From Wikipedia : “Fasciation (pronounced /ˌfæʃiˈeɪʃən/, from the Latin root meaning “band” or “stripe”), also known as cresting, is a relatively rare condition of abnormal growth in vascular plants in which the apical meristem (growing tip), which normally is concentrated around a single point and produces approximately cylindrical tissue, instead becomes elongated perpendicularly to the direction of growth, thus, producing flattened, ribbon-like, crested, or elaborately contorted tissue”
This deviant martagon lily (Lilium martagon) turned up in my garden in 2014. Martagon lily have one of the best tasting lily bulbs, and is a good edible for the forest garden as they are shade tolerant :)
This is what happened when I ate it ;) I’ve now fully recovered :)
The best tasting vegetable of the rhizosphere I’ve had the pleasure of eating is Cacomitl, one of the lost crops of the Aztecs, also known as Tigridia (pavonia) and commonly available on those racks of ornamental bulbs. It is also one of the best edimentals, witness the pictures from my garden today (14th July!) below.
I’ll keep this short as I couldn’t possibly do better than the series of witty and informative posts on this plant by my friend (I’ve even shaken his hand now!) Owen Smith on his fabulous Radix: Root Crop Research and Ruminations blog. You know you need to read these titles:
The bulbs (in the centre below the ocas and left of the parsnip) are in this picture of my 2013 Xmas Tubasmagoria with 25 different edible tubers of 15 species! They were: Oxalis tuberosa (Oca); Pastinaca sativa (Parsnip/Pastinakk), Solanum tuberosum (Potato/Potet); Tropaeolum tuberosum (Mashua), Helianthus tuberosus (Jerusalem Artichoke/Jordskokk), Polymnia edulis (Yacon), Ullucus tuberosus (Ulluco), Petroselinum crispus (Hamburg Parsley/Persillerot), Brachychiton populneus (Kurrajong), Tigridia pavonia (Cacomitl), Dahlia cultivar (Dahlia/Georginer), Lilium martagon (Martagon Lily/Martagonlilje), Anredera cordifolia (Madeira Vine), Canna edulis (Achira) and Colocasia esculenta (Taro)
Perennial vegetables, Edimentals (plants that are edible and ornamental) and other goings on in The Edible Garden
