Word to the wise, use sparingly and try only a very small piece to start with chewing between teeth and tongue. It's a little hard to stuff inside the head, but the smartweed, Polygonum punctatum, (pol-IG-on-um punk-TAY-tum) is in the the buckwheat family, but you would never use it on morning pancakes.

What part of smartweed is edible?

Both are edible in the same way. The edible parts of Smartweed are both the leaves and stems either raw or better yet cooked to remove oxalic acid.

What can you do with smartweed?

The entire plant is used to make medicine. People take smartweed tea to stop bleeding from hemorrhoids, as well as menstrual bleeding and other uterine bleeding. They also use it to treat diarrhea. Some people put smartweed directly on the skin to wash bloody wounds.

How do you eat a woman's thumb?

How To Eat Lady's Thumb

1. The raw uncooked leaves can be used as a lettuce substitute.
2. Raw leaves and flowers can be dried and brewed into a tea.
3. Sautee leaves and chopped stem parts and use them as a part of a foraged stir fry dish.
4. Seeds can be eaten raw, roasted, cooked, or sautéed.

Why is smartweed called smartweed?

The plants are called smartweed because they have a sharp, peppery flavor and their plant juice makes one's eyes run.

Meet Smartweed (and how to tell the difference between it and Commelina)

30 related questions found

Are all smartweed edible?

The roots of some species are edible cooked, some require a little cooking, others require much cooking. The seeds of some are also edible. Check with a local expert about your local Polygonum.

Are smartweed flowers edible?

One of the many "smartweeds," this weedy flowering plant grows across North America and Canada. The young shoots, 2- to 6-inches-long, the 1/3- to 1-inch-wide leaves, flowers and seeds are edible.

Will deer eat smartweed?

White-tailed Deer, Eastern Cottontail, and Muskrat are said to eat the plant itself.

Are Japanese knotweed leaves edible?

Early spring shoots and leaves are edible and have been described as a cross between asparagus and rhubarb. ... Mature shoots are much tougher and need to be peeled before eating and can be eaten raw, grilled, sautéed, pickled and more. Knotweed can also be used in pies.

Is smartweed an annual?

Smartweed (Polygonum pensylvanicum) is an annual broadleaf. As an annual, it reproduces through seeds that drop near the parent plant to produce new plants.

What is ladys thumb plant used for?

Lady's Thumb is a medicinal plant. Native Americans used the leaves in treatments of stomach pains and poison ivy. They also rubbed the plant on their horses as an insect repellant. Lady's Thumb, along with various species of Smartweed are a part of the buckwheat family.

How can you tell a woman's thumb?

Identifying Characteristics: Lady's Thumb is very similar to Pink Knotweed, Polygonum pensylvanicum. The only feature that differentiates them is the dark green oval on the center of each Lady's Thumb leaf.

Why is it called Jesusplant?

Its most common name comes from the smudge mark found on nearly every leaf, and the same mark resembles that of a heart in some areas, causing some people to call it Jesus plant instead. Ladysthumb is found growing in many different places, from roadsides to wooded pathways used for nature walks.

Why is Japanese knotweed bad?

Japanese knotweed is very dangerous because of its ability to cause devastating costly damage to its surrounding environment through its vigorous rapidly growing root system that frequently damages property foundations, flood defences, and pavements with some plants invading houses.

Why should you not cut Japanese knotweed?

People trimming and cutting back hedges should not cut Japanese knotweed, as the plant is spread by fragments which easily take root. That's the advice from Colette O'Flynn, invasive species officer, National Biodiversity Data Centre, who pointed out the plant is usually spread inadvertently by people.

Can you eat knotweed raw?

They are tart, crunchy, and juicy; can be eaten raw or cooked; and can lean sweet or savory, depending on how they're prepared. So knotweed is in many ways the perfect thing to forage: It tastes good, it's easy to find, and, unlike many wild edibles, it's at zero risk of being over-harvested.

Do birds eat smartweed?

The seeds of Pale Smartweed and other wetland smartweeds are a popular source of food to several species of ducks, sparrows, and various other birds (see Bird Table). However, because the foliage is somewhat bitter and peppery, this species is not often eaten by mammalian herbivores.

What do smartweed caterpillars eat?

The Smeared Dagger Moth eats plants including smartweed (the larva is sometimes called the smartweed caterpillar), strawberry, corn, cotton, grasses, clover, and occasionally apple, boxelder, cottonwood, elm, oak, and willow.

Do ducks eat smartweed?

Another universal grass is smartweed. It produces abundant small, black seeds that mallards, black ducks, pintails and teal love to eat. Because the seeds are so small, smartweed can attract ducks for long periods before all the seeds are consumed.

Is red shank edible?

Other common names include spotted lady's thumb and redshank. ... It is a summer annual, herbaceous, broadleaved plant that is not well-recognized as being an edible plant. Native Americans used the leaves in treatments of stomach pains and poison ivy.

Is Oriental ladies thumb poisonous to dogs?

Like other members of the Lilium genus, oriental lilies are quite toxic to cats and can cause severe kidney failure even in small doses. This is not the case with dogs; however, eating lilies can still have adverse gastrointestinal symptoms.

Is Polygonum the same as persicaria?

Persicaria is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the knotweed family, Polygonaceae. Plants of the genus are known commonly as knotweeds or smartweeds. It has a cosmopolitan distribution, with species occurring nearly worldwide. The genus was segregated from Polygonum.

Is Polygonaceae edible?

The smartweed or buckwheat family, Polygonaceae, consists of popular vegetables and cultivated ornamentals. The most notable species is buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum); its edible seeds are used sometimes in flour, particularly for buckwheat pancakes, and portions of the plant are frequently included in animal feed.…

How do you identify a Polygonaceae?

Most Polygonaceae are perennial herbaceous plants with swollen nodes, but trees, shrubs and vines are also present. The leaves of Polygonaceae are simple, and arranged alternately on the stems. Each leaf has a peculiar pair of fused, sheathing stipules known as an ochrea.