Some modern extension agents advise never, ever to eat the leaves of this plant, but generations of Southerners grew up (and lived to ripe old ages with nary a trip to the doctor, modern myths about early death notwithstanding), boiled, rinsed, re-boiled, and ate it with fatback and delight. It is too late in the year to eat it now, but as a young, early spring food it is a freebie available EVERYWHERE in the South. The Declaration of Independence was written in the fermented juice from its berries! How cool is that? You can get ink, dye for clothing, a potential treatment for AIDS, a royal stomachache, and a nutritious spring green from the same plant. God gives us more than we ever deserved.
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