Only a few references for the west? Try "Western Edible Wild Plants" by H D Harrington. It is probably out of print, being published in 1972, but I am sure there are hordes of later publications. Try looking under "Ethnobotany." You really only need to know one word for western edibles - pinyon. They are not only fairly abundant, in a good year, but tasty as well. And then there is yucca, prickly pear, mesquite, and cattail. These are mentioned in lots of references.

Actually the high desert mountain areas have fewer plant sources than the surrounding lowlands, esp the pinyon-juniper belt, but at higher elevations, you can encounter wild strawberries, tasty, if not useful for long term sustenance.

While I will agree that dependence upon wild foods could become crucial in a very unlikely scenario, I really don't put a lot of faith in that strategy. However, there is a much more significant benefit. Learning about your local food sources will inevitably acquaint you with your local area on a very intimate scale.

In the country where I have spent most of my time, the most important thing you learn in this process is the location and seasonality of water - where a pothole in an arroyo will retain water in the dry season, which springs are reliable, etc. Water is crucial for your own immediate survival, and it also attracts critters and in most ecosystems will support a unique flora, including edible goodies. Nothing beat local, intimate knowledge.

You are going to scope out the good camping spots, the usable rock shelters, good lookout points, the easy travel routes, and all kinds of useful things if you indeed are living off the land.

Even when I know all this, I am still keeping my canned peas handy...

For those of us who have limited time outdoors, a calendar-type project can form a needed auxiliary memory of lessons learned and observations made.

"For those of us who have limited time outdoors, a calendar-type project can form a needed auxiliary memory of lessons learned and observations made."

You might check around and see if there are any booklets produced locally for this information. As others have mentioned, dates can only be very general. Local conditions, the frequency of rainfall, recent fires, and esp ELEVATION all can alter dates because they aren't set in stone. For instance, many plants can live at various elevations, but when they produce can vary according to elevation. If you are mid-elevation and the berries are drying up there, go a thousand feet higher, and they may well still be producing where it's cooler. If the berries aren't ripe yet at your elevation, go a thousand feet lower, and they may be ready.

I am assuming that your original question about this is for personal survival (run out of unemployment), not disaster survival, when the competition would be fierce and the supply limited for the desperate population. In times of extreme famine, people have crawled over the ground on their knees, pulling up single blades of grass for consumption, all the trees and shrubs having long been stripped of fruits, nuts and leaves.

Let's hope it never comes to that!

Sue

dweste,hikermor

Being occasional desert travelers, you might be interested in this.
Yuca or Yucca is it safe?
I happened to be in a Mexican produce store the other day
and they had a brown root that was described as Yuca or Yucca,
I cannot remember which.

I had always thought that Yucca root was used as SOAP so
I was very surprised to see it in the store. I have not resolved
this in my mind, but here are some links.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Is_yucca_edible

http://www.recipetips.com/glossary-term/t--35498/yuca-root.asp

Two other plants that grow in a wide range of climates are
Amaranth and Jerusalem Artichoke. The latter is a long lasting
root plant that I have planted in the Great Plains and it lasted
years with no attention. It would have multiplied with very
little effort on my part.

A dated but impressive bibliography of wild edible plants:

http://users.rcn.com/eatwild/RC-full-ewpbiblio1999.pdf

I include that data on my plant page. Ohio-area members should check out this schedule of when to eat wild edibles. Non-Ohio members can check that link and adjust for their seasons.

-Blast

You might want to start by noting the order in which fresh crops start showing up at your local farmer's market, talking with the vendors about those crops and how they are doing this year, etcetera. Many wild foods in your area are in the same genetic families as the domesticated cultivars.

This gives you an ongoing baseline even when you are not spending time exploring your wilder environs.

Over time you can begin to note that when a certain certain fruit, flower, herb,or vegetable shows up at the farmer's market, it is likely the harvestable wild cousins you found nearby are also nearing their peak.

Edit: Do check out Blast's website. Good stuff, especially excellent multiple pictures of many plants.