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Date Posted: 06/04/2014
 
Blog Heading: Top Plants for March
 
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Top Plants for March from the Plants For A Future Database (if you missed them on Facebook)

Top Edible Trees

Top Edible Trees No 10 #EdibleTrees: Hazel:: Seed - raw or roasted and used in breads, cakes, biscuits, sweets etc. http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Corylus+avellana
An excellent nut for raw eating. They can also be liquidized and used as a plant milk. Rich in oil. The seed ripens in mid to late autumn and will probably need to be protected from squirrels[K]. When kept in a cool place, and not shelled, the seed should store for at least 12 months. A clear yellow edible oil is obtained from the seed. It is used in salad dressings, baking etc.

 

Top Edible Trees #9: Japanese Dogwood: http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Cornus+kousa+chinensis
Fruit - raw or cooked. Sweet and juicy, it is very nice in small quantities. Very seedy. The skin is rather tough and unpleasant, but the pulp is delicious with a custard-like texture. This fruit gained very high marks from a group of 7 people in a fruit-tasting visit to various gardens. The fruit is about 2cm in diameter. Young leaves - cooked.

 

Top Edible Trees #8 Sweet Orange. Fruit - raw. Sweet and delicious. http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Citrus+sinensis The juice is often extracted from the fruit and sold as a refreshing and healthy drink or used in jellies, ice cream etc. The rind of the fruit is often used as a flavouring in cakes etc or made into marmalade. Flowers - cooked as a vegetable or made into a tea.

 

Top Edible Trees #7:: Lemon: Fruit - raw or cooked. http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Citrus+limon A very acid taste. Mainly used as a drink and as a flavouring. It is also used in salad dressings etc where it acts as an antioxidant as well as imparting an acid flavour. The juice is used to help set jam. The fruit can be up to 15cm long and 7cm wide. The dried rind of the fruit is often used as a flavouring in cakes etc. The dried leaves are sometimes mixed with tea leaves for use as a flavouring. An essential oil from the rind is used as a food flavouring. The flowers are eaten in ice creams, fritters, jams etc.

 

Top Edible Shrubs

Top #EdibleShrubs No 9 Indian Barberry or Tree Turmeric: http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Berberis+aristata
Fruit - raw or cooked. A well-flavoured fruit, it has a sweet taste with a blend of acid, though there is a slight bitterness caused by the seeds. The fruit is much liked by children. It is dried and used like raisins in India. The fruit contains about 2.3% protein, 12% sugars, 2% ash, 0.6% tannin, 0.4% pectin. There is 4.6mg vitamin C per 100ml of juice.The fruit is about 7mm x 4mm - it can be up to 10mm long. Plants in the wild yield about 650g of fruit in 4 pickings. Flower buds - added to sauces.

The dried stem, root bark and wood are alterative, antiperiodic, deobstruent, diaphoretic, laxative, ophthalmic and tonic (bitter)

 

Top Edible Shrubs #8 Sea Orach. http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Atriplex+halimus
Leaves - raw or cooked. Some forms are eaten raw. The leaves have a very nice rather salty flavour, they go well in salads or can be cooked like spinach. When lightly steamed, the leaves retain their crispness and are a delicious spinach substitute. The leaves retain their salty flavour even when grow inland in non-salty soils. The leaves can be used at any time of the year though winter harvesting must be light because the plant is not growing much at this time. Seed - cooked. It can be ground into a meal and used as a thickener in soups, or mixed with cereals in making bread. The seed is small and fiddly. The plant is said to yield an edible manna.

 

Top Edible Shrubs #7: Grey Sage Brush: http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Atriplex+canescens
Leaves - cooked or raw. A very acceptable taste with a salty tang. The leaves can be used at any time of the year though winter harvesting must be light because the plant is not growing much at this time of year. Seed - cooked. Ground into a powder, mixed with cereals and used in making cakes etc or used as a piñole. It is small and very fiddly to utilise. The ground up seed can also be mixed with water and drunk as a refreshing beverage. The burnt green herb yields culinary ashes high in minerals and these are used by the Hopi Indians to enhance the colour of blue corn products. The ashes can be used like baking soda.

 

Top Edible Shrubs #6: Papaw: http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Asimina+triloba
Edible fruit - raw or cooked. A very good size, it can be up to 16cm long and 4cm wide. Of variable quality, some forms (with orange skins) are exquisite with the flavour of banana custard whilst others (with yellow, white or dark brown skins) can be unpleasant. Another report says that the white fruits are mildly flavoured and later ripening than the orange fruits. The fruit can also be used for making preserves, pies, ice cream and other sweet desserts.

 

 

Page of the Week

Page of the Week: Edible Water Garden Design #EdibleWaterGarden:
http://www.pfaf.org/user/cmspage.aspx?pageid=163

 

Page of the Week: The Edible Pond and Bog Garden:http://www.pfaf.org/user/cmspage.aspx?pageid=79

Edible Ornamental Plants http://www.pfaf.org/user/cmspage.aspx?pageid=78

Page of the Week:: The Edible Lawn: http://www.pfaf.org/user/cmspage.aspx?pageid=72

Page of the week:: Why Perennials? http://www.pfaf.org/user/cmspage.aspx?pageid=75

 
 
 
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