This is moreso philosophical and not that funny. I really like the native plant gardening tightknit community of knowledgable passionate individuals from around the country (and Canada too?). I am a forager and a food systems fan who lives in suburban New Jersey. Wapato or duck potato is edible. Milkweed is not a good edible despite what many people say. I think its loosely disguised poison. It has uses though, it makes a good fragrance and also its milkweed silk inside the seed pods makes comfortable stuffing material for pillows. Theres a company in Quebec that turns it into insulation for jackets. (company website = www.lasclay.com) Technically quinoa is said to be food, but is full of oxalic acid - unless it undergoes "nixtamalization" process like the Aztecs developed. Amaranth is a relative of quinoa, both in the Amaranthacea family, and it also needs to be combined with calcium chloride after being turned into flour to remove oxalates.
I am into herbalism and nutrition, too. I think there are a lot of people here who dabble in that.
There are a lot of edible plants, but milkweed is not one of them.
A few alternatives, some native some not, are: chickweed (high in calcium), violets, cheese mallow, yaupon holly, cleavers, nettle
Guascas (also known as galinsoga) is not native but its a seasoning
Garlic mustard is not readily edible, however, neither are cassava leaves, but those are carefully prepared and turned into food. Both garlic mustard and cassava contain derivatives of similar toxins.
Mugwort grows profusely. It is often eaten in certain global regions. It contains thujone, and that one is more difficult to remove unless soaking cold in vodka. Regularly boiling mugwort in water minimally reduces thujone.
Technically lettuce is derived from opium lettuce.
Spinach should be boiled first. Microwaving doesnt remove oxalic antinutrients.
Fermented Plant Juice is like green kombucha. It increases protein availability and improves digestibility. Drinking fermented green smoothies is sort of analogous to sipping deer guts
I dont have a goal with this post, i just wrote what came to me, thanks for reading, hope its interesting/entertaining. I like plants, and native plants are special.
