Edible Parts: Leaves  Stem
Edible Uses:

The roots, stems, leaves, flowers, flower buds, and young fruits are edible. Mature fruits are not suitable for eating because they become tough and sharply pointed. Leaves are nutritious but tannic and are best cooked when used in quantity. Roots and lower stems are the most pleasant vegetable parts [2-3]. Edible Uses & Rating: Redstem filaree ranks as a good wild vegetable, especially in regions where it forms dense seasonal carpets. The roots and fleshy lower stems can be excellent, while the leaves are best considered useful potherbs. As a raw green it is less appealing because of bitterness, hairiness, grit, and astringency. As a cooked green and soup ingredient, it is far more valuable [2-3]. Taste, Processing & Kitchen Notes: The roots are white, earthy, salty, and somewhat potato-like, especially when grown in loose, fertile, moist soils. Hard or compacted soils produce wirier, lower-quality roots. The outer parts soften when baked or boiled, but the cores often remain stringy. The lower stems are mild, tender, and fleshy, more similar to the roots than to the leaves. Leaves taste like dark lettuce mixed with wild clover, with a geranium-family bitterness and tannic edge. Boiling reduces astringency and makes them much more palatable. Flowers and buds offer a brief sweetness but remain small and slightly raspy. Young green fruits can be cooked with other parts, but older fruits must be removed. Seasonality (Phenology); Redstem filaree is mainly a cool-season plant in the Southwest. It often germinates after autumn or winter rains, grows through winter and spring, and blooms from about February to July, depending on elevation and moisture. At low elevations it may mature early, while higher elevations extend the season. Safety & Cautions (Food Use): Meal-size portions of leaves should be cooked to reduce bitterness and tannins. Mature fruits are hazardous because the pointed beaks become tough and sharp. Plants growing along roadsides, heavily grazed ground, or sprayed areas should be avoided. Thorough washing is important because the hairy leaves often trap sand, grit, and soil [2-3]. Harvest & Processing Workflow: Harvest young to mature leafy plants before the fruits harden. Pull whole plants from clean soil if roots are desired, then separate roots, lower stems, leaves, flowers, and young fruits. Wash thoroughly. Boil leaves for potherbs, bake or simmer roots and lower stems, and discard mature fruits. For soups and stews, roots and lower stems are the best parts. Cultivar/Selection Notes: There are no food cultivars. The best wild harvests come from lush plants growing in loose, moist, fertile soils, where roots and stems are thickest and least wiry. Look-Alikes & Confusion Risks: Young redstem filaree can superficially resemble other finely divided small herbs, including young carrot-family plants. Older plants are much easier to identify by their pink-purple flowers and long beaked fruits. Confusion with poisonous hemlocks is unlikely once the plant is flowering or fruiting, but beginners should avoid harvesting very young, uncertain plants [2-3]. Traditional/Indigenous Use Summary: Redstem filaree became an important introduced forage and wild food in western North America. Its abundance made it useful to people and grazing animals alike, especially in early spring when green growth was scarce. Young leaves - raw or cooked as a potherb[2, 62, 84, 85, 183]. Harvested in the spring before the plant flowers[257], they are tasty and nutritious[207]. The leaves are added to salads, sandwiches, soups etc[9], they can be used in recipes that call for leaves of beet, plantain, sow thistle or amaranth[183]. Young stems - raw[257]. Root - chewed by children as a gum[257].

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Astringent  Galactogogue  Haemostatic  Miscellany  Poultice

The whole plant is astringent and haemostatic{9, 13, 21]. It has been used in the treatment of uterine and other bleeding[9]. The root and leaves have been eaten by nursing mothers to increase the flow of milk[257]. Externally, the plant has been used as a wash on animal bites, skin infections etc[257]. A poultice of the chewed root has been applied to sores and rashes[257]. A tea made from the leaves is diaphoretic and diuretic[222]. An infusion has been used in the treatment of typhoid fever[257]. The leaves are soaked in bath water for the treatment of rheumatism[222]. The seeds contain vitamin K, a poultice of them is applied to gouty typhus[222].

Dye  Miscellany  Weather forecasting

A green dye is obtained from the whole plant. It does not require a mordant[168]. The remnants of the styles are very hygroscopic, they can be used in hygrometers and as weather indicators[46, 61]. The dried plant powder has been mixed with watermelon seeds during storage and planting in order to prevent watermelon disease[257]. Ecology & Wildlife: It provides early forage for livestock and wildlife, green cover after rains, and seeds for small animals. It can also dominate disturbed sites and compete with native annuals in some habitats.

Special Uses