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Yael: Don, are you eating my tulips?

Don: Just having myself a little snack.

Y: Of MY tulips? I brought those in here to brighten the place up, not for you to eat! And who eats flowers anyway?

D: Have you seen that movie, Monsoon¹ Wedding? There's a character who eats marigolds. And the other night at dinner I saw a guy with an orchid² on the rim³ of his drink. The bartender said it was edible⁴. And so I've done some investigating, and it turns out that many flowers are edible.

Y: Like what?

D: Tulips, for instance. And lilacs and pansies and roses. Oh, plenty of flowers are edible.

Y: But why should anyone eat flowers? Do they have any nutritional⁵ value or are they delicious?

D: Most people don't eat flowers in large enough quantities to get too much from them nutritionally, but yes, flowers do contain nutrients⁶--some more than others. Rosehips, for instance, are loaded with Vitamin C. In general, pollen⁷ is full of protein and tastes bland⁸. Nectar is composed of sugars and some trace minerals, so it's usually sweet.

Y: And the petals⁹?

D: Petals can be bitter, sweet, savory¹⁰, hot, or bland, you name it. The taste varies from flower to flower. And some petals are good sources of nutrients. Yellow flowers, for example, contain a lot of Vitamin A.

Y: You said SOME flowers are edible. What about the ones that aren't?

D: Other flowers are poisonous. Also, if you show signs of an allergic¹¹ reaction when you touch a particular flower--say, you develop a rash, then keep that kind of flower away from your plate! Use caution before you start serving up your flower garden for dinner.