Edible plants, trees, berries and roots.

Sagittaria sagittifolia
'Arrow Head'

Short description..Easy to ID.
Another 'wet one'..

Roots edible.. Roast like potato then remove skin..
Tastes like potatoes apparently..never tried/found some to taste..must look harder because check this out..

Nutritional value..

The dried root contains (per 100g) 364 calories, 17g protein, 1g fat, 76.2g carbohydrate, 3.1g fibre, 5.8g ash, 44mg calcium, 561mg phosphorus, 8.8mg iron, 2,480mg potassium, 0.54mg thiamine, 0.14mg riboflavin, 4.76mg niacin and 17mg ascorbic acid.

www.pfaf.org...

I just got hungry looking at pics of them

www.hlasek.com...

www.floralimages.co.uk...
Anyone near Burrowbridge? can you post me some?

Here's a photo of the wild grapes that grow along my fence line. They are sour!



Here's a better photo of the wild blackberries.





The little bugs on the mulberries were white. You'd need a magnifying glass to see them up close. They were that small. I don't know if they are chiggers...I've never seen a chigger before, but I have seen what they did to my husbands legs...

And here's the wild strawberries (mixed with the mulberries that have fell from the tree). I have tasted these and there's almost no taste to them, but the wild rabbits love them.



[edit on 26-8-2008 by virraszto]

[edit on 26-8-2008 by virraszto]

[edit on 26-8-2008 by virraszto]


Mod Note: Image Size – Please Review This Link.
All images must remain at or below 680 pixels wide/tall

[edit on 26-8-2008 by Jbird]

Cheers people. The more people add, the better this will be!



as I said before, this could become a 'whos who' for edible food stuff in the wild.

reply to post by Dan Tanna


Dan Tanna,

You have inspired me to make a thread about the nature that I see everyday in my yard. I don't want to add photos to this thread because they are animals and insects, etc.(unless you don't mind) I guess they could all be eaten in case of emergency

I love nature and I love photographing it.

[edit on 26-8-2008 by virraszto]

Originally posted by virraszto
And here's the wild strawberries (mixed with the mulberries that have fell from the tree). I have tasted these and there's almost no taste to them, but the wild rabbits love them.

So there you have another useful piece of info..
Want to catch some rabbits? bait some traps with wild strawberries.

thanks for the info!
This can save your life in situations of extreme survival!
the trick is recognizing the good from the poisonous!

Can anyone ID these berries? They are also growing all around my yard.



And these...what are these?

reply to post by virraszto


I wouldn't like to try either of those

The top one looks like an ivy of some type with waxy leaves..the bottom one resembles a 'lantana'..The leaves look 'nettly'

Could you say whether they are trees,bushes..height.. and the colour of the branches..

Don't eat.. that's a given..

They are trees. You can see the size of the trunk if you look to the far left of the photo. I have them all over the yard. I can go back out later and photo the whole tree, but this what the branches look like. There are taller ones out back.




The other one looks like branches coming out of the ground. They aren't vines. I wouldn't say it was a bush, either.




(image sized)

[edit on 26-8-2008 by Jbird]

original.britannica.com...
Rhamnus frangula
www.btny.purdue.edu...
scroll down..
Pretty sure on that.

........

The other not so much without seeing any flowers or scale size.
( 'Edit' coz leaves are wrong for second plant.. I'll keep looking at that one. )

[edit on 26-8-2008 by AGENT_T]

You found it. The Alder buckthorn. I see the bark can be used for medicinal purposes, but you gotta be careful with it. Thanks for finding that.

Fiddleheads

These are the tops of ferns -- they look like the scroll on the headstock of a fiddle. Can be found in pretty much any temperate forest, in shaded areas.

To collect, just pinch them off at the stem. Any yellowing parts should be removed (tastes kind of woody).

You're going to want to cook these. They contain an acid that can cause a powerful laxative reaction in some people. Are you one of them? Is now the time to find out?

Steam them, boil them or roast them. Your call. Doesn't take much to neutralize the acid. Get them about the same consistency as, say, cooked broccoli.

Great thread, input and photos, folks .

Just a friendly reminder that you try to keep the image size at or under

680 pixels wide/tall.


TIA

Can anybody ID this plant??





I remember being taught a while ago you can eat the skin off the red ones...can anyone confirm this, these are abundant in the NE.

That Fred is the Rugosa rose hip.

Yes it is edible. Open it up, de-seed it and away you go.

Sheperd's purse..
Capsella bursa-pastoris...





Another winter life saver,very frost resistant..but don't kid yourself this one tastes nice..Very pungent acrid taste.. I've seen it described as 'aromatic'.
Maybe in use as a herb,but it's too valuable not to use in larger quantities if food is scarce.(winter)

Eat leaves raw or cooked.(Trust me..bung them in a strong stew )

Nutritional data..

280 Calories per 100g
Protein: 35.6g; Fat: 4.2g; Carbohydrate: 44.1g; Fibre: 10.2g; Ash: 16.1g;
Minerals - Calcium: 1763mg; Phosphorus: 729mg; Iron: 40.7mg;Potassium: 3939mg;
Vitamins - A: 2.19mg; Thiamine (B1): 2.12mg; Riboflavin (B2): 1.44mg; Niacin: 3.4mg;C: 305mg;

www.pfaf.org...

Medicinal

When dried and infused, it yields a tea which is still considered by herbalists one of the best specifics for stopping haemorrhages of all kinds - of the stomach, the lungs, or the uterus, and more especially bleeding from the kidneys.

Its haemostyptic properties have long been known and are said to equal those of ergot and hydrastis.Bomelon found the herb of prompt use to arrest bleedings and flooding, when given in the form of a fluid extract, in doses of 1 to 2 spoonfuls.

www.botanical.com...


Here's a little known tip..

The seed, when placed in water, attracts mosquitoes. It has a gummy substance that binds the insects mouth to the seed. The seed also releases a substance toxic to the larvae. ½ kilo of seed is said to be able to kill 10 million larvae. Plants can be grown on salty or marshy land in order to reclaim it by absorbing the salt and 'sweetening' the soil

So sling some seeds in a nearby water source to lure Mozzies away from camp and stop them breeding too.


Ya learn something new every day. PFAF rocks.

Bilberries





These grow wild on heathland in the UK and europe, and are similar to blueberries in apperance, only smaller and darker.

They fruit from July to August, and - at least from the bilberry bushes on the hills behind my house - give a very large yeild of berries. They are god raw, and even better made into jam or cooked with apples.

The leaves can be made into tea, but I've never tried it

botanical.com...

[edit on 31-8-2008 by Paul]


Mod Note: Forum Image Linking Policy – Please Review This Link.

[edit on 31-8-2008 by Jbird]

Watercress





Grows in moving fresh water, and has a nice peppery flavour. Very good raw in salads, but can be cooked too.

Try to source your watercress from upstream of any cow/sheep fields the water may flow through, and avoid the refrigerated efforts from the supermarket!

[edit on 31-8-2008 by Jbird]

Cleavers, a.k.a. Goosegrass or Bedstraw

First of, as a side note, Cleavers are a good tonic for the lymphatic system, and is also a mild diuretic, although if it's a diuretic you're looking for, I'd suggest the Dandelion, which I'll do next.
This plant grows throughout most of the United States, and parts of Canada. It grows in woodlands, along stremas, lakes, and in fields.
For easy identification, just take notice of the groups of 8 leaves and the twin globe-shaped fruits covered with hairs. And while there are many species of this plant throughout North America, they are not poisonous (or at least not known to be), and there are no poisonous look-alikes.
Harvesting them in Spring is best, when the plants are young and tender. Steam the stems in a strainer or colander over boiling water for about ten minutes, or just boil them in small amounts until they are tender. It can be used in salads. The fruits can be used for a coffee substitute, and should be harvested in June and July, when they start to become brown. Roast them until they're dark and crisp, which should take about an hour. Grind or crush them, then simmer 3/4 cups of the prepared fruit in a quart of water until the water becomes a medium to dark brown. Strain it and you're good to go.


Dandelion a.k.a. piss-in-bed, wild endive, Lion's tooth


Very useful as a diuretic, and is very high in potassium.
Considered a weed now, it grows nearly everywhere in the U.S., not sure about Canada.
The saw-edged leaves look like lion's teeth, hence the name Dandelion (dent de lion). Throughout the Spring, the flowers of the plant have yellowish petals. As it matures, the flower turns into a puffball that contains the seeds.
Harvest when they're young in the Spring. If you wait too long, the leaves are still edible, but are very bitter. The bitterness lessens around late Summer, early Autumn. The leaves can be eaten raw, or in salads. The blossoms and the roots are also edible. For the roots, peel them, slice them, and boil for about 20 minutes. The buds can be boiled for a few minutes, and the blossoms can be eaten raw.
A word of warning, though. Stay clear of Dandelions in lawns, as they will probably be sprayed with weed killer. Either grow your own, or look for them out in the wild, away from residential areas.

That's all I'm going to do for now, but I'll come back and add more.

Originally posted by Clearskies

In America, we have
wood sorrel, oxalis,(I always knew of it as billygoat grass.)

Just an FYI, DO NOT consume wood sorrel/shamrocks in high quantities. They contain oxalic acid (It is even from the genus Oxalis), the same substance found in rhubarb leaves... this is what gives them their tart flavour. It is toxic to your kidneys (nephrotoxic). It wouldn't be lethal since you likely can't eat enough, but it might be quite unpleasant. Yes it's fine to taste and eat some, but I wouldn't eat a whole bowlful.

Clover may be a better alternative, although neither really has a whole lot of nutrition.

That being said I have a few good choices:

Dandelions - You all know what these look like no matter where you come from, so no need to post. pictures. All of this plant can be eaten... the leaves can be used as a salad (try to get them young or they are bitter), the flowers can be battered and fried, and the root can be crushed/dried and used as a coffee substitute.

Broadleaf Plantain (Plantago Major) - You can Google Image either of these terms for pictures if you are unfamiliar with it, it is another common weed. Not to be confused with the plantain banana. The leaves are edible, and the large stems of seeds are said to taste like peanuts.

Asparagus - When you see it as a bush, you would never know it is the same asparagus you eat at the grocery store, but once you identify it once you will know what it looks like. Get them young when they look like asparagus BEFORE they become a bush in the spring/start of summer... I don't know if you can eat it in bush-form, at least the texture would be bad I'd think. If you keep cutting it back you will have more wild asparagus that keeps growing all season.

Queen Anne's Lace (Wild Carrot) - Found at least in North America. The root tastes like a carrot. But BE SURE that it smells and tastes like a carrot as there are other very poisonous similar species (Hemlock). Crush the leaves and see how they smell before you eat it, and once again don't eat any plant growing alongside a road as they will contain lead and other chemicals from the fumes given off by passing cars.

I have more but I'll let others cover some more first


[edit on 9/2/2008 by Yarcofin]