Page 128 - The Lost Ways
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The whole plant—leaves, flowers, and shoots—is edible. When young, they taste like
lettuce, and as they age, they get a little peppery. Use them fresh and raw alone or with
other greens. The flowers add color and flavor. You can boil them as a potherb or even
stir fry them for a nice, tender, crisp side vegetable.
Lambs Quarters (Chenopodium album, Chenopodium berlanieri)
Some species are native to the U.S., while others are naturalized from Europe. Lambs
quarters can be found in all corners of the country. Some species grow up to six feet tall,
but most stay less than three feet.
The stems are green and sometimes have a red streak. The leaves grow up to four inches
long and are triangle- or diamond-shaped, forming a rosette at the tip. In some species,
the center of the rosette has a reddish hue, but more often it’s a downy white.
The identifying features of lambs quarters is the white, powdery down that coats the
underside of the leaves. Lambs quarters often grow in small clusters near the same area
every year, so once you identify it, you can harvest it indefinitely.
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