Wild Plants Used for Medicine and Food

**Kitsune** · 26th July 2015, 14:49

Learning wild plants used for medicine, food, and tools is also known as the study of ethnobotany (how people utilize plants). Edible and medicinal plants can provide healthy alternatives to highly processed foods and pharmaceuticals, bringing greater health into our lives.

To effectively use wild plants, one must learn basic plant identification skills, especially for poisonous plants, as well as proper collection and preparation methods.

This section of the online library provides articles on wild plants used for medicine, food, and utilitarian purposes. Articles often include references to excellent books, resources, and classes. We hope you enjoy these resources that can help you discover ways to bring wild plants into your life.

http://www.wildernesscollege.com/pla...-medicine.html

**Kitsune** · 26th July 2015, 16:07

Medicinal Herb Uses, Plant Pictures and Descriptions List

http://altnature.com/gallery/

**bsbray** · 26th July 2015, 23:30

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXg--TwxRm0

**Hugh Mann** · 27th July 2015, 21:40

A word of warning. There are tons of books on how to forage the wilderness for edible plants. Unfortunately many of them can have errors that can be fatal. I was shown several of examples by a forest ranger who just happened to know his stuff. He showed me a few books that had the wrong photos of plants that were supposed to be safe and the plants in the picture wasn't even the correct species of plant. Black and white photographs in books will not be helpful because some plants may look different depending on the time of the year. Many plants have only certain parts that are edible while other parts of the plant could make you sick or kill you. Some plants have poisonous cousins that look identical but aren't. Some plants need to be prepared before they are safe to eat. It would be a good idea to take someone who is highly knowledgeable about wild plants, what is safe and what is not safe to consume. Keep in mind, some plants are so dangerous, one taste would be enough to put you in the hospital or worse. Use extreme caution if you don't know what you're doing. I stopped once I found out how dangerous it could be. The forest ranger did recommend one book that was accurate for my area. It's called Forager's Harvest (A Guide to identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants) by Samuel Thayer http://www.amazon.com/Foragers-Harve...er%27s+Harvest

**Kitsune** · 27th July 2015, 22:42

You're right you need to be extremely careful if you are foraging. We had someone with years of experience help us to know what was safe and what wasn't..Thanks for posting a warning!

**ZShawn** · 27th July 2015, 23:24

true it can be dangerous, and it is essential to figure out what you are picking before you eat any quantity of anything picked out there

**bsbray** · 27th July 2015, 23:38

I agree that you should only eat plants that you are positively able to identify. But being able to identify them and then prepare them so that they're edible is critically useful.

A lot of plants are incredibly nutritious, but taste terrible, usually bitter in the case of wild greens. So having someone around who knows how to really cook greens and that sort of thing is a big bonus. I never liked collard greens until I had them cooked for me as the Brazilians do it.