Equipped To Survive Equipped To Survive® Presents
The Survival Forum
Where do you want to go on ETS?

Page 2 of 3 < 1 2 3 >
Topic Options
#34898 - 12/01/04 04:29 PM Re: Edible plants
billvann Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 05/10/01
Posts: 780
Loc: NE Illinois, USA (42:19:08N 08...
My late grandmother had an infallible method for determining a mushroom toxicity.

Her sister and brother-in-law would go out into the forest preserve to collect mushrooms. They would alway divide a portion for her and drop them off at her house on the way home.

She would then place the mushrooms in paper bag and store in a dark cool pantry overnight.

The next day she would phone her sister and ask, "How are you feeling?"

If they didn't get sick then she figured it was safe to eat them!
_________________________
Willie Vannerson
McHenry, IL

Top
#34899 - 12/01/04 05:11 PM Re: Edible plants
Anonymous
Unregistered


I am yet to find a book that dedicates a whole page of drawings to a single plant seen in all four seasons, drawn as a whole naturally. So we can ID the flowers of the summer, seeds of autum, stem of the winter and bulbs of the spring. On the accompanying page my dreambook will supply detailed information which parts are edible, when and how. Together with reference to pages where they show the look-alike deadly variety.

Top
#34900 - 12/01/04 05:21 PM Re: Edible plants
AyersTG Offline
Veteran

Registered: 12/10/01
Posts: 1272
Loc: Upper Mississippi River Valley...
>> copy of Tree Finder <<

Willie, I've got it, and it works great - amazing little book!

Tom

Top
#34901 - 12/01/04 07:43 PM Re: Edible plants
Chris Kavanaugh Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 02/09/01
Posts: 3824
I've found the quickest and most reliable source for edible plants are ethnobotanies, the odd reference in literature and histories and any native or person close to the land. Outside my window the latino landscapers are cleaning up the mast ( acorns) from the asphalt. I've allready collected 100 lbs of the stuff for my deer cut off from the oaks by new homes.It's a terrible waste of nature's single most nutritous crop, bar none. One of them discovered a huge grasshopper and to the disgust of my Jewish nieghbor ATE IT. She filled me with kosher goodies to calm her nerves. My filipina nieghbor laughed and asked if I was ready to eat another balut <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> Recently in hospital I had the unavoidable tapioca pudding. This concoction was discovered by a lost Conquistadore. Deciding to commit suicide over slow starvation, he boiled the deadly poisonous plant and consumed it as a last supper. Well, boiling makes it edible and he walked out on the stuff. I much prefer the ordeal of two boys who got locked into a railcar while goofing off. It was full of warm beer. They were in it for 3 days before being freed. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> Native foods are a fun and usefull skill. Just practise signalling skills for a quick rescue and a deep dish sicilian pizza! <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

Top
#34902 - 12/01/04 09:52 PM Re: Edible plants
billvann Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 05/10/01
Posts: 780
Loc: NE Illinois, USA (42:19:08N 08...
Actaully, that's why I bought "Field Guide to Medicinal Plants: Eastern and Central North America (Peterson Field Guides)" I was trying to identify a woody plant with fern like leaves, but was definately not a fern (no sporangium). But it also was not in flower and almost every flowering plant guide uses the flower color as the first key item. Arrrgggg!!!!

Anyway, the above guide helped me identify Sweetfern, a flowering plant whose crushed leaves and stems have an anticeptic odor akin to cinnamon but more pungent. It's a fair book but is definately not a medicinal guide, which it plainly states, as it seems that almost every plant cures almost every ailment!!! <img src="/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

I guess I'll just have to compile that book list ASAP. Although I must warn that it's not all inclusive. I have yet to find the definative flowering plant book and bird book. No flames please as I know that bird guides are a very personal and emotional issue among the Audibon types. My observation is based upon my needs for getting an easy to use reference for young scouts ages 11 to "ol' grey beards." Most bird books require a bit of knowledge. I think Peterson's is fairly good at that, but I also distrubute a document called the Peterson Perspective, a 40 page tutorial on how to ID birds. It's good but most young boys don't care enough to wade through 40 pages just so they can begin to learn birds.

BTW, I do have a CD with html and pdf files that I created for our troop for summer camp last year with a bunch of different references for the eco/con merit badges. It's not complete and it's geared towards the environment in lower penninsula Michigan (Owasippe Scout Reservation near Whitehall, MI). But much of it can also apply to the lower great lakes area (Indiana, Illinois & lower Wisconsin). I can burn a copy or two for interested folks, but it may take me a while to get to it as I'm running low on blanks and my home PC works only part of the time (A new PC is on my X-mass list).
_________________________
Willie Vannerson
McHenry, IL

Top
#34903 - 12/01/04 10:08 PM Re: Edible plants
billvann Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 05/10/01
Posts: 780
Loc: NE Illinois, USA (42:19:08N 08...
The rest of the "finders" series are good, but not at the same level of simplicity as Tree Finder. It's pure genious. I sent the publishers an email last year encouraging them to produce a PDA version. Wouldn't that be a fun Palm app! They were in the process of digitizing their film and were mildly interested, but I doubt they'd dedicate a ton of resources on such a project, even though I'm sure they could recover their investment quickly.

Along that same line, have you seen the NWF Handheld Guide to Birds ? Real slick and at $65 it's a good deal even though that's a lot of bucks becasue it comes loaded on a 128MB card, which would cost almost that amount anyway. The only reason I haven't bought it yet is I asked if I can purchase and add individual birds. Our troop camps in IL, WI & MI and the product is sold bu state, which isn't bad but there are few species in one state that are missing from the others. I wanted to add the differences to create a regional "Great Lakes" version. I never heard back from them and didn't follow up. I guess I should simply choose Illinois and move on. Check it out. They have a demo with a handful of birds you can download to test.
_________________________
Willie Vannerson
McHenry, IL

Top
#34904 - 12/01/04 10:15 PM Re: Edible plants
billvann Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 05/10/01
Posts: 780
Loc: NE Illinois, USA (42:19:08N 08...
BTW, a great reference on 'shrooms is Mushrooms of Northeast North America by George Barron. Great key and wonderful photos. It's well worth the $20. You should also visit George Barron's Website on Fungi Tom Volk's Fungi
_________________________
Willie Vannerson
McHenry, IL

Top
#34905 - 12/01/04 11:00 PM Re: Edible plants
Anonymous
Unregistered


Grass IS edible, but in no way palatable. I doubt that you could choke down enough to do you any good, the seed is probably the least offensive, most "eatable" part of the plant, kind of bland and tasteless. Dandelions are great fixxed with bacon, drippings, and a little red wine vinegar, but if you're in a survival situation, just settle for the raw leaves eaten like a salad, and don't worry, dandelions don't have any poisonous look-alikes. Don't taste test unless it's a LAST resort, some wild edibles have deadly look-alikes.
There are quite a few (about a dozen around here) wild edibles that almost anybody can spot in their yard or at a park that are not only edible, but good, and good for you. With a little study, and the interest to take the time to get familiar with them, you can feed yourself fairly well.

Troy

Top
#34906 - 12/01/04 11:50 PM Re: Edible plants
NeighborBill Offline
Enthusiastic
Enthusiast

Registered: 03/02/03
Posts: 385
Loc: Oklahoma City
Haven't bought this yet, plan to:

http://www.wildflowers-and-weeds.com

Check out the book on identifying plants by families.
_________________________
Member of the toughest, meanest, deadliest, most unrelenting -- and ablest -- form of life in this section of space, a critter that can be killed but can't be tamed. --Robert A. Heinlein

Top
#34907 - 12/02/04 05:14 AM Re: Edible plants
Susan Offline
Geezer

Registered: 01/21/04
Posts: 5163
Loc: W. WA
If I don't crash-land or otherwise find myself near a bunch of cattails, dandelions or blooming camas (have a lot in my back field, which is why I know what it is...), I am going to die of starvation.

But if there are cattails, I can cook the roots, make soup out of the pollen, use the fluff for insulation, & weave the leaves into a sleeping bag. And where there are cattails, there's water.

Still, I do vote for crashing in a field next to a Pizza Hut.
<img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />
Sue

Top
Page 2 of 3 < 1 2 3 >



Moderator:  Alan_Romania, Blast, cliff, Hikin_Jim 
March
Su M Tu W Th F Sa
1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31
Who's Online
0 registered (), 117 Guests and 12 Spiders online.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Newest Members
GallenR, Jeebo, NicholasMarshall, Yadav, BenFoakes
5367 Registered Users
Newest Posts
What did you do today to prepare?
by dougwalkabout
Yesterday at 11:21 PM
Zippo Butane Inserts
by dougwalkabout
Yesterday at 11:11 PM
Question about a "Backyard Mutitool"
by Ren
03/17/24 01:00 AM
Problem in my WhatsApp configuration
by Chisel
03/09/24 01:55 PM
New Madrid Seismic Zone
by Jeanette_Isabelle
03/04/24 02:44 PM
EDC Reduction
by EchoingLaugh
03/02/24 04:12 PM
Using a Compass Without a Map
by KenK
02/28/24 12:22 AM
Newest Images
Tiny knife / wrench
Handmade knives
2"x2" Glass Signal Mirror, Retroreflective Mesh
Trade School Tool Kit
My Pocket Kit
Glossary
Test

WARNING & DISCLAIMER: SELECT AND USE OUTDOORS AND SURVIVAL EQUIPMENT, SUPPLIES AND TECHNIQUES AT YOUR OWN RISK. Information posted on this forum is not reviewed for accuracy and may not be reliable, use at your own risk. Please review the full WARNING & DISCLAIMER about information on this site.