Content
- Valerian: appearance of leaves and use
- From the end of March / mid-April, they are going on
- External features of the leaves
- Can you eat the leaves and how do they taste?
- Further uses for the leaves
- Tips
The leaves of valerian are also edible
Valerian: appearance of leaves and use
He likes to stand in the sun or in partial shade, is known for his healing powers and with his delicate blossoms he creates light and easy accents in beds - the valerian. What should one know about his leaves?
From the end of March / mid-April, they are going on
Every year the Valerian, a perennial that has helped so many with its soothing effect, is spreading again. The shoot starts with the leaves around between the end of March and mid-April.
External features of the leaves
The leaves look rather inconspicuous. Nevertheless, they are striking. Once you know what the leaves look like, you can see the valerian well in the future. The following features are available:
Let's take a closer look at the leaves. The lower leaves form a rosette at the bottom. They are stalked. At the top, the leaves of the valerian become smaller and smaller. They no longer have stalks, but are seated on the stems. The stem itself is upright, is brown to reddish brown and hollow.
The stems to which the individual leaflets adhere are narrow. The 5 to 23 leaflets are between 6 and 12 cm long. They are lanceolate to ovate, pointed at the end, wedge-shaped at the base and slightly sawn at the edges. Rarer are the leaflets ganzrandig.
Can you eat the leaves and how do they taste?
The leaves of valerian are edible. Fresh in the shoot, they are the tastiest. Their taste is reminiscent of lamb's lettuce. But with increasing age, that is to say at the height of flowering, the leaves taste less well.
Due to the after-flowering aroma towards the flower, if you want to collect the leaves, you should only harvest them until the long flower stalks shoot up towards the end of April. But basically the leaves can be picked from April to October.
Further uses for the leaves
The harvested leaves should ideally be used fresh. Because they are similar to lamb's lettuce, they are great for enriching salads. In addition, they are fresh for smoothies and stews. They also taste pure straight from the plant.
Anyone who has dried the leaves can use them roughly crumbled for tea. To do this, take about 1 teaspoonful of the dried leaves and pour them into a strainer with 125 ml of boiling water. The tea tastes mildly spicy.
Tips
Once the long stem shoots up with the flower, it is best not to harvest the leaves. Then most of the power of the plant (including the ingredients) has gone into bloom.