Wild Edibles Part 3

     Some Plants have edible stems, although many are too woody to eat. If they are soft, peel off the outer, stringy parts, slice and then boil. The inner pith of some stem is nutritious and sweet, elder, for example.  In this case the stem must be split open and the pulp extracted.

         Stems produce fewer nutrients for the survivor than the roots, shoots and leaves so put them at the bottom of food choices and exploit their other uses. Fibrous stems, like those of stringing nettles, make good twine.

Good King Henry is spiky, 2 foot tall with dull green triangular leaves, sometimes reddening, and spikes of tiny greenish flowers, common on waste ground. leaves and young shoots are edible raw or boiled as spinach, peel the roots to remove the stringy parts.

Fat Hen or Lamb's Quarters is spiky, 3 foot high with often reddish stems, dull green, mealy, oval to spear shaped leaves and spikes of tiny greenish flowers, abundant on waste ground. cook the tasty leaves like spinach.

Chickweed is a straggling to 1 foot high, with a line of hairs on the main stem, pointed, oval leaves and tiny white, five petal flower, common in waste places. Boil the delicious tender leaves.

Watercress is often found in abundance by fresh running water. It is creeping semi-aquatic, with shiny leaves in opposite pairs and small white four petal flowers. (DO NOT CONFUSE WITH THE WATER HEMLOCK). Leaves and stems are edible raw, but boil if the water looks contaminated.

Rosebay Willow Herb or Fireweed is found in open woods, waste and rocky places. It is about 5ft tall or more with spear shaped leaves in opposite pairs and a spike of brilliant pinkish flowers. Young leaves, flowers and stems are edible raw but taste better boiled. Mature stems have a sweetish inner pulp.

Sweet Cicely grows to around 5ft with slightly hairy and often purplish stems, feathery fern like leaves flecked with white and heads of tiny white flowers. You can find these in open woods and rocky places. (DO NOT CONFUSE WITH HEMLOCK) Roots, stems and leaves should be boiled.

Dead Nettles are smaller than stinging settles, with heart shaped leaves and no stringing hairs with white or pinkish/purplish flowers. Boil the leaves before eating.

Stinging Nettles are abundant for most of the year. Look for the toothed, narrow oval leaves covered in stinging hairs and the spikes of green flowers. Pick young growth or young plants 6-8 inches high. Boil for a minimum of 5 minutes to destroy the formic acid in the hairs. Leaves can be dried and stored for consumption later. You can crush the stems and use the fibers from them as make shift rope.

Plantains can be found in a variety of areas. Ribwort or English Plantain has spear shaped leaves and  much shorter flower spikes than the Greater Plantain. This is a bitter tasting plant and the leaves should be cooked like spinach, and the juice can be used for wounds, and the decoction of the whole plant for chest pain complaints. So over all this is a pretty useful plant to find in the wilderness!!

Bucks horn Plantain can be found in waste and grassy places often near the ocean, and is a small star shaped plant with narrow jagged leaves and shorter flower spikes. This is also a bitter tasting plant and the leaves should be cooked like spinach, the juices can also be used for wounds, and just like other Plantains the decoction of the whole plant for chest pain complaints.

Greater or Rat's Tail Plantain is also found in  in waste lands and grassy places. This plant had broad, oval leaves and distinctive upright spikes of tiny yellowish green and brown flowers. This is also a bitter tasting plant and the leaves should be cooked like spinach, the juices can also be used for wounds, and just like other Plantains the decoction of the whole plant for chest pain complaints.



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Hi Everyone, I just wanted to give a quick update (5/20/15) We have added a New Ruffs Backyard Chicken Blog and a New Ruffs Backyard Chicken Channel If you are interested in getting some Chickens for your Backyard or you already have some please check our New Blog and New Channel out, There is a lot of helpful information on both, and just some everyday things on there we do with our chickens!! If you like them, Please Subscribe, we add new videos to our channel at least 4 times a week, and we add new post to our blog a couple times a week, Don't forget to share them on G+, give them a Thumbs up if you enjoyed it!! Thanks for all the support and if you have any Questions or comments just leave them in the comment area below, we will get back to you as quickly as we can!! Thanks again!! --Karen

Ruff Survival is giving away a Brand New Bear Grylls Paracord Knife

Yes, You have read right. Ruff Survival will be giving away a Brand New Paracord Knife...

So what do You have to do to win this very awesome Knife?? Well, You first need to leave a comment either here on the blog in the comment section Or On our Youtube channel in the comment section under this video... http://www.youtube.com/user/ruffsurvival (that is our channel) and tell us that You want in, and then tell us why you like the bear grylls knife and why you want it. That's all, it doesn't have to be a paragraph, you can wright as much or as little as you want, but just let us know Why you like it and Why you want it and let us know that you want in on the giveaway. That's all you have to do.
The Drawing will be held on June 1st 2013, the winner will be announce on Youtube by Video and also here on our blog.
Don't forget to subscribe so that you can keep up with the contest, we will have several through out the summer.
Thanks to all and Good Luck!!!

Wild Edible Plants, Part 2 Shoots, Leaves, flowers and Weeds

More about Wild Edibles, Young Shoots, Flowers and Leaves...

     PLEASE REMEMBER, DON'T EAT ANYTHING THAT YOU DO NOT ABSOLUTELY KNOW WHAT IT IS!! THIS COULD KILL YOU. IF YOU ARE UNSURE, DON'T EAT IT!!!

     

As in all of our post about Wild Edibles we will include a picture of each

       

      In spring and summer young shoots are tender and easy to pick. Some can be eaten raw, but many are much better when boiled or cooked gently, especially Solomon's Seal, Willow Herb, Cats tail, and bracken. Wash them in clean water, rub off any hairs and boil in a little water so that they cook main in the steam.

      Leaves are very rich in vitamins and mineral. Together with young shoots they are the survivor's easiest source of food. Most will taste better cooked but do not over cook them, as you will destroy all the great vitamins that they contain, Such as Vitamins B, K, E, C, and huge amounts of Vitamin A.

Lets start off with something that Grows everywhere, and most people are very familiar with...

Dandelions

   Dandelions grow in many forms almost everywhere. Look for large, yellow to orange flower head or the rosette of deeply lobed leaves. Eat the young leaves raw and boil the older leaves. Change the water once or twice while boiling to help remove the bitter taste. Boil the roots or roast for coffee. Dandelion juice is rich in vitamins and minerals.

Shepherd's Purse

   Shepherd's Purse or Mother's Heart can reach 2 foot, with a
rosette of lobed, spear shaped leaves and a spike of small white flowers, common just about everywhere, it is a very troublesome weed, so it wont be hard to find. Boil the leaves, which taste like cabbage and mix with other plants. You can also make tea out of this plant, which is know to help different kinds of ailments.

Chicory

Chicory is a common plant or weed, It grows about 4 foot with thick, hairy, deeply basal leaves and leafy spikes of clear blue dandelion like flowers. Eat the young leaves raw and boil the older leaves. Change the water once or twice to get rid of any bitterness while boiling. Boil or roast the roots for coffee.

White Mustard

White Mustard grows 2 foot, with a hairy stem, crinkly, deeply lobed leaves and pale yellow flowers. You can find this weed just
about anywhere, from here in the USA to China. The young peppery leaves and flowers are edible raw. You can eat the whole plant and it's very tasty cooked.

Wild Sorrel

Wild Sorrel is a common weed and gets about 3 foot tall. It can be found in grassy fields, along roadsides, and in waste places. Its found in different climates all around the world. It has arrow shaped leaves and spikes of tiny reddish and green flowers. Wild Sorrel is very Mineral rich, and the leaves are edible raw, but cooking will reduce the sharp flavor. Change the water once or twice during boiling to get rid of the bitter flavor.

Wood Sorrel

Wood Sorrel is a very common weed, looks almost exactly like clovers. It is an incredible thirst quencher and is refreshing to eat. 
The leaves, flowers, and immature green seed pods are all edible having a mild sour flavor almost like lemons.  It can be added to salads, used in soups, sauces and it can also be used as a seasoning. You can make a Wild sorrel tea, and when cooled can make a refreshing beverage especially when sweetened with honey. This plant is very useful, it is cooling and soothing to the stomach and relieves indigestion. (which is a fantastic natural remedy when in a survival situation).



Primroses

Cowslip

Primroses, Cowslips and Ox slip are all variations of one typical plant the Primula. The primrose is a hedge bank flower, loving woods, partial shade, and a moist soil. The cowslip is a pasture Ox slip loves moisture and full sun, so you will usually find these In a grassy field. You can Identify these by their rosette of
crinkly, tapering basal leaves and long stalked, five petal flowers,

Ox slip

which range from pale to bright yellow and in some forms, pink. All
parts of these plants are edible, but the younger leaves are the best part of the plant to eat.
flower, loving a somewhat dry soil and full exposure. The

Buckwheat grows in grassy places, such as fields and Temperate

Buckwheat

parts of the world. Its 2 foot stems are usually red, with spear shaped leave and clusters of small pink or white flowers. Its seeds make a good edible grain.

Curled Dock

Curled Dock (other common names include Curled Dock, Yellow Dock, Yaller Dock, Sour Dock, Bitter Dock, Blood wort, Coffee weed, Garden patience, Narrow dock, Out-sting, Winter Dock) grows between 3-5 foot. You can find the Curled Dock in fields, highway ditches, waste grounds, disturbed soils, riverbanks, and found Coast to Coast in North America. The leaves have a coarse

Curly dock (yellow dock)

texture with long narrow, wavy margin leaves with noticeably curled edges. Small veins curve out towards the edge of the leaf and then back in towards the central vein. The older leaves have a red primary vein. The small greenish flowers grow in dense heads up a spiral. Each Flower has six pedals which are green, white or pink in color. The base of the stalk is a basal rosette of leaves. The leaves grow in a circular pattern and are about 2 foot long, The seeds are dark brown, and are heart

White Curled Dock

shaped or triangular shaped.  Boil the tenderest leaves from young plants, changing the water once or twice to remove the bitterness. The Curled Dock can take two years to reach its flowering point.
This is a very valuable plant to find because of its many other uses...
Curly dock acts as an astringent to treat wounds and bleeding. Application of a dock compress helps with skin irritations and rubbing the leaves on your skin can relieve the itchy symptoms of a stinging nettle rash. A poultice of the roots has been used to treat iron-deficiency anemia for centuries. It's also a blood purifier and liver decongestant because the poultice stimulates the liver to produce bile.



Thanks for reading, please bookmark our blog for more about wild edibles, We will be posting about 10 or more post about this subject alone. This is really valuable information. Print it out, study it, get to know the plants around you. It is so important to know what you can eat if you are ever in a survival situation. Teach your children, show them what kinds of plants are safe to eat.
Don't forget to checkout our YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/ruffsurvival.
Thanks for reading, and if you didn't get the chance to read part 1 of Wild Edibles, please CLICK HERE.
Thanks Eric From Ruff Survival

Wild Edible Plants, Part 1

There are many Temperate edible plants in addition to those illustrated, including wild forms of cultivated plants such as currents and gooseberries. In The Next few Post I will be covering as many edible plants that I can find, I will add pictures of each plant so that you may easily identify them.

I hope that you are able to try at least a few of the plants that I go over here, some are extremely tasteful and fun to try.

Please REMEMBER that although one part of a plant may be edible another part could be poisonous. Test leaves, stems, roots and fruits separately. And get as much information as possible before going out and just eating whatever you find.

So, lets start with some of the basic edible plants that may be pretty well known.

FRUITS


Wild Blackberries

Wild Raspberries

Evergreen Huckleberries

Wild Dewberries

Wild purple grapes

Red Huckleberries

It's always important to be certain of what you're gathering before you eat it, but this is especially true when it comes to wild berries. Some, like wild blackberries, are readily identified and hard to mistake for anything but equally-delicious wild raspberries and dewberries. Huckleberries and Blueberries are also pretty easy to identify.  Others, like wild grapes and rose hips, can be tricky to identify correctly and have toxic lookalikes.





Black Huckleberries

Rose Hips

Wild Strawberries

Wild strawberries are hard to spot but easy to identify. The plants grow in widespread patches low on the ground and have small white flowers. The berries themselves look like miniaturized versions of supermarket strawberries, but are far sweeter and more flavorful. You may not find more than a handful, but they are well worth the time spent.
If you are ever in the UK, Currents and Gooseberries found in woods, scrubs, and waste places are medium sized (about 4.9 foot tall) and are usually bushy shrubs, with toothed leaves


Black Currents

Red Currents

resembling those of a maple, small greenish-white to purple five-petal flowers and red, purplish black or yellow berries. Ripe currents are edible raw, cook gooseberries. Currents where outlawed here in the US in the 20th century. But you may find some still lingering around in different areas.


Red Gooseberries

Gooseberry bush



wild yellow Chickasaw plum

wild red plum

Plums exist in many varieties in scrub and woodland in virtually all temperate areas. Small shrubs or trees, similar to wild cherries, their fruits are larger, downy, blackish-purple, red or yellow; some are too tart to be edible raw.






ROOTS, LEAVES AND STEMS

Horseradish

Horseradish grow to 20 inches in a damp waste place with large, long stalked, wavy-edged oval leaves and clusters of tiny white flowers. Chop up the hot tasting root and add it to stews, the young leaves are edible when boiled.

Common Evening primrose

Common Evening Primrose is a tall plant of drier open areas, leafy, hairy, with spear shaped, crinkly-margin leaves and sometimes reddish flower-stalks topped with large yellow, four petal flowers. The roots are edible boiled, changing the water to ease their pungency. Peel young leaves and treat likewise. The plants overwinter as rosettes.

Lime or Basswood

Limes or Basswoods are tall trees, up to 85 foot high, which like damp woods, with large, heart shaped, toothed leaves and clusters of scented yellow flowers. Young leaves and unopened leaf buds are edible raw, the flowers can be used in tea.



Hops

Hops are climbing plants of woody and scrubby places that have long twisted stems, toothed leaves, deeply cut into three lobes, and green, cone shaped female flowers. Peel, slice and boil the young shoots, brew up the flowers.

Thistle

Thistles have spiny, often ridged stems, oblong or spear-shaped, prickly, deep-cut leaves and large bush like heads of purplish flowers. Remove prickles and boil young leaves. Peel tender shoots and eat raw or boiled. Roots of younger, stemless plants can be cooked and the base of each flower head contains a nutritious nut which can be eaten raw.

Saxifrages grow to 3 foot, usually much less, often liking open,

Saxifrages

rocky country, up into mountains. Most have rounded tapering or long-stalked leaves arcing from the base, often reddish stems and clusters of five petal flowers, usually white. Leaves are edible raw or cooked.

Great Burnet

Great Burnet reaches 2 foot, found in damper, grassy places, with toothed, spade shaped leaflets in opposite pairs and oblong heads of tiny, deep red flowers. Eat the tasty young leaves raw or boiled.

Redleg or Lady's Thumb reaches 2 foot. With reddish mature

Lady's Thumb

stems, narrow, spear shaped, usually dark-spotted leaves and spikes of tiny pink flowers. Often common on waste ground. Young leaves are edible raw or cooked like spinach.

Wild Rhubarb

Wild Rhubarb found in open grassy places and margins from southern Europe to China, resembles cultivated rhubarb, but its leaves are more ragged and dissected. The large flower stalks are edible boiled, other parts are NOT EDIBLE, ONLY EAT THE STALKS.



Bladder Campion

Bladder Campion grows to 18 inches in grassy places, is gray green, with pointed oval stalkless leaves, cluster of white flowers with a swollen balloon like base. Boil the young leaves for 10 minutes.

Field Pennycress

Field Pennycress grows to 18 inches in open grassy places, with broad, toothed, spear shaped clasping the stem, a head of tiny white flowers and distinctive, notched, coin like seed pods. Leaves are edible raw or boiled.

Red Clover



plain clover

Clovers are abundant in grassy areas, recognized by theirdistinctive trefoil leaflets and
dense rounded heads of small
flowers, ranging from white to greenish cream to even shades of red. Leaves are edible raw but better boiled. (everyone should know what a clover looks like)

Stork's Bill

Stork's Bill reaching 1 foot, found in open grassy areas is hairy, often pungent, with fern like, twice cut leaves and heads of tiny, five petal pinkish to white flowers whose fruits form a long, twisting "bill'' Eat leaves raw or boiled.



Burdocks

Burdocks, medium to large, bushy plans of open waste areas, have floppy oval leaves, often arching stems and many purplish thistle like flower heads that develop into clinging burs. Eat leaves and peeled stalks raw or boiled. Boil pitch of peeled root. Change the water a few times to remove bitterness.

Violets are small flowers found in many areas, including damp and

Wild purple Violets

wooded ones. Veined, crinkly, often heart shaped leaves rise on long stalks  with flowers in
shades of blue-violet, yellow or white, made up of five unequal petals. Cook young leaves. Violets are rich in vitamins A and C.

Wild White and Purple Violets



Corn Salad or Lambs Lettuce

Corn Salad or Lamb's Lettuce grows to 4-8 inches in bare rocky and grassy places. Well-branched, with oblong, stalkless leaves and clusters of tiny lilac bluish flowers; its leaves are edible raw or cooked like spinach. A particularly useful plant to know because it grows from late winter on towards summer.

Ox-Eyed Daisy

Ox-eye daisies often common in open areas, average about 3 foot tall, with narrow dark green, lobed leaves, the lower ones rounded, and large white and yellow daisy like flowers. Overwinters as a rosette. Eat young leaves, the lighter green ones, raw.

Cuckoo Flower or Lady's Smock  Found mostly in the UK, and grows on a damp ground up to

Lady's Smock or Cuckoo Flower

20 inches, with many small leaflets in opposite pairs, roundish on the basal ones which form a rosette, and clusters of lilac or white, four petal flowers. Young leaves are tasty raw, older leaves are a little peppery.

Brooklime

     






Brooklime    grows in shallow water and swamps. Its creeping to upright stems carry pairs of thick, oval, toothed leaves, from the stalk bases of which spring 3-10 inches spikes of four petal blue flowers with two prominent stamens. Eat young shoots before flowering and leaves after. Slightly bitter, eat like a watercress.





Thanks for Reading, Please bookmark this blog/page for future reference, We will be posting more about Wild Edibles over the next week or so. There is a lot of things that we still have to talk about and show, so stay tuned. And don't forget to visit my YouTube Channel for other great tips and videos, http://www.youtube.com/user/ruffsurvival. Thanks again, please feel free to leave any questions or comments below!!

Eric from Ruff Survival