EatTheWeeds: Episode 83: Milkweed VIne

[@EatTheWeeds]

You are good for my soul... thanks....

[@EatTheWeeds]

Thanks... the desert has its own challenges....

[@yorkcmh]

absolutely love your videos in toronto! eat the weeds, indeed! thankyou!

[@EatTheWeeds]

Did one.

[@sassycalypso]

this was fasicating to watch and learn about this plant that just magically appeared in a secret garden thats closed in originally i believe it was a hot tub area .. took out the wooden deck some years ago .. and last year the weeds took over and noticed this strange pod thing .. luckily i stumbled across your video because most things i read was its just an obnoxious weed and i didnt want to believe that so i kept searching. Thank you so much!!

[@Jefferdaughter]

@EatTheWeeds - Thanks. So much info, so little time.

[@EatTheWeeds]

The answer is I don't know. They are not in the same family but young vines look similar. The flowers are distinctly different.

[@SapphireNightLupin]

Just saw a fallow grove full of this vine in Ft. Pierce. Thanks for the video, very informative.

[@EatTheWeeds]

@Jefferdaughter Thanks, I can. That stuff is usally on my web page about that plant.

[@johnu78]

This video is definitely a keeper!

[@frugalnanny]

I am in LOVE with your knowledge of all the eattibles here in Fla. I fI could get it SCANNED into my brain I just might.

[@kryptiea]

another great vid dean

[@Lisaj4431]

Awesome

[@PartisonConfederate]

I live in East Texas and will have to look for the plant.

[@EatTheWeeds]

That information is in the companion article on my website. That is why I say if you want more information go to my website. The scientific name is Morrenia odorata.

[@EatTheWeeds]

@miketonon I do not know of any edible vines. But I do know some vines that have either edible fruit or roots.

[@fppfisher]

@EatTheWeeds dill is beast

[@EatTheWeeds]

@Zeuszgrl Little too cold to be outside but you could grow it in a pot.

[@EatTheWeeds]

I went to your local poison control website. They list numerous deadly plants, several dozen toxic plants, and even more that will make you sick but not will you. Instead of learning the toxic plants and finding out the rest by trial and error, consider studying which ones are edible. That's a lot less work, less painful and less dangerous.

[@EatTheWeeds]

Oh, I agree suburbia is not a good place to find food. The plant was there and it was a convenient location to do the video. As far as looks good and tastes good... some toxic plants look good and taste good. Please just make sure you have an edible. On my property I've planted nothing but edibles for landscaping.

[@EatTheWeeds]

South America, Argentina I think,

[@EatTheWeeds]

WHen there are some, sure.

[@EatTheWeeds]

The vine grows only in warmer areas. There are other edible milkweeds, mostly up north. So make sure ou have the right genus and species.

[@EatTheWeeds]

By the time I get to 100 I'll have to go back and re do those early videos....

[@EatTheWeeds]

I don't think so, but you could grow it in a pot and overwinter it.

[@EatTheWeeds]

When you boil your milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) them do you put them in cold water and bring it to a boil or do you get the water boiling first then put them in?.

[@EatTheWeeds]

In extreme southern Florida or father south you might confuse the Morrenia odorata with Cynanchum cubense. The blossoms of the C. cubense do not have star-like sepals. Too ripe (for cooking) is starting to turn yellow.

[@Micheal-l8q]

Please don't slow down, thank you for all your help

[@EatTheWeeds]

Thanks ... just don't eat any water hemlock or you won't come back from fishing... Be careful, and please get a local to help you.

[@edwardleroy7648]

The older stalks can be boiled and pealed as a (?) food. I could not figure out what you said.

[@greendeane1]

Famine food.

[@edwardleroy7648]

@@greendeane1 Thank You, I raise Arrow Root Canna and Eddo Tarro for such. I live in N Central Miss. Do you think Vine Milk Weed would make it this far north? My Chaote did not work. My Eddo Taro and Arrow Root Canna have come back every year, so far.

[@EatTheWeeds]

With proper preparation parts of Spathyema foetida is edible.

[@mweber5459]

Have you written a book?

[@ehermes83]

Any idea if it has a noxious hold on Southern California?

[@kimberleighlivingston9411]

Are Morning glories edible?

[@EatTheWeeds]

Said another way, the list of edible plants is far shorter than the list of toxic plants. There are some 20,000 plant poisonings in BC every year. Among the deadly ones in your area are the Poison Hemlock, the Water Hemlock, the Deadly Nightshade, azaleas, autum crocus, daffodils, many mushrooms, oleander, camas, foxglove, datura and a long list of ornamentals.

[@I.M_Possible]

I was gifted some Milkweed vine seeds and I am so glad I found this video! Thanks Deane! I am going to plant these along my backyard fence. I too am working towards creating a 100% edible landscape around my .57 acres.

[@EatTheWeeds]

Sorry... raise this.... afternoon wine got in the way....

[@EatTheWeeds]

Well... the latter is quite rare in extreme south Florida and I've never seen it with fruit, so I don't know. I do know the odorata is showing up in you area, certainly was two years ago.

[@EatTheWeeds]

@Uburalus Well.. onions are "poisonous" if you eat enough of them. Acorns are "poisonous" if you eat too many unleached. Illness is a range, from a mildly upset stomach (Commelinas to that to me) to Ilex glabra (makes me throw up) to water hemlock that can kill me painfully in two hours. Some plants can make you ill, others are deadly.

[@EatTheWeeds]

I don't know what milkweed you are referring to but this plant is edible.

[@EatTheWeeds]

Either in the video, or in the article on the website, I give the rage. I have considered doing that as a category as well but it would take me months to do that to the thousand or so species I mention.

[@EatTheWeeds]

@Uburalus ....well... poisonous is a fuzzy word. The fruit is full of latex and if not cooked like many latex containing plants can make you ill. That is different than plants that can kill you within hours with no antidote. There is a difference between getting sick and dying with no hope of recovery. I have eaten the blossoms raw with no ill effects. The fruit should be cooked.

[@MadBadVoodo]

Five Stars!!

[@Jefferdaughter]

Yes! Everyone I know who eats common milkweed, Asclepias syriaca, eats only brand new shoots in spring (to 6" or so being careful to NOT get any of the root at the base of the stalk), flowers, buds, & young seedpods- always boiling & changing the water at least twice. Not sure if this would be adequate for mature parts of the plant: stalk, stem, or leaves. (The genus is always capitalized when using the binomial scientific name, and it should be italicized but we can't do that here.) Best!

[@EatTheWeeds]

They do have white latex coming out. They are not Asclepias but they are a relative.

[@EatTheWeeds]

That's quite some alienation. At one time plants were man's grocery story, pharmacy and hardware store. They meant life and a good life. They mean shelter and protection and food and ease of pain. Man, so to speak, has gotten away from his roots.

[@LaMomB]

I'd like to know what other plant than Milkweed can I grow as host plants to Monarch Butterfly?

[@EatTheWeeds]

@JimTheHermit Hmmm... can you eat fig newtons?

[@cutlerylover]

I REALLY think you need to send a link tot this video to either food network or the travel channel the editing and styel of this video is just as good if not better thabn many shows I see on both networks, and havign a wild edibles show woudl be entirely new and interesting, this is your best vid yet!!!!!!! awesome Dean!

[@EatTheWeeds]

Thanks, and you're welcome. By the way the Dioscorea oppositifolia is supposed to be a problem weed in your area, and it has a root full of edible starch. It might not be too obvious now but later in the season it might and starchy roots are prime. Also has been reported in Bucyrus, Ohio, Columbus, Ohio and Glouster, Ohio and the TNCs Edge of Appalachia Preserve System.

[@FacetsOfTruth]

@EatTheWeeds Thanks so much for the 'response'. I know you must be very busy. So I understand the rarity of your correspondence, & value it immensely. I respect your expert advice & opinion completely, sir, & will steer away from this 'ornamental-visitor'. As far as it being considered for a 'palatable future'? 'No! But will 'stay' its' place upon its' chained link summit. As I pledge to render unto all things, their 'due' consideration". JRH. Eat well my friend. I worry not, that you will. :-)

[@DANGJOS]

Asclepias, the one the Monarch Butterfly's larvae feeds on

[@firebrandsgirl]

How about Kudzu. I do believe it is an unused herb. Can you do a vedio about it?

[@aomimezura11]

Is that a passionfruit plant? AKA maypop?

[@EatTheWeeds]

Go to my website, hover your cursor over "foraging." A drop down menu will show "foraging instructors." Click on it than scroll down to Maryland. There is an instructor there.

[@gwynedd1]

I do so as well since its where I live though the nearby marsh is nice. What is so odd about US landscaping in particular is it often worsens the useful aspects and in particular edibility. I did find a use for the blood root that preceded me which I am experimenting with powdery mildew. Kill that. However the lily of the valley also preceded me and is in reality just a hazard since I have a young boy. Perhaps for me when I am 90 . I also think non native should be an exception.

[@LaMomB]

Thanks...read more in Wikipedia, goldenrods are starting to bloom in the nature, that ought to attract them, haven't seen any since I stopped growing milkweed- their mother station.

[@EatTheWeeds]

Thanks... I've worn a beard for 37 years and two months, give or take one or two days... I started one the day I got out of the army.

[@EatTheWeeds]

No, different species altogether. Everything is edible on Kudzu except the seeds. Goats love it. Feed them Kudzu then sell the milk.

[@EatTheWeeds]

@LaMomB Try dogbane cow parsnip, fennel, and dill

[@EatTheWeeds]

Why not post your questions on the articles on my website? I have articles on the questions you are asking. I'd have to know the species but generally hibiscus blossoms are edible.

[@brendalalisan8383]

Is this similar to kudzu? I live in northern Louisiana and I have kudzu uncontrollably. I am trying to find ways to est this vlimbing vine.

[@EatTheWeeds]

They are very tasty. They really are like a zucchini potato cross in flavor. I think they are much better cooked than raw. I'm just irritated it took me over a year to sort it all out.

[@EatTheWeeds]

You learn about plants as did most of the humans on this earth until a short time ago, from someone. Usually there is a local expert in the local chapter of the Native Plant Society, and for a $25 membership you get to learn quickly and safely, in seasons. One can learn from books but it is slow and fraught with danger. The biggest error is making a plant fit a description. You can have two plants that differ by one detail but that one detail can be the difference between edible and toxic.

[@newby1627]

Mr. Green Dean, Can you do a video on the California poppy?

[@EatTheWeeds]

Make sure they are the same. Please be careful and research that well. I know the USDA is inept but they don't show it growing in your area. It is possible, however, and their records can be decades out of day. Just please be careful and get it right. Don't just use me and my blog. Seek out a local expert.

[@ApostleRon]

no doubt, the gov. actually lists dandy lion as being harful. we both know that plant is edible from the top to the root,or do we?(I do)

[@EatTheWeeds]

The USDA say it isn't there but the USDA can be decades out of date. If you have mild winters it could be there.

[@EatTheWeeds]

@dopeboylai Take a closer look. It is probably a chayote, not a Morrenia odorata (unless you live in South America.) They look a lot alike but one is a squash with a large nut, the other is not.

[@EatTheWeeds]

Well... got to do something different now and then or me and thee get bored. Don't forget you can rise this in a pot in northern climates.

[@EatTheWeeds]

There is little doubt that foragers here about have no idea it is edible. You can plant it in a pot, then take in in to over winter.

[@EatTheWeeds]

@ehermes83 The USDA map says no but such maps can be decades out of date.

[@ApostleRon]

I have learned that 98% of plants growing in a lawn are good for food. Perhaps I should have said this plainer on the other page. There is a milk weed here in NC that has a pod that is boiled 3 times like poke then frittered in deep fry. This is the milk weed that if the pod isnt eaten it turns into those seeds that blow everywhere. And this isnt a vine.

[@EatTheWeeds]

I would do a video on your species of milkweed but it doesn't grow here. But I used to eat a lot of it long ago up north.

[@FacetsOfTruth]

I have them all over my fence here in Ohio. They are not that fat though. I wonder if they are indeed 'Milkweed' I've been told that they are. When you break them open in late fall, they contain numerous flat-seeds with cotton-like-parachute tops. Are these (that grow upon my fences here, Milkweeds, do you think, even though they are much thinner and more 'comma' shaped?

[@EatTheWeeds]

@FacetsOfTruth Different species. You are probably looking at cynanchum laeve, not edible as far as I know.

[@fbt2007]

Wow, they look rather tasty! I'll have look to see if I can get some seeds and plant them in my garden. Yes, I'll check carefully with a local expert, if I can find one:-) You are very good at drilling that into us. Great research on your part by the way. Thanks for another great video Green Deane!

[@jennysmith3620]

U r amazing!!! If i knew wut u knew...wow

[@BoingotheClown]

Maybe you should contact the state government and convince them to start a public information campaign to get people eating them. Ultimate weed control!

[@Jefferdaughter]

Green Dean talks about that issue repeatedly throughout his videos & on his website. He points out that those who learn about 'wild' edibles & edibles plants often used as ornamentals, will soon become aware of the abundance of food out there that cannot be eaten BECAUSE of pollution (weedkillers, air & soil pollution near highways, polluted water, etc). You are not being pranoid; you are being smart!

[@newby1627]

Or perhaps, Succulents? Are they Edible?? Thank you Sir!

[@EatTheWeeds]

The state says it is an escaped ornamental, and maybe they are right. They looked into in in 1957. But I am willing to bet it was cultivated for food by someone because it isn't ornamental. I suspect non-foragers figured it was ornamental not a food crop.

[@LarpyTales]

The common milkweed plant, not milkweed vine, is what monarch butterflies feed on. As he eats it all the time I'm sure he knows if the vine is edible or not. Now, common milkweed is in my edible plant books as edible. The milky sap is poisonous, but apparently these are rendered harmless through boiling. According to Edible wild plants of eastern/central north America a patterson field guide. Make sure you have the right plants though! the common milkweed is asclepias syriaca

[@EatTheWeeds]

Milkweed fluff

[@EatTheWeeds]

95% is toxic or not edible. Most of the 95% will make you just sick, some of that 95% can kill you. Within any given area there are usually less than a dozen prime wild edibles. Add secondary edibles and you might be able to stretch that to two or three dozen. But as a forager, you will rely on less than a dozen edibles usually. It is far easier to learn those few edibles than the thousands of non-edibles. Toxic plants vary from region to region.

[@FuzzSquatch]

Please do not confuse with the other milkweed vine, ‘Cynanchum laeve’.

[@benbishop7775]

Deane do you know if Cynanchum laeve aka honeyvine or blue vine is edible the same way this is?

[@greendeane1]

It is not edible. If you go to my homepage and click on Not Edible it is the third entry,

[@benbishop7775]

Thanks for the reply. Your explanation says it shouldn't be eaten because it can stop your heart (cardiac glycosides I assume). But doesn't regular milkweed have those too? There must be something about honeyvine that makes it more poisionous/toxic.

[@TheShoreman1]

I need to find a "local expert" in Maryland. Do you suggest or know of anyone? I will be coming to take some of your classes as soon as I can afford to get to Florida. Thanks.

[@3dclothes889]

This plant is a vegetable in Jamaica it is called cho cho. I cannot believe you guys think it is a weed.

[@DANGJOS]

This is related to the monarch's milkweed that contains poisons and your saying it has none??

[@DANE842]

So, if botanists don't pay particular attention to edible wild plants and the USDA is inept, how does one become an expert?

[@EatTheWeeds]

Do you mean are most trees edible? No. 95% of the plants in a given area (including trees) are not edible. That is why one learns what is edible. It easier than learning what is not edible.

[@EatTheWeeds]

Green Jeans... or is it green genes?

[@Jefferdaughter]

Good point, HappyBuddyPerson! I agree, edibles foraged away from highways, heavily sprayed areas (weedkillers, pesticides, herbicides) & other concentrated sources of toxic pollution are almost certainly safer than factory farmed foods! Green Deane says he's nver been made sick by a wild plant, but only by a safe food plant that was growing in a toxic environment. He warns us to be careful to harvest plants that are growing in (relatively) uncontaminated settings. Bon appetite!

[@EatTheWeeds]

No, most vines like most plants, are not edible. Only about 5% of all plants are edible.

[@mrvideogamevideos]

Green Deane, green bean, plants. Eh? Eh?

[@EatTheWeeds]

Ya know... professional botanista specialize and most of them don't know "nuthin" about edible wild plants. And many of the few who do, have a great disdain to do so. It is as if they think of themselves as at the top of the brain chain on plants and to eat a wild one is to be primitive. So, it is difficult to get botanists in positions of authority to see let alone endorse edibility. It just doesn't show up on their radar, kinda like health doesn't show up on doctors' screens either.

[@inverseelity1972]

That's not honeyvine milkweed... The inside of the REAL milkvine has mostly seeds and the fruit is skinny shaped. I'm confused

[@Paladin57]

Great video! Had never heard of this plant before, wish it grew up here in Virginia. I've really learned a lot from these videos. Thanks again Deane :)

[@Tialakit]

I got an edible plants of the rockies book at a local museum the problem is right after they tell you it's edible they proceed to tell you the Many reasons you should avoid eating many at a time. Almost all the fruits you mention refuse to grow in my area because it gets far too cold.