Rose of Sharon; YES it's edible!

Hibiscus syriacus


It's beautiful.  Once you've seen one, it unmistakable.   

There is nothing harmful about the Rose of Sharon, as commonly known in North America.  Well if it is welcomed, I must add.  

This flowering plant is in the mallow family, Malvaceae.  This is due to its' flower buds containing high amounts of mucilage, a gooey compound made of polysaccharide.  
Mucilage is used to heal burns, wounds, gastric ulcers, internal & external inflammation as well as irritation.  This can include but not limited to sore throats and urinary tract infections. 

Known for lowering blood pressure, both leaves and flowers can be brewed as an antioxidant tea.

The bark has been used in Chinese medicine as an anti fungal remedy.  And new studies have found it to be promising in the proliferation of lung cancer.  

We have included this on our wild edibles list because we have been blessed with a Rose of Sharon shrub/bush/plant.    

buds falling to the ground
cultivars like Azurri Satin, Sugar Tip, Lucy, Lavender Chiffon, Diana and Minerva

Read more at Gardening Know How: Is Rose Of Sharon Invasive – How To Control Rose Of Sharon Plants https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/shrubs/rose-of-sharon/control-rose-sharon-plants.htm
cultivars like Azurri Satin, Sugar Tip, Lucy, Lavender Chiffon, Diana and Minerva

Read more at Gardening Know How: Is Rose Of Sharon Invasive – How To Control Rose Of Sharon Plants https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/shrubs/rose-of-sharon/control-rose-sharon-plants.htm
Flowers are best eaten freshly picked and make a lovely ornamental addition to dishes such as soups, salads and desserts.  Syrups, jams and pastries stuffed with the flowers are even more ways you can use them.  

They are pleasantly mild tasting with some sweet nectar at its' petal base.   

Commonly once thought of as an invasive plant, most cultivators today have been made sterile.  
Due to the shrub having few needs, this makes it easy for the plant to thrive where it may not be wanted.  It can tolerate full sun, partial sun and partial shade with equal ease.  It likes all soil types; sandy, loamy or clay.  And the plant has a moderate to high drought tolerance.  Additionally it is able to withstand salt spray in coastal areas.  

And then each one of those  blossoms that appear in summer eventually turns into a fruit with a seed pod, if it is not of the sterile variety.  Typically the plant can grow to be 10 feet tall.  



  
So now that you know you can eat these beauties will you welcome them into your yard?  

"De-heading" them will prevent them from spreading.  Snip off each faded flower and its' developing seed pod underneath it.  Or plant sterile cultivators such as Sugar Tip, Lucy, Azurri Satin, Diana, Minerva and Lavender Chiffon so you do not have to deal with the seedlings. 
sterile cultivars like Azurri Satin, Sugar Tip, Lucy, Lavender Chiffon, Diana and Minerva

Read more at Gardening Know How: Is Rose Of Sharon Invasive – How To Control Rose Of Sharon Plants https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/shrubs/rose-of-sharon/control-rose-sharon-plants.htm
sterile cultivars like Azurri Satin, Sugar Tip, Lucy, Lavender Chiffon, Diana and Minerva

Read more at Gardening Know How: Is Rose Of Sharon Invasive – How To Control Rose Of Sharon Plants https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/shrubs/rose-of-sharon/control-rose-sharon-plants.htm
sterile cultivars like Azurri Satin, Sugar Tip, Lucy, Lavender Chiffon, Diana and Minerva

Read more at Gardening Know How: Is Rose Of Sharon Invasive – How To Control Rose Of Sharon Plants https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/shrubs/rose-of-sharon/control-rose-sharon-plants.htm
Azurri Satin, Sugar Tip, Lucy, Lavender Chiffon, Diana and Minerva

Read more at Gardening Know How: Is Rose Of Sharon Invasive – How To Control Rose Of Sharon Plants https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/shrubs/rose-of-sharon/control-rose-sharon-plants.htmS

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