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