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See also Edible
Berries and fruits Non
Edible Berries Poisonous
Berries and fruits Food
Sources Meat
Plants as food Edible Plants
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Back to Survival Trips
Plants as a food
To see our section on meat procurement
follow this link or go to Food Sources
When developing your primitive food sources, plants are a good way to start
because they can't runaway from you. If you can get food to replenish your
energy without expending more energy than you get from the food, then you are
ahead of the game. Edible plant parts can be the leafy foliage, or perhaps
roots, and even the inner layer of bark on some trees. Of course most of us
aware that there are many different grains, nuts and seeds, and we couldn't
forget to mention the fruits and berries. Learning which ones are
acceptable as a food sources and how to recognize, gather and prepare them is
key to their being beneficial.
Just because
you can eat it, that doesn't mean you should. We will try to distinguish
between the "worth your while" and the "not worth your
while" as we proceed.
Due to
the large number of foods we will attempt to list them by categories
as many similar varieties may be found all over the world. How to obtain
them will follow. This will take some doing so if you don't find what you want
now keep checking back ,as this is a work in progress.
See also our Edible plant page
Nomenclature
(Naming) - For the most part we will use common or local names rather than
the scientific name except in incidents where it may be necessary to separate
the varieties, or the choices of common names is too confusing due to
repetition. To see a
pictorial rendition of the particular groups then
Click the links. Foliage - fruits
- flowers - Stalks - Bark - Roots Foliage:
Dandelions Berries and similar fruits:
Berries
Edible: Click the link to
the left for photos - Chicken berry ( also known as bearberry) (red on a groundcover plant w/small shiny leaf in rocky ground, chalky
to taste) , Blueberries (dark blue with calyx (flower scar)) , Saskatoon berries
(Similar to blueberry slightly smaller on stiff upright branches ovate leaves), Currants
(nearly black with whitish powder - upright clusters on large bushes or small
trees), Blackberries, Rose hips (large red many seeds dry high in vitamin
C large calyx), Crowberry, Huckleberries (North American Variety is round
dark hollow blossom scar with coarse veined leaves, Hawaiian variety has
tiny leaves and red berries), Thimbleberries (red sweet similar to raspberries
in appearance- leaves highly segmented and coarse veins 6"across),
Salmonberry( similar to a Raspberry but salmon in color), Gooseberry Black or
white Varieties), Salal (similar to Oregon grape - has a rounder, slightly
larger spineless leaf), Raspberry (may have black and red on same plant), Strawberry,
Blackberry, Fox grapes (small wild clustered Grapes), Oregon grape (aka
barberries low-lying evergreen bush, holly like spiny leaves) Black
Crowberry (dark fruit similar to blueberry on branches with insignificant
leaves), Seagrape (Not a real grape on tree with 6-10 " round waxy leaves
-peeling red bark), Cranberry (Boggy areas), Bearberry (low shrub in the Rocky
Mountains), Strawberry tree (Native to Europe with coarse sandpapery leaves),
Summer holly (Coastal SO Cal bumpy fruit -leaf elongated and concave),
Mulberries, Surinam Cherries,
Cocoplum, Indian Plum (Berries powder blue-black when ripe, hanging in clusters.
Late May-June. Plant has alternate leaves, 4 times longer than wide, broadest
toward end. Grows in mixed sunny areas.) Himalayan Blackberry (Edible.
Berries large and juicy, black when ripe. Late July-Sept. Plant large vines,
often climbing over other plants, with stout thorns. leaves alternate in 3s-
sometimes 5's.)
Berries
non edible: Click
the link to the left for photos - Basically the rule is to not eat white berries except maybe a
goose berry which isn't really white but a greenish white like a white grape but
smaller and rounder. Red-Osier Dogwood Berries white, sometimes with blue tinge.
Bitter. Thick shrub with opposite leaves with prominent veins and red
stems. Cascara Berries black, numerous. July-Aug. Tree with
alternate glossy green leaves, strongly veined. Red-Flowering
Currant Berries tiny in pyramidal clusters. July. Plant has opposite
leaves with 7-14 leaflets. Black Twinberry Berry black, in pairs on
reddish bracts. Plant 5-7 feet tall, leaves opposite, lance shaped,
pointed. Snow Berry Berry white, bland, insipid. July-Oct, fruit often
hangs on until late winter after leaves fall. Plant with varying non-uniform,
opposite leaves. Devils Club Berry red, bitter and mealy with
large seed. Fruits in large cluster at top of plant. July. Plant with
large maple-like leaves and densely spiny stems. Bitter Cherry very
bitter. Fruits red sometimes translucent. Large pit. Late May-June. A tree with
oval leaves, dark gray bark with horizontal bands.
Berries Questionable: Pernettya
brilliantly red berries related to the cranberry, are claimed to be poisonous or
hallucinogenic and is found in many varieties in the wild. There are multiple
reports of people eating various varieties and there being some effect from only
a couple. The variety P. mucronata is claimed to be safe to eat, but for the
sake of a survival trip it is not recommended until further research is done.
Poisonous:
Click the link to the left for photos -
Red night shade a beautiful
translucent red berry on a trailing vine with heart shaped leaves has been known
to be extremely poisonous. Bane berry Deadly ( herbaceous low plant leaves
alternate
Flowers:
A great number of flowers can be eaten and may even taste quite nice.
Virtually any of the Hibiscus family (rosea chinensis) or the Mallow, are edible
as are a great many lilies. (Note some lilies are called "poison bulb"
and we would not recommend eating these types) Lilies such as the day lilies and
tiger lilies are not only safe but are marketed in ethnic stores. You orchid
blossoms are generally safe.
One good rule of thumb when eating blossoms is: If be frequent the blossom then
they are likely to be safe. However this does not apply if the insects that
frequent it are flies or other noxious creatures. Bark:
The Cambium layer
of bark (the inner jelly like substance) of most trees is edible. Some types of
trees have more than others and at certain times of the year. The Spruce tree
family has an abundance of sweet cambium that is high in glucose and vitamin C.
However if you eat to much from the Willow tree you find that you feel no pain
and bleed a little more than usual when cut. This is the original source for
Aspirin before it was synthesized.
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