styrofoam plant

October 22, 2019 7:56 AM

When I was a kid, we would chew on a certain plant. It was either a grass or a forb. The stalks were maybe 1 or 2 feet high. The interior of the stalk was like styrofoam and we would chew on this. This was in the rural midwestern US. Any guess as to the genus/species of this plant?
posted by falsedmitri to Science & Nature (8 answers total)

Oh wow, I had forgotten all about this. Could it be burdock?
posted by esker at 8:14 AM on October 22, 2019 [2 favorites]

It has leaves? ( Rushes have really styrofoam-esque insides, but aren’t forb-like. )
posted by clew at 8:33 AM on October 22, 2019 [1 favorite]

London Rocket?
posted by bricoleur at 8:48 AM on October 22, 2019 [1 favorite]

I used to chew them too. I think they were dried up wild fennel stalks. I still crush the greens in my hands to savor the aroma when I'm hiking.
posted by snsranch at 8:59 AM on October 22, 2019 [2 favorites]

Goldenrod?
posted by bonobothegreat at 10:01 AM on October 22, 2019 [1 favorite]

We did this too--we called ours "licorice whips." I'm pretty sure they were wild fennel.
posted by chatongriffes at 12:31 PM on October 22, 2019 [4 favorites]

We used to chew on Juncus stems for their pith
posted by scruss at 1:16 PM on October 22, 2019

Response by poster: Thanks for the responses. I don't recall any taste, especially a licorice taste which would really stand out for me, so I don't think its fennel. Similarly for London Rocket. The micro-environment we found these in doesn't fit for Juncus. So I guess burdock.
posted by falsedmitri at 7:48 AM on November 24, 2019