Because I’ve been in the garden pulling/hoeing grass and weeds, I thought maybe I’d look in my Weeds of Nebraska and the Great Plains book, and share some of what I found.
I could call this story A Walk With Weeds, and I found some interesting information.
Let me start with the lowly dandelion which is part of the sunflower family. “Young leaves can be boiled and eaten as spring greens, roots were used to treat heartburn and as a mild laxative...Flowers can be battered, fried, and eaten.” The dandelion was an ornamental planting for pioneers, and often seeded on sod roofs to “brighten” the prairie.
The pretty blue flower that is tall and blooms along the road in the morning is also part of the sunflower family. My book says it is grown as a hay crop in Europe...here I call it a nuisance because it wants to “take over.” History wise it had uses in folk medicine, and the roots can be dried, roasted, and used as a coffee substitute that is bitter and has no caffeine.
My memory of Prickly lettuce (sunflower family) is growing up, swinging on the front porch in the evening, and being told it was time to cut some “lettuce” for the chickens. Funny how a brain can remember sights and sounds from years ago. Wild turkeys like to eat the leaves (and tame chickens too!)
