Edible Parts: Leaves, seed.
Edible Uses: Coffee.
Leaves - raw or cooked. They can also be dried for later use. The leaves can be added to salads, cooked as a potherb or added to soups. Only the very young leaves should be used, preferably before the stems have developed, and even these are likely to be bitter. If used in early spring and in the autumn they can often be fairly pleasant tasting. The leaves are very rich in vitamins and minerals, especially iron and the vitamins A and C. A nutritional analysis is available. Stems - raw or cooked. They are best peeled and the inner portion eaten. Seed - raw or cooked. It can be used as a piñole or can be ground into a powder and used as a flour for making pancakes etc. The seed is very fiddly to harvest and prepare. The roasted seed has been used as a coffee substitute.
Curled dock has a long history of domestic herbal use. It is a
gentle and safe laxative, less powerful than rhubarb in its action
so it is particularly useful in the treatment of mild constipation.
The plant has valuable cleansing properties and is useful for
treating a wide range of skin problems. All parts of the plant
can be used, though the root is most active medicinally. The root
is alterative, antiscorbutic, astringent, cholagogue, depurative,
laxative and mildly tonic. It used to be sold as a tonic and laxative.
It can cause or relieve diarrhoea according to the dose, harvest
time and relative concentrations of tannin(astringent) and anthraquinones
(laxative) that are present. It is used internally in the treatment
of constipation, diarrhoea, piles, bleeding of the lungs, various
blood complaints and also chronic skin diseases. Externally, the
root can be mashed and used as a poultice and salve, or dried
and used as a dusting powder, on sores, ulcers, wounds and various
other skin problems. The root has been used with positive effect
to restrain the inroads made by cancer, being used as an alterative
and tonic. The root is harvested in early spring and dried for
later use. Some caution is advised in its use since excess
doses can cause gastric disturbance, nausea and dermatitis.
The seed is used in the treatment of diarrhoea. A homeopathic
remedy is made from the fresh root, harvested in the autumn before
frost has touched the plant. It is only used in the treatment
of a specific type of cough.
Compost, dye.
Yellow, dark green to brown and dark grey dyes can be obtained from the roots. They do not need a mordant. An alternative ingredient of 'QR' herbal compost activator. (is it the flowers?) This is a dried and powdered mixture of several herbs that can be added to a compost heap in order to speed up bacterial activity and thus shorten the time needed to make the compost.