Goat's beard
Also called: buck's beard or bride's feathers
(Aruncus dioicus)
Goat's beard (Aruncus dioicus) is a perennial that grows up to 6 feet tall.
In some parts of Italy the young shoots are eaten as a delicacy.
They are usually boiled in herb infused water,
and then cooked with eggs and cheese.
In the Italian town of Friuli, it is one of the ingredients in the local
home-made soup called 'pistic'
Goat's Beard attracts a wide array of insects.
The insects visit this plant for its sweet nectar.
Goat's Beard is a host to the larva of the Dusky Azure Butterfly.
Some Goat's Beard plants produce male flowers and some plants produce female flowers.
The plants with the male flowers produce showier and more erect plumes
than do the plants with female flowers. Unfortunately, when you seed these
plants you have to wait until they mature to know if a plant wil produce male or female flowers.
