To Eat or To Not??

   While out and about the place, I often come across plants that seem highly attractive.  Whether it is a pretty shaped leaf, a sweet bloom or simply a twirly vine, I always have to stop and admire the beauty.  A lot of the thoughts are simply about how to include the plant into the sort of wild and woolly landscape (or lack thereof) that I tend but there are also times that the thinking takes a turn to "I wonder if this is edible?"  With that notion in mind, a photograph is taken and I return to research the plant.  I don't have the nerve to just chow down on some unknown leaf! Or, even if I know the plant, I still want to see about the edibility of it before taking a bite.  So, I research.  I have found that most universities around the country have a wealth of information that is free for viewing.  It is my idea that if a learning institution has already done the studying for me, I should take full advantage of their vast knowledge.

  Today's "Can I eat it?" plant is Carolina Geranium.  I knew that.  I also knew that it was call Cranesbill (sometimes called cranesbeak) due to its bright red seed pod that resembles a crane's bill.  I pushed through to the edibility part of the article.  Yep!  It is edible and all parts are used in some herbal medicines (both topically and internally).  Aha!  So, this lovely leaf is edible!  Should I cook up a pot or make a salad?  I was ready to try it since there are numerous plants in the garden beneath the broccoli!  I read some more.  At the very bottom of the page, there was a bit of advice.  "While considered edible, we do not advise you go out searching for Carolina Geranium for your next meal.  It is high in tannins and is quite bitter to the taste."  Ok, so maybe Mark and Son would not be overly happy with a side dish of bitterness.  Me?  Well, let's just say that curiosity got the best of me.  Take my word for it....the leaves are bitter...very astringent...not tasty.  (Yes.  Yes, I did.  Just chalk it up as a public service announcement. Cranesbill is bitter.)

The Useful Weed

A while back, I wrote about Geraniums, Cranesbills and Storksbills.   The whole gist of the post was to clarify just where what we know as Geraniums sit in the whole scheme of planthood.  It seems that they are not true Geraniums but are Pelargoniums.  It was one of those "learn something new" moments that even though I supposedly stashed in the back of the memory, it would never be seen again!  I admit that I have those moments a lot!  I gather a bit of information only to promptly lose it among all the other random tidbits of trivia that float in my brain.

Then, today, I find something that caused it all to flood back.  Cranesbill!  (Again, not to be confused with Storksbills better known as Geraniums!)  I was out weeding the garden when a conversation that I had with Mark came to mind.  He had made the comment once that he thought that most of what I call weeds probably had a use.  I call Cranesbills weeds!  Well, actually I do not call Cranesbills weeds as I did not know that the plant I was yanking from the ground was known by that name.  Now, I do!  I did a bit of research on the plant simply because I have always like the shape of the leaf.  Once I was completely satisfied with the identity of said plant, I checked to see if it was edible.  I am happy to report that Mark was right!  The "weed" is useful!  According to several sources, while the Cranesbill might not be edible because the tannins contained therein make it a bit astringent,  the plant is valuable as a medicinal herb.  It can help with everything from internal bleeding to sore throat!  There are a whole lot of things listed in between those two but I was fascinated that those two were linked.  Hmmm.

Anyway, now I am pondering whether to pull the Cranesbill from the herb garden or just let it grow.  It seems that something so useful should be growing next to the other herbs.  (Or...perhaps I just don't want to do a lot of weeding!)  So, there you have it...Cranesbill..not Storksbill, in this case..could possibly be a weed that we want to keep!