Wild Edibles ~ The Big Four

Quiet Bear,Thanks for the good reading & great tips!:thumbup:

I'm a little embarrassed to say myself,that I don't know too much about plant IDing.I can find water,build a shelter,fish,hunt & trap pretty good,but I always been a little leary about eating a strange plant.


Anyway,thanks again & keepem' comin'!;):thumbup:
 
Very informative post :thumbup:

Definitely something to have on my to-do-list. I was actually reading a book that my fiance's sister gave me called:

Survival Wisdom & Know-How: Everything You Need to Know to Subsist in the Wilderness

It's very informative and has to be my favorite outdoors book. It teaches everything from eating plants, how to fish, hunt, look at constellations, EVERYTHING. I'm very grateful for getting such a plethora of information out of this thing.

What's amazing is that we eat "wild edibles" all the time and we don't even realize it. All of our spices, salads, soups, etc....it had to come from somewhere ;)
 
lambertiana said:
Socrates was poisoned with Poison Hemlock. Here are pictures taken at a local oaks preserve:
http://
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DOC-CANADA said:
As I understand it, Socrates was killed by drinking Poison Hemlock (Conium maculatum) which is a wild flower much like Wild Carrot (AKA Queen Anne's Lace - Daucus carota). See a bunch of pictures of Poison Hemlock here.
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Oh, I see, same "hemlock" name, entirely different plant. Thanks for the information and links to pics. That was helpful. Too bad that poison hemlock, a non-native species, is so widespread now. Scary to think how much it resembles wild turnip and wild carrot.

I feel competent in many of my wilderness skills, but not plant ID. Yet that is a skill that could really help me in a survival situation. This is the year I get some plant guides and learn.

Thank you both for your help, and thanks, Quiet Bear, for a great guide.
 
RobbW said:
Too bad that poison hemlock, a non-native species, is so widespread now. Scary to think how much it resembles wild turnip and wild carrot.
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You should avoid the entire wild carrot family. Water hemlock is extremely poisonous, as are some other members of this family. According to one source I was reading recently, some have contact poisons.
 
DOC-CANADA said:
Great post Quiet Bear. A question, though. Are you referring to using the yellow pollen of the flower head to supplement regular flour or something else? If else, please elaborate.
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You got it, I didn't write that very well, thanks ~ in spring, the pollen can be used like a flour (see link below). A more hearty white flour can be realized from the roots fall thru spring too, but that is more work and something I haven't tried yet.

Not as much work and in addition, just before and even during that time of pollen riping, both the male and female flowers, which are still in green sheaths and right next to each other, can be steamed or boiled and eaten like a small corn on the cob. In my area that is around late May.

There are tons of info and recipes on the web for cattails, suggest anyone interested let google be their friend. Here is one I found today that is pretty good...
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/duffyk43.html


DOC-CANADA said:
There's probably some other things that people can add to this, and should.

I'm thinking that this year will be a big year for wild edible threads.

Doc
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I agree! :) A thread could easily be devoted to just the cattail.
 
Great info Quiet Bear (and others), good stuff to learn and keep in your head. I need to get out and learn the plants and trees of my area this year...
 
Zaner01 said:
You should avoid the entire wild carrot family. Water hemlock is extremely poisonous, as are some other members of this family. According to one source I was reading recently, some have contact poisons.
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This is where you need to take a class in wild foods. If you don't know for an absolute certainty what plant you're looking at, you're better off starving. Queen Anne's Lace is the name for BOTH wild carrot AND poisonous hemlock. There are, however, ways of discerning between the two.
 
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