Showing posts with label Okinawa Spinach. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Okinawa Spinach. Show all posts

Sunday, 15 July 2018

A few mid winter edibles that provide even when neglected.

 After a six week absence we returned home in mid-winter to see these four vegetables flourishing and providing. With no actual frosts, despite the sometimes near zero temperatures, and watered by only a few showers of rain these green vegetables in raised beds just continue to thrive. Despite the benign neglect this glut of greens could feed a large family and will provide smoothies and greens for stir-fries for months. No person need be without a green vegetables if they have a couple of square metres of land or a balcony that will hold a few pots.

Gold Passionfruit

Sunday, 21 May 2017

Eating our Fernmount Food Forest weeds.

Take Care: Please ensure you know your weeds before consuming them from your garden. Roadside weeds may have been sprayed or polluted.

 These are common edible weeds in the Fernmount Food Forest and the local area.

Ragweed aka Thickhead

 

Ragweed aka Gynura crepidioides aka

Thickhead



Ragweed, Gynura crepidioides
Some online articles conflate Okinawa Spinach (Gynura bicolour)) with Ragweed (Gynura crepidioides) and sometimes both plants are depicted, cut and bundled, in Asian vegetable markets.

Okinawa Spinach (Gynura bicolour)

Gynura crepidiodes, a common weed in the Bellingen valley

Thickhead

"Gynura crepidioides Benth. is a synonym of Crassocephalum crepidioides"

"Crassocephalum crepidioides, also called ebolo, thickhead, redflower ragleaf, or fireweed, is an erect annual slightly succulent herb growing up to 180 cm tall. Its use is widespread in many tropical and subtropical regions, but is especially prominent in tropical Africa. Its fleshy, mucilaginous leaves and stems are eaten as a vegetable, and many parts of the plant have medical uses. However, the safety of internal use needs further research due to the presence of plant toxins. [2]" Ref: Wikipedia