unusual Self-seeding raw edible perennial in temperate

Hi Steven,
Can you give me the name of a good-tasting unusual self-seeding raw edible perennial/biennial in a temperate climate. I just harvested skirret and I'm currently growing curly mallow, good king henry, earth chestnut, black salsify, artichoke, asparagus, linden, and horseradish for greens.
Thanks,
John S
PDX OR
zone 8

That's a good mix, John and several of them I cover in the book in detail: mallows, good king henry, black salsify, artichoke, asparagus and horseradish, all for greens, although for me the taste of raw Good King Henry has earned it the name Bad King Henry in my book!!

You ask for one unusual self-seeding raw edible perennial....have you tried Hablitzia tamnoides, a perennial self-seeding climbing plant that I introduced in this article in Permaculture Magazine in 2007: http://emmacooper.org/files/hablitzia.pdf
Again, the story is updated and covered in depth in the book.... I actually harvested a few spring shoots from under the snow yesterday, one of the earliest greens available!
I know Alan Kapuler (Peace Seeds) just south of you grows it (I sent him seed a few years back) and was the first to offer seed in North America. This year, Fedco Seeds are also offering seed!
Hablitzia shoots can be eaten raw in spring and older leaves are great cooked later in the season!

I plan to be in Oregon towards the end of August in the area Portalnd to Eugene and hope also to get up into the mountains for some inspirational foraging. Maybe see you then!!

Ho, thanks fr this one that I did not know!
Fond of chenopodium plants....

Can it grow in a non freezing place?

I am rarely over 30ºC in summer, and I have 10ºC now in the morning and evening.
Sme plants NEED cold...

I'm not sure how it would react to that kind of climate. Certainly not idea. But as long as it's not too hot and dry and you can grow it in a shady place, it might have a chance..

chenopodium album and muralis are growing here.

And a surprise, dendelion is doing great!
It is flowering all year long.

I have to try, for example millefolium is doing bad.
Yes I can have shade and fresher places in the bottom of the valley.

Tak Steven,
Jeg kan skrive bara litte Norsk. Farfar er fra Norge. Jeg er Nork-Amerikansk. Saltveit, Norge er i naerheten av Haugesund.
John S
PDX OR

I can only write a little bit of Norwegian. My grandfather is Norwegian. I am Norwegian American. Saltveit, Norway is near Haugesund. Submitted under duress.

Stephen, why do you recommend not eating the mature leaves of Hablitzia tamnoides raw? Is the flavor too strong? Are they fibrous? Could they be added to green smoothies to dilute the flavor and tame the fibers? Is it somehow bad for us if the mature leaves are eaten raw?

Could one ferment the mature leaves and safely eat them raw that way?

I am a 99% raw vegan and want to eat the older leaves raw if that would not hurt me.

Thank you.

Hi Pamela,

That's a good point!! That the older leaves were actually good came as a surprise when I tried them last summer. I had expected that they would be too coarse. To be honest, I have yet to try them raw, but they may well be just fine in the ways you suggest. I'll try them raw in the summer and report back or tell you myself in Portland

Hi, Stephen,

Thank you. I sure do hope you will visit Portland this Summer! Portlanders, and denizens of the Pacific Northwest, wouldn't that be great? If you want that to happen, please let him know!

Is there any way to find out if Hablitzia tamnoides would hurt us if eaten raw, now that the customs of eating this plant have unfortunately been obscured by neglect? As I am sure you know well, sometimes plants can taste great raw, but eating some specific vegetables raw is not good for our health. I do not want anyone harmed here with experimentation.

But if the shoots can be eaten raw, probably the mature leaves can be as well. I cannot imagine why that would not be the case.

As I am also sure you know, there is great value in eating many (not all) vegetables raw, as then the enzymes and vitamins have not been destroyed by heat, and the forms of the minerals are intact. These benefits are still available in fermented food, but the problems with eating the veggie raw are sometimes mitigated by fermentation.

Thank you for any light that can be shed on this issue.