I made a delightful discovery yesterday!
Jupiter’s beard (Valeriana rubra) is a common landscaping plant here in Utah because it’s so drought tolerant. I’ve known for over a year now that it’s edible. The leaves have a pleasant texture and a very mild flavor, which makes them entirely acceptable as a garden snack.
I’ve tasted the flowers, as well. I don’t really like them — they’re aren’t bitter or anything, but their only flavor was . . . “red.” Do you know what I mean? The flavor was basically the taste of red dye. My four-year-old son seems to love the taste of the flowers, though.
Anyway, I noticed there were some ripe seeds on the plant yesterday, and I figured I would give them a taste to find out if they’re worth eating. (PFAF didn’t say they were, but it implied it by mentioning that some seeds in the genus are. There were no warnings against trying it.)
I put one of those little tiny seeds in my mouth, and hey, it tasted great! A very strong nutty flavor that lingered in my mouth longer than I would have expected. Perhaps it’s high in oil content? It’s probably high in protein, since most seeds are. The seeds are tiny, but I think the flavor is nice, and it didn’t trigger an allergic reaction for me. And since it’s a perennial, I could easily eat all the seeds without jeopardizing next year’s harvest. It’s not a lot of protein in the garden, but hey, every little bit helps!
It’s in the same genus as valerian (Valeriana officinalis), which is medicinal only, not edible. Jupiter’s beard isn’t medicinal at all; it’s just food. Which is what I prefer anyway.
So if you’re looking for a mildly attractive herbaceous perennial that is highly drought tolerant and produces some pretty good food, Jupiter’s beard might be a good choice for you.