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gtarman

Trees with edible leaves...

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Hey all. So I thought I'd try and compile a list of trees with edible leaves...these are some of my favourite kinds of food plants, because trees live a relatively long time, and produce boatloads of leaves. When those leaves are edible and healthy, then planting them seems like a no-brainer way to ensure a plentiful supply of leafy green veg to your diet for very little work.

This is what I know of so far, but I'd love to hear about more:

Moringa olefeira - "Drumstick Tree", also produces seedpods that can be used as a vegetable.

Moringa stenopetala - "African Moringa", like the above but apparently with more palatable leaves I think?

Toona sinensis (only just found out about this recently, and got myself some seeds) - "Chinese Toona" young leaves are used extensively as a vegetable in China and taste kind of like onions apparently. The timber is also a very sought-after form of mahogany I think. Very cold hardy.

Some Sesbania spp. (EDIT: Sesbania grandiflora and possibly Sesbania sesbans) - might have to get Shortly to chime in with the exact spp. in question, and a heap of others I'm sure he'll know of :)

I have a feeling I'm missing a few that I know, but I'm pretty tired and can't think of them. Anyhow I'd love it if people could chime in with any others and I can add them to the list (and most likely my garden)!

Edited by gtarman
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Hibiscus heterophyllus

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Acacia pennata Climbing wattle

Barringtonia acutangula freshwater mangrove

Cratoxylum formosum pink mempat

Gnetum gnemon (& nut)

Kleinhovia hospital

Boabs most if not all including the local one.

Leucaena leucocephala (probably more of a shrub than a tree & not what i would call tasty but it adds to a soup)

Pachira aquatic saba nut

Paulownia tomentosa

Pereskia aculeate (bit bitter for my palette)

Several Pinus spp (have to check my notes to see which ones)

Pisonia grandis

Senna occidentalis

Sophora japonica

Thespesia populnea Portia Tree

Hibiscus tiliaceus

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I eat my Mulberry tree (Morus) leaves, they are ok for a chew.

from http://www.fao.org/ag/aga/AGAP/frg/Mulberry/Papers/HTML/Mulbwar2.htm

Mulberry (Morus spp), the traditional feed for the silk worm, has been selected and improved for leaf yield and quality in many environments and is spread throughout the world. Mulberry leaves are highly palatable and digestible (70-90 %) to herbivorous animals and can also be fed to monogastrics. Protein content in the leaves and young stems, with a good essential amino acid profile, varies from 15 to 28 % depending on the variety. Mineral content is high and no anti-nutritional factors or toxic compounds have been identified.

The sap is toxic so they should be dried, even though I eat them raw. Mulberry tea leaves have 25 times more calcium than milk, 10 times more iron than spinach, twice the fibre of green tea, move over moringa :)

Edited by Leaves
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Which one do you use leaves? Black? Red? White? Indian or the native one? Or are they all edible?

And exactly how are you using them?

I'm assuming tender young leaves in salads but then assumption is the mother of all fuck ups after all.

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I use the Morus nigra leaves & I just eat the new shoots off the tree or pick a few & dry then blend with other herbs, whatever I feel I need. I am not aware of highly toxic species but some people have a allergy to mulberry trees so some caution should be used.

This side effect info is from www.mulberrytea.org/effects/mulberry-tea-side-effects.html

Low Blood Sugar
Drinking mulberry tea may lower your blood sugar. Hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, may result in blurred vision, hunger, dizziness, headache, excessive sweating, tremors, and confusion. If you
experience these side effects while drinking mulberry tea, seek additional care from your health care provider.

Medication Interactions
People taking medication to control diabetes are advised to avoid drinking mulberry tea unless otherwise instructed by your licensed health care provider. Your medication and mulberry tea may
interact to increase your risk of low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia. Your health care provider may adjust the amount of diabetes medication you take in order accommodate the effect of mulberry tea. Furthermore, persons with diabetes are advised to closely monitor blood sugar levels while drinking
mulberry tea.

Allergic Reactions
When mulberry trees were planted in large numbers in Pakistan in the 1960s, scientists investigating a spike in allergic reactions found the trees produced pollen counts of up to 40,000 grains per cubic meter of air. 1,500 grains per cubic meter is considered harmful. The sap is also a known irritant, and contact with leaves or stems can lead to skin irritation. If you consume mulberry products and develop hives, wheezing, rapid pulse, swelling, difficulty breathing or other sudden symptoms, discontinue use and contact a doctor right away.

Blood Sugar Effects
Several studies, including one published in the “Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry” in 2007, have shown that mulberry helps suppress post-meal blood sugar levels and insulin secretion, which could prove helpful for preventing and treating diabetes. Because of these potential effects upon blood glucose and insulin levels, however, if you’re on insulin for diabetes and use mulberry supplements, you may need to adjust your insulin dose accordingly.

Kidney Effects
Mulberries contain high levels of potassium which may be difficult for people with kidney diseases to process. As a result, if you have kidney disease, you may need to avoid mulberries tea.

Contraindications
No studies have yet associated mulberry tea consumption with adverse effects during pregnancy or other conditions. However, it is advised to avoid drinking mulberry tea if you are pregnant, breast-feeding or are scheduled for surgery within the next
two weeks.

Edited by Leaves

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twice the fibre of green tea

Who drinks green tea for fibre? Twice the catechins and I'd be impressed :lol:

Good find though, I love finding out about new uses for plants.

Cheers, I don't know how I manage to miss these threads. But now that they're linked my job is clearly to make this one better lol :devil:

When I get time I'll try and compile all the species and notes from both and collate them into one easy-to-read post :)

EDIT: And I don't think Khat is quite what I had in mind lol

Edited by gtarman
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High catechin levels are in Withania somnifera which I use the leaves of with mulberry leaves, the stem bark of mulberry is high in resveratrol also.

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I'd only known of white mulberry being used as a tea, by the Chinese i think.

I wonder how similar the effects are from species to species? Or are they much the same across the board?

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Morus alba, nirgra, indica are used as dried leaf are far as I am aware. I'll try & dig up some info later when I have time.

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@shortly - didn't actually know Paulownia tomentosa was edible..I was only growing it as a fast shade tree. Same for boab leaves.

Do either need special prep before eating that you know of?

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Ive read that young Paulownia are edible, haven't had the opportunity to try them for myself as yet.

The local boab leaves while eaten by the the traditional ppl of the Kimberly i found that they dont taste of much even by bush tucker standards. Can be eaten raw but are probably best left for the stew pot. The nuts on the other hand are first class fair.

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Managed to find the following trees in Wikipedia's list of plants with edible leaves (depending on how much you trust wikipedia, folks may want to do their own research before having a chew. I will be lol)....EDIT: I could find other sources for most of the following that said they are indeed edible...but y'all should still double check and see if any preparation is needed.

Barringtonia acutangula

Rhopalostylis sapida

Salvadora persica

Senna siamea

Styphnolobium japonicum (interwebs says the seeds are toxic, but leaves okay to eat)

Spondias purpurea

Thespesia populnea

Edited by gtarman

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the botanical names have probably already been listed................I'll add the common names of grape leaf and hawthorn leaf........................and maybe lime tree.....best check that one....not the citrus .but I think citrus leaf is used in Asian dishes.........

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EDIT: And I don't think Khat is quite what I had in mind lol

Khat's totally edible mate, tastes good :)

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Agree to disagree lol, or maybe I tried a particularly bitter and tough one. Gives a nice gentle lift though as I remember from when I tried it back in the day, kind of like a mild coffee pick-me-up.

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dont think ya can eat them but they r good in the tea pot olive

lemon myrtle

lemon verbena, thats not a tree is it :scratchhead:

Edited by bullit

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Ok in Handbook of Medicinal Herbs lists Black Mulberry (Morus nigra), white mulberry (M. alba) & red mulberry (M. rubra) separately but they are all used. The white mulberry (Morus alba) has to most interesting effects & very broad uses.

M.alba activities - Analgesic, antiaging, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antileukemic, antioxidant, antipyretic, antiradicular, antispasmodic, antitumor, astringent, diaphoretic, diuretic, emollient, expectorant, fungicide, glucosidase inhibitor, hypoglycemic, hypotensive, immunomodulator, lactagogue, laxative, lymphocytogenic, nematicide, pectoral, propecic, sedative, tranquiliser, vermifuge.

Dosage for M.alba listed as - 6-12g root bark, 3-12g leaf, 30-60g branches, 9-15g fruit.

Black mulberry (the one I eat) & red mulberry has only the fruit listed as being used, so maybe don't use their leaves

The narrow leaf cat has sweet leaves, also the new shoots of the red one are sweet.

Edited by Leaves
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Some others.........

Spondias dulcis - Hog plum, Ambarella.....juvenile leaves eaten raw, also used as seasoning. Belongs to Anacardiaceae family....think mango, cashew, poison ivy....so sap can be allergenic!

Cyathea australis - Tree fern......"The Aborigines ate the roasted stalks of young leaves a s a tonic after any kind of disease".

Bombax ceiba - Kapok......young leaves and flowers are edible and used as spice.

Trema orientalis - Rough Trema, Pigeonwood, Charcoal tree - Cannabaceae family....leaves were eaten as spinach.

Lycium barbarum - Goji.... :huh: yup, eat the leaves!

Pimenta dioica - All Spice....use fresh leaves to infuse, similar to bay

Laurus nobilus - Bay...same as All spice

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Cabbage tree palm livistona australia , whilst not really a tree, has an edible heart. Removing the growing tips of palms kills them but may keep you alive.

Edible Raw and cooked best from palms 10-20ft.

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^ as much as I'd like to try it, I don't think I could bring myself to kill a 20ft native palm lol. Although I guess if you are starving it's good to know :)

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Mitragyna speciosa is edible

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One of only two Toona sinensis seeds I've got to germinate...coming along, slowly but surely :)

post-7646-0-43617900-1387958189_thumb.jp

Just about to put down a batch of Sesbania grandiflora, then I might see what else I can track down from the thread so far.

toonasinensis.jpg

toonasinensis.jpg

Edited by gtarman
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