I have not been able to get any definitive answers about whether or not this is a native species or if it’s introduced, and whether or not the root is similar to the one that is considered a delicacy or if it is the same one. I have eaten them and they are very tasty, but I stopped because I don’t feel that I know enough about it.
Does anyone here eat these roots, or know whether or not these questions have been settled by anyone who could be considered an expert?
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5 thoughts on “Florida Betony/Crosnes”
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Huh! I learn something every day! I’ve seen Florida betony (Stachys floridana) growing (in South Carolina) but never knew that any part of it is edible. It is native, from Florida to Virginia. I had never heard of crosne (stachys affinis). So Florida betony is not the same as crosne but is in the same genus. But that’s a fairly big genus (we have a couple of them in NJ) and I would not guarantee that all the species are equally edible.
Maybe some other reader can enlighten us both.
Karl A.
Hi Carol, according to Francois Couplain, stachus affinis (nonnative) roots are eaten in Asia and europe and also he says that the leaves and young shoots of all stachys spp. can be eaten raw or cooked and have a “fairly pleasant taste, inspite of their distinctive, musky smell.” Not a resounding endorsement for culinary possibilities…..
As a general practice we are not pulling native species out by the roots, although it looks like Florida betony can be quite weedy in lawns….
The tubers look very small and not too unlike the tubers of lesser celandine which we do cook and enjoy!
Thanks, guys.
I’m unclear whether or not Francois is saying that the roots of the Florida betony can be eaten.
I’m glad to know that it is a native species. I prefer to have native species growing in my lawn. And I don’t go around pulling them up by the roots. But every year, when I work my garden beds, they come up by the hundreds. And my beds aren’t all that big, so you get an idea of how absolutely prolific this plant is where I live.
unfortunately he didnt comment on stachys floridana roots….sounds like you have a cool “lawn”
I use the term “lawn” loosely. But there’s definitely all kinds of cool stuff growing in it. That’s for sure.