Daisies: flowers and leaves for the salad
Almost every child knows the daisy. What many do not know: flowers, buds and young leaves are edible and taste mild to slightly nutty. It flowers almost all year, even in mild winters, and is a good first wild plant to practise with. Here you learn how to recognise it reliably, where to collect it and why people with an allergy to the aster family should be careful.
- Collecting 10–15 minutes for a handful of flowers
Explicado de forma sencilla
You surely know daisies: small white flowers with a yellow centre in the meadow. You can eat the flowers and the young leaves. They taste mild and make a salad nice and colourful.
You recognise the daisy because all its leaves lie flat on the ground and each stalk carries exactly one flower. There are no leaves on the stalk itself.
Only pick in meadows where no dogs run and nothing is sprayed, and leave many flowers for the bees. Anyone who is allergic to chamomile should be careful.
Cómo funciona
What looks like a single flower is a whole basket: the yellow centre consists of many tiny disc florets, and each white "petal" is a ray floret of its own. All plants of the aster family work like this, including dandelion, chamomile and sunflower.
Daisies are adapted to short grass. Their rosette lies so flat that lawnmowers and grazing animals hardly catch it. That is why they flower on mown meadows, where tall flowers have long been cut.
The heads open in the morning and close in the evening and in rain. This protects the pollen from wet – and tells you that a dry morning is the best time to collect.
Lo que de verdad importa
The collecting site matters more than the identification. The daisy is easy to recognise, but lawns in gardens, parks and sports grounds are often fertilised, sprayed and used by dogs. Your own natural garden is the best place.
Flowers wilt quickly. Pick them shortly before eating, place them loosely in a rigid container and shake them out before rinsing so small insects can crawl out.
Young leaves and closed buds are also edible. Wash the leaves thoroughly; the buds you can pickle in vinegar.
Seguridad: a qué debes prestar atención
Plants of the aster family can trigger allergies. Anyone who reacts to chamomile, arnica or mugwort tries daisies at most in a very small amount or leaves them out.
Leaves close to the ground can be contaminated with fox tapeworm eggs. Wash them thoroughly and wash your hands afterwards.
Daisies are an addition, not food that fills you up. They provide colour, freshness and some variety.
Paso a paso
Where daisies grow
Daisies like short grass: meadows, pastures, lawns and path edges. They flower from spring to autumn and in mild winters even in between. The safest place to collect is your own unsprayed garden or a meadow whose owner you can ask.
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Where daisies grow
Daisies like short grass: meadows, pastures, lawns and path edges. They flower from spring to autumn and in mild winters even in between. The safest place to collect is your own unsprayed garden or a meadow whose owner you can ask.
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Rosette and leaves
All the leaves lie flat in a rosette on the ground. They are spoon-shaped: round and broad at the front, narrow like a stalk towards the base, slightly notched at the edge and often a little hairy. There are no leaves on the flower stalk itself.
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One head per stalk
Short, leafless stalks grow from the rosette, and each carries exactly one flower head: many narrow white ray florets, sometimes with pink tips, around a yellow centre. In the evening and in rain the heads close. Similar flowers such as ox-eye daisies or chamomiles are taller and have leaves on the stem.
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Harvest gently
Pluck open flowers and closed buds at the stalk and place them loosely in a rigid container. You can add young leaves from the middle of the rosette. Always leave plenty of flowers – bees and insects need them, especially early in the year.
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Limpiar
Shake the flowers out so small insects can crawl out, and rinse them briefly and gently. Wash the leaves thoroughly like other greens growing close to the ground. Flowers wilt quickly – collect them only shortly before eating.
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Usar
Flowers make salad, bread and soup colourful and taste mild. Young leaves go into salad or briefly steamed with other wild greens. Closed buds can be pickled in vinegar and salt. A handful adds to a meal, it does not fill you up.
Errores frecuentes
- Collecting on sprayed lawns or dog meadows
- Picking all the flowers
- Collecting the flowers hours in advance
- Eating them carelessly with an aster-family allergy
Resumen rápido
Materiales
Recipiente rígido de recolección (caja, cesta o taza)
So the flowers are not crushed
Una especie por recipiente: nunca mezcles nada desconocido
Bolsa de agua apta para uso alimentario
For gentle rinsing
Úsalo solo para agua potable, nunca para productos químicos ni combustible.
Adecuado para
- Almost all year
- Beginners and children under supervision
- Colour and freshness for salad and bread
No adecuado para
- Sprayed lawns, golf courses, dog meadows, roadsides
- People with an aster-family allergy
- As a filler – almost no calories
Requisitos previos
- A meadow or lawn that is not sprayed and not visited by dogs
- No known allergy to the aster family (e.g. chamomile, arnica)
Seguridad
- Daisies belong to the aster family like chamomile, arnica and mugwort. Anyone allergic to these plants may also react to daisies – try a small piece first or skip them altogether.
- Lawns in gardens, parks and sports grounds are often fertilised or sprayed against weeds, and dogs like to use them. Only collect where you know nothing has been sprayed.
- Plants close to the ground can be contaminated with soil, droppings and fox tapeworm eggs. Wash thoroughly or cook, and wash your hands afterwards.
Cómo funciona
The daisy is easy to recognise because it shows several features at once: a flat rosette of leaves on the ground, spoon-shaped leaves, and on each leafless stalk exactly one flower head with white ray florets and a yellow centre. The head is really a basket of many small individual flowers – hence the name aster or daisy family.
Ventajas
- Very easy to recognise
- Disponible casi todo el año
- Mild taste
- Good for practising with children
Desventajas
- Small – laborious to collect
- Often on sprayed lawns
- Casi sin calorías
- Allergy risk for people allergic to the aster family
Conocimiento en profundidad
Fundamentos técnicos
The daisy has long accompanied people in gardens and pastures and is named as an edible flower in many wild herb books. It is one of the few wild plants you find almost everywhere and almost all year.
Even with such a well-known plant the basic rule of foraging applies: recognise it by several features, collect at clean sites and try anything new in small amounts first.
Variantes
- Pickled buds
- Wash closed buds, sprinkle them with salt and after a few hours put them into hot vinegar in a clean jar. Keep chilled. They taste a bit like capers.
- Practicar con los niños
- The daisy is ideal for teaching children to recognise a plant by several features: rosette, leafless stalk, one head. Part of it is the rule: only eat what an adult has checked first.
Errores frecuentes
- Collecting on sprayed lawns or dog meadows
- Picking all the flowers
- Collecting the flowers hours in advance
- Eating them carelessly with an aster-family allergy
Límites y riesgos
- No es una clave de identificación completa
- Vale para Europa central
- Sin promesas de curación
Alternativas de materiales
Deducido de las propiedades de los materiales: un sustituto debe tener todas las propiedades relevantes. Ten en cuenta las indicaciones sobre el sustituto.
- Recipiente rígido de recolección (caja, cesta o taza)
- Olla metálica (acero inoxidable, aluminio, titanio) (Caliente: riesgo de quemaduras.), Botella de acero inoxidable de pared simple (Calienta solo botellas de pared simple, sin pintura ni plástico; quita la tapa antes de calentarla.), Botella térmica de doble pared (Nunca la calientes directamente.), botella de PET (transparente, máx. 2 litros) (No lo calientes ni lo pongas al fuego.), Bidón de agua apto para alimentos (Usa solo recipientes que nunca hayan contenido productos químicos ni combustible.), Recipiente de almacenaje hermético apto para alimentos (Llénalo solo cuando esté limpio y completamente seco; nunca uses recipientes que hayan contenido productos químicos.), Bidón plegable o bolsa para agua (Protégelo de objetos punzantes.), Jarra medidora, Bolsa de agua apta para uso alimentario (Úsalo solo para agua potable, nunca para productos químicos ni combustible.), Frasco o tinaja de fermentación (Usa solo recipientes aptos para alimentos, de vidrio, de gres con esmalte apto para alimentos o de plástico alimentario. No uses recipientes de metal para alimentos ácidos.), Bolsas de alimentos reutilizables con cierre (Usa solo bolsas aptas para alimentos; no las uses con agua hirviendo salvo que el fabricante lo permita expresamente.), Bolsa o cesta de recolección que deje pasar el aire (Recolectar cada especie por separado para que no se mezcle nada desconocido)
- Bolsa de agua apta para uso alimentario
- Botella de acero inoxidable de pared simple (Calienta solo botellas de pared simple, sin pintura ni plástico; quita la tapa antes de calentarla.), Botella térmica de doble pared (Nunca la calientes directamente.), botella de PET (transparente, máx. 2 litros) (No lo calientes ni lo pongas al fuego.), Bidón de agua apto para alimentos (Usa solo recipientes que nunca hayan contenido productos químicos ni combustible.), Recipiente de almacenaje hermético apto para alimentos (Llénalo solo cuando esté limpio y completamente seco; nunca uses recipientes que hayan contenido productos químicos.), Bidón plegable o bolsa para agua (Protégelo de objetos punzantes.), Frasco o tinaja de fermentación (Usa solo recipientes aptos para alimentos, de vidrio, de gres con esmalte apto para alimentos o de plástico alimentario. No uses recipientes de metal para alimentos ácidos.), Bolsas de alimentos reutilizables con cierre (Usa solo bolsas aptas para alimentos; no las uses con agua hirviendo salvo que el fabricante lo permita expresamente.)
Los resultados proceden exclusivamente de entradas estructuradas. No se genera ninguna instrucción improvisada.
Fuentes (3)
- Bundesinstitut für Risikobewertung (BfR): Giftpflanzen: Wie kann man sich schützen und was ist bei einer Vergiftung zu tun? (Fragen und Antworten) · Only collect what you recognise reliably; teach children not to eat anything unchecked
- Ray Mears und Gordon Hillman, Hodder & Stoughton (2007): Wild Food · Daisies and other common wild plants as supplementary wild food
- Robert Koch-Institut: RKI-Ratgeber Echinokokkose · Transmisión de la tenia del zorro por huevos ingeridos; lavado, calentamiento, lavado de manos