# Survival > Foraging & Wild Edibles >  Why you need to be concerned about plants

## Beo

These plants are in the areas I trek in, they may be in your area too. I keep them and pics on 3x5 cards that I laminated in my haversack.
Since earliest times, plants have played a major role in human survival. Peoples such as the Shawnee & Miami Indians relied heavily on plants for food, medicine, clothing and shelter. Native plants were also important to the survival and well-being of early settlers from other continents. Wild grapes were collected for their sweetness and juice, wild onions for seasoning and beechnuts for an emergency food. Young common milkweed was eaten as an asparagus, black willow was a remedy for pain and sassafras was made into a soothing tea. Today, wild growing native plants are not an important source of food for most Ohioans. However, many people continue to have an intense interest in wild plants and their uses. Knowing how the American Indians and others used a plant provides us with a better understanding of the value of biological diversity and of our natural environment, as well as our rich cultural history. Below are selected species of edible plants found in the areas of Ohio I trek in. Common names are in bold type with its scientific name in italics. 
REMEMBER HAVING THESE ON CARDS IN YOUR PACK LIKE I DO DOES NOT MEAN YOU KNOW THEM, I AM ALWAYS TRYING TO LEARN THEM BY IDENTIFICATION WHICH IS BEST IN CASE I DON'T HAVE MY 3X5 CARDS!!!
WAREAGLE TAUGHT ME THAT MUCH FROM HIS PLANT POSTS AS HAS MITCH, READ THEM
*WARNING: THIS LIST IS NOT A PRESCRIPTOR. IT IS SIMPLY A LIST OF NATIVE PLANTS ALONG WITH THEIR HISTORICAL USES. USE THIS LIST TO IDENTIFY THE PLANTS ACCURATELY AS SIMILAR LOOKING PLANTS MAY BE DANGEROUS.*
*Common Blackberry* (_Rubus allegheniensis_) 
Edible Uses: The fruit is used to make cordials and wines, and a refreshing non-alcoholic beverage or tea. Tender young sprouts and twigs are used in soups and stews. 
Medicinal Uses: A good source of Vitamin C, blackberries are useful as an antiscorbutic (helps prevent scurvy). 
*Lambs Quarters/Goosefoot* (_Chenopodium sp._) 
Edible Uses: A cousin to spinach, young plants and very young leaves of older plants are eaten as greens or when freshly picked, added to salads. The seeds, ground into a dark meal, make a flour for cakes and gruel or boiled until soft to make a nourishing cereal. 
Medicinal Uses: High in Vitamin A, thiamin, riboflavin, and niacin, leaves of lambs quarters have been used to prevent scurvy. Leaves are also used for stomachaches and as a poultice for burns. Cold leaf tea is taken for diarrhea. 
*Cleavers* (_Galium aparine_) 
*Warning! Juices of this plant may cause dermatitis (skin rash)!* 
Medicinal Uses: Leaves are applied as a poultice to reduce swelling. As an herbal tea it is used as a diuretic, to reduce fevers, for bladder and kidney inflammations (kidney stones), and as a "blood purifier." 
*Grape* (_Vitis sp._) 
Edible Uses: Grapes are used to make a light tea, wine, and vinegar. Cut vines may be used as a water source during periods of drought. 
Medicinal Uses: Tea made from the leaf is used for diarrhea, hepatitis and stomachaches. A poultice of wilted leaves may be used for sore breasts and external cuts. 
*Mayapple* (_Podophyllum peltatum_) 
*Warning! Fruit is edible but other parts of this plant are poisonous!* 
Edible Uses: The fruit may be eaten raw after it is ripened by frost, but not everyone enjoys the flavor. Ripened fruit is cooked into jam or jelly. 
Medicinal Uses: Externally, mayapple is used as a treatment for warts and skin eruptions. Internally, a very small amount of root may be used as a cathartic (Laxative), a worm expellant, for jaundice, constipation, hepatitis, fever and syphilis. 
*Nodding Wild Onion* (_Allium cermuun_) 
Edible Uses: This plant is cooked or steamed as a vegetable or added to soups, stews and eggs. 
Medicinal Uses: Very high in vitamin A, nodding wild onions are used for colds, colic, croup and fever. A poultice of the plant may be applied to the chest for respiratory ailments or rubbed over the body as an insect repellant. 
*Pokeweed* (_Phytolacca americana)_ 
*Warning! Mature green leaves and stems are poisonous!* Edible Uses: Pokeweed is an important source of food for wildlife. When used as a food source for humans, it should be boiled and the water changed at least three times. Very young sprouts are simmered and lightly salted to be eaten like asparagus. 
Medicinal Uses: A berry tea is brewed for rheumatism, arthritis and dysentery. A root poultice may be applied for rheumatism, neuralgic pain and bruises. Leaf poultice is a treatment for pimples and blackheads. 
*Smartweed/Knotweed* (_Polygonum sp._) 
Edible Uses: High in nutritional value, this tasty tuber-like root can be roasted or boiled. Very young tender leaves are cooked to be eaten as a vegetable or used to enhance soups or eaten in salads. Old hollow roots are prepared in a way we would prepare domestic rhubarb. 
*Sunflower* (_Helianthus annuus_) 
*Warning! Pollen or plant may cause an allergic reaction!* 
Edible Uses: Sunflower seeds are crushed and boiled to extract a light oil. Seeds are also roasted in the shell to make coffee or ground into a meal for cereal or flour. 
Medicinal Uses: A tea made from the flowers is used as a treatment for lung ailments and malaria. Leaf tea is drank for high fevers. The astringent quality of the leaf tea makes it useful as a poultice for snake bites and spider bites. 
*Wild Bergamot* (_Monarda fistulosa_) 
Edible Uses: All parts of this plant (leaves, stem and blossoms) make a refreshing tea. 
Medicinal Uses: Leaf tea is used as an antiseptic or drank for colic, flatulence, colds, fevers, stomachaches, nosebleeds, insomnia and heart trouble. 
*Wild Ginger* (_Asarum canadensis_) 
Edible Uses: The root, fresh or dried, is used as a cooking spice. Sliced, dried, and ground, the root also makes a rich, sugary syrup and confection. 
Medicinal Uses: Root tea is drank for whooping cough, flatulency, indigestion, fevers, colds and heart conditions, or used to promote sweating. Teas are also drank as an expectorant. 
*Wild Strawberry* (_Fragaria virginiana_) 
Edible Uses: Fresh fruit may be used on shortcakes, in tarts, as a sauce, and cooked into jellies, jams and preserves. Pressed and dried fruit supplemented the winter diet. Brewed stems, stocks and leaves of the plant make a tasty hot tea or cold drink. 
Medicinal Uses: High in vitamin C, this unusually nutritious fruit prepared as a syrup, infusion or decoction is thought to be useful for fevers, "gravel" (kidney stones), gout, scurvy and consumption. 
*Wood Sorrel* (_Oxalis stricta_) 
Edible Uses: These edible greens are collected and added to salads or steeped for a cold, sour drink. 
Medicinal Uses: Rich in vitamin C, sorrel is chewed for nausea and mouth sores. Fresh leaves are useful as a poultice or drank as a tea for urinary infections, scurvy and sore throats.

----------


## Beo

*Wild Black Cherry* (_Prunas serotina_) 
Edible Uses: A "poor man's cherry substitute," this bittersweet juice is added to raw liquors to smooth and stretch the liquids. The rich juice is favored for cooking. Also, dark jellies, jams and sauces are made from the berry. 
Medicinal Uses: The fruit brewed into a tea or syrup is taken for coughs, fevers, cold, sore throats, diarrhea, lung ailments, bronchitis, pneumonia and inflammations. The fruit tea is also taken as a sedative, an expectorant and a blood tonic. 
*Black Locust* (_Robinia pseudo-acacia_) 
*Warning! All parts of this plant (roots, bark, leaves and seeds) are poisonous.* 
Medicinal uses: The root bark has been chewed to induce vomiting or held in the mouth for a toothache. Historically, a flower tea was used as a folk tonic (purgative). 
*Black Walnut* (_Juglans nigra_) 
Edible Uses: Sweet oil is extracted from crushed nut meats to make nut butter or nut oil. Whole or crushed nuts are added to cakes, candies, salads and made into syrups. The spring sap of the trees can be used the same as maple tree sap. 
Medicinal Uses: Inner bark tea is used as an emetic (induce vomiting) or as a laxative. The inner bark is chewed for a toothache or colic. Fresh husk juice is applied to ringworm or as a poultice for inflammation. Leaf teas are used as an astringent and as an insecticide against bed bugs. 
*Hackberry* (_Celtis occidentalis_) 
Edible Uses: The fruit ripens in September and October. Eating the dried fruit of the hackberry takes the edge off of winter hunger. The dried fruit and the white kernels (cracked from the shells) have a sweet date-like flavor. Pounded dried pits add flavor to venison. 
*Hickory* (_Carya sp._) 
Edible Uses: Water added to the dried powder pounded from shells and kernels makes a milky, oily liquid to add to vegetables and desserts. 
Medicinal uses: The inner bark makes a purgative or a laxative. Externally, a poultice of the inner bark is applied to blisters. 
*Paw Paw* (_Asiminia triloba_) 
*Warning! Seeds are toxic!* 
Edible Uses: This sweet fruit is favored by wildlife. After a heavy frost, the ripened fruit is gathered and eaten raw or cooked into a dessert. 
Medicinal Uses: The fruit is used as a laxative and a diuretic. A poultice of the leaves may be applied to abscesses. Powdered seeds are applied to the head as an insecticidal for lice. 
*Red Oak* (_Quercus rubra_) 
*Warning! Contains tannic acid that is toxic!* 
Edible Uses: Tannin is leached from the nuts with several water baths. Nuts may then be roasted or ground as a course meal for cakes or to mix with cornmeal, added to soups for seasoning or made into coffee. A nut milk or nut oil is obtained by pounding and boiling the nuts. This oil or milk may then be used to season vegetables. 
Medicinal Uses: Historically, tea of the inner bark was used for chronic diarrhea, dysentery, as a gargle for sore throats, and a skin wash for poison ivy rash and burns. Inner bark tea was considered a folk remedy for cancer. 
*Red Mulberry* (_Morus rubra_) 
Edible Uses: The fresh fruit is cooked into jams and jellies or eaten raw. Warm and cold drinks are made from the juice of the fruit. Young tender twigs may be eaten raw or cooked as a vegetable along with the very young unfolded leaves. 
Medicinal Uses: Root teas drank are for weakness, difficult urination and dysentery. Externally, the sap us applied to ringworm. 
*Red Bud* (_Cercis canadensis_) 
*Warning! Contains tannin - potentially toxic in large amounts!* 
Edible Uses: Flower buds are added to salads, while young pods are sautéed as vegetables. The seed oil has a peanut flavor and is used as a seasoning. 
Medicinal Uses: Inner bark tea is highly astringent and may be used as a sore throat gargle. Tea made from the bark is a folk remedy for stomachaches, heart burn, diarrhea and dysentery. Tea may also be used as a wash or poultice for warts and cancers. 
*Sassafras* (_Sassafras albidum_) 
Edible Uses: Tea is made from young roots. Roots are also used as a spice. The green winter buds are edible, as are the very young spring leaves. Dried leaves with the hard parts and veins removed are used to flavor and thicken soups. Dried bark is ground to sweeten and thicken stews. 
Medicinal Uses: Young sprouts boiled make an eye wash. Aromatic dried root is smoked like tobacco. Tea of the root bark is used as a "blood purifier," for stomachaches, gout, arthritis, rheumatism, kidney ailments, colds, fevers and skin eruptions. A poultice made of the pith of twigs is a treatment for eye ailments. 
*Slippery Elm* (_Ulmus rubra_) 
Edible Uses: The inner bark is brewed for a healthful tea. A nutritious flour is made from the dried and ground inner bark. 
Medicinal Uses: Tea of the inner bark is taken for sore throats, upset stomachs, ulcers, coughs, pleurisy, diarrhea, dysentery or added to broths for children and the elderly. 
*Sugar Maple* (_Acer saccharum_) 
Edible Uses: The seeds when hulled and boiled are edible. In the spring, these trees are tapped for their sap, which is boiled into syrup and sugar. 
Medicinal Uses: Pure sap may be drank as a spring tonic. Spring sap syrup is also taken as a liver tonic, a kidney cleanser and a cough syrup. Teas of the inner bark are drank for a cough or diarrhea and were thought to be useful as a diuretic, an expectorant and a "blood purifier."

----------


## Beo

*Edible Plants of Ohio Woodlands* 
*WARNING: A plant on the list just means that I kow of it. This does not mean that it is edible. Some plants in an edible list are toxic until prepared correctly or have toxic parts. KNOW before you eat !*  
*Violet*Viola purpurea, pedunculata SPP
*woodsorrel* Oxalis SPP
*Bracken fern* Pteridium aquilinum
*Wild ginger* Asarum SPP
*Miner's lettuce* Claytonia perfoliata (Montia)
*Lomatium* Lomatium SPP
*Brodiaea* Brodiaea pulchella
*Mariposa lily/fairy lantern/star tulip* Calochortus nuttallii,gunnisonii
*Lily* Lilium Pardalinum
*Solomon's seal* Polygonatum SPP
*False* *Solomon's seal* Smilacina SPP
*Trillium*Trillium ovatum SPP (4)
*Shooting stars* Dodecatheon hendersonii
*Alum root* Heuchera SPP (28)
*Waterleaf* Hydrophyllum occidentale
*Indian paintbrush* Castilleja
*Horsetail* Equisetum SPP
*Spearmint* Mentha spicata
*Peppermint* Mentha piperita
*Penny royal* Hedeoma pulegioides
*Coyote mint* Monardella villosa 
*Henbit* Lamium amplexicaule
*Field mint* Mentha
*Rose* Rosa californica, arkansana
*Redbud* Cercis occidentalis
*Sumac* Rhus hirta, typhina, glabra, copallina
*Squawbush* Rhus trilobata
*Lemonade berry* Rhus integrifolia
*Sugarbush* Rhus ovata
*Manzanita* Arctostaphylos
*Wild strawberry* Fragaria virginiana
*Raspberry* Rubus Leucodermis
*Thimbleberry* Rubus parviflorus
*Blackberry* Rubus
*Blueberry* Vaccinium occidentale
*Serviceberry* Amelanchier SPP (24)
*Toyon* Heteromeles arbutifolia CurrantRibes SPP
*Gooseberry* Ribes roezlii, velutinum
*Mulberry* Morus SPP
*Western snowberry* Symphoricarpos occidentalis SPP The eastern species causes vomiting (Symphoricarpos albus) 
*Barberry* Crataegus berberifolia 
*Oregon Grape* Mahonia (Berberis)
*Grape* Vitis californica, SPP
*Elderberry* Sambucus melanocarpa, mexicana 
*Hawthorne* Crataegus SPP
*Hackberr*y Celtis douglasii, pallida 
*Pin Cherry* Prunus pensylvanica 
*Sour Cherry* Prunus cerasus 
*Holly leaf Cherry* Prunus ilicifolia 
*Chokecherry* Prunus virginiana
*Indian plum* Oemleria cerasiformis 
*Cascara/coffeeberry* Rhamnus californics, purshiana
*Deer bush* Ceanothus Aspen Populus SPP
*Willow* Salix SPP
*Maple* Acer SPP
*Butternut* Juglans cinerea
*Hazel nut* Corylus cornuta, americana 
*Chinquapin* Castanopsis chrysophylla, sempervire Chrysolepis sempervirens
*Digger pine* Pinus sabiniana 
*Sugar pine* Pinus lambertiana 
*Pinyon pine* Pinus monophylla, quadrifolia,edulis 
*White oak* Quercus alba
*Black oak* Quercus kelloggii
*Live oak* Quercus chrysolepis

----------


## Beo

*Edible Plants of the Northwest, just a few I know there are a ton more.* 
*Avalanche lily* Erythronium grandiflorum ssp. 
*Yellow bells* Fritillaria pubica 
*Bear grass* Xerphyllum tenax 
*Strawberry blite* Chenopodium capitatum 
*Skunk cabbage* Lysichiton americanum 
*Devil's club* Echinopanax horridum or(Oploanaxh) 
*Clitonia* Clintonia borealis 
*Twist stalk* Streptopus SPP 
*Buffaloberry* Shepherdia SPP 
*Bunch berry* Cornus canadensis 
*Mountain ash* Sorbus SPP (Pyrus) 
*Salal* Gaultheria shallon 
*Bearberry* Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, rubra, alpin 
*Licorice* Glycyrrhia lepidota

----------


## Beo

*These I've found along streams, rivers, ponds and lakes in the Ohio Valley area when trekking.*

*Water lily* Brasenia schreberi 
*Fragrant lil*y 
*Yellow Pond lily* Nuphar lutea 
*Reed grass* Phragmites communis Phragmites Phragmites SPP 
*Bamboo* Arundinaria SPP 
*Bamboo shoot* Arundinaria SPP 
*Sedge* Carex 
*Nut grass* Cyperus esculentus, rotundus 
*Bur reed* Sparganium simplex 
*Bulrush* Scirpus SPP 
*Calamus* Acorus calamus 
*Arrowhead* Sagitarria latifolia 
*Indian rhubarb* Peltiphyllum peltatum 
*Cattail* Typha latifolia, angustifolia

----------


## Beo

Crap this thread name is way wrong, It should read: My Ohio Plant List..... SARGE!!!!!!!!
Can You Fix that, pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease. And yes I got tired of all the highlighting and Italics... sorry.
Thanks Beo,

----------


## Smok

Man that is some great work  Thanks

----------


## bulrush

I believe sassafras was used to make root beer originally, until it was discovered to be a carcinogen. Then they had to use fake flavors. 

Search Google for: +sassafras +carcinogen

----------


## Tony uk

Very Nice  :Big Grin:

----------


## pgvoutdoors

Beowulf65, nice work...  Now if I can just remember all of that I might not lose as many clients.

----------


## marberry

Sassafras is a carcinogen!!! do you know which parts of the plant or is it the whole thing? i just lately started a herbal garden , keeping the plants inside though , the temp being -47 and all lol. i was curious if anyone here knows anything about Datura , its a very common plant in N America that has some hallucinogenic properties , iv been doing some research but all i can find is the shamanic element to it. any information would be much appreciated.

----------


## bulrush

Like me post says, do a Google search for +sassafras +carcinogen 
and start reading some of the sites that pop up. I think I got 1060 sites from that search. I would focus on domains that end in ".edu" or ".gov" because those are more likely some type of lab.

My point is not to sow FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) but to get you thinking "Perhaps I should update my info." Just because you got your info from a book published in 1999 does not mean that is when the info was new. The info from that book could have come from another book from 1957, and THAT info could have been taken from a book published in 1920, and that info was taken from a book from 1901, etc. etc. I.e. the info itself is outdated. 

Just be safe out there people.

----------


## bulrush

FYI: I have seen a handful of plants that are safe to eat if you pick and cook them before they shoot up a flower stalk. I think pokeberry was one of them. Interesting isn't it? The flowering process must cause the plant to make a chemical poisonous to people.

----------


## Rick

Here is a link on Sassafras I posted on another thread: 

http://www.bccancer.bc.ca/PPI/Unconv...ssafrasTea.htm

To answer your question, Marcraft, Sassafras is a deciduous tree and the roots are boiled to make the tea. The leaves can be dried and ground to make a spice powder. I've read you can roll a leaf and stick it behind your ear to keep mosquitoes and flies away but I've never tried it.  

Here is a link for Datura (aka Jimson Weed): 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datura_stramonium

NOTE: My Peterson Field Guide says the following about Datura: "All parts of this plant are extremely poisonous."

----------


## bulrush

WTH? That's the same stuff growing in the neighbor's yard 10 houses down the street from me! We also call it "Angel's Trumpet". Another similar looking plant, different genus, is called "Devil's Trumpet". Oh yeah, the other genus is Brugmansia, aka "Brugs". 

I never knew it was called "Jimson weed". Here and there the news reports on some kids smoking it and dying.

----------


## Beo

Maracraft here's what I came up with on Datura.
_Datura_ is a genus of 12-15 species of vespertineflowering plants belonging to the family Solanaceae. Their exact natural distribution is uncertain, due to extensive cultivation and naturalization throughout the temperate and tropical regions of the globe, but is most likely restricted to the Americas, from the United States south through Mexico (where the highest species diversity occurs) to the mid-latitudes of South America. Some species are reported by some authorities to be native to China, but this is not accepted by the _Flora of China_, where the three species present are treated as introductions from the Americas. It also grows naturally throughout India and most of Australia. According to the old ayurvedic medicinal system (at least since 2000 BC) in India, this plant has versatile uses in medicinal preparations.
Datura is a woody-stalked, leafy herb growing up to 2 meters. It produces spiney seed pods and large white or purple trumpet-shaped flowers that face upward. Most parts of the plant contain atropine, scopolamine, and hyoscyamine. It has a long history of use both in S. America and Europe and is known for causing delirious states and poisonings in uninformed users. Common names include jimson weed, Hell's Bells, Devil's weed, Devil's cucumber, thorn-apple (from the spiny fruit), pricklyburr (similarly), and somewhat paradoxically, both angel's trumpet and devil's trumpet,(from their large trumpet-shaped flowers), or as Nathaniel Hawthorne refers to it in the _the Scarlet Letter_ apple-Peru. The word _Datura_ comes from Hindi _dhatūrā_ (thorn apple); record of this name dates back only to 1662. The Hindi derives this word from Sanskrit vedic literature that dates to long before 2000 BC.
They are large, vigorous annual plants or short-lived perennial plants, growing to 1-3 m tall. The leaves are alternate, 10-20 cm long and 5-18 cm broad, with a lobed or toothed margin. The flowers are erect or spreading (not pendulous), trumpet-shaped, 5-20 cm long and 4-12 cm broad at the mouth; color varies from white to yellow, pink, and pale purple. The fruit is a spiny capsule 4-10 cm long and 2-6 cm broad, splitting open when ripe to release the numerous seeds.
_Datura_ species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including _Hypercompe indecisa_.

----------


## marberry

erowid says that most of the uninformed kids taking datura take entire pods (pod = 100-200 seeds) and all you need is like 10 seeds to experience the hallucinogenic effects. you guys should read some of the datura experience reports  , its some of the most hilarious things iv ever read. 

http://www.erowid.org/experiences/subs/exp_Datura.shtml

----------


## Rick

What would anyone even want to do that? I get plenty high just on life.

----------


## marberry

not rly but its fun 2 read about ^_^

----------


## Beo

Bulrush said "My point is not to sow FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) but to get you thinking "Perhaps I should update my info." Just because you got your info from a book published in 1999 does not mean that is when the info was new. The info from that book could have come from another book from 1957, and THAT info could have been taken from a book published in 1920, and that info was taken from a book from 1901, etc. etc. I.e. the info itself is outdated."

So are you saying my info is outdated and from a book?

----------


## grazer

Might want to mention that mayapple fruit itself is also poisonous when not fully ripe.  Unless it has frosted and the friut has pretty much fallen off the plant, it is not tasty enough to risk unless you are experienced or try it carefully.  Worth trying for the learning experience, but you might want to go find some apples or hawthorne or berries or roses for fruit.

----------

