# Self Sufficiency/Living off the Land or Off the Grid > Gardening >  Knowing what is edible.

## trick-r-treat

I remember in school we had some classes on what was edible if we were ever lost in the wilderness.  I guess if I got hungry enough, I would probably start eating anything to survive, but some of the stuff out there is poisonous.

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## mamab

My husband and boys love watching the shows "Man vs. Wild" and "Survivorman." Both have some good information about survival. The guy from "Survivorman" even did a special showing what to do in the case of a natural disaster like Katrina. Very informative.

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## Minwaabi

> I remember in school we had some classes on what was edible if we were ever lost in the wilderness.  I guess if I got hungry enough, I would probably start eating anything to survive, but some of the stuff out there is poisonous.


Never ever ever start "eating anything to survive" - thats a great way to kill yourself.  Never eat something you can not positively identify (unless you are about to die anyway).  There are plants out there that have a LD50 less than one bite.  That means one bite causes death in 50% of healthy adults.  This is also true of bright colored berries on a vine.  Examples include fools Water-Hemlock and Nightshade.

Get a nice guide book.  I would recommend "Peterson Field Guides - Edible Wild Plants" by Lee Allen Peterson.  It has color plates (pictures), diagrams and explain what you need to do to a plant to make it edible.  They also have a nice feature where they point out similar toxic species (so you don't eat nightshade thinking its a grape).  Even better find someone who knows and can walk you through the environment and point stuff out to you or take a wilderness survival class where they do so with a survival angle.

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## Minwaabi

Oh, I just noticed that the edible plants section here is also fairly good and detailed.  Just be careful: the picture for the plant is always above its name.  Sometimes it looks like its at the bottom of the section but that is the picture for the *next* plant.

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## mamab

I haven't checked out the edible plants section yet. In fact, I didn't realize it was there. Of course, if you know you're going into a wilderness area, it's always good to know the edible plants of the area. That doesn't help much if you're in a situation where you weren't intending to be in that situation, though.

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## tater03

I just watched "Man VS Wild" for the first time the other day. I was actually very informative. Like I would have never realized you could just eat a water snake without cooking it. I would imagine you would need to know what kind of water snake to eat first. But the show was really very educational I thought.

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## Chris

I definitely prefer Survivorman to Man vs. Wild, I find Man vs. Wild to be staged in many places... not that he doesn't give good information, but he isn't fooling anyone about being stuck.

Anyways, learning some plant lore is definitely helpful. One thing you can do, which isn't 100% but can help, is to first apply unknown plant material to your skin and seeing if your skin has a negative reaction. Then your lips, just a little bit, waiting hours. Etc. It is called the universal ediblity test and can be found on this site.

Also, remember, a plant's roots can be edible but the leaves can be poison, so treat all plant parts differently.

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## thinkfree3

yeah just randomly eating stuff is a bad idea and should only be used as a last resort. If you don't know what to eat and face starvation you can test plants by first touching them, waiting an hour to see if you have a reaction, then maybe put it on your toung for ten sec and wait another hour to see if you have a reaction. There is an army book that has more detaled test. It's important to know what you can and can't eat before you go out. I think grasses are relativly safe if you must try something. I would recomend packing a book on plants you can eat and use for other stuff. Humans can go a long time without food so if your only lost for a month you should be able to get by.

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## taiarain

I've actually been wanting to get a book about this very thing. I'm not nearly as knowledgeable on wild plants as I'd like to be.

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## thinkfree3

oops, sorry i duplicated info, i didn't read all the replies above mine because i was at work at the time. sorry about that.

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## tater03

I have not yet seen Survivorman. I had never heard of the edibility test that is very useful information. Thanks. Also you are right about the roots of a plant being good to eat but not the leaves. I remember learning this in a camp I went to years ago.

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## Minwaabi

Please note:  not all roots of all plants are edible.  Chris is only stating that not all parts of a plant are neccesarily poisonous.  Also, not all poisonous plants are poisonous year round.  Finally do not eat a whole plant if you know that one part is edible.  

Examples:

Water-Hemlock (As noted in my earlier post under its nickname fools parsley) can kill with one bite *from the root* - thats for a full grown person.

The *leaves* of Tomato plants are poisonous *until* the fruit is ripe. 

*All* parts except the fruit (but including the pits) of the Black Cherry is poisonous (cyanide).

Finally, just because another animal is chowing down on it does not mean that you are safe.  When I was very young I ate some bright red berries growing on a vine.  It had to be safe right?  All the robins where eating them.  I spent the rest of that night and part of the next day at the hospital.  I now know that spear shaped leaf means the plant is Woody Nightshade.

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## vicki2

I don't know if any of you remember Ewell Gibbons, who was a great naturist.  He got well known from being the pitch guy for Grape Nut Flakes.
When he died, there were loads of jokes about the fact that he probably kicked from eating some of the wild plants he was always talking about.

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## taiarain

> I now know that spear shaped leaf means the plant is Woody Nightshade.


I remember those red berries growing up. I used to think they were so pretty until a stern warning came to never, ever put one near my mouth.

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## Tangent210

> Never ever ever start "eating anything to survive" - thats a great way to kill yourself.  Never eat something you can not positively identify (unless you are about to die anyway).  There are plants out there that have a LD50 less than one bite.  That means one bite causes death in 50% of healthy adults.  This is also true of bright colored berries on a vine.  Examples include fools Water-Hemlock and Nightshade.
> 
> Get a nice guide book.  I would recommend "Peterson Field Guides - Edible Wild Plants" by Lee Allen Peterson.  It has color plates (pictures), diagrams and explain what you need to do to a plant to make it edible.  They also have a nice feature where they point out similar toxic species (so you don't eat nightshade thinking its a grape).  Even better find someone who knows and can walk you through the environment and point stuff out to you or take a wilderness survival class where they do so with a survival angle.


This man speaks the truth. If you are serious about edible plants you should find a nature course that will point this stuff out to you on a hike or whatnot. You can probably go to an REI or similar place and find someone who can connect you to the right people. I'll also add learn the proper way to test if something is edible. Break it so the oils get out and rub it on a small patch of skin, after 30-60mins if no rash has formed than rub a small bit on your tounge hours later if there is no sickness eat a small amount, wait and if nothing happens usually it means it's safe to eat (This should be used with caution and in an emergency situation).

EDIT: Whoops someone above already mentioned this. I'll add though, look for things animals are eating. Yes some things animals eat are fine for them but are poisonous for us but usually what they eat is a good indicator of what is ok to try.

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## Wolf Creek

There's plenty of vegetation out in the wild without berries. Almost all seed berring grass is eatable and most aquatic life. Watch what the animals eat insects are better chance of nutrients than berries. If you must test something make sure it is plentiful. Knowledge is everything here.

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## reviewer

One are to be cautious of is fungi.  Wild mushrooms can be extremely deadly and can be difficult to tell apart from edible varieties.

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## Mya Uzo

> I have not yet seen Survivorman. I had never heard of the edibility test that is very useful information. Thanks. Also you are right about the roots of a plant being good to eat but not the leaves. I remember learning this in a camp I went to years ago.


you should watch it, its a very good show I can watch them over and over again and their is always something I missed the first time

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## wildermonkey

dandilion leaves are very common and edible... but they stimulate hunger slightly so i'd only eat them if you aabsolutely had nothing else.

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## Strider

OK, that's not too smart. (eating anything) This site has a nice selection of edible and poisonous plants. There are simple tests and things to look out for. For example, don't eat anything with milky looking sap, plants with pods (like peas) or bulbs as roots, no hairy, thorny, or spiney stems, and of course nothing with three leaves on each stem. There are some tests that can be done, but take all day. (ie you eat a small amount and wait 8 hrs for any effects, then do it again and wait 8 hrs again... ) Of course, for a test that takes a long time, make sire there is a lot (i mean like a LOT) of that plant around, not just a few bushes or something. No use in wasting time just for a fern or something small. 
What I did was familiarize myself with pretty much all the most common poisonous and edible plants in my area. Once that's done, it's a piece of cake. (Actually, you should carry sketches very well drawn because some plants are totally different but have very similar appearances... 
Like I said before, this site has a long list of edible plants as well as poisonous plants. And I do recommend you learn to recognize some common plants that are edible and how to prepare them.  :Smile:

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## Strider

to tangent210 your last thing about animals eat things that we can't ... very true. deer love to eat poison ivy... 
 :Smile:

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## Sarge47

> One are to be cautious of is fungi.  Wild mushrooms can be extremely deadly and can be difficult to tell apart from edible varieties.


I only pick & eat the Morel, which is not really a mushroom, but rather an edible fungus.  It's highly addictive when in season and sells for over $20.00 a pound at times around here.

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## trax

lmao at that one Sarge, well done. I just wanted to throw in here...I'm pretty familiar with what I can or can't eat in the environment I grew up in and spent most of my life hunting/hiking/canoeing, I'm not going to start creating lists here because one mistaken piece of advice could be very bad for the reader making the mistake.

The US Navy has a wonderful survival guide, it's about the size of the ol' family Bible and has sections on basically surviving in every environment imaginable on earth, the very basics of survival, including what's edible. For anyone spending time in the wilderness, whether they use that guide or another credible one, and there are quite a few good ones, it's worth the time to get to know those kinds of things. Even if it isn't a survival situation, one can learn some pretty interesting new additives for the camp stew. Most mushrooms are edible, that doesn't mean a person should guess, there's wild carrots, wild onions and many other yummy things out there in most woodland environments in North America.

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## Sarge47

> lmao at that one Sarge, well done. I just wanted to throw in here...I'm pretty familiar with what I can or can't eat in the environment I grew up in and spent most of my life hunting/hiking/canoeing, I'm not going to start creating lists here because one mistaken piece of advice could be very bad for the reader making the mistake.
> 
> The US Navy has a wonderful survival guide, it's about the size of the ol' family Bible and has sections on basically surviving in every environment imaginable on earth, the very basics of survival, including what's edible. For anyone spending time in the wilderness, whether they use that guide or another credible one, and there are quite a few good ones, it's worth the time to get to know those kinds of things. Even if it isn't a survival situation, one can learn some pretty interesting new additives for the camp stew. Most mushrooms are edible, that doesn't mean a person should guess, there's wild carrots, wild onions and many other yummy things out there in most woodland environments in North America.


Just avoid McDonald's and you should be alright!  ;>)

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## trax

Oh yeah, if you ever get to the point where you're so starving and thirsty that you're starting to see mirages  ...and it's MacDonald's :EEK!:   ...go ahead and kill yourself, it's too late for you my friend... :Big Grin:   :Big Grin:    (Or you could just keep crawling right past I suppose) :Cool:

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## Sarge47

> Oh yeah, if you ever get to the point where you're so starving and thirsty that you're starting to see mirages  ...and it's MacDonald's  ...go ahead and kill yourself, it's too late for you my friend...    (Or you could just keep crawling right past I suppose)


Would you happen to know where someone might find a copy of the Navy surl book you mentioned?

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## trax

Public library in a town I lived in many years ago is where I got it, Sarge. It had to go back :Frown:   They really did seem to cover things quite well, too.

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## wareagle69

hopefully its not a false morrel sarge

  peronally i have over 10 books in my library just on edible plants, i have also purchased a nikon f 40 to use for my own folder on plants in my local area and in sept am taking a 3 day course from a couple who live primarily off the land.  once again great reason for my camera.

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## Sarge47

> hopefully its not a false morrel sarge
> 
>   peronally i have over 10 books in my library just on edible plants, i have also purchased a nikon f 40 to use for my own folder on plants in my local area and in sept am taking a 3 day course from a couple who live primarily off the land.  once again great reason for my camera.


Been pretty fortunate so far,Wolf bro.  The false Morel is solid where the true morel is hollow, right? :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):

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## trax

Volwest,

That could be, overall, the best posting I've read here yet. Keep 'em coming. 

Go Wolfpack!

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## wareagle69

hey sarge 

 i am not aware of the true morrel being hollow,for me the true morrel is rather phallic in shape and size where the false morrel is shaped like a brain(quit snickering everyone) from what i have read from several sources you could actually eat the false morrel in small amounts and not get ill,now that being said, with all edible fungi and mushrooms eveyone has the potential to react differently i may be able to eat lots of portobella and trax may get ill from just one bite.  volwest is right on when he says that of all the aspects of survival that knowing which foods toeat in the wild is the most diffucult skill to learn and master.  in my collection i have a few books on knots a few on map reading and afew on survival but i have amassed over 20 on edible   plants  and mushrooms                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

 if you know the difference other than i can explain please fill me in , but that is an experiment that i will try to find an answer to 


    always be prepared

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## Sarge47

> hey sarge 
> 
>  i am not aware of the true morrel being hollow,for me the true morrel is rather phallic in shape and size where the false morrel is shaped like a brain(quit snickering everyone) from what i have read from several sources you could actually eat the false morrel in small amounts and not get ill,now that being said, with all edible fungi and mushrooms eveyone has the potential to react differently i may be able to eat lots of portobella and trax may get ill from just one bite.  volwest is right on when he says that of all the aspects of survival that knowing which foods toeat in the wild is the most diffucult skill to learn and master.  in my collection i have a few books on knots a few on map reading and afew on survival but i have amassed over 20 on edible   plants  and mushrooms                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
> 
>  if you know the difference other than i can explain please fill me in , but that is an experiment that i will try to find an answer to 
> 
> 
>     always be prepared


Well, according to my Peterson Field guide of  "edible Wild Plants" you are right.  It actually describes the False Morel as being "convoluted like a brain (not pitted)", also they "have caps that hang skirtlike about the stem (not attached at lower end)"  Finally it warns "avoid morel-like mushrooms in the summer and fall; they are usually false morels."  :Stick Out Tongue:  There is also instructions at the top of the page (pg238) that reads "WARNING: There are no foolproof methods for determining edible or poisonous mushrooms.  Beginners should limit themselves to the four readily identifiable species below."  One of the four listed is the Morel. :Wink:    I have never got a bad one, but then I've been taught the difference.  That being said, even the well-educated Dr. Ron hood got a bad one on his "solo" camping trip; it's on one of his videos.  I always look for morels in April to early May.  Once you've seen the real kind your usually pretty safe.  However (tongue is going into cheek) if any of you pick some and you want me to check them out to make sure they're edible let me know & I'll come get 'em. :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):

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## wareagle69

hey sarge left you a post somewhere else about this but you are correct the false morrel is hollow and little critters love to hide out in it, i am fortunate enough to have found a couple of experienced people in wild foods in my local as volwest suggests learning you local area i feel much more confident to live in the woods with less gear armed with more knowlege and experience thanks for the tip always love to research things that i read about


   always be prepared

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## HOP

I wish I had a litle more info on this story but I think it is worth sharing anyway
There was this young guy that when he graduated from coledge he went on the road did a lot of foraging and geting with people of that life style he went to Alaska and went into the wildernes s with a 20lb bag of rice and a rifle and he was very good at forageing and hunting but he was found with plenty of fod with him in his casmp but he was starved to death . It turns out he was eating a tubar proabably think it was a indian potato or some thing and this tubar caused his body to stop obsorbing the nutrition from the food he was eating.
Myself I injoy oserving edible foods in the wild but just can't take that first bite with the exception of wild ramps here in WV.

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## jdbushcraft

> I wish I had a litle more info on this story but I think it is worth sharing anyway
> There was this young guy that when he graduated from coledge he went on the road did a lot of foraging and geting with people of that life style he went to Alaska and went into the wildernes s with a 20lb bag of rice and a rifle and he was very good at forageing and hunting but he was found with plenty of fod with him in his casmp but he was starved to death . It turns out he was eating a tubar proabably think it was a indian potato or some thing and this tubar caused his body to stop obsorbing the nutrition from the food he was eating.
> Myself I injoy oserving edible foods in the wild but just can't take that first bite with the exception of wild ramps here in WV.


Better check that story again, and not the TV version.  McCandles died of starvation. He was out of food and very obviously emaciated when found.  They have pretty well dismissed the plant poisoning theory. He just plain and simple didn't have enough food.  Foraging for plants doesn't provide many calories unless you eat many pounds of them a day.

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## jdbushcraft

> hey sarge left you a post somewhere else about this but you are correct the false morrel is hollow and little critters love to hide out in it, i am fortunate enough to have found a couple of experienced people in wild foods in my local as volwest suggests learning you local area i feel much more confident to live in the woods with less gear armed with more knowlege and experience thanks for the tip always love to research things that i read about
> 
> 
>    always be prepared


False morels are not deadly and some people can eat them with no problem.  Some can't eat true morels without stomach upset.

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## Rick

You know, of course, that HOP hasn't been around in seven years and that post is nine years old?

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## jdbushcraft

> You know, of course, that HOP hasn't been around in seven years and that post is nine years old?


It was in timeline at the top with the new posts.  I only read timeline and subscribed .

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## oldsoldier

> I definitely prefer Survivorman .


 He's to busy chasing bigfoot now!

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