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Mmm, Flowers

Flowers can be more than just pretty and colorful, they can be good for you as well.

It isn't just fruit, vegetables, and nuts we humans eat--many species of flowering plants have edible, and delicious, flowers as well. For example, in Japan and China, the chrysanthemum is eaten--they even make chrysanthemum fritters.

Flowers of the compositae family were once candied in England. Today we'd call them daisies. Jasmine is a genus of the olive family, and its petals are made into tea. Lavender is a member of the mint family, and can be found in jellies. Calculated officinalis, also known as marigolds, are eaten by the Dutch in eel soup. Nasturtium is sometimes used in salads. And the French use violets in cakes, soups, and as violet vinegar.

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