Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
There are also many wild edible plant stems. In North America, these include the shoots of woodsorrel (usually eaten along with the leaves), chickweeds, galinsoga, common purslane, Japanese knotweed, winter cress and other wild mustards, thistles (de-thorned), stinging nettles (cooked), bellworts, violets, amaranth and slippery elm, among many others.
An edible seed [n 1] is a seed that is suitable for human or animal consumption. Of the six major plant parts, [ n 2 ] seeds are the dominant source of human calories and protein . [ 1 ] A wide variety of plant species provide edible seeds; most are angiosperms , while a few are gymnosperms .
Humans eat thousands of plant species; there may be as many as 75,000 edible species of angiosperms, of which perhaps 7,000 are often eaten. [2] Edible plants found in nature include flowers, seeds, berries, seaweed, and cacti. Being able to identify the versions of these plants that are safe to eat is an important survival skill. [3]
Leaves, boiled as a vegetable, or raw with the shoots if young Seeds, raw or toasted, or ground to flour [37] Spear saltbush, common orache Atriplex patula: Semi-arid deserts and coastal areas in Asia, North America, Europe, and Africa Young leaves and shoots, raw or cooked as a substitute for spinach [8] Ice plant, sour fig: Carpobrotus edulis
Grapes being trodden to extract the juice and made into wine in storage jars. Tomb of Nakht, 18th dynasty, Thebes, Ancient Egypt. Human uses of plants include both practical uses, such as for food, clothing, and medicine, and symbolic uses, such as in art, mythology and literature. Materials derived from plants are collectively called plant ...
The leaves of many fodder crops are also edible for humans, but are usually only eaten under famine conditions. Examples include alfalfa, clover, and most grasses, including wheat and barley. Food processing, such as drying and grinding into powder or pulping and pressing for juice, may involve these crop leaves in a diet.
There is no conclusive evidence in humans that polyphenols or other non-nutrient compounds from plants confer health benefits, mainly because these compounds have poor bioavailability, i.e., following ingestion, they are digested into smaller metabolites with unknown functions, then are rapidly eliminated from the body.
Glucosinolates occur in various edible plants such as cabbage (white cabbage, Chinese cabbage, broccoli), Brussels sprouts, watercress, arugula, horseradish, capers, and radishes where the breakdown products often contribute a significant part of the distinctive taste. The glucosinolates are also found in seeds of these plants.