Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera) seeds

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Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera) seeds

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Ipso-phyto

Joined: 28 Jul 2011
Posts: 28

Posted: Thu Aug 04, 11 8:48 am Post subject: Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera) seeds
Has anyone tried them? A friend told me arlier this year he had tried them and liked them, I am now on the look out. Necessary careful harvesting would be in order, due to the nature of the seeds exploding from their capsules! Solutions in the problems... www.ipsophyto.com

Truffle

Joined: 07 Feb 2006
Posts: 526

Posted: Thu Aug 04, 11 9:03 am Post subject:
sounds interesting. Its also one of the more likely candidates to have been treated with weed killer (which can take 2 weeks to show any impact)- so it may be best to collect from areas that are known to be unsprayed. Its rate of spread is incredible- seems to be taking over everywhere. what ever happen to the bio-control project? truffle

Ipso-phyto

Joined: 28 Jul 2011
Posts: 28

Posted: Thu Aug 04, 11 9:15 am Post subject:
What was that project? For sure the plant is taking over habitats where previously you were likely to find meadowsweet for example. what a bonus if it edible, eat to exterminate!

jamanda
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 22 Oct 2006
Posts: 35057
Location: Devon

Posted: Thu Aug 04, 11 9:55 am Post subject:
But meadow sweet is edible too I'm reading Weeds by Richard Mabey. A wonderful book if you are interested in such things.

bubble

Joined: 13 Apr 2008
Posts: 960

Posted: Thu Aug 04, 11 10:31 am Post subject:

Jamanda wrote:

But meadow sweet is edible too

I'm reading Weeds by Richard Mabey. A wonderful book if you are interested in such things.

how edible?in what quantity? raw? boiled ?dried?,what about dropwort?[filipendula vulgaris ,with which it can be mistaken]it had a use as aspirin for headaches in the olden days .

jamanda
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 22 Oct 2006
Posts: 35057
Location: Devon

Posted: Thu Aug 04, 11 11:59 am Post subject:
Edible in that it can be used as a flavouring like elderflowers. Apparently dropwort can be eaten, but isn't worth it. https://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Filipendula+vulgaris

oldish chris

Joined: 14 Jun 2006
Posts: 4148
Location: Comfortably Wet Southport

Posted: Thu Aug 04, 11 1:37 pm Post subject:
We have good old Himalayan Balsam growing on our allotment site. Word of warning, when collecting seeds, wear safety glasses! The seed pods explode when touched, flinging seeds far and wide.

Ipso-phyto

Joined: 28 Jul 2011
Posts: 28

Posted: Thu Aug 04, 11 4:45 pm Post subject: impatiens seed flinging

I like plants which do things like that!,
I once tried growing the exploding cucumber which came in a seed packet with a black and yellow haz-warning sign advising when havesting to wear goggles!
Regarding Meadowsweet, it can indeed be used to flavour elder champagne, with very tasty results
However, it is the medicine from the queen of the meadows that makes her stand out.
It is widely known for being the Pre-cursor of Aspirin, which got its name from the acetyl molecule scientists tweaked onto the salicylic acid molecule found in the then named Spirea ulmaria, now Fillipendula ulmaria.
Known for healing all manner of upper gastric disorders such as heart-burn, dyspepsia and more. Also a urinary anti-septic. Often employed as an anti-inflammatory due to the high concentrations of salicylic acid derivatives.
Unlike aspirin the plant actively repairs cells in the stomach, rather than actively causing them to bleed!

Reasons to be cheerful one two three!

Visit www.ipsophyto.com for more medicinal plant infomation and publications!

ipso-phyto

Minamoo

Joined: 05 Feb 2008
Posts: 1231

Posted: Wed Aug 10, 11 3:33 pm Post subject:

Meadowsweet is incredible stuff. It's the most potent anti-cold and flu medicine in my herbal arsenal. It helps fevers peak and break faster so a cold that would normally take me two weeks to get over is done in a few days. It also tastes incredible. I make it into cordial or dry it to use in tisanes. The most incredible thing about it is that while I am violently allergic to synethised salycilic acid (the stuff that makes aspirin work) I can have the salycilates in meadowsweet with impunity. It's also prescribed by herbalists for people with irritable bowl conditions due to its high levels of mucilagens (I think that's how it's spelled!). Which is interesting because aspirin is known to be very harmful to your digestive tract and prolonged use can damage your intestine/stomach lining. This is what happens when you forget that herbs are made up of lots of different primary and secondary compounds that work in unison and decide to just isolate the "active compound". That's my two pence worth anyway.

Green Man

Joined: 23 Jul 2006
Posts: 5272
Location: Rural Scotland.

Posted: Wed Aug 10, 11 3:35 pm Post subject:
If you live in my nearby village and poo out seeds into the waterways I'll sue!

sarahloo

Joined: 01 Jun 2007
Posts: 125
Location: Reading, Berkshire

Posted: Tue Aug 23, 11 11:16 am Post subject:
Stick a bag over the seedheads before allowing them to explode. They taste really nice! The smell is reeeeally strong after you've been collecting for a while...

Ipso-phyto

Joined: 28 Jul 2011
Posts: 28

Posted: Tue Aug 23, 11 8:44 pm Post subject: Nutty about impatiens

After tasting the seeds, Im going back for more. I will still proceed with caution however, on my guided foraging walks with regards telling people they are perfectly fine for everyone. Firstly I want to know what they are made of and if they have been a food before.

Being even only slightly aware of the nature of plant chemistry tells me plants can have different levels of toxicity from different places let alone taking into account people's individual reactions to foods.

Im wondering what their protein, carbs, and fats profile is like because this is the sort of prolific plant Im seeking when trying to solve the riddle of replacing ecnomically unsustainable and often nutritinally-detrimental cereal crops frm my diet.

During a recent visit, I found it was all over the Lake district in some areas, which is unsurprising given its origins I suppose.

Live wild and free, Eat wild and free.

jamanda
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 22 Oct 2006
Posts: 35057
Location: Devon

Posted: Tue Aug 23, 11 9:54 pm Post subject:
So what are you doing with the seeds? Just eating them raw as a snack? Plenty of them round here if they are worth collecting.

Ipso-phyto

Joined: 28 Jul 2011
Posts: 28

Posted: Tue Aug 23, 11 11:25 pm Post subject:
Yes thats right. For now, though as said, they are so prolific as to warrant serious investigations IMO. Nature based designers often say that the solution lies in the problem...

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