Are all flower petals edible?

[Ravenseye]

Hello. This is going to probably be a ... Hey idiot don't just listen to word of mouth. I feel this right now for my self just because my father told me all petals were edible of a flower. Assuming this was true I ran threw a local trail area smashing petals going mmmmm and oooo bitter. Anyways I am starting my knowledge research on foraging and permiculture I was looking at identifications of if a plant is poisonous. First off, I never saw one video that said oh yeah and test the petal as well. So I still was like okay totally cool to eat petals. Then I was watching a video of the most 10 deadliest plants. ONE of the flowery plants they showed is one of the flowers I ate when I was younger running around the field. I recall this flower. It was a large almost pricker ball of pale green that had bright pinkish/Violette petals coming out the top. Its leaves also had little thorns all over it and was still pale green colored. It sticks out even more in my mind because I recall it being the most flavorful and tasty petal I had eaten. I didn't die thank god! So I need some information on Petals. I don't want my downfall to be from this!

Thanks!

[Ravenseye]

If anyone knows about teas and can fill that area in a bit on the flower petals as well. Many videos I watch people say "This flower makes a great tea!" So drop some info and maybe save me from dieing!!!!!

[crashdive123]

Not all flower petals are edible. Some are quite poisonous. As with any wild edible - do not eat it unless you know what it is and that it is edible.

[Rick]

It would have helped if you had narrowed your location to country but, based on your IP address I'll go with Midwest. There are many common forest plants in the Midwest that have poisonous flowers. I doubt you consumed one of them or you would have remembered it from the illness or your untimely death. In any case, Crash gave you the best advice. If you don't know what it is don't put it in your mouth. Don't run with scissors and keep your fingers out of you nose. Just tryin' to be helpful.

[Batch]

I am not sure that putting your finger in your nose has really been explored by science. Running with scissors up your nose is conclusively proven to be a not so good idea...

[Rick]

Yeah, but it's just bad form. I'm not eating anything you pick after you've been two digits deep in your right nostril. Okay?

[gryffynklm]

Just for Kicks look up in GOOOGLE Images "Common Poisonous flowers" and notice how many you recognize from your garden. Keep in mind that the general term poisonous refers to the presence of toxins in the flower and not the level of that toxin. The toxins vary and and it can't be assumed that just because an animal can eat it that a human can with out illness or perhaps death. for instance I plant Signet Marigolds to both keep rabbits out of the garden and I use the flowers in salads, and other recipes but it is poisonous to cats and dogs. Other verities are more toxic. Like Crash said, proper identification of plant and variety is important. There are too many edible poisonous look a likes.

Here is a link to Signet Marigold Biscuits
http://www.bhg.com/recipe/quickbreads/signet-marigold-biscuits/

Here is a link I have used for starting my research for planting some of the edible flowers in my yard.
http://homecooking.about.com/library/weekly/blflowers.htm

I have Peterson's Field Guides of Edible and Medicinal plants. http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/peterson/plants.cfm

Official book Thread.
http://www.wilderness-survival.net/forums/showthread.php?5483-Official-Book-Thread

[kyratshooter]

Now might be a good time to sit and reflect on the relationship with your father. Do you also remember being dangled from balconies, tethered to the clothsline or used for aligator bait?

[hunter63]

When ever I try something foraged from the wild I always keep a sample to show the EMT guys what I ate "this time".....DW's law.

Had a couple of "don't feel so well" as a young man....so the advice crash gave, about not eating anything unless you know "FOR sure" what it is, is sound.

The knowledge of what's good/safe to eat was gleaned over the millenia, sometime with deadly results.....and a lot of information out there, but you need to really research, and just NOT on the interweb.
Gyrff method of starting small, in your garden or yard is the best way to work up to a working knowledge,...a lot of people have made it a life time endeavor.

Remember just because it is considered "safe' does not mean "taste good".

[Rick]

KY - You are just a bad man.

Hunter - Your post gave me this mental image of Grog flat of his back dead with Klug standing over him looking down. "Note to self. Never eat pink flowers on green berry bush".

[hunter63]

Yeah, I would hate to have been the test subject on "Preparation A"

And I can see McMartha Mc Stewart....saying," If I mix all these sheep guts, with oatmeal and cook it in a stomach, and tell all these hungry guys, that there is plenty of scotch, they will eat it".
Won't kill ya,.... but ewwww.

[LowKey]

Sounds like she's talking about a thistle flower.
http://www.justflower.org/thistle-2.html?fb_xd_fragment#?=&cb=f35781fdc51a92a&relation=parent.parent&transport=fragment&type=resize&height=29&ackData[id]=1

[gryffynklm]

Here is a decent link to edible plants. Not all are suitable for a tea but there are several. Choose a plant click on that read about it. At the top of the individual plant page it offers tabs to that offer further information such as edible and medical preparations.

I recognize many plants that I have seen in WI, IL, and MI. http://www.livingafield.com/Plants_Edible.htm

Autumn olive, Chicory, Dandelion, Barberry, wood sorrel, Red Clover make a decent tea. Not all are naturally sweat. The sorrel is particularly tart. Some sugar or honeywould be good to have on hand. The Autumn Olive is like a cherry with a small amount of fruit around the pit. You need a lot to get enough juice for a tea or jam. I have crushed the fruit with out breaking the pit and simmered them for ten minutes in water to extract the juice. They stain your hands and cloths so unless I was making jelly I wouldn't roll the fruit in my hands to get as much of the juice as i could. It is a sweet fruit but I like honey in the tea.

The web sight has a decent description however a field guide to be certain of your identification is recommended.

[LowKey]

I'd suggest a couple of field guides, one of which has pictures (I use a couple of keys that have no pictures but verify in two other books that do)
Also, in answer to the original question, NO. There are poisonous flower petals out there. Jimsonweed and Castor Bean come to mind immediately.

There are far too many plants out there that mimick. You don't want to be eating water hemlock because you thought it was wild carrot.

[holyflame]

Can anyone suggest some good books with pictures, descriptions, and what is edible and what is poisonous, etc....?

[crashdive123]

The Peterson series of Field Guides (there are a lot) is a good place to start.

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=petersen%27s+field+guides&tag=googhydr-20&index=stripbooks&hvadid=5845441581&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=961175543236309778&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&ref=pd_sl_150lyf7q7r_b

[Batch]

I like how Hunter describes Mrs. McStewart making haggis the traditional dish of Scotland and Lowkey follows with a post of Scotland's national flower. I could be wrong but I thought that Karl, the poster that followed is of the gewd blood as well. Can't be a coincidence, must be a Freemason conspiracy! :lol:

"May those who love us, love us.
And those who don't love us,
May God turn their hearts;
And if He doesn't turn their hearts,
May He turn their ankles,
So we will know them by their limping."

[your_comforting_company]

Based on the fact that you went tromping through the woods sticking things in your mouth, I highly recommend you start researching things for yourself. Some flowers are just as poisonous as the plants they grow on, and I think you are lucky you didn't make yourself sick, or worse.
Don't do that again!

[your_comforting_company]

I got this book for Christmas and I've been spending a lot of time with it.
http://www.amazon.com/Identifying-Harvesting-Edible-Medicinal-Plants/dp/0688114253

[Pale E O]

When I was still a kid, and learning about plants I recall our leader attempting to answer all my questions. I must have been a real pain in the ____ but he never objected. After about the 20th plant he identified by both common and scientific name, I exclaimed in wonder and awe... "How do you remember all those names?" He looked at me squarely and said, "Just learn one or two at a time"... then he smiled and said, "I've had a few years to do it." This was not the answer a young person wants to hear, but it was really sound advice. Don't drive yourself nuts trying to know 'em all. Learn a few at a time and let yourself remember why you went walking in the woods in the first place.

[WolfVanZandt]

One of my favorite wild snacks is redbud tree blossoms. They are almost like citrus pulp in the way they pop in your mouth when they're fat from rain. They have a nice sweet taste. They can also be fried in butter or oil and they take on a nutty taste.

One of the most beautifu syrups I've ever seen is made from violet blossoms. Pack a Mason jar with violet blossoms and fill the jar with boiling water and screw the lid on loosely (the good part is volatile so you don't want it escaping.) Let it sit overnight. The result is a nasty blue colored water. Then make a dense sugar syrup and let it cool. Pour the two together. When you add a few drops of lemon juice, the syrup will turn a bright magenta color. It tastes to me like wildflower honey and can be used as a syrup or to flavor other recipes like candy or puddings. You don't want to cook it, though, or you'll lose all the flavor.

Roses are edible but the white patches at the base of the petals are a little bitter and need to be removed. Rose water is a common flavoring ingredient in the Orient.

Somebody mentioned clover - I'll second that.

There's a restaurant in Atlanta that specializes in floral dishes - it's expensive.

I've been wanting to play with daylily buds. They can be fried and I think they would be good stuffed - maybe with cheese and nuts. I have to find someone with a big patch of daylilies that won't mind me picking a few of their buds.

My father used to tell me that I was going to poison myself one day eating stuff out of the lawn. The going wisdom in his day was that everything that isn't raised on a farm is poisonous. I'm still around though.

[your_comforting_company]

Just what Pale said!

[Mello23]

i know foxglove is poisonous, petals and everything. though a certian extract is used to strengthen the heart, though even that can easily backfire and cause the opposite affects. am i the only one who ever thought that some people could try and use it as a weapon to others like on one of those crminal shows on NCIS XD love that show