Naked Science Forum
Life Sciences => Plant Sciences, Zoology & Evolution => Topic started by: Donnah on 12/07/2014 23:19:04
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Some say you can and should eat carrot greens, others say no, and others say eat them only if they are organic with no chance of artificial fertilizers or sprays. Which is it, and why?
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Some say you can and should eat carrot greens, others say no, and others say eat them only if they are organic with no chance of artificial fertilizers or sprays. Which is it, and why?
If I'm not mistaken, I remember reading somewhere that carrot greens are toxic. Not sure how dangerous they are but I would be a bit careful about eating them. I think you should research this before eating any of them.
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Carrot greens are not toxic in themselves, and are used in many recipes. However, some commercial growers may apply pesticides to the tops, believing only the roots will be eaten - although legitimate growers shouldn't be using toxic pesticides. Organic crops may possibly be safer (I'm not sure about organic pesticides).
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Organic pesticides are not safer than ordinary ones. Last time I checked, nicotine was still on the list of permitted organic insecticides even though it's more toxic to us than to insects.
I can't find any evidence for carrot tops being toxic.
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How many dead rabbits and deer do you see around carrot patches?
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How many dead rabbits and deer do you see around carrot patches?
depends if Elmer Fudd got there first.
However there are plenty of examples of animals eating plants that are toxic to us.
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As BC said, there are examples of plants which certain animals can eat but others cannot. In some cases this will be due to toxicity and in some, they just aren't suitable for one reason or another. We eat cabbage, kale, sprouts etc. and they are beneficial to us. But these brassicas are certainly not good for my tortoises as the high level of oxalic acid in them prevents the absorption of essential calcium in chelonians.
As to the question on carrot top, yes you can eat them, provided they are clear of pesticides. It might not be advisable to eat carrot top from carrots bought at a supermarket, since these may well have been treated with pesticides shortly before harvesting, but home grown carrots will not present a problem, so long as they are either untreated or have been treated with a pesticide which becomes safe after a period of time and have been left in the ground for the prescribed period. ALWAYS CHECK THE MANUFACTURER'S INSTRUCTIONS & PRECAUTIONS.
BUT.... BE SURE IT IS CARROT TOP. The carrot's family members include parsnip, dill, fennel and coriander, but it also includes HEMLOCK, which IS TOXIC.
Also, beware of wild carrot. These can been confused with related plants which DO CONTAIN Alkaloids such as STRYCHNINE.
If in doubt, don't eat.
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Seriously, if you can't tell this
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strychnos_nux-vomica
from this
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daucus_carota
you should get someone else to cook your food for you. About all they have in common is green leaves and white flowers.
On the other hand it's true that there are a bunch of food plants, celery, fennel,etc which are close relatives of and look similar to a bunch of toxic plants (hemlock giant hogweed etc).
The simplest distinction is that carrot tops have a carrot underneath them.
I'd probably give parsnip tops a miss- there are reports of phototoxicity tat I'd rather not test on myself.
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Seriously, if you can't tell this
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strychnos_nux-vomica
from this
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daucus_carota
You should go to Specsavers!!!
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Thanks,
We have Hemlock Trees (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsuga) around here, so I had always thought hemlock was a tree. But, apparently the hemlock tree isn't as toxic as Shakespeare would have one believe.
However, hemlock also refers to several plants related to the carrots that are toxic.
Conium (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conium)
Cicuta (water hemlock) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicuta)
Oenanthe crocata (water dropwort) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_dropwort)
Apparently the leaves of the water dropwart are not toxic to the livestock, but the root is.
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Here is a perfect example of 'one man's meat is another man's poison'.
The Golden Bamboo Lemur Hapalemur aureus of Madagascar feeds on a the young shoots of the bamboo species Cephalostachyum cf viguieri. These shoots contain 15mg per 100g of cyanide. Consuming on average 500g of these shoots per day, this Lemur's cyanide intake is 12 times the toxic dose for a primate of its size and weight.
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Here is a perfect example of 'one man's meat is another man's poison'.
The Golden Bamboo Lemur Hapalemur aureus of Madagascar feeds on a the young shoots of the bamboo species Cephalostachyum cf viguieri. These shoots contain 15mg per 100g of cyanide. Consuming on average 500g of these shoots per day, this Lemur's cyanide intake is 12 times the toxic dose for a primate of its size and weight.
Lemurs are primates. so the last bit doesn't quite make sense.
Rabbits can safely eat deadly nightshade (or, at least, that's what I have been told- don't try it at home).
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Here is a perfect example of 'one man's meat is another man's poison'.
The Golden Bamboo Lemur Hapalemur aureus of Madagascar feeds on a the young shoots of the bamboo species Cephalostachyum cf viguieri. These shoots contain 15mg per 100g of cyanide. Consuming on average 500g of these shoots per day, this Lemur's cyanide intake is 12 times the toxic dose for a primate of its size and weight.
Lemurs are primates. so the last bit doesn't quite make sense.
Yes, I see what you mean BC. Allow me to elucidate.
The Golden Bamboo Lemur, a primate, consumes 500gms of the toxic young shoots of the Cephalostachyum cf viguieri per day. The Greater Bamboo Lemur, a somewhat larger primate which shares the same habitat, will eat the non toxic woody pulp of the same bamboo, but cannot eat the young shoots because the cyanide in them would kill it.
Hope that's cleared up the confusion.