Edible Plant Field Guide for Western US (ID)?

K

Kaylee

Joined
May 12, 2001
Messages
54
pretty much what the topic says...

I'm trying to find a good, packable-portable guide to throw in a backpack that describes, with good color photos if possible, various edible/medicinal plants of the Western US, particularly Idaho, both northern and southern regions.

Now I realize a book ain't no subsitute for a friendly eye double-checking over your shoulder, but a little something that says, for example "this is how you tell edible Camas from Death Camas" would be a nice start...

Thanks guys!


Oh.. been looking at this one -- any opinions on it?

Basic Essentials: Edible Wild Plants & Useful Herbs, 2nd Edition (Basic Essentials)
 
Have you tried the book selection at Benchmark on Vista (Boise). Can thumb through them and get a feel at least.
 
is "Edible wild plants, a north american field guide"
sterling publishing co.

it actually mentions camas. it has color photos and which part of the plant is used and for what purpose. it has a written description of poisonous look-a-likes.

this is the best one I have seen.


hope it helps

chris
 
This one I bought back in the early 70s when I lived in Montana. Probably out of print but who knows.

Wild Edible Plants of the Western United States
(Including also most fo Southwestern Canada and Northwestern Mexico)
Donald R. Kirk
Copyright 1970
Naturegraph Publishers, Healdsburg, California 95448
isbn 0-911010-84-x, paper
isbn 0-911010-85-8, cloth
 
Thanks guys! I'll take a look at those. Also waiting for "word from on high" from the Hoods via Ray.. much thanks to all for your advice.

PS.. just went by benchmark today for the first time -- yow! Thanks for the pointers guys!

-K
 
"Edible wild plants, a north american field guide"
sterling publishing co.

I'll second this one, I have a good friend that is a retired Navy SAR pilot, and when he retired his family purchased some rural land and built a house in the middle of nowhere. They are doing the whole "homesteading" thing, and eating all kinds of wild plants. I asked him what book he used, and this was it. He said he evaluated several books using all the "survival" training he got in the Navy, and the level of quality info combined with fantastic color photography made this one the best he had ever seen.

I own 2 of them myself, one stays in my bug-out-bag (it's nice and flat), and a second on the shelf for home use.
 
While that is a pretty good book you should be cautious about relying on color pics alone for identification. A book with a good key is much better for identifying plants than one with color pics alone. The specific traits you need to id a plant are often not pictured.
 
Sorry, I should have said more. This one does have tons of data on each plant, as well as listing dangerous look alikes and how to tell the difference.
 
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