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Home > Archive > UK gardening > January 2008 > Can you eat perpetual sweet peas?
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Can you eat perpetual sweet peas?
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| Peter Robinson 2008-01-22, 5:25 pm |
| This year I'm hopefully going to grow peas. But as a crop, I gather
they have their problems! Mice eat the seeds, slugs & snails eat the
shoots and leaves, the plants flop over, they get covered in aphids,
birds peck the flowers, and finally pigeons eat all the pods before you
get a chance to harvest anything. If by some miracle, you manage to
avoid all those hazards, you get a small crop for the amount of space.
Ok, I'm sure it's not as bad as all that, but it did get me thinking: I
have an ancient perpetual sweet pea plant that grows up through some
honeysuckle at the corner of my front porch. It's been there as long as
we've had the house (over 15 years) and it's more or less been left to
fend for itself for most of that time.
But left to its own devices, it romps away every year, growing 8 foot
tall (as well as into the rest of the flower bed and over the lawn if we
let it) and has masses of flowers that turn into masses of pods (when it
doesn't get deadheaded). It doesn't really seem to suffer from slugs,
aphids, birds or any sort of disease either.
So my questions: can you eat perpetual sweet peas? As mangetout, sugar
snaps or shelled peas? Do I want to?
Peter
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| Stewart Robert Hinsley 2008-01-22, 8:25 pm |
| In message <1ib52dv.1h3qwjm1kjf26oN%pmrobinson@gmx.net>, Peter Robinson
<pmrobinson@gmx.net> writes
>
>So my questions: can you eat perpetual sweet peas? As mangetout, sugar
>snaps or shelled peas? Do I want to?
"Although no records of toxicity have been found for this plant, the
seed of some species in this genus contain a toxic amino acid that can
cause a severe disease of the nervous system known as 'lathyrism' if
they are eaten in large amounts (although small quantities are said to
be nutritious)[65, 76]. Great caution is advised."
http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants...yrus+latifolius
"Toxic to mammals"
http://www.evergreen.ca/nativeplant...nt.php?ID=06412
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley
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| On 22/1/08 22:52, in article 1ib52dv.1h3qwjm1kjf26oN%pmrobinson@gmx.net,
"Peter Robinson" <pmrobinson@gmx.net> wrote:
> This year I'm hopefully going to grow peas. But as a crop, I gather
> they have their problems! Mice eat the seeds, slugs & snails eat the
> shoots and leaves, the plants flop over, they get covered in aphids,
> birds peck the flowers, and finally pigeons eat all the pods before you
> get a chance to harvest anything. If by some miracle, you manage to
> avoid all those hazards, you get a small crop for the amount of space.
>
> Ok, I'm sure it's not as bad as all that, but it did get me thinking: I
> have an ancient perpetual sweet pea plant that grows up through some
> honeysuckle at the corner of my front porch. It's been there as long as
> we've had the house (over 15 years) and it's more or less been left to
> fend for itself for most of that time.
>
> But left to its own devices, it romps away every year, growing 8 foot
> tall (as well as into the rest of the flower bed and over the lawn if we
> let it) and has masses of flowers that turn into masses of pods (when it
> doesn't get deadheaded). It doesn't really seem to suffer from slugs,
> aphids, birds or any sort of disease either.
>
> So my questions: can you eat perpetual sweet peas? As mangetout, sugar
> snaps or shelled peas? Do I want to?
>
> Peter
The peas we eat are Pisum sativum, the sweepeas which bear the flowers we
enjoy are Lathyrus sativus which can be very poisonous unless eaten in a
particularly careful fashion.
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'
| |
| helene@urbed.coop 2008-01-23, 9:25 am |
| On 22 Jan, 22:52, pmrobin...@gmx.net (Peter Robinson) wrote:
> So my questions: can you eat perpetual sweet peas? =A0As mangetout, sugar
> snaps or shelled peas? =A0Do I want to?
I have one cascading every year over the fence onto the street and as
much as I have thought and researched the edibility of all the 200
plus plants I grow, beleive me I have never thought of eating this
sweet pea! Somehow it has never crossed my mind and I wouldn't. The
peas are very small, the pods are hairy and instinctively it has never
appealed to me ;o)
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| helene@urbed.coop 2008-01-23, 9:25 am |
| On 23 Jan, 11:09, hel...@urbed.coop wrote:
> On 22 Jan, 22:52, pmrobin...@gmx.net (Peter Robinson) wrote:
>
r[color=darkred]
>
> I have one cascading every year over the fence onto the street and as
> much as I have thought and researched the edibility of all the 200
> plus plants I grow, beleive me I have never thought of eating this
> sweet pea! Somehow it has never crossed my mind and I wouldn't. The
> peas are very small, the pods are hairy and instinctively it has never
> appealed to me ;o)
Rectification ... the pods are not hairy, at least on my perpetual
sweet peas. I collect pods and I was thinking of the wisteria! But
still, don't eat them ;o)
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| Peter Robinson 2008-01-24, 8:25 pm |
| Stewart Robert Hinsley <{$news$}@meden.demon.co.uk> wrote:
> In message <1ib52dv.1h3qwjm1kjf26oN%pmrobinson@gmx.net>, Peter Robinson
> <pmrobinson@gmx.net> writes
>
> "Although no records of toxicity have been found for this plant, the
> seed of some species in this genus contain a toxic amino acid that can
> cause a severe disease of the nervous system known as 'lathyrism' if
> they are eaten in large amounts (although small quantities are said to
> be nutritious)[65, 76]. Great caution is advised."
Boo - you're no fun :-)
Reading around the web I can't find anything authoritative looking that
says lathryrism can be caused by lathyrus
latifolius as such. E.g.
"Lathyrism is a disorder caused by long-term and excessive consumption
of the grass pea Lathyrus sativus (Leguminosae). Sometimes other
Lathyrus species are involved: L. odoratus, L. cicera, L. ochrus, L.
clymenum."
<http://www.itg.be/itg/DistanceLearn...nEndenE/47_Medi
cal_problems_caused_by_plantsp11.htm>
Better still
"Diets, which contain over 30% of this dal over a period of 2-6 months,
will result in neurolathyrism."
....
"The toxin in lathyrus seed has been identified. It penetrates the
blood-brain barrier. It can easily be removed from the dal by simply
soaking the seeds in hot water and rejecting the water in which it is
soaked."
<http://www.health-disease.org/neuro...s/lathyrism.htm>
But even so, I don't think I'll be trying it.
Shame!
Peter
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| Peter Robinson 2008-01-24, 8:25 pm |
| Sacha <sacha@gardenweeds506.fsnet.co.uk> wrote:
> On 22/1/08 22:52, in article 1ib52dv.1h3qwjm1kjf26oN%pmrobinson@gmx.net,
> "Peter Robinson" <pmrobinson@gmx.net> wrote:
>
>
> The peas we eat are Pisum sativum, the sweepeas which bear the flowers we
> enjoy are Lathyrus sativus which can be very poisonous unless eaten in a
> particularly careful fashion.
I didn't realise they aren't even the same genus. Oh well, back to
fending off the mice & pigeons then.
Peter
| |
| Peter Robinson 2008-01-24, 8:25 pm |
| <helene@urbed.coop> wrote:
> On 23 Jan, 11:09, hel...@urbed.coop wrote:
>
> Rectification ... the pods are not hairy, at least on my perpetual
> sweet peas. I collect pods and I was thinking of the wisteria! But
> still, don't eat them ;o)
Not fair - they're called peas, so they should be edible 
Anyway, nothinng wrong with a bit of hair - you could call runner bean
pods hairy
Peter
| |
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| On 24/1/08 23:26, in article 1ib8u5r.t7eev4wp22u6N%pmrobinson@gmx.net,
"Peter Robinson" <pmrobinson@gmx.net> wrote:
> Sacha <sacha@gardenweeds506.fsnet.co.uk> wrote:
>
>
> I didn't realise they aren't even the same genus. Oh well, back to
> fending off the mice & pigeons then.
>
;-) They're called sweet peas because they smell sweet and the pods bear a
resemblance to edible peas, Pisum. Would you eat lupin pods, for example?
I do hope not!
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'
| |
| Stewart Robert Hinsley 2008-01-24, 8:25 pm |
| In message <1ib8u9c.1kc0x671ecwd7uN%pmrobinson@gmx.net>, Peter Robinson
<pmrobinson@gmx.net> writes
><helene@urbed.coop> wrote:
>
>
>Not fair - they're called peas, so they should be edible
Don't even think of eating rosary peas.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosary_pea
>
>Anyway, nothinng wrong with a bit of hair - you could call runner bean
>pods hairy
>
>Peter
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley
| |
| Nick Maclaren 2008-01-25, 9:25 am |
|
In article <wmRHTW3XbSmHFwSk@meden.invalid>,
Stewart Robert Hinsley <{$news$}@meden.demon.co.uk> writes:
|>
|> Don't even think of eating rosary peas.
|>
|> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosary_pea
When I was a child, we used to collect them and use them as counters.
Which is, after all, just what rosary beads are ....
Regards,
Nick Maclaren.
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| Jeff Layman 2008-01-25, 9:25 am |
| Sacha wrote:
> On 24/1/08 23:26, in article 1ib8u5r.t7eev4wp22u6N%pmrobinson@gmx.net,
> "Peter Robinson" <pmrobinson@gmx.net> wrote:
>
> ;-) They're called sweet peas because they smell sweet and the pods
> bear a resemblance to edible peas, Pisum. Would you eat lupin pods,
> for example? I do hope not!
See "Cultivation and uses" in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lupin ;-)
--
Jeff
(cut "thetape" to reply)
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| Stewart Robert Hinsley 2008-01-25, 9:25 am |
| In message <gYydnU1nYezNIwTanZ2dnUVZ_jSdnZ2d@tcp.co.uk>, Jeff Layman
<jmlayman@thetapetcp.co.uk> writes
>Sacha wrote:
>
>See "Cultivation and uses" in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lupin ;-)
>
Lupinus is like Lathyrus - some species are edible (with care), others
are toxic. The usual garden lupin (Lupinus polyphyllus) is poisonous;
I'd guess that they same holds for the tree lupin.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley
| |
|
| On 25/1/08 11:14, in article rGsBLdOhScmHFwSL@meden.invalid, "Stewart Robert
Hinsley" <{$news$}@meden.demon.co.uk> wrote:
> In message <gYydnU1nYezNIwTanZ2dnUVZ_jSdnZ2d@tcp.co.uk>, Jeff Layman
> <jmlayman@thetapetcp.co.uk> writes
> Lupinus is like Lathyrus - some species are edible (with care), others
> are toxic. The usual garden lupin (Lupinus polyphyllus) is poisonous;
> I'd guess that they same holds for the tree lupin.
Well, I'm not going to be the one who's going to find out! Laburnum stew,
anyone?
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'
| |
|
| Peter Robinson <pmrobinson@gmx.net> writes
>Sacha <sacha@gardenweeds506.fsnet.co.uk> wrote:
>
Lathyrus odoratus?
L sativum is the one with small steel blue flowers.
[color=darkred]
>
>I didn't realise they aren't even the same genus. Oh well, back to
>fending off the mice & pigeons then.
>
>Peter
--
Kay
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| On 25/1/08 17:22, in article j5mC1FCErhmHFwgF@scarboro.demon.co.uk, "K"
<k@scarboro.demon.co.uk> wrote:
> Peter Robinson <pmrobinson@gmx.net> writes
>
> Lathyrus odoratus?
>
> L sativum is the one with small steel blue flowers.
I think that's the original one supposed to have been brought in by the
Romans - not sure.[color=darkred]
>
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'
| |
| Peter Robinson 2008-01-27, 5:25 pm |
| Sacha <sacha@gardenweeds506.fsnet.co.uk> wrote:
> ;-) They're called sweet peas because they smell sweet and the pods bear a
> resemblance to edible peas, Pisum. Would you eat lupin pods, for example?
> I do hope not!
Never had the urge so far, but now you come to mention it ... ;-)
Peter
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