TOTM-August 2019 Wild Edibles

Discussion in 'Survival Topic of the Month' started by Dunerunner, Jul 31, 2019.


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  1. Dunerunner

    Dunerunner Brewery Monkey Moderator

    Moto tagged me in a thread about edible plants and many thought it would make a great TOTM, so here it is!

    Here in the PNW, there are wild huckleberries, mushroom, blackberries, salal berries (yuck), dandelions, and some medicinal plants like nettles and yarrow. I'm sure there are others, but those are the ones I know of.

    Lets list `em and discuss their uses this month...
     
  2. Thunder5Ranch

    Thunder5Ranch Monkey+++

    Cattails about the most under rated survival plant out there. Burns yep that sticky sap is as good or better than the aloe plant, cuts it stops bleeding as any astringent by contracting the tissue around the wound. Also a antiseptic and mild pain killer (Best use for that from the base sap), Bee stings and bug bites yep. The roots are among the most nutrition loaded foods one could ask for. The heads make great fire starter, can roll the heads in pine resin for a decent torch. Also the heads can be undone and fluffed to make a very good insulation. The long leafs can be woven together and the fluff from the heads placed between two mats for a soft warm place to sleep. Can semi dry them and remove the tough long fibers from the leafs and braid them together for cordage or just use 3-4 of the fibers to make a good fishing line. The cordage made from the fibers is strong enough to make snares for small game like rabbits and muskrats. Can be woven into nets and baskets to catch or trap fish. The leafs can be woven into very durable pack baskets. Can be tight woven and layered to make a lean to a A frame tent. The long stalk that the heads are on make very serviceable arrow shafts with minimal effort. Want the luxury of a soft pillow..... stuff a shirt with the head fluff. Just a all around will save your butt in a pinch plant :) Also there are sub species of broad leaf cattails across the entire Continental USA and Canada.

    As a side bonus they are also great habitat for other food sources, crawdads, snakes, frogs, turtles, birds, muskrats and fish love to hang out just inside and on the edges of cattail stands.
     
  3. SB21

    SB21 Monkey+++

    Monotropa Uniflora. Mmm mmm good !!! Just threw that good part in. Actually just saw this the other night. Anyone know much about it ?? Also called Indian Pipe ,, and a few other names. Supposed to be one of the strongest natural pain relievers. Used as a tincture. Saw one guy pinched off part of the plant without removing the whole plant so as not to eliminate its growth. Put the plant in a small, 2-4 ounce jar , with vodka ,, 2 for 1 action , multi purpose usage , :D,,I like that,,, anyone know of this plant. Getting older, and still trying to stay active with my creaking bones and sore body, and other ailments,, I’m always looking for these natural remedies instead of the big pharma drugs so I can still get out and move without the constant pain in my most worn out parts of my body.
     
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  4. duane

    duane Monkey+++

    Foraging for food will give you a lot of good food, but if you don't know how to prepare it, or pick the wrong plant, you could end up very ill or dead. If you wish to use medical herbs, eat wild foods, etc, please learn now and hopefully from someone who has some knowledge. A lot of the staple foods of the world are bitter, or even poisonous if not prepared right, taro and cassava, although staples of a lot of people, require some processing and acorns also. Wild carrot or Queen Anne's lace is ok. poison hemlock is not, same with hog weed and some other are very dangerous also. Some plants, elderberry, rhubarb, wild cherry , several flowers and bushes, have parts that are poisonous or require treatment to be usable.
     
  5. 3M-TA3

    3M-TA3 Cold Wet Monkey

    This thread is useless without pictures! [worthless]
     
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  6. SB21

    SB21 Monkey+++

    As Duane has stated ,, without good info on using these plants,, I’m scared to use any of them . I’ve tried confirming some plants from a book,, then I find another plant close , but different from what I’m looking for,, and then I won’t use them. I want someone that has personally harvested and used them,, knows the parts to use and how to prepare them. But those people are getting very hard to find anymore
     
  7. Dunerunner

    Dunerunner Brewery Monkey Moderator

    Well, I have harvested wild black berries and huckleberries and eaten them after washing the fruit. I'm still walking and talking. I do agree that with mushrooms, you better be absolutely sure of the variety. Nightshade produces a berry that is best left on the plant, too.
     
  8. Seawolf1090

    Seawolf1090 Retired Curmudgeonly IT Monkey Founding Member

    And don't eat poke berries!
     
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  9. SoaySheep

    SoaySheep Monkey

    I've eaten even the greens, but you have to julienne them and either sautee for a long time or a long stew
     
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  10. SoaySheep

    SoaySheep Monkey

    chickens can eat them. I've not had the greens but know plenty of people who do. Apparently you want the leaves before the plant is more than a foot and a half tall, and then you have to simmer them for 20-30 minutes, discard the water and repeat two more times
     
  11. SoaySheep

    SoaySheep Monkey

    Nightshade is a whole family of plants. Which one(s) are you referring to?
     
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  12. Dunerunner

    Dunerunner Brewery Monkey Moderator

    Atropa Belledonna
     
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  13. Thunder5Ranch

    Thunder5Ranch Monkey+++

    If you get them when they are just popping up they have not developed those tough fibers yet.

    And here i thought you were talking about eggplant :)
     
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  14. As a side bonus they are also great habitat for other food sources, crawdads, snakes, frogs, turtles, birds, muskrats and fish love to hang out just inside and on the edges of cattail stands.[/QUOTE]

    One year I gathered the pollen and added it to biscuits. My one regret about my property is that there is no pond or marshy area to grow cattails. I do know where there are several patches around me, just in case.
     
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  15. In northern Michigan the wild blueberries are ripe. I am still finding an occasional strawberry and red raspberry. Plaintain is producing seeds. They can be used as a substitute for flaxseeds. The sumac is ripe. I plan on harvesting and drying some of it this weekend to try to give my family an alternative to sodas. I guess the berries can also be made into jelly, but I never tried it.
     
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  16. SoaySheep

    SoaySheep Monkey

    How'd that turn out? Taste? Texture of dough and finished biscuit? Altering cooking temp or time?

    Also sassafras leaves can be used to make teas or minced and used as an herb. You don't need to harm the tree by taking bark or roots
     
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  17. runswithdogs

    runswithdogs Monkey+++

    Just got home with about 3+kg of chanterelles.... mmmmmmmmmm
     
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  18. They were slightly yellow, with yellow flecks. The taste and texture were the same. I only used about 1/2 c of pollen because it took forever to gather.

    I miss sassafras. It grew abundantly where I grew up. I used to pick leaves and chew on the leaf while exploring the woods and fields.
     
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  19. Motomom34

    Motomom34 Monkey+++

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  20. Dont

    Dont Just another old gray Jarhead Monkey

    Every place I look these days I see Mullein growing.. I am not harvesting, however I am reading about and looking for different plants that can be harvested for food and for medicinal reasons.
     
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