Re: Famine foods (was cycad)

At 06:50 PM 9/4/2007, Tony and Moira wrote:
They did not as far as I could see in the extracts quoted by Google explain the common name Soap Lily, but I assume it is one of those plants like the European soapwort which will give a lather with water. Soapness could doubtless expalain why it would be only a "famine food".
Soapy plants often have a saponin in them. Some are toxic by ingestion, and others are medicinal. See the Wikipedia article for more details: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saponin See also http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/toxicagents/saponin.html 

These compounds have many uses and cautions attached to these uses.
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