Quelite : Mafafa : Eating the Taro stem

I have briefly written of this plant (or one of its ilk). See my previous Post Quelite : Mafafa. It is important you check the WARNINGS in this Post as all varieties of this plant contain highly irritant calcium oxalate crystals which need to be removed (by cooking) before the plant can be safely consumed. A couple of months ago I noted an African person … Continue reading Quelite : Mafafa : Eating the Taro stem

Xocoyoli : The Sour Quelite

As a child one of my first plant memories involves what we called “sour grass”. This is a plant in the Oxalis family (Oxalis pres-carpae) that has four leaf clover like leaves, bright yellow flowers and long juicy stems. The stems (or peduncles) would be chewed like a farmer chews a haystalk as we walked or played. It was often a challenge to see who … Continue reading Xocoyoli : The Sour Quelite