Talk:Cytisus scoparius

Edible?

Is any part of this plant edible?

Are the little pea pods (i.e., legumes) poisonous? Can those little black seeds inside the pods be prepared in such a way that they are safe to eat?—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 198.177.27.28 (talk • contribs) .

If my memory serves me correctly, the seeds had no flavor when I tasted them when I was 12 years old, and you end up spitting them out. Just plain woody! Perhaps because they lack oil, which is sort of surprising if the shrub really can withstand the subfreezing temperatures of the sub-arctic and near-arctic. Still, if there is any marketable value to the seed of the broom, there ought to be some way of mechanically shaking the shrub, and collecting the fallen seeds for sale in wild birdseed. I think that the bush blooms through the summer, starting in May, but the pea pods don't ripen until late August or September.

No, the seeds are toxic. Don't eat them. NZ toxic plants Onco_p53 23:25, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for the warning. Are they unfit for birdseed as well?