• Bitter or soapy taste.

• Spines, fine hairs, or thorns.

• Dill, carrot, parsnip, or parsleylike foliage.

• “Almond” scent in woody parts and leaves.

• Grain heads with pink, purplish, or black spurs.

• Three-leaved growth pattern.

Using the above criteria as eliminators when choosing plants for the Universal Edibility Test will cause you to avoid some edible plants. More important, these criteria will often help you avoid plants that are potentially toxic to eat or touch.

Table 6-1: Universal Edibility Test

1 Test only one part of a potential food plant at a time.

2 Separate the plant Into tts basic components – leaves, stems, roots, buds, and flowers.

3 Smell the food for strong or acid odors. Remember, smell alone does not Indicate a plant is edible or inedible.

4 Do not eat for 8 hours before starting the test.

5 During the 8 hours you abstain from eating, test for contact poisoning by placing a piece of the plant part you are testing on the inside of your elbow or wrist. Usually 15 minutes is enough time to allow for a reaction.

6 During the test period, take nothing by mouth except purified water and the plant part you are testing.

7 Select a small portion of a single part and prepare it the way you plan to eat it.

8 Before placing the prepared plant part in your mouth, touch a small portion (a pinch) to the outer surface of your lip to test for burning or itching.

9 If after 3 minutes there is no reaction on your lip, place the plant part on your tongue, holding it there tor 15 minutes.

10 If there is no reaction, thoroughly chew a pinch and hold it in your mouth for 15 minutes. Do not swallow.

11 If no burning, itching, numbing, stinging, or other irritation occurs during the 15 minutes, swallow the food.

12 Wait 8 hours. If any ill effects occur during this period, induce vomiting and drink a lot of water.

13 If no ill effects occur, eat 0.25 cup of the same piant part prepared the same way. Wait another 8 hours If no ill effects occur, the plant part as prepared is safe for eating.

CAUTION

Test all parts of the plant for edibility, as some plants have both edible and inedible parts. Do not assume that a part that proved edible when cooked is also edible when raw. Test the part raw to ensure edibility before eating raw. The same part or plant may produce varying reactions In different individuals.

An entire encyclopedia of edible wild plants could be written, but space limits the number of plants presented here. Learn as much as possible about the plant life of the areas where you train regularly and where you expect to be traveling or working. Listed below and on the following pages are some of the most common edible and medicinal plants. Detailed descriptions and photographs of these and other common plants are at the end of this chapter.

Table 6-2: TEMPERATE FOOD ZONE PLANTS

TEMPERATE ZONE FOOD PLANTS

• Amaranth (Amaranthus retrof/exus and other species)

• Arrowroot (Sagittaria species)

• Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis)

• Beechnut (Fagus species)

• Blackberries (Rubus species)

• Blueberries (Vaccinium species)

• Burdock (Arctium lappa)

• Cattail (Typha species)

• Chestnut (Castanea species)

• Chicory (Cicliorium intybus)

• Chufa (Cypems esculentus)

• Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)

• Daylily (Hemerocallis fulva)

• Nettle (Utica species)

• Oaks (Quercus species)

• Persimmon (Diospyms Virginians)

• Plantain (Plantago species)

• Pokeweed (Phytolacca americana)

• Prickly pear cactus (Opuntia species)

• Purslane (Portulacs oleracea)

• Sassafras (Sassafras albidum)

• Sheep sorrel (Rumex acetosella)

• Strawberries (Fragaria species)

• Thistle (Cirsium species)

• Water lily and lotus (Nuphar, Nelumbo, and other species)

• Wild onion and garlic (Allium species)

• Wild rose (Rosa species)

• Wood sorrel (Oxalis species)

Table 6-3: TROPICAL ZONE FOOD PLANTS

RTOPICAL ZONE FOOD PLANTS

• Bamboo (Bambusa and other species)

• Bananas (Musa species)

• Breadfruit (Artocarpus incisa)

• Cashew nut (Anacardium occidental)

• Coconut (Cocos nucifera)

• Mango (Mangifera indica)

• Palms (various species)

• Papaya (Carica species)

• Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum)

• Taro (Colocasia species)

Table 6-4: DESERT ZONE FOOD PLANTS

DESERT ZONE FOOD PLANTS

• Acacia (Acacia farnesiana)

• Agave (Agave species)

• Cactus (various species)

• Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera)

• Desert amaranth (Amaranths palmeri)

Seaweeds

One plant you should never overlook is seaweed. It is a form of marine algae found on or near ocean shores. There are also some edible freshwater varieties. Seaweed is a valuable source of iodine, other minerals, and vitamin C. Large quantities of seaweed in an unaccustomed stomach can produce a severe laxative effect.

When gathering seaweeds for food, find living plants attached to rocks or floating free. Seaweed washed onshore any length of time may be spoiled or decayed. You can dry freshly harvested seaweeds for later use.

Its preparation for eating depends on the type of seaweed. You can dry thin and tender varieties in the sun or over a fire until crisp. Crush and add these to soups or broths. Boil thick, leathery seaweeds for a short time to soften them. Eat them as a vegetable or with other foods. You can eat some varieties raw after testing for edibility.

Table 6-5: SEAWEEDS

SEAWEEDS

• Dulse (Rhodymenia palmata)

• Green seaweed (Ulva lactuca)

• Irish moss (Chondrus crispus)

• Kelp (Alaria esculenta)

• Laver (Porphyra species)

• Mojaban (Sargassum fulvellum)

• Sugar wrack (Laminaria saccharin)

Preparation of Plant Food

Although some plants or plant parts are edible raw, you must cook others to be edible or palatable. Edible means that a plant or food will provide you with necessary nutrients, while palatable means that it actually is pleasing to eat. Many wild plants are edible but barely palatable. It is a good idea to learn to identify, prepare, and eat wild foods.

Methods used to improve the taste of plant food include soaking, boiling, cooking, or leaching. Leaching is done by crushing the food (for example, acorns), placing it in a strainer, and pouring boiling water through it or immersing it in running water.

Boil leaves, stems, and buds until tender, changing the water, if necessary, to remove any bitterness.

Boil, bake, or roast tubers and roots. Drying helps to remove caustic oxalates from some roots like those in the Arum family.

Leach acorns in water, if necessary, to remove the bitterness. Some nuts, such as chestnuts, are good raw, but taste better roasted.