Plants You Can Eat (and a few you shouldn't).

After watching a few survival shows on TV that my sons love, I decided to Google a bit and see what sorts of plants we could eat if we really did have to forage for ourselves for a short period of time.  Here are some of the results.  I did make sure that all can be found at least in North America.  As always, do your own research and be very careful.


Amaranth - You can eat all parts of the plant, but be careful of spines that appear on some of the leaves.



Asparagus - Yup, you can find these in the wild.  It does have a thinner stalk than what I might find at Safeway.



Burdock - You can eat the leaves and the peeled stalks of the plant either raw or boiled. Leaves are bitter so a little boiling helps a lot.



Cattail - I remember seeing this growing up and it never occured to me that I could eat them!  You can boil or eat raw the rootstock, or rhizomes, of the plant.



Clover - Another common plant that it would not have occured to me to eat.  Better boiled but you can eat 'em raw as well.



Chicory - My uncle used to add this to coffee, along with a pinch of salt, for flavor.  From the site where I found this, "You can eat the entire plant. Pluck off the young leaves and eat them raw or boil them. The chicory’s roots will become tasty after boiling. And you can pop the flowers in your mouth for a quick snack."



Chickweed - You can eat the leaves raw or boiled.  I have seen these but did not realize you can eat them.



Curled Dock - Wasn't aware of this plant but will keep my eye out for them.  You can eat the stalk raw or boiled. Just peel off the outer layers first.



Dandelion - I do remember eating these as a kid but I wasn't sure it was okay. The entire plant is edible- roots, leaves, and flower. Eat the leaves while they’re still young; mature leaves taste bitter.



Fireweed -  Doesn't sound very edible!  "It’s best eaten young when the leaves are tender. Mature fireweed plants have tough and bitter tasting leaves. You can eat the stalk of the plant as well. The flowers and seeds have a peppery taste."



Plantain - These always looked like lettuce to me but I never tried eating one.  It’s best to eat the leaves when they’re young.



And, a few things to avoid . . . . . . .

• Milky or discolored sap
• Spines, fine hairs, or thorns
• Beans, bulbs, or seeds inside pods
• Bitter or soapy taste
• Dill, carrot, parsnip, or parsley-like foliage
• “Almond” scent in the woody parts and leaves
• Grain heads with pink, purplish, or black spurs
• Three-leaved growth pattern

Please share your thoughts, corrections, etc., in the comments section.