When I was a young lad, I used to eat this flower. Not the petals, but the bud, before it blooms. Once bloomed, I would only pull out the stalk and suck on the nectar at the base. I was practically a bee, or a butterfly I guess.
Most of these flowers are actually edible, evidenced by my still being here haha. I'm sure there are some poisonous ones about, knowing nature and her diversity, but I was lucky. I was introduced to eating hibiscus by a childhood friend/crush :). She would eat dozens of them in one go, so one day I tried it just to impress.
I didn't know the flowers name back then. We simply referred to them as "Never hungry, never die", which I realise in hindsight is grammatically awkward. "Never hunger, never die" or "Never hungry, never dead" would be more correct, but hey, we were kids.
I'm always excited to see these flowers when I'm away in a tropical country, since they don't grow in the UK (not naturally anyway. I'm sure there is a greenhouse somewhere where they're grown).
I have never eaten them as an adult though. I am a little scared to be honest. You never know, there might be very subtle differences in genetics between these ones in Spain, Italy or Canary Islands that might just kill me haha. Also, it's been decades now, so perhaps I had some childhood immunity that protected me from something back then. Nowadays, it suffices to just look at them and enjoy their beauty and the memories they trigger.
This is without a doubt my favourite flower every. I also think it's one of the most beautiful in appearance in the world. The only thing is, it doesn't have a distinct scent like most flowers do. It's not a smell flower like a rose or tulip, but it does come in some of the most vibrant colours.
Have you ever eaten the hibiscus, or any other, flower or am I the only crazy one here?
Peace and Love ✌🏿
Adé
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