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Over the page you’ll find my guide to some common indoor edible plants. Always give them a good wash before eating and follow the guidelines closely. If you’re in any doubt, don’t eat it.

SPIDER PLANT (LATIN NAME CHLOROPHYTUM)

Habitat: Usually found in hanging baskets or on top of speakers in a student bedsit.

Edible uses: All of the plant is safe to eat, and the tender plantlets that shoot off the main stem are especially good in a stir fry.

Medicinal use: In India it’s commonly eaten as a leaf vegetable but the real interest is in the root, thought to have a medicinal use as a natural Viagra.

CHRYSANTHEMUM

Habitat: Supermarket flower buckets, funeral bouquets.

Edible uses: The flowers and seeds are edible and the leaves make a tasty tea. The variety called chop-suey greens (Chrysanthemum coronarium spatiosum) is especially good and rich in vitamins; eat young shoots cooked or raw, and leaves raw in a salad. The flower petals, blanched quickly in boiling water, are a decorative addition to salads.

ALOE VERA

Habitat: Designer flats, doctors’ surgeries.

Medicinal use: A handy first-aid kit, especially good for soothing little burns, cuts and grazes. Just make a slit down a leaf, and rub the gel over the affected area. You can eat parts of some varieties, but it’s a bit of a bother and strictly applies to only certain varieties, so best not to go there.

CHINESE LANTERN

Habitat: Auntie’s sideboard.

Edible uses: If you’ve got a sweet tooth, these are for you. The flower is good raw or cooked, on its own or as part of a salad. The longer the flower is open, the sweeter it gets.

MIXED BOUQUETS

Habitat: Anywhere on Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day.

Edible uses: Petals help any dish to cut a dash, so root around in a mixed bouquet for your favourites. Rose petals are especially palatable, a sprinkling of carnations makes a peppery addition to any meal, and tulips have a fresh taste, a bit like cucumber.

Danger! Poisonous houseplants

Every year people are hospitalised after eating poisonous houseplants. Some of the most notorious culprits are the fruit and seeds of the Bird of Paradise plant, Ivy, Caladium, Saddleleaf, Castor Oil plant and Philodendra. Swiss Cheese Plant (Monstera deliciosa) is another. As its Latin name implies, it has a tasty fruit, which looks a bit like a corn on the cob. But this is only edible after a year maturing on the plant; eating it too soon can make you seriously ill, and in some cases even cause death.