What a Bind!

Last summer the garden erupted with Bindweed. 
You have to give it credit - it's a fantastically successful plant. In April all you can see are a few little tendrils shyly waving at the sunshine. By the end of June there are tendrils everywhere twisting themselves around every available upright bush, stake, fence and smothering other weaker plants in a  thick green leafy cloak. By July they are flowering with triumphant white trumpets. Even after they have died off with the first frosts their twirling stems still curl brown and stiff around their hosts in a plaited embrace.
So, with the arrival of a few sunny days and the soil drying out a little I got to work to dig it out. And this is where it reveals its genius secret. Not only were those leaves putting energy into growth and blossom, they were feeding underground roots, or maybe underground stems is a better description. Fat, white and starchy looking they surge through the ground, questing like pale worms for channels through the soil, and with an instinct for self preservation hug path and border edges, or mingle with other plant roots. Waiting for Spring to ambush the rest of the garden in a take-over strategy. 
 But have I foiled them, digging deep to pull out root after root? This lot came from a patch only about 4 foot square. They come out easily but are brittle , snapping juicily as the fork lifts them. Even a tiny piece left behind will sprout and turn its attention to spiralling skywards and start the whole cycle again.
In the meantime I'm looking at these containers full of wild sprouts and wondering if they are edible. They and I have put in such a lot of effort it seems a pity for it all to go to waste.  
After looking it up, it seems the fresh leaves can be eaten if blanched but do contain alkaloids that can be purgative. So I'll take that as a Maybe?


Convolvulus arvensis