You'd be forgiven to initially think this is a Dandelion plant, I certainly did, but it's not. It's actually the Perennial Sow Thistle. They are, however, very closely related, and like Dandelions, the leaves and flowers are edible. Although, to me, the leaves of both species are too bitter to be eaten raw. Cooking it probably would taste better. The flowers are fine, though. Very sweet, in fact, and people actually do make Dandelion Wine -- I would imagine it would work well with Sow Thistle.
I have actually seen (Organic) Dandelion leaves being sold in Up Market Wholefood Shops, no surprise as it is very nutritious. Our Old Friend Wikipedia supplies these details:
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | |
---|---|
Energy | 188 kJ (45 kcal) |
9.2 g
|
|
Sugars | 0.71 g |
Dietary fiber | 3.5 g |
0.7 g
|
|
2.7 g
|
|
Vitamins | |
Vitamin A equiv.
|
(64%)
508 μg
(54%)
5854 μg
13610 μg
|
Thiamine (B1) |
(17%)
0.19 mg |
Riboflavin (B2) |
(22%)
0.26 mg |
Niacin (B3) |
(5%)
0.806 mg |
(2%)
0.084 mg |
|
Vitamin B6 |
(19%)
0.251 mg |
Folate (B9) |
(7%)
27 μg |
Choline |
(7%)
35.3 mg |
Vitamin C |
(42%)
35 mg |
Vitamin E |
(23%)
3.44 mg |
Vitamin K |
(741%)
778.4 μg |
Trace metals | |
Calcium |
(19%)
187 mg |
Iron |
(24%)
3.1 mg |
Magnesium |
(10%)
36 mg |
Manganese |
(16%)
0.342 mg |
Phosphorus |
(9%)
66 mg |
Potassium |
(8%)
397 mg |
Sodium |
(5%)
76 mg |
Zinc |
(4%)
0.41 mg |
No comments:
Post a Comment