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Canadian-guerilla
06-25-2010, 07:11 PM
so i hung up some milkweed leaves to dry, i started with 4 but the first one i grabbed fell apart in my hand, so here’s the other 3 leaves

http://wildedibles1.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/driying-1-11.jpg

and then i crushed and rolled them up in my hands, and picked out the stems and midribs

http://wildedibles1.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/drying-1-2.jpg

the question is

are all the nutrients still in the leaves ?



now i’m trying some more milkweed leaves and day lily flowers, and i put one day lily in a book

http://wildedibles1.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/drying-1-4.jpg

http://wildedibles1.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/drying-1-31.jpg

Rick
06-25-2010, 08:22 PM
The calorie content does not change, but is concentrated into a smaller mass as moisture is removed.

Fiber: no change.

Vitamin A: fairly well retained under controlled heat methods.

Vitamin C: mostly destroyed during drying of vegetables.

Thiamin, riboflavin, niacin: some loss if foods are blanched but fairly good retention if the water used to rehydrate also is consumed.

Minerals: some may be lost during rehydration if soaking water is not used. Iron is not destroyed by drying.

For best retention of nutrients in dried foods, store in a cool, dark, dry place and use within a year.

Canadian-guerilla
06-28-2010, 08:45 AM
and then i crushed and rolled them up in my hands, and picked out the stems and midribs



would the oils from my hands affect this dried plant ?

been thinking about getting a mortar and pestle ( depending on cost )
or make a wooden pestle and use a glass/porcelain bowl

Rick
06-28-2010, 09:26 AM
I wouldn't think the oils would. One of the things I do before handling freshly dried stuff is to wash my hands to remove as much bacteria as I can so I don't pass it to the food stuff. I'm probably washing the oil off my hands at the same time. It probably doesn't matter in the long run but I figure every little precaution helps.

I don't break up the dried stuff any more than I have to. This is especially true for herbs. When I get ready to cook with them I then break them up or tear them so the oils in the herbs can be released into the food. It acts a bit more like fresh herbs by releasing the oils.

Justin Case
06-28-2010, 09:42 AM
The last pic in the OP looks like the plant described in this article ,


Officer warns against dangers of angel's trumpet
In the Los Feliz neighborhood, youths who ingest the toxic plant to get high have been sickened.
February 19, 2010|By Kate Linthicum

One day last week officer Al Polehonki took his police cruiser out for a garden tour of Los Feliz.

He was looking for a toxic plant called angel's trumpet, a plant common in Southern California that is known for its large, flared flowers that Polehonki described as looking "like lilies with long necks."
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Each time he spotted the plant in front of a house, he got out, knocked on the door and asked whoever answered: Do you know that kids pick these flowers and chew them to get high?

At least twice this year paramedics have been called to nearby Marshall High School to treat students who became ill after ingesting angel's trumpet, school officials say. Polehonki, who is familiar with those cases, said the students suffered nausea, delirium and difficulty breathing. He said he has heard of two other cases in which neighborhood youths became seriously ill after eating the plant.

They do it, said 14-year-old Marshall High freshman Earl Harris, "because it makes them feel relaxed and calm."

Harris said he has heard fellow students talk about eating angel's trumpet and how it makes them feel, although he said he's never eaten the plant himself.

Angel's trumpet is a relative of jimson weed, a smaller plant that grows wild and that has long been a subject of teenage lore.

David Nichols, a pharmacologist at Purdue University and an expert in psychoactive drugs, said angel's trumpet, like jimson weed, "does produce hallucinations, but at toxic levels."

"It is not something to play around with," Nichols said. "Drugs like LSD or marijuana will never kill you, but angel's trumpet can."

Officials with the Los Angeles Unified School District say they have not heard of students using angel's trumpet at other schools.

"This is not an epidemic," said Earl Perkins, the district's assistant superintendent for school operations. Other school officials said that substances such as marijuana and household chemicals that students inhale are more common.

But unlike those substances, angel's trumpet is ubiquitous -- and free. That's what worries Polehonki.

On his recent tour, Polehonki said, he found one such plant at a house on Lyric Avenue, one block from Marshall High. "Just about every flower within reaching distance was missing," he said.

The officer alerted the homeowner, who agreed to chop it down.

Polehonki has warned other residents, "If you've got the plant, keep an eye on it."

Harris, who was hanging out with friends after school Thursday, listening to rap music on an amplified iPod, said he first heard talk about angel's trumpet, or "angel," two months ago.

"I've been seeing these plants my whole life," he said, "and I never knew they did that."

kate.linthicum

@latimes.com
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/feb/19/local/la-me-trumpet20-2010feb20


http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:taQAOuAl1T6BhM:http://www.hogarth98.com/Eastnor/angels-trumpet_lg.jpg

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:dvx5paefJiWP4M:http://www.landscapedia.info/images/plant_images/Brugmansia_versicolor__Angel_Trumpet__Angel_s_Trum pet_1.jpg

LowKey
06-29-2010, 07:45 PM
I'm rather certain he's got daylilies there, Justin. Angels Trumpet doesn't have separated petals. They are...well... trumpet-shaped. And you can't confuse the leaves. Though one should always be sure of the plants they are eating.

Kids will do the dumbest things too. A little trespassing, a little theft, a little misguided adventure into the world of poisonous plants...

Justin Case
06-29-2010, 07:47 PM
oh you are right,, I missed the separated pedal part :blushing: This is why I dont eat wild plants,, I'll kill myself :blushing:

Rick
06-29-2010, 08:19 PM
There are actually tens of thousands of cultivars of Daylillies. Look for Hemerocallis fulva, often referred to as the "Common Daylily", which has the characteristic orange flowers.

Daylillies are not true Lillies. Daylillies have a potato or tuber looking root. It's actually a rhizome. Other types of lillies, some of which are poisonous, grow from bulbs. Hemerocallis fulva blossoms last only one day, which is another trait.