Petasites japonicus (Giant Butterbur)
Denmans Garden near Fontwell, West Sussex.
It wasn't sunny, but neither was it raining ... and this year we have to grab our chances while we can!
It was a bit early in the season but there is always something to see. Magnolias, Camellias, Primulas ... Stachyurus catkins ... and little bulbs defying the constant rain. Parts of the lawn were off limits due to waterlogging, and one section was cordoned off so they could do tree work. And to finish, a bowl of homemade tomato and red onion chutney soup and a piece of cake in their Midpines Cafe.
Petasites japonicus, also known as butterbur, giant butterbur, great butterbur and sweet-coltsfoot, is an herbaceous perennial plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to China, Japan, Korea and Sakhalin and introduced in Europe and North America. It was introduced to southern British Columbia in Canada by Japanese migrants.
It is dioecious, with male and female flowers produced on separate individuals. Occasionally, morphologically hermaphroditic (but functionally sterile) flowers exist.
The traditional preparation method for this vegetable involves pre-treating with ash or baking soda and soaking in water to remove harshness (astringency), which is a technique known as aku-nuki (灰汁抜き, literally "harshness removal"). The shoot can be chopped and stir fried with miso to make fuki-miso which is eaten as a relish thinly spread over hot rice at meals. The bulb-like shoots are also picked fresh and fried as tempura. In Korea, it is steamed or boiled and then pressed to remove water. Sesame oil or perilla oil is added in order to make namul.
Like other Petasites species, fuki contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) which have been associated with cumulative damage to the liver and tumor formation. It also contains the carcinogenic PA petasitenine. The concentration of hepatotoxic PAs can be reduced to a concentration below detection limits with a proper extraction process. Since many alkaloids are bitter, traditional methods of preparation may have evolved to remove them.
The Ainu people refer to the previous inhabitants of Ezo as the Korpokkur or "people who dwelt below ground"; the name can also be interpreted as "people beneath the fuki", and so they are popularly associated with fuki leaves in art and mythology. More fantastic depictions of the Korpokkur portray them as tiny, fairy-like creatures small enough to use the leaves as roofs or umbrellas.
Petasites japonicus (Giant Butterbur)
Denmans Garden near Fontwell, West Sussex.
It wasn't sunny, but neither was it raining ... and this year we have to grab our chances while we can!
It was a bit early in the season but there is always something to see. Magnolias, Camellias, Primulas ... Stachyurus catkins ... and little bulbs defying the constant rain. Parts of the lawn were off limits due to waterlogging, and one section was cordoned off so they could do tree work. And to finish, a bowl of homemade tomato and red onion chutney soup and a piece of cake in their Midpines Cafe.
Petasites japonicus, also known as butterbur, giant butterbur, great butterbur and sweet-coltsfoot, is an herbaceous perennial plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to China, Japan, Korea and Sakhalin and introduced in Europe and North America. It was introduced to southern British Columbia in Canada by Japanese migrants.
It is dioecious, with male and female flowers produced on separate individuals. Occasionally, morphologically hermaphroditic (but functionally sterile) flowers exist.
The traditional preparation method for this vegetable involves pre-treating with ash or baking soda and soaking in water to remove harshness (astringency), which is a technique known as aku-nuki (灰汁抜き, literally "harshness removal"). The shoot can be chopped and stir fried with miso to make fuki-miso which is eaten as a relish thinly spread over hot rice at meals. The bulb-like shoots are also picked fresh and fried as tempura. In Korea, it is steamed or boiled and then pressed to remove water. Sesame oil or perilla oil is added in order to make namul.
Like other Petasites species, fuki contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) which have been associated with cumulative damage to the liver and tumor formation. It also contains the carcinogenic PA petasitenine. The concentration of hepatotoxic PAs can be reduced to a concentration below detection limits with a proper extraction process. Since many alkaloids are bitter, traditional methods of preparation may have evolved to remove them.
The Ainu people refer to the previous inhabitants of Ezo as the Korpokkur or "people who dwelt below ground"; the name can also be interpreted as "people beneath the fuki", and so they are popularly associated with fuki leaves in art and mythology. More fantastic depictions of the Korpokkur portray them as tiny, fairy-like creatures small enough to use the leaves as roofs or umbrellas.