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In part 1 you learned how to test edible plants – now it’s time to learn how to identify them. Look out for part 3 (the final installment to this quick guide) of the best way to gather edible plants shortly after this article.

How to Identify Edible Plants.

As there are over 300,000 edible plants worldwide, it would be impossible to list them all here let alone provide images. Adding to that, it’d take a specialist in botany to identify more than a few edible plants in all corners of the world.

Your best bet is to become familiarized with a handful of plants that can be found most times throughout the year and in most seasons. Learning a few of these can boost your ability to become self-reliant in the event you don’t have access to a grocery store, your garden has been destroyed, or you just want to develop your foraging skills.

In temperate areas, you can find the following:

• Burdocks
• Dandelions
• Docks
• Fruit bearing plants
• Nettles
• Plantains
• Thistles

On coasts, you can find the following:

• Kelps
• Lavers

In tropical and sub-tropical areas, you can find:

• Bamboo
• Palms
• Wild Figs

In arid and desert areas, you can find:

• Acacias (except for in North and South America)
• Baobabs
• Mescal
• Prickly Pear

In Polar areas, you can find:

• Lichens (north and south)
• Spruces (north)
• Willows (north)
• In summer in north as for temperate areas

Key Identification Aids.

Location. Plants only grow in suitable conditions, so if you’re familiar with what habitats they prefer, plus their preferred geographical distribution, your likelihood of finding them quickly increases.

Shape and Size. Take note of an edible plant’s size and shape. Is it branched and bushy, or only has one / a few stems? Is it woody and tall like a shrub, or a tree?

Fruits and Seeds. Take note of size, shape, color, whether they grow in singles or clusters, in capsules or pods. Are they fleshy, hard and cased like a nut, or small and tough like a seed?

Flowers. These will be seasonal, but if you spot them, take note of their size, shape, color, and [like fruits and seeds] if they’re clustered or single, and where they are on the plant.

Leaves. Are the leaves uniform in color? Large or small? Rounded or strap-like, spear shaped? Do they have lobed or toothed edges? Made up of several leaflets?

Roots. Looking at roots rarely [if at all] help with identifying edible plants, unless they’re very unusual.

Type of Plants to Avoid.

This is a crucial section to read, so pay attention. The biggest thing to look out for when foraging for edible plants is poison. There are two common poisons found in plants and luckily, they’re easy to detect. These are:

1. Oxalic Acid, whose salts i.e. oxalates are found naturally in some plants. For example, Wood Sorrel (oxalis acetosella) and Wild Rhubarb (found mostly in the leaves). You can recognize this by its dry, sharp, burning or stinging sensation when it gets on your tongue or skin. THROW AWAY all plants which have this present.

2. Hydrocyanic Acid, aka Prussic Acid, smells and tastes like bitter almonds or peaches. A prime example is Cherry Laurel (prunus laurocerasus), which has laurel like leaves and contains a closely allied poison. Crush the leaves to release the smell, and remember it well – then THROW AWAY all edible plants that have this smell.

AVOID THE BELOW AT ALL COSTS:

• Do not eat any plant with a milky sap, unless identified as absolutely safe, for example dandelion.
• Do not eat any fruit which is divided into five segments, unless it’s been positively identified as a safe species.
• Do not eat any leaves that are old or wilted. Some plants and trees develop deadly hydrocyanic acid when they begin to wilt – this includes blackberry, cherry, peach, plum, and raspberry. You can, however, safely eat these leaves when they’re young, dry, and fresh.
• Do not eat red plants, unless identified positively, especially in tropical areas. Anything flashy or ostentatious is nature’s way of giving you a warning. Wild Rhubarb’s red straked stalk is edible, but its leaf is poisonous. Hemlock has reddish-purple splotches on its stem.
• Do not eat plants and grasses that have tiny barbs on their leaves and stems. You can easily identify this with a magnifying glass – the barbs will appear as hooks instead of straight hairs, and they’ll irritate your digestive tract and mouth.
• Do not eat mature bracken aka pteridium aguilinium. It obliterates vitamin B in the body, causing an odd blood condition which can result in death. ONLY eat tightly coiled “fiddle heads”. All of the 250 varieties of north temperate ferns are edible when they’re young, but some are too bitter to be palatable and edible. Ensure you break off the tips for as low (yes, low, not long) as they stay tender, closing your hand over the stalk and drawing the frond through to remove the “wool”. The U.S. Forest Service has an excellent explanation of fiddle heads and fronds here.

In the third and final installment of Self-Reliance #2: Edible Plants, I’ll cover how to gather edible plants safely and systematically. Stay tuned.

Interested in sharing a self-reliance article as a member of SUPP UP. Social? Let me know and I’ll consider it for publishing! Contact me on Moderator@supp-up.social.

Until next time…

- Sol

Stop doing guesswork, start making self-reliance easier.

Self-Reliance #2: Edible Plants Part 2 is an article from SUPP UP. Social.

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