Be Safe, While Enjoying Wild Edibles
By Sergei BoutenkoWhile there are countless benefits associated with eating wild foods such as breathing fresh air, exercise, premium nutrition, and more food diversity, there are also some risks. When you are harvesting wild plants for food, you are almost guaranteed that the edible plants will be sharing their living space with non-edible ones. These non-edibles may range in toxicity from mild to extreme. If you are like me, then you too would like to avoid any form of poisoning whether it be a mild headache or death. For this reason it is a good idea to first learn how to positively identify the edible plants and then exercise caution when gathering them for food. Doing so will help you to maintain your health and joy for life. In this article let us look more closely at what defines a poisonous plant as well as some good techniques for properly identifying the edible ones.
Over the last year and a half I have been traveling around the globe giving presentations about edible plants. From my travels I have learned two things… First, no matter where I go, people eagerly want to know more about weeds and wild edibles! Secondly, there is a lot of confusion about harvesting of wild edibles, with people wanting to know how to differentiate between the edible and the poisonous ones.
I have found that the term “poisonous” is very loosely defined and is easily swayed by personal bias and medical backgrounds. For example, experts coming from backgrounds of toxicology, botany, and medicine claim that there are more plant poisonous plants than those experts who come from Native American teachings and the like. Unfortunately, these inconsistencies in opinion only add to the confusion about wild edibles as many edible plants are classified “poisonous” simply due to the author’s opinion.
Thus far, my research has lead me to the believe that out of thousands of healthful, edible plants in nature there are relatively few poisonous ones that should not be eaten. There are approximately 150 poisonous plants, give or take a few, that are not recommended for consumption. Out of these 150 plants there are only about 50 plants that are considered to be highly poisonous and may lead to death. The rest are classified as mildly poisonous. This means that out of 150 plants, 100 of them may cause nausea, headache, and /or stomachache, but will not kill the eater and only 50 have the potential for death.
I think that this is a very encouraging thought because it is relatively easy to learn to identify and stay away from 50 plants. This can be accomplished in less than a month if you were to learn two a day. Once you learn all 50, the chances of getting poisoned to death are severely decreased if not eradicated completely. Even if you ingest one of the 100 mildly poisonous plants, the side effects will not be extreme. Keep in mind, that many of the so called “mildly poisonous” plants are considered edible depending on which book you reference.
Below is a list of the MOST POISONOUS plants in North America. If you are curious about wild edibles, then I suggest that you familiarize yourself with the poisonous plants that are most prevalent in your area. Enter the names of the plants into an Internet based search engine for see what they look like.
Aconitum, Autumn crocus, Angel’s trumpet, Azalea, Bittersweet nightshade, Bleeding heart, Black locust, Black nightshade, Buttercup, Caladium, Caster Oil plant, Daffodil, Daphne, Darnel, Datura, Deadly nightshade, Deathcamas, Delphinium, Dogbane, Doll’s eyes, Dumbcane, European Holly, False Hellebore, Foxglove, Hemlock, Henbane, Horse chestnut, Ivy, Jequirity, Jerusalem cherry, Jimson weed, Laburnum, Larkspur, Lilies, Manchineel, Mayapple, Monkshood, Moonseed, Oleander, Poison-ivy, Poison-oak, Pokeweed, Privet, Southwest coral bean, Star of Bethlehem, Water hemlock, White snakeroot, Yellow flag, Yellow jessmine, Yew.
At the same time I urge you to take caution when harvesting wild foods, I do not want to scare you away from eating wild foods altogether. I think that harvesting wild edibles is like crossing the street in a cross walk, it is safe, but you still want to look both way! It is best to avoid any sort of poisoning be it mild or severe. Let us now consider a few tried and true techniques that will help to further minimizing your chances of getting poisoned.
First, knowledge is power! The best way to stay safe is to through good old-fashion education! The Internet is an invaluable tool for this. Using the Internet you can track down a wild crafters in your general area and take a wild food workshop from him or her! I recommended the hands-on method because it enables the information you learn to stay with you longer. I have noticed that if I take time to really look at an edible plant; to notice how many leaves it has, what shape the leaves are, if it has any marking or discolorations, etc. I will remember this plant forever! During a wild foods workshop this is exactly what you will be doing, looking at plants and describing them.
Another way to stay safe is by purchasing a good book on wild edibles. I have purchased many books published on wild edibles and have been disappointed by most of them due to the poor quality of their photos and confusing descriptions. When purchasing a book, make sure you settle one with clear, color photographs of the plants. It is also wise to think about book size, because ideally, you want a book compact enough to take with you when you go to harvest. Here are a few titles that I recommend: Fresh: the ultimate raw cookbook by Sergei & Valya Boutenko , Discovering Wild Plants by Janice Schfield, Edible & Medicinal Plants of the Rockies by Linda Kershaw, and Edible Wild Plants by Thomas S. Elias & Peter A. Dykeman.
Lastly, another cheap method for identifying plants is to ask the Internet. For Example, if I am hiking and I see a plant I am unfamiliar with, I will take a picture of it and describe it to google.com when I get home. Since in this situation, I do not know the name of the plant, I will start by telling the search engine what it looks like, i.e. five purple petals, heart-shaped green leaves, etc. Then I might mention the geographical area where I found the plant: mountains, desert, by a lake, Northern California, Southern Oregon, etc. Then I hit the search button and pray for a miracle. On average, the search engine will generate anywhere from 1,000 to 2,000 results. I look through the photos until I find one that resembles the picture that I took. Now I have a name, “wild violet.” Just to be safe, I search “wild violet” in the same search engine to make sure that someone did not mislabel the plant. If at this point I see 2,000 more picture resembling the one I took, then I can be pretty confident that I have positively identified the plant. However, my job is not complete for I still would like to know whether the plant is edible… Since I now know the name of the plant, I can either search for the answer online or consult a wild edible book, which is the better bet!
As an educator I feel responsible not only for my own wellbeing, but for the wellbeing of those I teach. I would like to reiterate that harvesting wild edibles is fun, healthful, and safe when done properly! Please take the time to educate yourself and your loved ones! Finally if you are ever in doubt about whether a plant is edible or not, please, please don’t eat it!
