TQ--we eat the leaves, although I think the unopened buds are also edible. You have to boil the leaves (and buds) three times to get the toxins out, discarding the water between boilings. The leaves look a lot like canned spinach when you're done.
I usually fry up a piece of bacon till it's crisp, then fry up the chopped leaves with the crumbled bacon in some of the bacon grease.
