knotgrass
Knotgrass is a plant and an herb.
botanical information:
Botanical name: Polygonum aviculare
Common name: knotgrass
nutritional information:
Knotgrass (as well as other weeds such as fat hen, knaw, corn surry, and chickweed) were eaten in mesolithic and neolithic British Isles prior to agriculture. Polygonum tinctorium (a relative of common knotgrass) was used as an early source of the dye indigo.
Apollonius of Memphis (in ancient Egypt) coined the word “diabetes” around 230 B.C.E. Apollonius thought it was a form of dropsy. Paul of Aegina refined the definition of diabetes and prescribed a remedy of pot-herbs, endive, lettuce, rock-fishes, juices of knotgrass, elecampane in dark colored wine, and decoctions of dates and myrtle.
Some herbs may be poisonious under some conditions. Exercise appropriate care.
Wild gathering: Avoid wild gathering. Some plants are endangered species. Some plants can be toxic just by touch. Even experts can make deadly misidentifications of wild plants. Please grow your own herbs in your own goddess garden (or window boxes).
See also: herbs.
