M. Yokubinas translation

[-JKP-]

Monica: "...like being able to eat the tuber/sweet potato of the bladder campion on 33r not just the leaves as a winter pot herb."

I have my own ideas about what You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. might represent, but most people seem to think it's papaver (poppy) and not bladder campion.

The top of the VMS stalk does not look like a bladder, it looks like a seed capsule. Those are not petals, they are the rosette at the top of a seed capsule. Bladder campion has five sets of split petals, not at all like the VMS drawing.

The roots of bladder campion are usually like a nest of thin tap roots. They're a bit like buttercup roots. Occasionally they are like a slightly thicker dandelion root, but those are mostly the North American varieties, not the European ones. European species usually have thinner and more numerous roots. You wouldn't really call them tubers.

Here is a pic of the European version:



Also note how the leaves are in PAIRS, at intervals up the stalk, not at all like the VMS leaves in shape, size, or distribution.

Also, the roots are not usually eaten. The leaves and shoots are eaten. The roots are usually used for soap (the saponins in the roots are good for cleaning but are bitter and mildly toxic if eaten).