Rosemary plant has cuckoo spit, I think: still safe to eat?

[whiteorchid]

My rosemary plant has white frothy blobs all over it, which I gather might be cuckoo spit. Has anyone else had this, and is the plant still safe to eat (once I've washed the froth off)?

yes, only insect "stuff", wash it and it'll be fine.

yes, only insect "stuff", wash it and it'll be fine.

Mine's covered in cuckoo spit too. I'll still be eating it. (the rosemary, not the cuckoo spit)

Thanks for reassuring me (pregnant and paranoid )

Just watch whether it turns out to be Rosemary Beetle - nasty little import from southern Europe. My rosemary bush had little spit balls on it which then hatched into a (rather pretty) green striped beetle that munched the bush.
You can control it by washing the "spit" off and killing the beetles. Have a look at the RHS website for more info (and info on pesticides if you want to try that).

Thanks BWMum, I'll have a look at the site.

Jajas - not sure, think it's secreted by the little insects.

Jajas - when my bush had it I poured water over one of the spit balls while holding the leaf it was on. There was a little worm in all the spit. So I think it's a type of cocoon thing, but that's just my idea with no scientific basis!

The cuckoo spit is actually produced by an insect called the froghopper as some sort of protection against predators - it's not related to the green stripy Rosemary Beetle which also likes to munch on rosemary and lavender.

Fwiw I still use the rosemary - after a good wash! You can get rid of the froghoppers by hosing the plants down (though they do seem to come back pretty quickly!)

But do watch out for rosemary beetles - they can quickly kill the plant. As with lily beetles, you need to be ruthless.