Young Inflorescence of cabbage tree tasty

The peeled young inflorescence (flowering shoot) of Cordyline australis (white bit pictured above) is very good to eat in my experience, though I have not eaten a great number. It is similar to water chestnut in texture, somewhat nutty in taste and free of fibers. It is one of the more substantial and pleasing edible offerings of the New Zealand flora, for me a welcome break from the endless supply of introduced wild greens in NZ. 

This use is not listed anywhere in the literature of edible New Zealand native plants as far as I know. Perhaps this is because it is often out of reach, tending to be very high up on trees difficult or impossible to climb. Crowe (1) lists pretty much every other conceivable part of this plant as edible and no part of it has ever been listed as remotely toxic (2), so I feel very confident eating it.

I got the idea of eating it from the fact that the young peeled inflorescences of related and similar Yuccas, from the Americas, are edible (3).

For me this makes Cabbage Tree a much more realistic and reliable edible resource as the inflorescence is produced yearly (or at least biennially) and removing it does not really damage the plant (the inflorescence will die in a few months anyway (I suppose birds not being able to harvest the berries that would have followed might be a consideration.)) Other edible parts of this plant represent extremely low productivity in my experience and harvesting them damages or kills the tree. Still, accessing the inflorescence is a major problem, I wonder if the inflorescence is still produced if the plant is kept pruned to a practical height, otherwise reaching and grabbing equipment would usually be needed. The smaller species and varieties of Cordyline would also be worth investigating. 

Cabbage tree may be especially worth considering as a crop for sites with extreme coastal exposure where few edible plants thrive. The inflorescence is not produced in great abundance on trees that do not branch but on trees with many branches productivity is perhaps satisfactory.

It does not look like the chemical composition/nutritional value of cabbage tree inflorescence has been studied. I could only find one chemical analysis of the inflorescence of the related and similar Yucca, it contains crude protein and crude fat (4).   

1. Crowe, Andrew. A Field Guide to the Native Edible Plants of New Zealand. 1997.

2. (e.g., not in) Connor H.E. The Poisonous Plants in New Zealand. 1992.

3. Couplan, Francois. The Encyclopedia of Edible Plants of America. Nature's Green Feast. 1998.

4. Effects of replacement of alfalfa by inflorescences of Yucca carnerosana in the diet on performance of growing goats. M. Mellado et al. Livestock Science. July 2009.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S187114130800320X#:~:text=It%20was%20concluded%20that%2050,effects%20on%20their%20growth%20performance.

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Some other New Zealand native plants I sometimes eat that are not listed as edible in any book or anywhere else (so some caution advised). I also don't recommend experimenting with new plant foods unless you are very experienced. I studied little known edible and toxic plants for 30 years before I started trying new things: 

ota

Pyrrosia eleagnifolia (ota, leather-leaf fern). An epiphytic fern which is often abundant in improbable niches in older urban environments. The Fronds or "leaves" are eatable raw but very nice and crispy if fried very briefly, good as a snack. I feel fairly confident eating this as it has been claimed (the shoots of) all native ferns can be eaten (How to Survive in the Bush, on the Coast, in the Mountains of New Zealand. Fight Lieutenant B Hildreth. 1962). But more and more ferns are being found to be carcinogenic, the carcinogenicity of Pyrrosia eleagnifolia is not known. I only eat it occasionally and boil it for 20 minutes beforehand as this is done with potentially carcinogenic but popular Bracken fronds in Russia, apparently reducing or eliminating the danger. This plant does not seem to grow very quickly so harvesting it a lot is probably questionable.  

Hebe bud

Hebe salicifolia and similar species. The soft young leaf buds have been consumed raw for medicinal purposes (for diarrhoea) in fairly large quantities at a time (Maori Healing and Herbal. M Riley 2010). I find them tasty with a pleasing texture boiled. Multiple leaf buds basically form a single unit before opening and separating so they are a bit more substantial and satisfying than a single leaf but not as much as asparagus, say. Hebe regrows fairly quickly after pruning so this seems to be a sustainable practice, though not especially productive.

Myrsine australis. The fruit is tiny but produced in bunches so a number can be collected with one gesture. The only interesting thing about them is the seeds have a pleasant crunch which could add interest to a dish. Some other Myrsine fruit are eaten overseas (Tanaka's Cyclopedia of Edible Plants of the World. 1976). 

Collospermum hastatum. The berries are known to be edible. I've also eaten the base of the young flower stem which is good, presumably much like the "bland and tender" base of the flower stem of the similar Astelia solandri eaten by Crowe (1.)

Cooked unripe seedpods of rengarenga (rock lily)

Arthropodium cirratum (rengarenga).  I find the best part of rengarenga is the unripe seedpod, about the same size, shape and colour as a pea. Boiled for 10 minutes they are delicious, a cross between bean and asparagus in flavor with a soft yet firm texture, also reasonably satisfying. They are usually produced in reasonable quantities and harvesting does not harm the plant. They also grow at a convenient height. I have not eaten a great number but am sure they are non-toxic like all parts of this plant. 

The base of the flower stem is reasonably thick, palatable & seems harmless to me. The tender white leaf base also seems to be fine to eat though productivity is rather low as the plant grows fairly slowly. I also occasionally nibble the bland tasting flowers and young flower buds. The rhizomes have been reported to have been eaten by early Maori, it appears this may have just been inferred from the fact that the plant was found around settlements (Crowe (quoting Colenso). Ref 1). I've found the rhizomes far too tough to eat so far, perhaps they need to be very young like some other rhizomes. I also can't find any first hand accounts of anyone eating them, I've even wondered if it was the above ground parts that were eaten in the past, rather than the rhizomes, though that seems unlikely. No part is listed as toxic anywhere. It is commonly grazed by animals (9).

Tecomanthe speciosa. I have eaten the vaguely substantial & satisfying (solid) growing tip of this vine about 30 times, spaced over long periods, with no noticeable damage. It tastes much like the bitter edible leaves of Plantago major, complex in flavor but strangely, not bad. But the bitterness may indicate toxicity. Apparently goats ate/destroyed all but one of this species on its native island, found on a cliff this single plant is apparently the source of all plants found in cultivation. Goats eating a lot of something probably indicates it is not highly toxic but they sometimes safely consume mildly toxic species by eating a little at a time mixing it with more palatable species. They occasionally poison themselves.

Pittosporum crassifolium. Karo. I've tried eating the immature fruit before the seeds develop (mature fruit do not seem eatable). They seem to be edible raw but not very palatable and a bit tough. Boiled they are better, soft but a little dry in texture, with a slight resinous, musty, pea flavor, but mostly bland. Not bad, not great. Baked they are a bit too chewy and strong in flavor. They produce no unusual sensations in the mouth, I've swallowed about 20 at a time with no noticeable ill effects. Perhaps it has some culinary potential, could be added to stir fries maybe. The fact that the tree thrives in extreme coastal wind exposure may be a plus. 

There are no reports of toxicity in any Pittosporum that I can find though the leaves of this and other New Zealand Pittosporum tested contain saponins (5), the fruit do not seem to have been tested but may be the same. Saponins are not considered great to eat but are generally regarded as basically harmless to humans (toxic to fish, a Pittosporum has been used as a fish stupefier in the Islands (6) the fish then eaten). Saponins occur in a number of common foods. In experiments on rats large rations (60% of diet) of the leaves of the related Pittosporum tenuifolium resulted in weight loss, lower does there was weight gain (2). Presumably that means "everything in moderation". The gum of other New Zealand Pittosporums was eaten by Maori (1), the immature fruit of P. crassifolium has a similar taste to this gum. The bitter seeds of the Australian Pittosporum phylliraeoides have been made into flour and the gum has been eaten (7). The ripe fruit of Pittosporum viridiflorum is eaten raw in Africa (8).

 I have not tried the unripe fruit of other New Zealand Pittosporum yet, I expect they are the same.

Disclaimer: Although I have eaten all of the plants listed here in modest amounts with no noticeable ill effects, unknown toxicity is a possibility with any new food. Caution is advised. 

Also worth mentioning:

The unripe fruits of New Zealand flax (Phormium tenax, cookianuun) have a pleasant texture and taste boiled but are also extremely "hot", a bit like chili peppers. I've wondered if a similar taste could be acquired for this "heat" but I suspect it is too sharp and severe to have any culinary potential. I have only eaten a few. There is no record of any part of flax being toxic (2) aside from the purgative effect of the roots (1) but humans and animals may have never eaten much because of this heat so any toxicity may have never been detected (the heat in chili pepper is considered to be there to discourage consumption but it obviously didn't work with humans). 

Clianthus maximus/Clinathus puniceus. Kaka beak. There are a few people saying the pods are or may be edible online. Crowe (1) does not mention it as edible. The plant was only found around Maori settlements by early European settlers, not in the wild, suggesting they may have grown it for food, but it is also thought it may have just been an ornamental. Conner (2) says it is not suspected of being toxic. It is eagerly eaten by all sorts of animals.

I boiled and ate 3 pods of one of the Clianthus, not sure which, with no noticeable harm, they taste good, like peas or beans but most of the ones I tried had a few tough fibers that had to be removed from the mouth and thrown away, they were also a little dry, not great. It is possible the ones I tried were fibrous and dry because they were over-mature. It might be desirable as one of the few perennial legume crops if pods are better when young.

Update 8/24. Since writing the above in 2020 I've noticed Peter Langlands, in Foraging New Zealand 2024, also recommends the leaf base and stem of Arthropdium cirratum, cooked as food (without reference), he also mentions cabbage tree flower shoots (not entirely clear referring to peeled young shoot as I have) and unripe flax fruit as edible, though I only speculated a taste might possibly be acquired for their heat.

Refs

1. Crowe, Andrew. A Field Guide to the Native Edible Plants of New Zealand. 1997.

2. Connor H.E. The Poisonous Plants in New Zealand. 1992.

5.  A New Zealand Phytochemical Register -Part 1. S G  Brooker, R C Cambie. 1963. Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand. Vol 1. No 7.

6. BATIRI KEI BARAVI: THE ETHNOBOTANY OF PACIFIC ISLAND COASTAL PLANTS BY R R THAMAN. ATOLL RESEARCH BULLETIN NO. 361

7. Wild Food Plants of Australia. T. Low. 1991.

8. Ethno Botanical Study of Wild Edible Plants in Adola District, Southern, Ethiopia Sintayo Demise,  Zebene Asfaw. IJRAR May 2020, Volume 7, Issue 2

9. https://scd.landcareresearch.co.nz/Specimen/CHR%20567807

Some images from art book "Fight for Harmony" by David Nicholls

'Fight for Harmony' is a 70 page book of paintings in which a "heroine" fights to transform evil into good. The book is intended to offer a fantasy alternative to the traditional action hero who tends to shoot and kill evil. 

The "heroine" represents (the best of) human culture or civilization, "evil" consists of rampant base instincts. In the end, after a prolonged struggle to "heal" and "mature" evil, both good and evil make sacrifices and unite to form a harmonious whole. The freedom and unity a community can then enjoy is represented by numerous individual "parts" continuously rearranging to form a series of contrasting eco-communities.

The book was intended to be utter fantasy, something desirable but currently impossible. But since making the book I learned of mentalization therapy which is being used to treat anti-social personality disorder and narcissism, so maybe evil can be transformed into good. 

I also later read in a New York Times review of the book 'The Dawn of Everything' which claims "recent archaeological discoveries show that early humans, far from being blind automatons moving in evolutionary lock step in response to material pressures, self-consciously experimented with "a carnival parade of political forms" ". So perhaps a deliberately, continuously, self-transforming society is not impossible either. I am very skeptical of the influence rationality can have in successfully reshaping society, instincts, especially for domination, are in charge I think, currently at least, it's conceivable they weren't with "early humans".

Hedychium gardnerianum flower very tasty

Apparently only the huge B and T World Seeds list of edible flowers reports the glorious flowers of Hedychium gardnerianum as edible. They are one of the tastiest flowers I have ever eaten (though most edible flowers are quite bland). They taste rather like the related ginger as one might expect. They are a bit intense on their own but good added in moderation to stir-fry, soup or salad.

I also tried the peeled pith of young shoots and the pith of the base of mature stems, both are easily eaten and similar in flavor. I could not find any record of the stems or shoots being eaten by humans* but the shoots of at least two other Hedychium are used as food, Hedychium coronarium(1) and Hedychium densiflorum (2). I have only tried the shoots of Hedychium coronarium which taste much the same, gingery. Since references to these two species being eaten in their native habitats are quite recent and rare it is possible Hedychium gardnerianum shoots are also eaten locally but this has just not entered the literature yet. 

I found Hedychium gardnerianum growing vigorously in quite a difficult spot at my place, on a steep bank under considerable (but not complete) shade of conifers and other trees. This plant is officially considered a weed here in New Zealand. Perhaps it deserves to be considered a national treasure not a pest. 

* Since writing this in 2020 I noticed a 2023 paper stating the shoots and fruit of Hedychium gardnerianum are edible: Foods from the wild: A review on the diversity and use pattern of wild edible plants of Arunachal Himalaya for sustainable management. Pinaki Adhikary 2023.

 

Refs

1. Edible Roots and Underground Stems of Ethnic India. S K Sood, Ved Prakash 2007.

2. ETHNOBOTANICAL STUDIES ON KHAMBA AND ADI TRIBES OF TUTING AREA, UPPER SIANG DISTRICT, ARUNACHAL PRADESH. L.R. Bhuyan*, Yapi Pangu, Ngilyang Tam. Bulletin of Arunachal Forest Research, Vol. 32 (1&2), 27-40: 2017

Aloe vera as food.

Aloe vera leaves have been used as food in India, China, Vietnam and the Mediterranean, at least historically (Tanaka's Cyclopedia of Edible Plants of the World. Tyozaburo Tanaka. 1976.)

The leaves are invariably reported to be bitter and raw they definitely are too bitter for most (if not all) palates.

However chopped up into pieces a few cm long and boiled for 8-10 minutes they loose their bitterness and have quite a nice taste, reminiscent of  Pac Choy or Celery with a distinctive texture also somewhat like Pac Choy.

I'm not sure if it grows fast enough in temperate climates to be very useful in the vegetable garden but since it spreads to form a dense ground cover it uses space very efficiently (no gaps between plants).

Pigeons like eating worm casting waste

A rather strange thing my pigeons very much like to do is eat the sludge that comes out of the tap of my tiger worm farms. They are well fed on grain and are actually quite fussy about what they eat. They've been doing this for many years with no noticeable ill effects, perhaps there is a benefit. Birds normally eat worms of course, which would include some castings still in the worms. Perhaps the remains of worms themselves are nutritious and attractive.

Dominance Bias Recognition as Philosophical Tool

A common flaw or bias in thinking I think I have noticed, that I have not seen much writing on, is "dominance bias" *. People will tend to believe anything that construes them as dominant, or makes them feel dominant, in line with the universal primate instinct for dominance (1).

For instance someone marginal to industrial capitalism, such as youth or the unemployed will be more likely to believe industrial capitalism is destroying the planet, because this will construe them as morally superior to, hence "dominant over", anyone more successful than them in the capitalist hierarchy. They may also believe the "system" is going to collapse and they will be in an advantageous (dominant) position when this happens compared to people who are currently more powerful or important than them.

A powerful person within industrial capitalism might be more likely to believe industrialism greatly benefits rather than threatens our species survival. They will likely believe it can adapt to future crises as it has in the past. Again this view might simply be held because it construes the thinker as dominant, not because of evidence or rational argument.

I only use the "environmental crisis" as an example, dominance bias can occur in all areas of thought and life. A possibly clearer example is conspiracy theories. If someone believes the world is flat, and there is a conspiracy to cover this fact up, that makes them intellectually and morally superior to everyone else in the world who does not share this belief, hence dominant.  

Keeping an eye out for dominance bias should not be that difficult once one is aware of it and should in my view be added to the standard repertoire of philosophical tools.

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It is possible dominance bias appears universal at present due to the apparent narcissism epidemic (2) in laissez-faire Western society. It might be that instincts, such as the instinct for dominance and accompanying narcissism, rise to the surface in laissez-faire situations. A deference bias might exist elsewhere, perhaps in the East where humility is still officially culturally valued. However I think deference or submission can often be a way of attaching yourself to someone who is or seems to be dominant so is often really still about dominance, becoming part of a dominant superorganism, though it may appear and profess not to be.

In some cultures there might even be a bias that everyone is equal or average, taking the middle path between dominant and deferential (in some egalitarian hunter-gatherer societies for instance(3)). I recall an anthropologist who studied one such society, when he commented one particular man was a good hunter, he was told off "we are all good hunters" (4).  

* Not mentioned in the very comprehensive and established Philosopher's Toolkit by Baggini & Fosl (2003) for instance.

1. Biosociology of Dominance and Deference. A Mazur (2005).

2. The Narcissism Epidemic. Living in the Age of Entitlement. J M Twenge, W K Campbell (2009).

3. An "everyone is average" bias seems probable in such societies from the following description: "Instead of denying the" (instinctive) "will to power, egalitarian societies know it all too well. They deal with it every day. In egalitarian societies, men trying to dominate others are systematically undermined, and male pride is frowned upon" (p 74). Our Inner Ape. F D Waal (2005). It may well be that many "primitive" hunter gatherer societies are more civilized than "modern" societies when it come to suppressing instincts for dominance.

4. Not sure who said this, may have been Kirk Endicott talking about the Batek. Pretty sure it was some Malaysian hunter gatherer society. 

Butia capitata fruit edibility

Cherry-sized fruit of Butia capitata are moreish, tasting quite a bit like the drink Tang, perhaps because of fairly high vitamin C content. Fruit often fall to the ground once ripe and sometimes before they are ripe. I tried ripening a few off the tree inside, it appeared to work, at least to an extent.  Different bunches of fruit ripen at different times, so are available fresh, over quite a long period. The fruit does have fibers which can stay stuck in the teeth for several hours but which do not pose an obstacle to eating. These fibers probably explain why it is often made into a drink, with the fibers sifted out presumably. A reasonably good food plant but takes up a lot of room.

This tree started producing fruit about 14 years after planting in Wellington, New Zealand (hardiness zone 9.)

The frond stumps on the trunk of palms like Butia capitata are a handy place to insert (in this case edible) epiphytes.