How can I find the leaves/stems/plants of *any* fruit (eg blueberry/strawberry leaves) to eat?

[Alex K Chen]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/blueberry-leaves-snack-mun-pharmacy-student-1.3504189

(paper here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1756464620301304 )

We throw away so much of this useful stuff

But I can google maps "blueberry farms near me" and i FIND STUFF.

strawberry leaves - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7663455/ (tho their berries have more AOs than leaves, unlike BBs)

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Given the high content of different bioactive compounds high values of antioxidant capacity were determined (the average value for fruits was 2269.96 µmol TE/kg and for leaves, 2237.16 µmol TE/kg).

 

Edited March 3 by InquilineKea

[mccoy]

I have so many blackberries around me (actually they are a strongly invasive weed) that i'm often wondering if the leaves are edible (probably the young sprouts especially after cooking). It would constitute a nice addition to the main vegetables courses. Harvesting them is time intensive though.

[Mathew]

Guava is a delicious fruit: the leaves are edible too.

[Alex K Chen]

Quote

 

Blueberry (Vaccinium ssp.) is a perennial shrub belonging to the family Ericaceae, which is highly tolerant of acid soils and heavy metal pollution. In the present study, blueberry was subjected to cadmium (Cd) stress in simulated pot culture. The transcriptomics and rhizosphere fungal diversity of blueberry were analyzed, and the iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn) and cadmium (Cd) content of blueberry tissues, soil and DGT was determined. A correlation analysis was also performed. A total of 84 374 annotated genes were identified in the root, stem, leaf and fruit tissue of blueberry, of which 3370 were DEGs, and in stem tissue, of which 2521 were DEGs. The annotation data showed that these DEGs were mainly concentrated in a series of metabolic pathways related to signal transduction, defense and the plant–pathogen response. Blueberry transferred excess Cd from the root to the stem for storage, and the highest levels of Cd were found in stem tissue, consistent with the results of transcriptome analysis, while the lowest Cd concentration occurred in the fruit, Cd also inhibited the absorption of other metal elements by blueberry. A series of genes related to Cd regulation were screened by analyzing the correlation between heavy metal content and transcriptome results. The roots of blueberry rely on mycorrhiza to absorb nutrients from the soil. The presence of Cd has a significant effect on the microbial community composition of the blueberry rhizosphere. The fungal family Coniochaetaceae, which is extremely extremelytolerant, has gradually become the dominant population. The results of this study increase our understanding of the plant regulation mechanism for heavy metals, and suggest potential methods of soil remediation using blueberry.

 

 

[mccoy]

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...and suggest potential methods of soil remediation using blueberry.

No thanks, not around my estate! Blueberries are extremely hard to die, very resilient and propagate with thick, elevated, thorny bushes. Only way I succeeded in keeping them at bay was to use an agricultural tractor, then continuously using the lawnmower to prevent them to regrow. I'm spending a lot of time to limit their overgrowth. Some years ago there was a copios snowfall, the snow accumulated on the blueberry bushes and took down a good part of my fence. I'll never forget the time when a bunch of old stems were able to keep from moving a huge tracked tractor, like a very strong rope.

Also, they are not very, very good to eat raw, full of seeds, very strong flavour. Maybe ten wild blueberries a day is a feasible dosage.