Siberian Pea Tree aka Caragana Arborescens - Edible, but are they "good eats"?

Peas that grow on trees! The pictures around the web are attractive, but the sources are conflicted on just how tasty and practically useful these "pea trees" are as a food source. Everybody seems to agree that when cooked, they are edible; but nobody has much to say about how tasty they are, and the edibility of raw/young pods is in dispute, with some sources recommending cooking. Worlds like "bland" also get used.

One post I found here on Permies had this to say:

Deborha d'Arms wrote:
The Siberian Pea Tree/shrub, very hardy to 40 degrees below, is a stunning tree yielding pea pods at 36 grams protein, which can be used the same way one would use lentils. They can be bland but respond well to flavoring.

What I want for this thread are:

1) Your personal anecdotes about how you have tasted, used, or cooked with the products of this tree;

2) Any links you know of to practical discussions of how to cook and use the products of this tree, especially the fresh pods and/or young seeds;

3) Any links to detailed ethnographical discussions of the traditional usages of this tree's products.

Whatcha got?

I've wanted to know the same thing for some time. Hopefully someone can shed some light on the subject.

I have never heard of anybody eating them other than in Siberia, where nothing edible is overlooked.
With 36% protein, they do make an excellent livestock fodder.

Here is what J.L. Hudson's catalog has to say about them:

A road we walk on fairly often has a whole bunch of Siberian pea shrubs on a south facing hill right along the side, maybe a mile long.
Last spring I picked a green pod, opened it and popped the 6 or so immature green seeds in my mouth, tasted to me just like peas, but much smaller and maybe with a slight Lima bean texture.
I had maybe a dozen pods on the walk, more for my own interest than for hunger purposes.
I could see steaming a big bowl with butter and having it taste a lot like spring peas. The pods are not good like a pea pod though.
I plan on transplanting a bunch of small pea shrubs from this area and into my garden for chop and drop nitro fixers. Maybe snacks too.

It has been many years ago but I tried to eat them like peas. They tasted like peas to me. I don't remember if I tried the pod.
Once they dry out in the fall mine would curl up into a spiral and explode, sending seeds everywhere. At this stage the pod is very dry and sharp to the touch. I did not try to eat the seeds at this stage.

So the innovation would be a way to get the green peas out of the pod without so much work. Or to find out if the pods are edible at an early stage.

I have tons of these but I've never tried to eat the peas before. I suppose I could give it a try this year. I have a fair bit of the pea seeds for planting but that's it.

They're not too bad, but they're not too great either. It's also very hard to collect a lot. I think these are best collected by chickens but maybe someone will breed them for bigger peas one day.

Thank you Craig Dobbelyu for offering seeds this year.
Anyone else have additional info on taste of these? Length of time for cooking? Etc.
Bland can always be fixed with an herb garden.
additional info: http://www.pfaf.org/user/plant.aspx?LatinName=Caragana+arborescens

Hey all.  I've read the Siberian Pea Shrub posts with great interest.  I started some, and they're doing well in their starter pots.  But in a Google search for planting info, I see that it's invasive in Minnesota / Wisconsin, and so checked with my local DNR person to make sure I wouldn't be throwing a wrench in my local ecosystem by planting it.  His reply:   "As for Siberian pea…I don’t know much about it other than what you know.  If it is actually Siberian peashrub (caragana arborescens), (other cultivars may be okay), you probably should not plant it."  I hate to toss these little seedlings, and I'm sure the plants would make great feed for my chickens.  Can I plant these on my 10-acre zone 4a (Wisconsin) farm and keep the seeds from spreading beyond my borders?  I see that one Permie posted that he walks by a row of them near his Minnesota home; it makes me wonder if they're out there and not ruining our natural habitat as much as it would seem.  Feedback would be so helpful!  

Judith Driscoll wrote:Hey all.  I've read the Siberian Pea Shrub posts with great interest.  I started some, and they're doing well in their starter pots.  But in a Google search for planting info, I see that it's invasive in Minnesota / Wisconsin, and so checked with my local DNR person to make sure I wouldn't be throwing a wrench in my local ecosystem by planting it.  His reply:   "As for Siberian pea…I don’t know much about it other than what you know.  If it is actually Siberian peashrub (caragana arborescens), (other cultivars may be okay), you probably should not plant it."  I hate to toss these little seedlings, and I'm sure the plants would make great feed for my chickens.  Can I plant these on my 10-acre zone 4a (Wisconsin) farm and keep the seeds from spreading beyond my borders?  I see that one Permie posted that he walks by a row of them near his Minnesota home; it makes me wonder if they're out there and not ruining our natural habitat as much as it would seem.  Feedback would be so helpful!  

I planted them all around my chicken coop.  Mine aren't producing seed yet, but I'm hoping they will this year.  I can tell you they haven't spread via roots, so I'm not at all worried about them becoming invasive.  I'm hoping they do spread and save me planting lots more of them.  They fix nitrogen, feed chickens, possibly feed humans, and, as near as I can tell, are maintenance free.  I can't believe they are that invasive.  I've never seen one growing wild and no one I mention them to has ever heard of them.  I guess the biggest question would be, what is beyond your borders?  If it is established forest, I can't see pea shrub taking over.  If it is a farmer's field, they will till to often for them to take hold.  You may have a valid concern if there is a big fairly open area that no one runs animals on.  If you decide against planting them, you aren't too far from me, I may be able to "dispose" of them for you

Thank you, Todd.  Those are great observations.  Since I have conventional farm fields on three sides, and a road on the 4th, I guess I'm safe.  I did worry about birds or other animals spreading the seeds further, but if you have never seen any growing wild, I think I'm safe.  

I guess I'll go ahead and plant the four or five seedlings that I have.  I'm willing to share a few, though, as I think I'l seeing a few more poking through after all the rain.  Planting close to your chicken coop is a great idea!  

Judy

So I just found a field of what looks like siberian pea growing wild in east tn. Are there any domestic look alikes?

Sorry can't help you with lookalikes, I just bought a house with three of them in the front garden trained as weeping standards, as to good eats, the flower I tried earlier was nice, fresh and pea tasting sweet from the nectar with a very very faint bitter aftertaste.

Hey all,

I know this is an older thread, but does anyone have any further thoughts on Siberian Pea Shrub seed edibility? Online reports vary from totally edible to slightly toxic. I'm considering it for a useful hedgerow. As for seed harvesting, has anyone tried laying tarps under the trees when seeds are maturing/exploding?

Thanks!

Steve

I've eaten some of the seeds always fresh without cooking and prefer them when they are slightly under ripe. Regarding harvesting the seeds the tarp idea is valid as 90 percent of the pods pop during a 2 to 3 day period. I prefer to go a week or so before they are ready to pop and fill a bucket with the pods, as the pods dry and pop everything stays in the bucket then I just sift out the shells and end up with seeds to plant. They make great hedge row shrubs.

Thank you, all of you, for this wonderful info!

I collected some of the little yellow flowers and sprinkled them on freshly baked lemon squares and some on choc cake with icing.  Very pretty.  
I also use the lil purple flowers from the
Eastern Redbud Tree.  Always interesting comments from friends who receive the baking.  Nothing negative!  A real conversation piece.  Paula

Todd Parr wrote:

Judith Driscoll wrote:Hey all.  I've read the Siberian Pea Shrub posts with great interest.  I started some, and they're doing well in their starter pots.  But in a Google search for planting info, I see that it's invasive in Minnesota / Wisconsin, and so checked with my local DNR person to make sure I wouldn't be throwing a wrench in my local ecosystem by planting it.  His reply:   "As for Siberian pea…I don’t know much about it other than what you know.  If it is actually Siberian peashrub (caragana arborescens), (other cultivars may be okay), you probably should not plant it."  I hate to toss these little seedlings, and I'm sure the plants would make great feed for my chickens.  Can I plant these on my 10-acre zone 4a (Wisconsin) farm and keep the seeds from spreading beyond my borders?  I see that one Permie posted that he walks by a row of them near his Minnesota home; it makes me wonder if they're out there and not ruining our natural habitat as much as it would seem.  Feedback would be so helpful!  

I planted them all around my chicken coop.  Mine aren't producing seed yet, but I'm hoping they will this year.  I can tell you they haven't spread via roots, so I'm not at all worried about them becoming invasive.  I'm hoping they do spread and save me planting lots more of them.  They fix nitrogen, feed chickens, possibly feed humans, and, as near as I can tell, are maintenance free.  I can't believe they are that invasive.  I've never seen one growing wild and no one I mention them to has ever heard of them.  I guess the biggest question would be, what is beyond your borders?  If it is established forest, I can't see pea shrub taking over.  If it is a farmer's field, they will till to often for them to take hold.  You may have a valid concern if there is a big fairly open area that no one runs animals on.  If you decide against planting them, you aren't too far from me, I may be able to "dispose" of them for you

Hi Todd, are you still around? I see this is an older thread. I’ve got access to a bunch of peashrub seed pods that are almost ripe right now. I’m considering collecting a bunch and saving them to feed to chickens this winter. Do you know if they can eat the whole pod or should I only feed them the “peas”?

Marc Dube wrote:Steve

I've eaten some of the seeds always fresh without cooking and prefer them when they are slightly under ripe. Regarding harvesting the seeds the tarp idea is valid as 90 percent of the pods pop during a 2 to 3 day period. I prefer to go a week or so before they are ready to pop and fill a bucket with the pods, as the pods dry and pop everything stays in the bucket then I just sift out the shells and end up with seeds to plant. They make great hedge row shrubs.

Hi Marc,

This bucket idea sounds great. I’ve never harvested these before but have access to a bunch that are getting brown right now. I’m guessing they will be ripe pretty soon. Do you put the bucket in the sun to let them burst or what? I have a garage I could keep them in but it gets very damp and in the 50s at night and i dont want them to get moldy or damp instead of popping open.

Hi Marc,

This bucket idea sounds great. I’ve never harvested these before but have access to a bunch that are getting brown right now. I’m guessing they will be ripe pretty soon. Do you put the bucket in the sun to let them burst or what? I have a garage I could keep them in but it gets very damp and in the 50s at night and i dont want them to get moldy or damp instead of popping open.


When I dried them in the buckets I kept them in the garage where it was hot. I think the hotter but drier the better to help them dry out and pop open.

Thanks for the reminder i need to collect some more myself.

There is one look-alike to Caragana, and it is deadly poison: scotch broom. Really, you’d only mistake it for caragana if the only info you had on it was “yellow flowered legume shrub”, but ignorance is a powerful thing.

Hi all, Interesting thread !

I found good information compilation on this link : https://www.onlyfoods.net/caragana-arborescens-siberian-pea-shrub.html
...where the following quote can be found:

Pods and seeds of pea shrub are both edible. Oil can be extracted from the seeds which is also edible.
As the seeds have a bland taste, it tastes bests when spiced up. Young pods are eaten as cooked vegetables.

I have not tried them yet, but I hope to do so soon. Last year I bought three plants about 2-3 years old. I planted them in my forest garden. I don't know exactly when they start to be productive, but I hope that happens not very late  :)

I ate it once. The taste when boiled is quite good (kinda like beans, but milder). However...
Apparently, if you trace the sources claiming that siberian pea shrub is edible backwards, it's slightly shaky. There is no solid evidence that it has been eaten by people in its native range (although it has been used medicinally) and all of the sources essentially just quote each other. As far as I know, there is no actual evidence that it's safe for long-term use.  Here's an article discussing it (poorly translated, but still): https://skogsträdgården.stjärnsund.nu/kallkritik/?lang=en

I haven’t tried it myself, but in my opinion, all pulses could be described as “bland, but responds well to cooking”

Eino Kenttä wrote:I ate it once. The taste when boiled is quite good (kinda like beans, but milder). However...
Apparently, if you trace the sources claiming that siberian pea shrub is edible backwards, it's slightly shaky. There is no solid evidence that it has been eaten by people in its native range (although it has been used medicinally) and all of the sources essentially just quote each other. As far as I know, there is no actual evidence that it's safe for long-term use.  Here's an article discussing it (poorly translated, but still): https://skogsträdgården.stjärnsund.nu/kallkritik/?lang=en

I volunteer to be the guinea pig. I will collect, cook, and eat large amounts of the seeds for a week, (maybe with rice?) and report on the effects. First I will have to get enough of them growing, though. Really, I want to combine it with Jerusalem artichokes as a perennial staple mix.

@Myron Platte

My man! I too would really love to have caragana and sunchokes as staples! When will you begin the human trial?

Matt Armstrong wrote:@Myron Platte

My man! I too would really love to have caragana and sunchokes as staples! When will you begin the human trial?

As soon as I get enough volume. It looks like that will take a couple years, though. I only know of a couple producing specimens in my area, and I am propagating them out, by seed and transplant.

The really long game plan is for chestnut to be a starch staple, as well, and possibly a Fukuoka-style wheat patch.

Historian here, I have a source from the 18th century (1778) where a young nobleman from the north-easternmost edge of Europe on the frontier of the Russian Empire (today eastern Latvia) wanted to bring seeds from this Siberian Pea Tree (he simply called the plant "Siberian pea") to Italy, because there was interest in cultivating the plants for food there. Not clear from my source if he ever did get some seeds to Italy, but this suggests there is decent history of eating it at least close to its native range.

Has anyone tried to press oil from the peas?

Tasted one the other day.
The pod was only about a 1 1/2" long,the  pea was maybe 1/8" long.
It was sweet and mild, like you would expect from a young pea.

We just bought a house in Los Alamos, NM that has an established food forest on the property. We have 4 mature trees that are producing lots of pods right now. I'm going to try cooking the pods whole like garden peas. Shelling them seems like more trouble than it's worth. I'll report back any ill effects. I think the peas themselves have a nice flavor. Like a starchy garden pea. A bit stronger flavor. More bitter at the beginning and more sweet at the end

Shelling them is super easy, once they’re dry. They shell themselves, really. When I harvest mine, I think I’ll harvest the dry ones straight from the bush, into a big sack. They pop very easily.

Documenting the experiment here: https://permies.com/t/162705/permaculture-projects/Testing-edibility-Caragana-Arborescens-Siberian#1275319

I use caragana as an ingredient in wild and koji-fied miso and tamaris, even making ganjang (korean soy sauce) out of them. There's a lot of rich earthy flavors in them, and I cook them in several changes of water before using in misos. Here's a bit more: https://shofarm.com/blog/perennial-miso-siberian-peashrub-caragana-arborescens

Hi all,

I know this is an old thread, but I would like to draw your attention to some scientific studies that suggest that peas from the Siberian Pea shrubs (Caragana arborescens) may not be the best legume to add to your plate as a staple food.

Firstly, the peas from the Siberian Pea shrub contain a significant amount of the toxic amino acid arginine analogue L-Canavanine, according to the following article:

"Colutea arborescens, Caragana arborescens, Vicia gigantea, Robinia pseudoacacia and Wisteria floribunda, representative of many prolific canavanine producers, store from nearly 6 to 13% canavanine by dry weight" -- L-Canavanine: a higher plant insecticidal allelochemical, Amino Acids. 2001;21(3):319-30. doi: 10.1007/s007260170017, temporary link to the content of this article.

Secondly, this interesting article investigated the death of Chris McCandless in 1992 established the possibility of L-Canavanine toxicity, which was likely exacerbated by McCandless's state of malnutrition. Also, it describes reports of symptoms similar to systemic lupus erythematosus in monkeys and humans that consumed L-Canavanine in low concentrations (2 wt% of diet for the monkeys). -- Presence of L-Canavanine in Hedysarum alpinum Seeds
and Its Potential Role in the Death of Chris McCandless, Wilderness & Environmental Medicine. 2015;26:36-42.

I hope these articles provide food for thought!

The miso and koji is really interesting,  one of the reasons traditional cultures fermentented soy was to neutralize toxins as well, I wonder if fermented peashryb would effectively bind up, eliminate or convert the toxins into a safe product

Also worth noting that miso and Koji are used in small amounts in most of the recipes I've ever used

I know this is an old thread, but if anyone is looking. We live in Wyoming. Ours are 35 plus years old.! Never trimmed them and they are doing great! Never had any grow anywhere other than where they are at. Hopefully that answers some questions for others.