Can anyone tell me what this weed is?

[kaviare]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/craftas...es/4899036767/

I see it everywhere in adelaide, wherever there's an abandoned garden. I'm pulling up lots in my own garden, and I'd like to know what it is, if it's safe for chooks, and if it might be useful!

[insipidtoast]

Looks like some sort of Malva

[purplepear]

It is a mallow and a bit of a nuisance but the chooks eat the leaves and leave the stems that spread along and under ground

[pebble]

Yes, and an edible and medicinal mallow too. You can cook with the leaves, or chop young ones fine in salad or sandwiches. Flowers and green seed capsules are edible too - google 'mallow cheese edible'. For medicine google 'malva +herbal medicine' (it's similar to its relative marshmallow).

Can't imagine it being a bit of a nuisance ;-)

If you're in Australia, check out Tim Low's edible weed book.

[kaviare]

Ooh, lovely! I might try drying it for tea, then. Will report back

[Fernando Pessoa]

You can smoke this as well with rose petals,coltsfoot and salvia divinorum for flavour calming smoke.
Best wishes
fernando

[insipidtoast]

Or you can just smoke salvia

Is chook australian for chicken?

[Grahame]

What's a chicken?

We have a bit of that mallow plant around here, it has very strong and seemingly deep roots so I tend to cut it off if it is in the way, hoping the roots will open up the ground a bit for me as they rot away. I like them too because they can build up a lot of bio-mass quickly. Like all plants it is a resource waiting for uses

Here chook, chook, chook, chook, chook

[pebble]

Not sure how it will go for drying for tea, as it's a fairly bland taste. You can make a refreshing infusion by chopping a good handful of the fresh leaves and covering with cold water and leaving to steep at least a few hours. Flowers can be done like this also. The cold water extracts the mucilage and when you drink this it helps the body stay hydrated. Perfect in a hot climate. The root would have the most mucilage but that would kill the plant.

[eco4560]

Chook is Australian for chicken. A Mate is your best friend, not someone you have sex with. And you also call your male mate a Bastard as a term of endearment. Anyone who doesn't know and respect these language conventions is called a Drongo. I'm yet to work out why the Septic Tanks call men Chuck - cos that's vomit over here.... Language is fun!