MIRACLES OF OAK & ELDERS

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WHERE FOUND: Elder is found throughout the United States. It does well along rivers and streams. There are many species of elder, and their preferred locales include chaparral hillsides, high elevations, low canyon bottoms, open fields, and even vacant lots.

GROWING CYCLE: Elder grows to a small tree. The flowers can be gathered in spring and the berries ripen around late summer.

Excerpted from In the Footsteps of Our Ancestors: Guide to Wild Foods which is available from the School of Self-Reliance, P.O. Box 41834, Eagle Rock, CA, 90041, (213) 2559502, for $15 plus $2 for shipping.

GUIDELINES FOR COLLECTING PLANTS

When discovering new or old plants there are no general laws or quick "rules-of-thumb" that enable you to know immediately whether a plant is edible or poisonous.

Before picking any plant, consider what you will be using it for, and only gather the amount you need. There is no reason to uproot an entire plant.

Carefully pick each leaf from the plant so that the least damage is suffered. Also, no plant should be stripped bare of all its leaves; this will drastically reduce the 'plant's ability to produce its own food. When the leaves are carefully gathered by selective pruning the plant will continue to mature and produce seeds, and in many cases will live longer as a result of that careful pruning. When gathering and pruning, one should always consider the need of wildlife, the next forager, and the future generations of plants.

Abundance of a plant should also be considered. If you see only a few of a particular type, it may be best to leave them alone.

When digging perennial tubers, corms, bulbs, and tap roots, the smallest roots should always be replanted so they continue growing and reproducing.

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