Gardens already abound with raw leaves, and should you get interested in upping the number available in your lawn, it isn’t difficult to discover additional plants that’ll fit your bill. Although a lot of people also swear by harvesting wild leaves, however, you must be careful when harvesting plants out your garden to spot plants properly before feeding them.
Leafy Vegetables
Possibly the leaves are the leafy vegetables. Frequent kitchen garden developments include kale (Brassica oleracea (Acephala Group)), which will be an yearly vegetable which may be grown everywhere on the mainland United States. It rarely blossoms, and is chiefly grown for its somewhat hard, fibrous leaves, which develop during spring and fall. New Zealand spinach (Tetragonia tetragonoides) is just another yearly garden addition, grown for its edible leaves as well.
Herb Leaves and Needles
Leaves will be many herbs commonly utilized in the kitchen’s origin. These include plants with leaves that are true, and those whose foliage takes the kind of needles. Classic herbs contain rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 8 through 10, which has rough, woody stems and fragrant needle-like leaves. Common sage (Salvia officinalis), hardy in USDA zones 4 through 8, is also widespread for the flavoring properties in its fuzzy, aromatic leaves.
Flower Leaves
Flowers occasionally have edible leaves as well. The classic example is nasturtium (Nasturtium spp.) , an yearly flower that develops round, spicy-tasting leaves and edible flowers in shades of yellow, orange and crimson. Also known as Indian cress, leaves are a popular addition to salads. Another common flower with edible leaves is that the dandelion, which, even though a perennial, doesn’t have USDA zones since it’s categorized as a weed. The leaves, but when chosen tender and young, are great in salads or sautéed.
Tree and Vine Leaves
Some kinds of vines and trees also have raw leaves. Grapes (Vitis vinifera), hardy in USDA zones 5 through 9, are typically employed for the fruit, which may be processed to make wine, juice, jelly, jam and raisins. However, the leaves are also edible, either pickled or fresh, and often utilized in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern recipes such as dolmas, or stuffed grape leaves. Sassafras (Sassafras albidum), hardy in USDA zones 4 through 9, also has edible leaves. Even though it’s the roots which are utilized to make root beer, its leaves can be dried and ground into fine powder, which makes a conventional gumbo thickener and flavoring agent.