The photos were taken in my dad’s vineyard this summer.
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Photo(s) of the day: A flower for you…
Posted by Maninas on 31 October, 2007
https://maninas.wordpress.com/2007/10/31/photos-of-the-day-a-flower-for-you/
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Mythili
/ 31 October, 2007Ooooh.. they are so dainty !!!
Lovely capture(s)
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bee
/ 31 October, 2007lovely. do you know what the first one is called?
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Sivani
/ 31 October, 2007Gorgeous 🙂
I believe the first (and fourth) picture is of “Queen Anne’s Lace.”
I am never sure whether to treat them as a wildflower or as a weed, but they sure are pretty 🙂
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Maninas
/ 1 November, 2007Thank you for your comments, ladies 🙂
I’m not sure what the first flower is called. I think I might have heard the name Queen’s Anne Lace – thanks Sivani.
Does anyone know English names for the second and third flower?
I know the last one is a dandylion! 😀
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swaroopa
/ 1 November, 2007awesome pics. nicely captured the beauty of those flowers
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Maninas
/ 1 November, 2007Thank you, Swaroopa! And welcome to my blog!
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Nabeela
/ 1 November, 2007I think the first one is an elderflower…it is deep fried and eaten, I think.
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Maninas
/ 2 November, 2007I think elderflower is a shrub, and this plant wasn’t…
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Laurie
/ 3 November, 2007Lovely pictures, you did a good job of capturing the beauty of the flowers.
As for what they are, here goes:
The first and fourth flowers are Carotus daucus, commonly known as Queen Anne’s lace or wild carrot. It has edible roots, just like its domesticated relative. Dioscorides used the leaves beaten with honey to cleanse ulcers, and the seeds were used “against the bites and strokes of venemous beasts.” (So if you ever run into a venemous beast in your father’s vineyard, you’ll be all set!)
The second flower is Convolvulus arvensis, or Field Bindweed. Though the flowers are lovely, it can be a pernicious pest in agricultural areas, and is very hard to eradicate.
The third flower is Cichorium intybus L., commonly known as Chicory. In the spring, Chicory provides excellent edible greens. The roots of chicory have often been used as a coffee substitute, and the people in the US state of Louisiana have a tradition of serving coffee mixed with roasted chicory root.
The last flower is difficult to identify without seeing the leaves because there are so many wild plants in your part of the world whose flowers are very similar. Based on the shape of the petals, I don’t think it is a true dandelion (Taraxacum officianalis) though it is probably some kind of relative. Here is a dandelion pic — what do you think — is it the same as what you saw??(http://www.henriettesherbal.com/pictures/p13/images/taraxacum-officinale-1.jpg) In any case, most of the plants with flowers like this have delicious edible greens and knowing the exact name is so not necessary!
Speaking of edible greens, vineyards (as long as the grower doesn’t use nasty chemicals) are a great place to gather wild greens. In Greece, one of the places I live, at this time of year and in spring, I have often gone up and down vineyard rows filling sack after sack with the excellent wild greens that grow there.
Thanks again for the great pictures!
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Maninas
/ 5 November, 2007Hi Laurie!
Thank you for this very informative comment! I sure learnt a lot! Now I know how to finally fend off all those wild beasts in my dad’s vineyard! 😀
I had a look at the link you suggested, and it does look very similar to the flower in my photo. There is a slight difference in that the petals of my flower were a little wider, but that’s all. Not sure if that’s significant.
As for coffee with cicory, my husband brought some over from New Orleans a few years ago. We loved it! I had no idea my little plant was cicory! 🙂
I would love to know which greens are edible, and which are not. All for the pleasures of a tasty hunt! Can you write a post about it on your blog? That would be great! 🙂 Please drop me a link if you do.
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Laurie
/ 5 November, 2007You’re welcome!
I just started my blog, but already I’ve posted several recipes for greens, which I love. I’ll definitely think of posting about edible greens, although those available in Alaska where I am now are different than those available in Greece where our other house is (those are the ones that are pretty much the same as what you posted.) I’ll see what I can do, but it may need to wait until we are back in Greece next year.
The book I wrote for the benefit of my church (Tastes Like Home: Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska) has an ordering link on my blog (www.medcookingalaska.blogspot.com), and has a big section on Alaska wild greens. Some of those are also available in Greece, so maybe I’ll focus on them as I think about a blog post. But it may need to wait for spring as I don’t have photos and it is long past the season where wild greens are available in Alaska!
In the meantime, here’s one for you: Corn Poppies! In the spring they carpet the Greek island where our house is, and I bet you have them in Croatia. Here’s the wikipedia link for corn poppies, complete with a picture: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corn_poppy
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Maninas
/ 6 November, 2007Hi Laurie!
I know it’s tricky now as the greens are out of season, but it is something to bear in mind. I’m sure it would be interesting to read about this in the future.
Yes, we do have these poppies. They are gorgeous, aren’t they? Some of my neighbours here in the UK have these lovely small orange poppies, that I simply adore!
Speaking of which, can you eat poppies? I mean poppy greans. I know poppy seeds are used in Indian cooking, and in Croatia we use them in sweets, e.g. to make a poppy seed roll.
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Laurie
/ 7 November, 2007Yes, that is exactly what I was trying to say. Corn poppy greens, the ones with the red flowers, are really excellent greens. Sweet and delicious. They provide a good balance to the more bitter greens like, for example, dandelions. Like most wild greens you pick them before they form flowers. Mmm. I wish I had some now!
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Maninas
/ 16 November, 2007Excellent, thanks for telling me that! I’ll try picking them next summer! 🙂
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