EatTheWeeds: Episode 90: Smartweed, Knotweed

www.eattheweeds...
Learn about wild food with Green Deane. In this video, we'll look at as source of pepper, or more specifically heat like wasabe, the Smartweed, or knotweed, a Polygonum.

[@abyssquick]

Yes; to be properly prepared in Chinese Medicine, they are steeped 4+ hours in water with black soybeans, which stains the roots black. Then dried. The root has unique plant hormones and an assortment of minerals. It is a primary herb for bringing back pigmentation to gray hair. I know a few people for whom this herb has certainly worked, for that purpose.

[@Marshwalker27]

Amazing!!!! I see this plan all the time... now it will be coming home with me, dried, and grinded up for seasoning.... I am learning so much from your videos!!! Thanks a bunch!!

[@EatTheWeeds]

Well... it is really hot... a little goes a long ways as in a salad or a soup. My only concern about using it to preserve meat is one might eat too much of it. It is a strong herb. It has been used to treat headaches, internal bleeding, as a stimulant, a diuretic, swelling, antiarthritic, to treat mange, hemorrhoids, and as a fish poison (crush in basked, put basket in water till it turns green, brings fish to surface.) It can also cause dermatitis in some. Strong stuff, use sparingly.

[@robertjames1259]

Great show my amigo Love your garden of. Edon

[@abyssquick]

I grow polygonum multiflorum (ho shou wu). Makes small tubers used in Chinese medicine. Elongated spade shaped leaves, very nice looking plant.

[@EatTheWeeds]

@deadheat130 This is a very sore point, and I have made your argument often, that oxalic acid is found in grocery store plants so why do foragers have to mention it. However, from a legal point of view since I am introducing people to foods not in the normal commercial stream I am expected to warn them of potential issues, and oxalic acid is one of them, particulary for folks who have kidney stone issues. It is not so much as scaring people but covering my you-know-what.

[@kagomeshuko]

We have tufted knotweed that grows in our yards - just as a weed. Our little chihuahua mixes love to roll in it and sometimes eat it! It makes them smell pretty, so I support them rolling in it!

[@EatTheWeeds]

@bluenail90 Oxalic acid/100g food: Parsley (1.7 g) Chives (1.48 g) Purslane (1.31 g) Cassava (1.26 g) Amaranth (1.09 g) Spinach (0.97 g) Beet leaves (0.61 g) Carrot (0.5 g) Radish (0.48 g) Collards (0.45 g) Beans, snap (0.36 g) Brussels sprouts (0.36 g) Garlic (0.36 g) Lettuce (0.33 g) Watercress (0.31 g) Sweet potato (0.24 g) Chicory (0.21 g) Turnip (0.21 g) Broccoli (0.19 g) Celery (0.19 g) Eggplant (0.19 g) Cauliflower (0.15 g) Asparagus (0.13 g) Endive (0.11 g) and a dozen more

[@EatTheWeeds]

@TheMistapig Dried and or powdered is fine. Many things improve with aging, smartweed and persimmon leaves among them.

[@giverny28]

I'm glad to find this video. My livestock LOVE this plant. And now I can know, my family can live it too. My body doesn't do Pepper, but herbal alternatives are awesome. I had this plant take over a (pig) pasture that tends to stay moist. I like to keep pigs there usually because keeping a wallow for them there is effortless. The smartweed was around 7 ft tall before I ran livestock. I ran a small herd of goats over it first, then hogs and chickens to clean up any leftovers. I wonder since it is a hot herb, if it doesn't aid in worming them naturally? I hope it just keeps coming back year after year. All my animals go crazy when it is offered. Ducks also go bananas! I love it because it's free feed and lovely in flower arrangements all growing season. I'm excited to also find that this isn't the "knotweed" that is so dangerously invasive. It didn't seem 'pushy' in the garden or pasture, but sometimes invasives can be stealthy.

[@brendabell6310]

The ones that grow here are not hot. I chewed a whole leaf and it is not the least bit hot.

[@EatTheWeeds]

It might... depends on the active constituents. Concentrated juice on the skin can cause blisters. I'm not sure how it acts when dried. Sounds like some experiments are in order.

[@JeffTheDude777]

Is there a good book where It tells of the medical uses for plants? Kinda like a Peterson field guide? Anyway. Great video. I might have that smartweed where I live. Ill have to keen an eye out for it.

[@GypsyBrokenwings]

I'm glad you mentioned raising BP!

[@dazigg]

Only 10 more till the big 100!!! You're almost there!!!

[@crazychickenladyhomestead6918]

The variety we have in the yard is comparable to a sweet spinach and really helps with asthma and blood clotting on an open (small) wound. Looks very similar to that variety but, much shorter (2ft at most) and a pale stem.

[@EatTheWeeds]

@bluenail90 A lot of foods in the supermarket have oxalic acid but they don't come with a warning.

[@Reichu]

I've got at least three species of smartweed in my yard here in NJ. The only one I've eaten so far is the tufted knotweed (since it's all over the garden), and it's a pretty mild green. Now I'm curious as to how peppery the other ones might be...

[@KaneLouiseOconnor]

i have some smart weed growing in my flower bed. unsure what type is is as the leaves look just like the leaves of st. johns wart. any advise as to what type of smart weed i have? im going to harvest some leaves and save them until i find out exactly what i have and if its not safe i will throw them away later.

[@EatTheWeeds]

Hey ranger squirrel... good to hear from you. Did you recognize the walkway? The plants were twice as high as when we visited....nearly died from loss of blood from mosquitoes...

[@EatTheWeeds]

Yes, once you have a plant inside your head you see it like you would a friend's face in a crowd. As for walking... one of the problems of going on a field trip with the Native Plant Society is they go about 100 feet an hour because there are so many plants to look at. The real conundrum is when you see a plant and it looks like the right family and species but you haven't seen it before but you know it should be X and you set out to ID it and discover its edibility.

[@alphaomega_outdoors]

I have what seems to be a version of this plant here in North Carolina, Deane. However, I tried a small piece of a leaf and of a couple flower blossoms and there was no heat whatsoever. Is this, in fact, a smartweed? The plant I have here matches your "itemization" perfectly.

[@YouADamnWitch]

I gather it depends on where it's growing.

[@alphaomega_outdoors]

+YouADamnWitch UPDATE: I've actually got two kinds where I'm at. I have smartweed with pink flowers that has no heat at all and smartweed with white flowers that is insanely hot. Other than the color, the two plants are identical.

[@handymancolumbiasc]

I saw a video with Becki Baumgarten and she called them "lady's thumb", she said they were a mild plant, like lettuce, although partof the smartweed family.

[@azgreenmom]

Thanks,Thats more information than I have found about Smartweed looking on my own.

[@mujkocka]

I have some similar to this. I tried just a bit like you said. I didn’t find heat . I found it numbed my tongue tip. Could I have eaten something similar but different?

[@EatTheWeeds]

There are many but one put out by Peterson is: Medicinal Plants by Duke and Foster.

[@dazigg]

I did have a question Deane. You know how when you're handling hot peppers and if you touch your eye area it feels like they're burning out of your skull? Hehehe. I was just wondering if smartweed leaves a residue on your skin like Capsicum.

[@EatTheWeeds]

No, usually just the leaves or the blossoms.

[@DANGJOS]

@EatTheWeeds are you gonna do a video on mile a minute weed (Polygonum perfoliatum)??

[@EatTheWeeds]

@DANGJOS It doesn't grow anywhere near me so I have no experience with it, though I read young tips are edible cooked.

[@DANGJOS]

@DANGJOS to add to what I said earlier those who are prone to kidney stones and who overuse antibiotics could be at risk. the reason antibiotics could matter is that they kill the bacteria in your gut. As far as I can find, there is no breakdown of oxalic acid over time by natural degradation or decomposition. Oxalobacter however, is a type of bacteria found in the guts of some and it can breakkdown oxalic acid. antibiotics could then kill this bacterium leading to kidneystones.

[@EatTheWeeds]

Thanks... they are getting more difficult as I go along... or perhaps I am trying to make them better. I'll finish 108 this Friday.... Then I get a second camera...

[@EatTheWeeds]

@TheMistapig Sorry for the tardy reply. You Tube did not tell me I had a message. Yes, it can be dried and used as a pepper later.

[@EatTheWeeds]

No, but a relative, Polygonum persicaria, is, and it is edible, too.

[@EatTheWeeds]

@poopriflex My published references do not tell me if Polygonum pensylvanicum is edible or not. But they do tell me it is an endangered species and if you pick it that could result in a fine.

[@christianwitness]

Thank you!

[@EatTheWeeds]

I have one reference that says after long cooking they are edible.

[@DANGJOS]

@deadheat130 you are right that the normal consumption of oxalic acid containing foods (spinach, amaranth, rhubarb, beets, chard, berries, some nuts,etc.) are not going to cause any ill effects in a healthy adult. however oxalic acid is a toxic substance and I dont think you would need to eat that much to experience ill effects. especially considering that the foods I just mentioned have varying amounts of oxalic acid. Someone with kidney issues and has taken to much antibiotics is at risk

[@DavidAtchison121]

i recently bought an herb called Vietnamese coriander. looks the same. very spicy. would be a related plant?

[@professorm4171]

Yup, it's in the same family. Now you can go find some in a field for free.

[@DannaGesellchen]

When you edit your videos, could you please turn up the volume or equalize it?? Some things I can barely hear!

[@deadheat130]

@bluenail90 I've seen you on a few other video's going around warning about oxalic acid in wild plants. After doing some research I found that most grocery store greens / vegetables also contain oxalic acid. Doing a basic search again I found that a person would have to eat 3/4 their body weight in one sitting to have any bad effects. So before going around scaring people you should explain your findings, because I dont see the issue. Please direct me to a site where you get your info.

[@EatTheWeeds]

Thanks, and true, but those 10 may take a while.

[@origirox]

Is this also called "Butterfly Plant" ? ^^

[@teresapimentel3123]

Thnx

[@EatTheWeeds]

Good... you'll get a chance to compare them... and perhaps they will cross breed. Regardless you now know them for certain. Incidentally, I recently found purslane a block north of where we were looking... (I had an appointment and as I am wont to do I showed up early and wandered around looking at plants. Also found some galinsoga, my first locally though it grows well in Tamp/St. Pete area.)

[@bluenail90]

@deadheat130 It was on Wiki about a year ago, probably been updated since then. Maybe I read it wrong , I've been a bit para about getting stones and my Liver's knackered. Cheers. ps I was on 'one' a little yes.

[@700eyesonly007]

Thanks GreenDeane, interesting. lol, at the end, "hey not bad"

[@EatTheWeeds]

One doesn't need to say them, but it doesn't hurt to know them.

[@morneadsense]

We have these growing wild on the farm here in NZ, they are very invasive here and are a weed. Do you know of an effective way to control them? Also, HERE IS A TIP..... DO NOT TOUCH YOUR FACE AFTER PICKING THEM!!!!! You will regret it, could posibly be a base for pepper spray????

[@EatTheWeeds]

Not that I know of. Usually smartweed or knotweed though using the scientific name is the best way then there is little doubt.

[@MadBadVoodo]

Five Stars!!

[@bluenail90]

@EatTheWeeds Thanks, such as?

[@EatTheWeeds]

Not that I've noticed, but I am also careful.

[@gooutside6055]

awesome !!!

[@KCDZfilms]

tasty! pepper

[@burningbright5039]

Is this lady’s thumb

[@robertjames1259]

Green bean That was the best crop of ligulun. Every seen Can you try to make there sprouts nutritious. Edible God bless you sh me and you have shown that to the world. And as God watches Thanks my lord

[@EatTheWeeds]

I aim to please...

[@nikrguy]

Arseweed...(chuckle). Arsesmart...(what my mom called me as a teenager backwards)

[@bluenail90]

@EatTheWeeds Thanks kidney stones run in our family.

[@EatTheWeeds]

Different family, different chemicals.

[@EatTheWeeds]

Very hot!

[@EatTheWeeds]

Fat mosquito... with Deet for seasoning....