Edible wee ds
“Is that a weed?” my walking companion asks as I bend down and pick a handful of greens growing by the side of the path.
“Well, that depends on your definition,” I reply, munching into a dandelion leaf. As we wander along the banks of the Yarra in suburban Melbourne, within a half-hour my basket overflows with wild edible greens: dandelion, purslane, milk thistle, cleavers, plantain, dock, clover and chickweed.
Back at home, I throw them all in the blender along with some roasted sunflower seeds, garlic and olive oil. A weedy pesto packed full of nutrients dresses our lunch of steamed vegetable and hard-boiled egg.
As I munch, I reflect on the fact that most of these so-called weeds are more nutritious than the vegetable greens growing in my garden, are easier to grow, abundant and free — and taste pretty good. So why aren’t we all eating them?
A weed by any other name
Textbooks usually define a weed as a “plant which is growing where it is not wanted”. While some introduced “weeds” are pests, it’s good to remember that one culture’s weed can be another’s valued crop or sacred medicinal plant. Not all weeds pose a threat to the native species and some native
