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| any resemblance to the body parts of monkeys at city park is purely coincidental |
Urban foraging can throw many weird and wonderful plants into your diet.
Last week we were in an older village nearby and found
the wonderful fruits of Cornus kousa or Japanese Dogwood.
NOTE: some dogwood berries are POISONOUS see warning below.
Japanese dogwoods tend to be found in older gardens
its slow growth habit doesn't put it up there in the more
popular category of contemporary garden trees
plus, like flowering plums, are know to leave a bit of mess about
Having kids that ask if they can eat every second plant they see
certainly makes sure you do a bit more homework as a horticulturist
to make sure you don't end with three kids with upset tummies (or worse)
I think a big feed of Japanese Dogwood would fall into the bad tummy category !
Too many of these, like eating medlars or hawthorn would have a distinct diuretic effect
The taste and texture is similar, thick rough skin with a custardy textured centre,
slightly apple like in flavour, slightly rose hip.
Timing to eat raw would be critical, when not ripe, they are pretty average
Young new season foliage can also be eaten,
Dogwood Parfait Recipe here
and allegedly jelly's much as lilli pillies or quinces
WARNING: always botanically know your wild plants before consuming,
I am a qualified horticulturist with over 30 years of wild harvest experience and able
to identify plant species.
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