Is the evening primrose poisonous?

Evening primrose neither poisonous for humans nor animals

Anyone on the Internet for information about the toxicity of the Evening primrose searches, is left behind in the end quite confused. Often enough the information emerges that the plant is poisonous and therefore not edible. You can safely forget about such claims, because they are simply false. Quite the opposite: the leaves, roots and flowers of the evening primrose have been used for centuries eaten as food - a custom that has been somewhat forgotten in the last few decades. The plant is just as toxic to animals as it is to humans - on the contrary, because guinea pigs, rabbits & Co. like to nibble on the tasty leaves.

Evening primrose as food

Due to its reddish discoloration, the fleshy root of the evening primrose was also known as "ham root" in the past. It was cooked in broth and used either as a salad with vinegar and oil or as a vegetable like salsify. The young leaves are suitable as a salad addition or cooked as spinach, the flowers and flower buds make a wonderful, also edible decoration.

Evening primrose in medicine

Especially the Seeds of the evening primrose contain a lot of gamma-linoleic acid and are therefore pressed into oil and used for skin problems. Evening primrose oil is particularly common for atopic dermatitis. The flowers can be used to make an infusion or syrup that provides relief from coughs and other mild respiratory diseases.