Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center has an extensive plant database of over 7,000 plants and includes information on Croton monanthogynus, the Prairie Tea. In the comments section for this plant is the following information: A very mild tea can be made by steeping the leaves, hence the common name, Prairie Tea.

Also John Hilty has an interesting webpage at  www.illinoiswildflowers.info for this plant. He says that the foliage of Prairie Tea (Croton monanthogynus) is reasonably attractive, while the flowers are insignificant. The common name refers to the resemblance of robust specimens to cultivated tea plants; however, the foliage is unsuitable as a source of tea. Generally, Croton spp. are typical prairie plants of the southern plains; they are less typical of eastern tallgrass prairies, where they are often displaced by taller vegetation in fertile areas. Prairie Tea differs from other Croton spp. by the following characteristics: 1) Its leaves lack teeth, 2) each seed capsule contains only a single seed (or at most two), rather than three, 3) the female flowers are produced individually from the leaf axils, rather than in groups, and 4) the seed capsules do not exceed ¼" in length.

Note that Delena Tull writes a warning on page 163 of Edible and Useful Plants of Texas and the Southwest: A Practical Guide about allergic reactions to Croton monanthogynus, a member of the spurge family. She also says that the leaves of these sweet-smelling herbs produce a mildly flavored golden tea. Dried leaves produce a stronger flavor than fresh. Where it is abundant, pull up the whole plant. Hang bundles of the plants to dry. Then strip the leaves from the stems. She writes that Prairie tea can also be used like basil as a spice.

Finally Amy Crowell, on the wild edible plants of Texas blog, decided a couple of years ago to eat something from the wilds of Texas every day. So she included Prairie Tea. About it she said that the leaves were edible and can be used as spices, in teas, or as a basil substitute in pesto. She also warns about people being allergic to (or irritated by) this plant.

So proceed with caution and as is the case for all wild plants, be sure that you are 100% certain that the plants are identified correctly before ingesting them in any form.