Erodium Species, Storksbill, Redstem Filaree, Cranesbill, Alfilaria

This plant is a weed in my yard. It grows naturally, and it spreads quickly. It started growing here in the Phoenix area late October.<...Read Morebr />
Still, it is a tasty additive for my soups and salads. It's a lot like parsley. It's also easy to pull out.

This plant is extremely invasive in my area. It grows in lawns, ditches, around buildings, in cracks in concrete slabs, you name it. But ...Read Moresince it's entirely edible, I still view it positively. Smiln32 said it had a strong pungent smell but I've handled it and even tasted it and it's not strong at all but a very faint smell. To me, the root has a very slight carrot flavor. Not bitter at all, at least in March. The leaves have a sort of sharp parsley flavor.

I am not currently growing this plant, but I have gathered a large number of seeds for it. I plan to grow it in the future. Here is inf...Read Moreo I have on its edibility.

"Edible Wild Plants of Eastern North America" by Fernald & Kinsey has this to say about Alfilaria, also known as Storksbill:

"The Storksbill is an occasional weed around towns and especially in the neighborhood of woolen-mills, whence its seeds have been brought from the Southwest entangled in wool. The plant is extensively naturalized in the southwestern states and several writers say that the young foliage is eaten raw or cooked by the Indians. In our Southwest it is raised as an important winter-forage under the name Alfileria."

"Edible Wild Plants: A North American Field Guide" by Elias & Dykeman has this to say:

"Harvest: Gather young, overwintered leaves in early spring when other wild foods are scarce. Be certain leafstalks are hairy.

Preparation: Chop leaves for salad with other greens. Boil leaves in lightly salted water until tender, about 10 - 20 minutes. Serve with butter, lemon juice, and herbs.

Poisonous look-alikes: Leaves resemble those of the parsley family including Poison Hemlock. Picking only hairy-stemmed leaves very early in spring should help you avoid errors. Be sure of identification!"

one of the most common ground cover plants in the Great American Desert, I have been delighting in its tiny blooms for many years now and...Read More was pleased to find that the most numerous ground cover on my recently purchased land was in fact this pretty plant