Wild+plants

Several wild plants appear in our farm in Ras Jebel, Bizerte region, Tunisia. Most of them are very common in Mediterranean regions and rarely used in Tunisia. Most of these plants are consider to be weeds but each of them can have several uses for humans and for the ecosystem. In our farm we maintain the wild plants we can use and try to limit the very invasive ones like Mercurial and Oxalis, so more usefull wild plants can appear. Edible wild plants Dye: green ||  || Food:Root - raw or cooked. Leaves - raw or cooked. The very sharp leaf-spines must be removed first, which is quite a fiddly operation. The leaves are quite thick and have a mild flavour when young, at this time they are quite an acceptable ingredient of mixed salads, though they can become bitter in hot dry weather. When cooked they make an acceptable spinach substitute. Flower buds - cooked as a globe artichoke substitute, they are used before the flowers open. The flavour is mild and acceptable, but the buds are quite small and even more fiddly to use than globe artichokes. Stems - raw or cooked, they are best peeled and can be soaked to reduce the bitterness, they can be used like asparagus or rhubarb[12] or added to salads. They are best used in spring when they are young. A good quality oil is obtained from the seeds and the roasted seed is a coffee substitute. ||  || Soil indicator: nitrate indicator, balanced and fertile soil Food: leaves as salad ||  || Food: edible leaves ||  || Food: young branches ||  || Food: leaves raw or cooked Uses: bee forage ||  || Food: rosted roots ||  || Food: Young seedpods - raw or cooked. Added to salads, cooked as a vegetable or added to soups, stews. The taste is said to resemble asparagus. Only the very young pods, when less than 25mm long, should be used, since the older pods quickly turn fibrous. Considered by many to be a gourmet food, though it is not a very high yielding crop. Seed - cooked. Used like peas. The roasted seed is used as a coffee substitute ||  || //Scorzoneroides spp or Chondrilla juncea// Capsella bursa-pastoris Non edible wild plants Probably medicinal ||  || Use: in decoration Indicator: sandy soil ||  || Indicator: dry conditions ||  || Use: probably medicinal ||  || Hawkbit //Leontodon spp.// Crepis bursifolia, ,, Senecio vulgaris, Acroptilum repense Sources: Wikipedia Plants for a future [][], [] http://www.aoratos-naos.com/t1893p9-topic http://hgtunisieflore.over-blog.com/article-quelques-caryopyllacees-plantes-dela-famille-de-l-oeillet-71574699.html http://users.sch.gr/gpantakis/?p=5443 http://myoxya.gr/oxya/photo/13 http://www.alekati.gr/%CF%86%CF%85%CF%84%CE%AC http://envifriends.blogspot.com/2013/04/blog-post_24.html
 * **Malva neglecta,** common mallow: a very common leafy vegetable.Soil indicator: Nitrate lien .Food: It is rarely used in Tunisia as it is consider as a poor man's food. Edible parts are: leaves flowers and fruits (called cheeses very rich in protein) and can be eaten cooked or raw and as tea having medicinal properties. Also the roots can be used as egg-white substitute. ||  ||
 * **Chenopodium album**, Soil indicator: Nitrogen and magnesium.Food: Leaves are eaten raw or cooked as spinach or broccoli and are rich in proteins, vitamins A and C and calcium ( contain about 3.9% protein, 0.76% fat, 8.93% carbohydrate, 3% ash). Seeds are edible sprouted (in the water overnight and then washed), grounded or in a bread (49% carbohydrate, 16% protein, 7% ash, 5.88% ash)
 * //**Amaranthus retroflexus,**// Soil indicator: Nitrates lien Food: Used by indians. Young leaves - raw or cooked as a spinach. Very rich in iron, it is also a good source of vitamins A and C. Seed - raw or cooked. Ground into a powder and used as a cereal substitute[5], it can also be sprouted and added to salads and very nutritious. The flavour is greatly improved by roasting the seed before grinding. Dye: Green and yellow  ||   ||
 * **//Alyssum maritimum//** Food: Flowers and young leaves in salads || [[image:permaground/IMG_4056.JPG width="316" height="236"]] ||
 * **Diplotaxis erucoides,** Food: Leaves, flowers and grains as salad vinaigrette || [[image:IMG_3607.JPG width="316" height="236"]] ||
 * ** Sonchus oleraceus ** Food: Young leaves - raw or cooked. This species has the nicest tasting leaves of the genus, they usually have a mild agreeable flavour especially in the spring, added to salads, cooked like spinach or used in soups. (The leaves contain about 30 - 40mg of vitamin C per 100g[173], 1.2% protein, 0.3% fat, 2.4% carbohydrate, 1.2% ash). Stems - cooked like asparagus or rhubarb. The milky sap has been used as a chewing gum by the Maoris of New Zealand. <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 21.111112594604492px; text-align: justify;"> Companion: good to onions, tomatoes, corn, cucumber and squash familly ||   ||
 * **Silybum ou Carduus marianum** <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; line-height: 21.111112594604492px; text-align: justify;">Green manure
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; line-height: 21.111112594604492px; text-align: justify;">Catsear, ** Hypochaeris radicata ** and sp. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; line-height: 21.111112594604492px; text-align: justify;">Food: cooked or raw leaves ||  ||
 * **Stellaria media**
 * **Rumex acetosa** ou crispus
 * **Asparagus acutifolius**
 * **Chrysanthemum coronarium or segetum**Food: young leaves and flower petals ||  ||
 * ** Lamium amplexicaule**
 * ** Orobanche cernua**
 * **Tetragonolobus purpureus**
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; line-height: 21.111112594604492px; text-align: justify;">//**Euphorbia esula**//, invasive <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; line-height: 21.111112594604492px; text-align: justify;">Green manure: nutricious leaves like alfa alfa <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; line-height: 21.111112594604492px; text-align: justify;">Non beneficial insect attractor: Lepidoptera, Hyles euphorbiae, Hyles tithymali ||  ||
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; line-height: 21.111112594604492px; text-align: justify;">//**Silene gallica**// or tunetata, <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; line-height: 21.111112594604492px; text-align: justify;">Not known uses, probably medicinal || [[image:IMG_4566.JPG width="316" height="236"]] ||
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; line-height: 21.111112594604492px; text-align: justify;">Pancratium maritimum ||  ||
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; line-height: 21.111112594604492px; text-align: justify;">Oxalis pes carpae ||  ||
 * Drimia maritima ||  ||
 * Mercurialis annu <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; line-height: 21.111112594604492px; text-align: justify;">( ref) is the more abundant weed in our garden. Its a non edible annual, non acidic soil indicator. It lives in relation with ants ( ref ) and can be used for dry oil in small scale ( ref ).  ||   ||
 * Fumaria capreolata
 * Solanum nigrum ||  ||
 * Lagurus ovatus
 * Calycotome villosaUse: fruits goat forage
 * Ballota hirsuta
 * Orobanche crenataParasite to a legume ||  ||