Honeysuckle

[Ruvio]

This plant annoys me no end. I'm sure there must be something I can do with the berries.

I've read of children sampling the flowers but are the berries toxic? It's the trumpet variety

[HillBill]

The only edible Honeysuckle (i think) is a plant known as honeyberry native to siberia and available from some seed catalogues. Its said to be similar to a blueberry in taste

[AndyJDickson]

I dont know about the berries but my Granny used to enjoy the nectar.

[MartiniDave]

I THINK, but please check it out properly, that the flowers are edible and can be used in salads etc, but the berries are poisonous to humans. I also think the leavse have been used medicinally over the years, but again I'm not sure, so check elsewhere before trying.

Dave

[Cyclingrelf]

I've only ever picked the flowers and sucked the nectar out of the thin end of the trumpet. Also, where the bark comes off in strips, it makes wonderful tinder and an excellent centre to a fire-lighting bundle provided you shred it finely.

[Toddy]

It makes a good rope too Tree henge, with the upturned stump, had honeysuckle rope around it.

Berries are mildly toxic but that's sometimes queried and the only definite is *do not eat the seed! *, the nectar is sweet
http://www.countrylovers.co.uk/wfs/wfsberries.htm

The Sweet Berry one should grow here apparantly, but the divide of the islands from the continental massive seems to have happened before they had spread this far.

Don't know about the leaves and +1 on the bark for firelighting

cheers,
M

[Ruvio]

Thanks guys! You all rock.

[Harvestman]

According to the wild food book in front of me, the flowers are edible, and the leaves can be used in honeysuckle tea, but leave the berries well alone.

Apart from that, go out after dark and smell the flowers - one of my favourite scents.

[Ruvio]

The Mock Orange is flowering in our garden. I could sniff it all day.

[xylaria]

I have eaten very sparing amounts of honeysuckle berries. They taste sort of sweet, but not in a wholesome way, more like a aspartame covering the taste of something nasty. It is simerlar taste to other fruit that contain glycosides [a sugar chemically stuck to something else]. foriegn honeysuckles have made people ill. I really dont know if the fruit of native woodbine is totally edible, but it doesnt appear too toxic. Sorry that is a clear as mud. There is medical properties, but they are extracts not the straight berry.

I have a some home brew with rose and honeysukle flowers about to finish. The vine is really good for binding things. The maybe the leaves contain a saponin [natural soap].

[Cyclingrelf]

[natural soup].

I think this is a typo and should read [natural soap]

A fascinating read - always adds extra interest for me when people can talk from experience. Thanks Xylaria for the information about the berries

[Ruvio]

Thanks Xylaria and everyone else. Very interesting, although I think I'm going to go at it with the Machete, it seems to be killing the tree it's growing around.

[Native Nathan]

get a glass jar fill it full of flowers, then fill it with natural honey, leave it for a month turning it upside down every day and keeping it in a coll dry dark place (Panrty is great) then have a spoon full delicious, its got numerous health benefits as well although I can't remember them off the top of my head.

[AndyJDickson]

According to the wild food book in front of me, the flowers are edible, and the leaves can be used in honeysuckle tea, but leave the berries well alone.

Apart from that, go out after dark and smell the flowers - one of my favourite scents.

What book is that?

[Joel_m]

I don't know what book Harvest man is using but if you are interested years back there was a book called Food for Free or how to eat for free (something like that.. I will check as I have a copy somewhere). It is about foraging in the uk by season, and is written in the style of a field guide with identification and facts about all the plants and fungi in there.

Its an interesting book to flick through even if you don't actively use it as it has lots of little know facts about common plants and where to find them. There was a pocket guide of it produced a few years later too I seem to recall.

[MartiniDave]

Here you go..

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Food-Free-Ri.../dp/0002201593

[Ruvio]

Just been reading about it in "The foragers handbook" (finally arrived today). Says essentially berries are ok if you don't eat many, flowers edible, leaves not poisonous.

Tried the berries and...there's something delicious about them and something truly disgusting. Wouldn't recommend more than a dab on your tongue for a tester. A bit..soapy I suppose.