murnong', which has edible roots, and is very similar to Cats Ear.

Boil/blanch dandelion leaves like spinach, then drain and sprinkle with Olive oil and add salt, and a splash of balsamic vinegar, and you can also add fresh leaves to salads.