Native Plants
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Wednesday - April 09, 2008
From: Kempner, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Edible Plants
Title: Is horseherb (Calyptocarpus vialis) edible?
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
Hello, I find horse-herb everywhere. Is it edible, too? Thanks!ANSWER:
Mr. Smarty Plants hasn't been able to find any information about the possible edibility of Calyptocarpus vialis (straggler daisy). None of the reference books listed below under "Bibliography" have listed it.However, we also haven't found it listed on any of our favorite toxic plant databases:
Poisonous Plants of North Carolina
Cornell University Poisonous Plants Informational Database
Canadian Poisonous Plants Information System
The City of Austin's Native and Adapted Landscape Plants says that is "somewhat deer resistant", which might indicate that it isn't very tasty—at least not to deer. You probably wouldn't get violently ill if you tried some (if it were deadly poisonous, I feel sure it would appear in at least one of those toxic databases), but you could possibly have some unpleasant reaction to it.
My advice is: Don't try it. Since it is so very common, if it were really delicious, someone would have talked about it by now.
More Edible Plants Questions
Is 'Hot Lips' salvia edible from Richmond TX
June 23, 2010 - Mr Smarty Plants,
I recently planted "Hot Lips" a form of Salvia Sage in my yard in Richmond Texas (just southwest of Houston). The leaves and flowers smell so great I would like to know if either ...
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Need source for garlic to plant in garden in Fort Worth, TX.
September 30, 2011 - Where can I get or purchase a native Texas garlic to plant in my garden?
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Is balsam gourd (Ibervillea lindheimeri) poisonous or edible?
August 18, 2008 - Is the Balsam Gourd edible or poisonous?
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Petals of flowers on cake from London
August 28, 2010 - Hi could you please confirm whether it is safe to position an amaryllis on top of a fresh cream cake (it will not be eaten, nor will the stem touch the cream, it will be positioned in a non toxic vial...
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Use of cenizo (Leucophyllum frutescens) for tea
February 20, 2006 - Back in the 50's when I spent the summers with my grandmother south of Hondo, Texas, she use to pick leaves from the cenizo (purple sage) bushes, dry them and then brew them for tea. I asked one of m...
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