this post was submitted on 26 Oct 2024
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Hey, that's cool and all (big fan of non-conventional and wild foods) but lamb's ear is the wrong plant to be eating even in a zombie apocalypse - you're going to waste more energy chewing and trying to digest it than it will give you.
You might be more interested in ditch lilies, a common ornamental and invasive that produces starchy edible tubers, and it produces edible and tasty buds and flowers.
Yucca filamentosa is another common landscaping plant that produces edible buds and flowers, and the flowering stem can be cooked like squash. The roots have so much saponins that it can be used as a soap substitute.
Lamb's ear is useful as toilet paper, maybe as a menstrual pad (don't quote me but I heard it might have some antimicrobial activity maybe?), but it's not a useful food.
Realistically in a famine scenario, you should hopefully know how to harvest and make acorns edible because they're a staple food and oaks are so common lots of places. Also being able to identify and harvest nuts like black walnut would be useful. Much more practical, and something you can go ahead and get practice with now.
Username checks out - dandelion is also a PANC lol! Never tried it, thought. But it's on my list, I haven't crossed a dandelion for a while, I'll get some seeds when I have the chance.
That's an useful information you have. It does have a really high fiber content and is low in calories indeed. According to embrapa it have a decent amount of iron, potassium and calcium... as a fatty, may not be the worse idea (gonna have to ditch the batter fry, though. Dammit.)
I'll look up these others you said, if they are as tasty as they are pretty, then it's a deal!
No acorns around here, unfortunately. I'm in Brazil's capital. There are several fruit trees scattered around the town (including an whole avenue of mangoes and another of jackfruit), but fruits are seasonal and don't make proper meals.
I've made wine out of dandelions, and I have eaten the greens and used the roots both as a vegetable and roasted to make a tea. The greens are really bitter, but can be harvested early enough in their growth and with a technique of boiling and pitching the water that helps make them more palatable. Overall, dandelions are not the greatest food plant, even if they're common where I am.
I don't know enough about the flora in Brazil to be of much use there, but yeah - don't eat lamb's ear, that's gross lol.