Young shoots can be eaten raw or used as an asparagus substitute. The seeds are edible and, when roasted, are said to have a pleasant, nutty flavour. An edible oil can be extracted from the seed. The pollen, which is a good source of protein, can be added to flour, and the young flowering spikes can be cooked and eaten. As if all that was not enough, the leaves can be used in weaving to make hats, mats etc, the hairs on the fruits can be used as a stuffing material for pillows etc, the stems are used in paper making and the dried flowers make a good insulating material.
Propagation is by seed or by layering the stems in spring.
The fruit is edible and is held by some to be the most delicious of our native wild fruits. A tea can be made from the dried leaves, a red dye is obtained from the fruits, and the juice of the fruit is a very effective cleaner for your family silver. A closely related shrub, V. macrocarpon, is native of North America where it is widely cultivated for its fruit. It too can be grown in the bog garden. Native of East Asia, this plant is much grown in Britain on the shallow margins of lakes.