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8/14/2019 Wild Edibles - The Daylily
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Wild Edibles - The Daylilyby Tactical Intelligenceon July 2nd, 2010
Disclaimer: Eating certain wild plants can be deadly!!
Be certain to consult a professional (or a really good field guide) in order to positively identify this plant before tryingthis for yourself. The oners of this site ill not be held responsible for any lapses in !udg"ent or stupidity hen
handling or consu"ing ild plants.
The daylily (hemerocallis fulva) is a very co""on orna"ental plant that has found a ho"e in "any
yards and gardens throughout the #nited $tates. %espite its co""on occurrence, fe reali&e the
year'round food potential of this plant.
In this article Ill go into detail about ho to identify, process and eat these delicious plants.
How to Identify Daylilies
Before you atte"pt to eat any ild edible you need to be absolutely certain you can identify it ith
100 certainty. *uc+ily, daylilies, hen in floer, have no poisonous loo+'a'li+es. But to those
that only see a all of green- out there, everything loo+s ali+e. In that case here are the +ey
things to loo+ out for hen properly identifying daylilies/
6-petaled flower that faces
upwards.These are typically orange but so"e have
been bred to be different colors. In all daylilies the
floer only lasts a single day (hence the na"e )
http://www.tacticalintelligence.net/abouthttp://www.tacticalintelligence.net/about8/14/2019 Wild Edibles - The Daylily
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Leafless flower stalk that is about 3 feet tall.The
stal+ that supports the floer head ill have noleaves on it. This is a good co"parison to the Blue
lag Iris hich is poisonous and has leaves on its
floer stal+.
Liht-reen basal lea!es that are lon and sword-
like with pointed tips.
"oot is a tanle of s#all tubers.The tubers are
around pea si&e to about the si&e of a large al"ond.
If you can positively identify each of these attributes above, its pretty certain that your loo+ing at
a daylily.
How to Eat a Daylily
Eatin in the Different $easons
The great thing about daylilies is that there is alays so"ething to eat fro" this plant all year round.
In the late all and inter (as ell as all year round) you can eat the tubers (root nodules), in the$pring the young shoots are edible and delicious as a stir fry, and in the $u""er you can eat the
floer buds and the floers.
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I would reco##end waitin until $u##er to eat these as it will ha!e all of the attributes
a!ailable to #ake for an accurate identification.$ince its a perennial plant (lives longer than
to years) you can then co"e bac+ to the stand during the folloing springti"e to get the
young shoots.
If you do decide to gather the" in the $pring, care #ust be taken not to #istake the# with so#e
of the poisonous irises and lilies that e#ere around the sa#e ti#e.ne of the best ays toidentify the" is to unearth the young shoot, roots and all. 3oure loo+ing to find s"all potato'li+e
tubers ith tiny hair'li+e roots attached to the" (see the picture I too+ in the section above). If you
unearth one long, thic+ rhi&o"e ithout tubers or a single bulb, then youve got the rong plant.
What %arts to Eat
The edible portions of the plant (tubers, young shoots, floer buds and floers) can all be eaten
ra. 4oever, there have been reports that so"e people react ith nausea, vo"iting, or diarrhea 5especially if they eat a bunch of it). 6oo+ing it is supposed to help reduce these effects. Just try out
a s"all a"ount and see if you have any sy"pto"s. 7ll "y friends and fa"ily ho try this plant
have never e8perienced this.
Tubers&3oull ant to re"ove the hair'li+e roots
and thic+ rhi&o"es. ash and clean the" and boil
the" in ater for about 19 "inutes for best taste
(you can eat the" ra). $o"e people li+e to peel
the" li+e potatoes, hoever I find the s+in is !ust
fine to eat along ith the starchy centers 5 ithout
the hassle. In this picture Ive peeled so"e and leftothers ith the s+in.
'lowers&The floer have a pleasant seet taste
hen eaten ra and also can be dipped in batter and
fried.
Day-old 'lowers&The ilted floers (above'left in
the picture) can be reconstituted in soups.
'lowers (uds&Both the floer buds about to bloo"(botto" left) and those that still have a hile
(botto" right) are e8cellent in your favorite stir fry
recipe.
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)oun $hoots&The young shoots are e8cellent ra,in salads or ith dip. They are also great in stir fry.
The benefit of learning ild edibles is that it can
greatly i"prove and e8tend your long'ter" food
storage. 4eres an e8a"ple of using so"e of "y
stored rice ith so"e fresh daylily floers, stir'fried
buds, and boiled daylily tubers. 3u"":
Daylily *utrition Infor#ation%aylily floers and tubers are high in protein and oils. The floer buds are good sources of beta
carotene and vita"in 6.
+ther *otes
7lthough daylilies are an e8cellent food source, you should be aare that research done in 6hinese
laboratories have reported that there are potentially to8ic substances in the roots hich "ay be
cu"ulative. ;eep in "ind that people have been eating these plants for centuries ithout being
poisoned so use the" ith respect and in "oderation.
"elated posts&
1. ild
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Copyright 2011 Tactical Intelligence. All Rights Reserved
$$ feedC Trac+bac+ #I
3 ,o##ents
Comment by Roane
2010'0D'22 19/0/9
*i+ed the articles about edible plants
I noticed a typo in the acorn article>hen you refer to te8ture (of the flour), the spelling should
have been coarse- rather than course.-
eply to this co""ent
Comment by Tactical Intelligence
2010'0D'2@ 0/1/@0
ops "issed that one. Than+s:
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