AT HOME IN THE WILDERNESS PART V: EDIBLE PLANTS

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Tom Brown, Jr. Was brought up in the way of the woods by a displaced Apache named Stalking Wolf. Today, he is one of our country’s leading outdoors experts, author of The Tracker and The Search, and head of one of the largest tracking and wilderness survival schools in the U.S. (write Tom Brown, Jr., Dept. TMEN, Box 173, Asbury, New Jersey 08802). Tom has agreed to do a series of special features for MOTHER, articles that will help us all learn how to survive in the wilds. With the Tracker’s guidance, we can become more…

Tom Brown, Jr.
It's very difficult to write a survival article on wild foods that will be relevant to readers in a broad range of areas and terrains. Therefore, I've tried to include a variety of widely distributed plants that can be easily identified and are—for the most part—to be found throughout the year.

Remember, though, that when a person sets out to gather wild edibles, he or she must do so with a great deal of caution. Some people, for example, might have allergic reactions to otherwise "safe" plants, and a number of factors—including the time of collection and method of preparation—can make a big difference in both the safety and the palatability of many free foods. You should never, of course, pick plants close to roadways, polluted waterways, croplands, or any other place where chemical sprays or fumes could have contaminated them.
Furthermore, the forager should never eat a plant that looks unhealthy, or one that he or she can't identify beyond the shadow of a doubt. Whenever my survival school students collect wild edibles, I ask them whether they'd stake their lives on their ability to identify the species at hand . . . because that, in fact, is just what they'll be doing when they eat it. So use a good Held manual on the subject . . . preferably one that contains both sketches and photographs showing leaf, root, flower, and stalk structure, and—when possible—get some training from a wild-plants expert in your area (both the common names of and, surprisingly, the appearance of some plants will change from one locale to another).

GENERAL TIPS
A person in a survival situation will likely find that roots and tubers are most easily gathered with a "digging stick" (a sturdy branch pointed at one end). When working in rocky soil, it's a good idea to fire-harden the point by heating—but not burning—it over glowing coals. The digger is then pushed into the ground next to the plant, and the root is levered out.