Edible and poisonous flowers

The table below contains a selection of the more commonly grown, or more interesting, edible flowers. It’s not exhaustive – do let us know if we’ve left out any of your favourites. And do make sure you are 100% confident in your plant identification before you eat any flowers - see here for details of how to choose and use edible flowers safely.

A list of poisonous flowers to be avoided also appears below the edible list.

Edible flowers

Apple/Crab Apple	Malus spp	Apple blossom is one of the most beautiful in spring and, used sparingly, will add a wonderful floral scent and flavour to salads. The petals can also be infused in syrup to use in or on an apple tart for example. have a slightly floral taste and the petals are lovely in salads. Infuse petals in whipped cream or ice cream to go over an apple pie.
Basil, all varieties	Ocimum basilicum	Basil flowers taste like the leaves, so lemon basil flowers = citrus; holy basil flowers = clove and anise. The flowers are small and highly decorative. Scatter over tomato salads and use in salad dressings.
Bergamot	Monarda spp	Not to be confused with the citrus fruit bergamot, this perennial herb has slim-petalled red flowers with a concentrated burst of sweet-spice flavour.
Borage	Borago officinalis	Both the flowers and leaves have a mild cucumber flavour – I find the leaves coarse-textured and much prefer the flowers. Freeze these into ice cubes and add to Pimms. Has a reputation as a diuretic   and should be avoided by pregnant women.
Busy Lizzie	Impatiens walleriana	Attractive flat petalled flowers –use for garnish and visual appeal as the flavour is not strong.
Calendula	Calendula officinalis	Used as an alternative to saffron with the same colour effects.
Camomile	Chamaemelum nobile	Floral appley flavour – we used camomile flower at the Secret Garden Club.
Carnation	Dianthus caryophyllus	Distinct clove flavour to the petals.
Catmint	Nepeta cataria	Intense minty flavour – good   infused in lamb gravy in lieu of mint sauce. Should be avoided by pregnant women.
Chicory, Radicchio	Cichorium intybus	Fresh lettuce flavour, good in   salads.
Chives/Garlic Chives	Allium schoenoprasum, Allium tuberosum,	A favourite edible flower: crunchy texture and a delicate allium flavour. Separate out the petals and scatter over potato or tomato salads, use in omelettes or scrambled egg – see recipe here.
Citrus Trees	Citrus aurantium, Citrus limon	Lemon and orange flowers can be successfully crystallised to decorate cakes and sweets. Highly fragranced and flavoured – try infusing in a classic rice puddings, or topping a lemon drizzle cake with some of the waxy petals.
Clary sage	Salvia sclarea	Aromatic and beautiful flowers look stunning against a green salad.
Common mallow	Malva sylvestris	Mild flavoured petals best used for visual appeal.
Coriander	Coriandrum sativum	The flowers have a bitter similar orange-clove flavour as the leaves and seeds – can be used to garnish vegetables and gratins, or over salads.
Cornflower	Centaurea cyanus	The deep blue of the petals makes a great contrast with many foods – scattered over creamy pasta for example. We use spicy clove tasting cornflower petals as a bed for sage leaf tempura at the Secret Garden Club.
Courgette	Cucurbita pepo	A classic edible flower, traditionally stuffed with cheese or herby breadcrumbs and deep-fried.  With a baby courgette still attached to the flower, this makes a spectacular starter.  Tempura-style blossoms on their own are equally delicious.
Cowslip	Primula veris	Sweet-tasting, flowers will garnish and embellish salads. Can also be crystallised; cowslip wine is an old English drink.
Daisy	Bellis perennis	The tiny pinkish-white petal make a confetti-like garnish for salads or scrambled egg. Use sparingly – they can taste bitter.
Dandelion	Taraxacum officinale	Only use young flowers, which are said to taste mushroom-like. Dandelion flower wine is a traditional drink.
Day Lily	Hemerocallis spp	The lily buds you see mentioned in Chinese menus are day lilies. Be very careful about plant identification – other lily varieties are poisonous and should not be eaten. Day lilies on the other hand are sweet and crunchy and great in soups and stir-fries. Use sparingly as they have a reputation as a laxative.
Dianthus (pinks)	Dianthus spp.	Sweet-spicy and floral tasting, the decorative petals of many dianthus varieties make a pleasing garnish for many dishes.
Dill	Anethum graveolens	Umbrella-like flowerheads with that distinctive anise taste. Use flowerheads whole in pickles, or chop up and add to salads. Good with egg dishes too.
Elder	Sambucus canadensis	Elderflower cordial, wine or champagne has a beautiful floral fragrance.
Evening Primrose	Oenothera spp	Bright yellow flowers with a fresh green flavour – good in salads.
Fennel	Foeniculum vulgare	Fennel plants grow vigorously in a sunny site in the herb garden and will reward you with abundant aromatic flowerheads in high summer. Use in pickles, salads, in potato salad, also delicious with fish and meat, especially pork. Note this is common fennel or herb fennel we’re talking about here rather than Florence fennel with its swollen bulb.
Fuchsia	Fuchsia spp	Petals are best used to enhance and garnish cakes, salads, jellies, ice cream, etc.
Hibiscus	Hibiscus spp	The dried flowers make a delicious cranberry/citrus flavoured tea. We welcomed guests to the Secret Garden Club with a hibiscus syrup flavoured champagne, complete with hibiscus flower in the base of the glass. See here for our hibiscus salt recipe.
Hollyhock	Alcea rosea	Another good candidate for crystallisation with large plentiful petals and strong colours. The flavour is very delicate – you might even say bland, so use for visual effect rather than for flavour.
Honeysuckle	Lonicera japonica	Each successive generation of  children discovers the fun of sucking nectar out of honeysuckle flowers. Ensure you are 100% positive about plant identification – other honeysuckles are poisonous. Eat the petals only.
Jasmine	Jasminum officinale	Flowers are justly renowned for their fragrance and make a wonderfully restorative tea.  Make sure you have Jasminum officinale. Other plants whose common names also include Jasmine such as Carolina jasmine (Gelsemium sempervirens) are toxic.
Lavender	Lavandula spp	Versatile aromatic flower with all the distinctive flavour of the leaves. Make lavender sugar to use in jeliies, biscuits, cake icing, panna cotta and mousses. There are many ways to use lavender flowers, both in sweet or savoury dishes. Infused lavender flowers go beautifully with duck and veal.
Lemon Balm	Melissa officinalis	Tiny flower which pack that lemon-mint flavour: good in syrups, salads and dressings.
Lemon Verbena	Aloysia citrodora	Heavenly lemon cologne fragrance; can be used highly effectively as lavender, above. Also makes a calming and restorative tea.
Lilac	Syringa vulgaris	Strong citrus flavour and vibrant colour. See MsMarmiteLover’s lilac sugar from which you can make a heady perfumed syrup or sorbet.
Marigold	Tagetes spp	Use sparingly for a spicy, citrus taste. Good with potatoes, potato salad, egg dishes.
Marjoram	Origanum majorana	Flowers are too tiny to pick over so use flowerheads whole.
Mint	Mentha spp	Just as there are many different mint flavours, so there are corresponding mint   flower tastes. Use mint flowers to garnish meat, scatter over steamed new potatoes, in salads, to decorate ice creams, or add to fruit salads.
Mustard	Brassica spp	Spicy and mustardy white or yellow flowers.
Nasturtium	Tropaeolum majus	A staple of the edible flower repertoire, nasturtiums are bright and beautiful with a peppery taste – and also plentiful in summer. The leaves add a peppery bite and succulence to salads, and the seedpods, pickled in cider vinegar, make a delicious alternative to capers.
Oregano	Origanum vulgare	Wonderful added to tomato dishes, pizza and when making your own bread. Flowers can also be added to butter for flavour.
Pea	Pisum sativum	Both the flowers and the young shoots have a delicate nutty pea flavour. Only eat flowers from vegetable peas – the flowers of sweet peas are poisonous.
Pelargonium (scented geranium, rose geranium, lemon geranium)	Pelargonium spp	The flavour of the flowers corresponds to the type of pelargonium. The leaves, although coarse-textured, are also edible.
Primrose	Primula vulgaris	Delicate sweet flavour: the flowers look stunning on the plate, especially when adorning a creamy dessert. Fowers can be successfully crystallised.
Radish	Raphanus sativus	One reason not to worry too much if your radish plants bolt and flower before the roots swell. Radish flowers have the peppery taste of the root – add to salads or scatter over cooked vegetables for a spicy note.
Rocket	Eruca vesicaria sativa	Delicate pale yellow flowers which taste slightly spicy, slightly bitter and have a hint of vanilla. Use in drinks and salads.
Rose	Rosa spp	The more fragrant the rose, the more delicious the petals. Add rose petals to syrups and drinks, or make your own rosewater and add this to jams and jellies. Crystallised flowers can also be used to decorate cakes, ice creams and desserts.
Rosemary	Rosmarinus officinalis	These beautiful small flowers have a mildly piney, rosemary flavour. Great with meat dishes, especially chicken, lamb or pork.
Runner Bean	Phaseolus coccineus	Only eat the scarlet flowers from runner beans, not the white-flowered variety. The flowers have a sweetish, delicately beany flavour.
Sage	Salvia officinalis	Vibrant flowers which should be used sparingly – flavour corresponds to the type of sage, eg, pineapple sage flowers have a flavour redolent of pineapple, etc.
Salad burnet	Sanguisorba minor	Cucumber-flavoured flowers.
Shiso	Perilla frutescens	Like the leaves, the flowers add spice with a hint of mint to stir-fries, soup garnishes or salads.
Squash, pumpkin flowers	Cucurbita pepo	Sturdier and slightly bitter tasting compared to courgette flowers so they stand up to stir-frying or deep-frying a little better.
Strawberry	Fragaria x ananassa	Flowers both smell and taste of strawberries – add to drinks and fruit salads.
Sunflower	Helianthus annuus	Sunflower buds can be simmered briefly in water and then eaten with melted butter – he taste is very like Jerusalem artichoke. In flower, the individual petals are edible and have a nutty flavour. Shell the seeds (which can be very laborious) for a wholesome snack.
Sweet Cicely	Myrrhis odorata	Anise flavoured flowers which go beautifully with fruit compotes.
Sweet woodruff	Galium odoratum	Sweet-flavoured flowers with a delicate vanilla, almost almond flavour.
Thyme	Thymus vulgaris	Mild citrus flavour to the flowers.
Viola	Viola x wittrockiana	Sweet-flavoured flowers, and   when eaten with the sepals attached, faintly minty. Make a stunning addition to salads or as a dessert garnish. The flowers can also be crystallised for extra sweetness.

Plants with poisonous flowers

The following table is, again, not a complete list, but some of the more common plants with poisonous flowers that you might find in a garden or growing wild in the UK. Do NOT assume that if a plant is not on this list then it will be safe to eat.

Aconite (wolfsbane, monkhood)	Aconitum spp.
Anemone	Anemone spp.
Anthurium	Anthurium spp.
Autumn crocus	Colchicum autumnale
Azalea	Azalea spp
Box	Buxus spp.
Buttercup	Ranunculus spp.
Calla (calla lily)	Calla palustris (Zantedeschia aethiopica)
Carolina jasmine (yellow jessamine)	Gelsemium sempervirens
Castor bean	Ricinus communis
Chilean potato vine	Solanum crispum. All members of the Solanum family, which includes potatoes, tomatoes and aubergines, have poisonous flowers and leaves.
Christmas rose	Helleborus niger
Clematis	Clematis spp.
Daffodil	Narcissus spp.
Deadly nightshade (belladonna)	Atropoa belladona
Delphinium (larkspur)	Delphinium spp.
Elephant ears	Colocasia antiquorum
False hellebore	Veratrum viride
Foxglove	Digitalis purpurea
Henbane	Hyoscyamus niger
Horse chestnut	Aesculus spp.
Hyacinth	Hyacinthus orientalis
Hydrangea	Hydrangea spp.
Iris	Iris spp.
Ivy (English ivy)	Hedera helix
Jack-in-the-pulpit	Arisaemia triphyllum
Jessamine (false jasmine)	Cestrum spp.
Laburnum	Labunum anagryroides
Lily of the valley	Convallaria majalis
Lobelia	Lobelia spp.
Marsh marigold	Caltha palustris
Mistletoe	Phoradendron spp.
Morning glory	Ipomoea violacea
Nightshade	Solanum spp. All members of the Solanum family, which includes potatoes, tomatoes and aubergines, have poisonous flowers and leaves.
Oleander	Nerium oleander
Periwinkle (myrtle, vinca)	Vinca spp.
Philodendron	Philodendron spp.
Potato	Solanum tuberosum. All members of the Solanum family, which includes potatoes, tomatoes and aubergines, have poisonous flowers and leaves.
Privet	Ligustrum spp.
Rhododendron	Rhododendron spp.
Spindle, Burning bush	Euonymus spp
Spurge	Euphorbia spp.
Star of Bethlehem	Ornithogalum umbellatum
Sweet pea	Lathyrus spp.
Water hemlock	Cicuta maculata
Wisteria	Wisteria spp.