Each year I love to experiment with a few different plants, whether in the vegetable garden, flowers, or herbs. One new discovery I made last year was a pretty little herb (spilanthes oleracea) with many different nicknames such as, electric daisy, toothache plant, buzz buttons, to name a few. I tend to call it electric daisy. It was an attractive addition to my garden. These cute little edible plants grew into yellow daisy like flowers without the daisy pedals. They were a great conversation piece when we had guests over.
This flower is said to show anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal properties and is a sialagogue helping with digestion. Another property it contains is spilanthol which acts as an anaesthetic/analgesic when eaten. The effects of eating this flower need to be experienced because it is very difficult to describe. First of all I thought this only tastes a bit like grass and a hint of citrus then a tingly sensation started all inside my mouth. It was an odd kind of cool feeling. It took about 15 minutes before it wore off and the feeling of my mouth being frozen passed.
I have several more plants started from the seeds I collected last fall. I have extra that I would be happy share if anyone is interested in growing some this summer. I planted some of last years seeds 2 weeks ago in the house and they are beginning to pop up. I wanted to be sure the seeds would produce before giving any away.
Another week and I hope to get everything moved to the greenhouse till June when they can be planted into the ground. I think the snow if pretty much gone here now so just need things to warm up. Getting anxious!!!
