I'm looking for a good book on edible plants. most books I've come across only have a few photos of the plants and the rest of the book is drawings . really would like one with all photos.

They're not books, but they're VERY good source material, and handy for field use. Check out the card decks for Eastern and Western U.S. plant I.D. at Brigade Quartermaster... they've also got a deck that's not divided east to west, it's good too, but doesn't cover as many plants. I've got them all, along with quite a few books, and the card decks are what I take on foraging trips.

Troy

I have always tried to find something that tells me the nutritional value of the edible plants! I can chew on pine bark but what would it actually do for me? The cards from Brigade are good, color pics and all. I still want some info on what the plant has in the way of vitamins and calories, etc!

Your right; many of the better known recognition manuals such as Medsger's "Edible Wild Plants". Ewell Gibbons several manuals and Tom Brown's books show the plants as black & white drawings.
There are some pretty good colored drawings in John Wiseman's "The SAS Survival Handbook" and full page colored drawings in Bradford Angier's "Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants".
The Army manual FM 21-76 "Survival" shows plants in color photos. I have a set of edible plant cards for Temperate North America from Life Support Technology, Inc., Manning Oregon 97125. These are excellant quality photos and is a pretty extensive set. They were copyrighted in 1975 and may no longer be available.
I would suggest you might be able to find a course in your area on edible plant identification.

One option if you have the money is to download a bunch of photos off the web then put them on a video iPod, PDA, or camera cellphone. You could also add pictures of different animal tracks and calls, snares, and other survival stuff. Hmmm, then write "Don't Panic" on the front in big, friendly, red letters and you've got yourself a Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy!

-Blast

Peterson’s Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants has both, drawings with the text and a picture section in the center of the book.

Running "edible wild plants" through Amazon.com turned up a surprisingly large number of hits (including many of the ones mentioned before). Does any one stand head-and-shoulders above the rest? I also live in Florida. I would prefer to have a book that was not loaded down with plants that I will never see here (but that is probably too much to ask, though).

*EDIT*
It sounds like the ones by Angier and Peterson might be among the best. Any other great ones?

as an add on use this http://www.waterfordpress.com

How about Wild plants for Survival in south Florida published by Fairchild Tropical Gardens, Miami. Subjects: Wild plants, Edible; Survival and emergency rations; Identification; Florida. The only rub, 6th edition published in 1990. Maybe Amazon, or used book store, or Fairchild itself?

Here's a Library of Congress link that lists dozens of books on "edible wild plants."

Thanks troy. good start for me. I ordered the deck and found a book from the army all photos. this all stems form a conversation about killing and butchering one of my horses if i had to .I could if it meant feeding my family .Anyways i got me thinking about alternative food sources. i know of a few ,cat tails and dandylions etc. but i don't know enough.

Just a suggestion... find and sample different plants NOW before you actually need to... dandelions are a love/hate food, you either really like them, or you can't understand how people choke them down, I love 'em wilted in bacon grease with vinegar, or, when they're tender, raw in salad. My wife thinks they're not fit for hogs... go figure. Plantain isn't bad when mixed with other greens, but a little bland for my taste all by itself. One of my favorites is lambs quarter (there's always plenty in the garden to get rid of), steamed, it's a lot like spinach. My point is, get to know them now, and how you prefer them prepared, and if/when you really need to depend on them, it's not a shock to your taste buds OR your digestive system. Once you get started, you'll be surprised at how much food is growing in your yard, the park down the street, and the ditch alongside the road (be careful of pesticides/herbicides). Have fun, and enjoy the new grocery store you're about to discover.

Troy

P.S. If you've got any questions about any particular plants, I'd be glad to give it a shot. While I don't have a P.H.D., I've been foraging for about twenty years, and I haven't gotten myself sick yet <img src="/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />