Łódź, Botanical Garden

It is native to the Americas, originating from north-eastern Mexico and Texas. Ornamental plant. Bees feeding plant. Edible plant - fruits cooked, used as a vegetable, it has a very mild flavour and is very watery; seeds raw or cooked, can also be ground into a powder and mixed with cereals for making bread etc; an edible oil is obtained from the seeds; leaves and young stems cooked as a potherb; flowers and flower buds cooked or dried for later use; roots cooked (?). Herbal plant - the seeds are mildly diuretic and vermifuge, as a remedy for internal parasites, the seeds are less potent than the root of Dryopteris felix-mas, but they are safer for pregnant women, debilitated patients and children; the leaves are applied externally to burns, the sap of the plant and the pulp of the fruit can also be used; the fruits pulp is used as a decoction to relieve intestinal inflammation.