Edible bulbs
Mary Sue Ittner (Wed, 31 Mar 2010 13:39:59 PDT)

Hi,

The current no subject thread (come on guys, you could change it to
identify what you are talking about for the sake of the archives)
reminds me of a post we received from a non member who was taking
issue with the wiki page created by Lee Poulsen that he called edibles.
http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/…

On it was listed Colocasia esculenta, a plant used in Hawaii for a
food known as Taro. This man and his wife had made a stew using this
plant instead of potatoes using a published recipe. It tasted strange
so they spit it out, but she ended up in an emergency room. He gave
me links to sources of information about this and how it could cause
a severe itching, stinging, or burning sensation in the mouth and
throat, followed by swelling and other effects, or a less severe
irritation or itching sensation on external skin (on hands and arms
for example). It took his wife 12 days to recover completely.

By saying that a plant has been used as a food source, we fail to say
how it is processed to make it safe. Indians in our area used acorns
from a tree as a food source, but there was a lengthy process that
was needed to remove the toxicity.

Do we know if all Alliums are equally edible? I'm sure that some
taste better than others, but that is not my question. My question is
whether they are all safe to eat.

Mary Sue