Home Back List Next

Chapter 9

Survival Use of Plants

After having solved the problems of finding water, shelter, and animal food, you will have to consider the use of plants you can eat. In a survival situation you should always be on the lookout for familiar wild foods and live off the land whenever possible.

You must not count on being able to go for days without food as some sources would suggest. Even in the most static survival situation, maintaining health through a complete and nutritious diet is essential to maintaining strength and peace of mind.

Nature can provide you with food that will let you survive almost any ordeal, if you don't eat the wrong plant. You must therefore learn as much as possible beforehand about the flora of the region where you will be operating. Plants can provide you with medicines in a survival situation. Plants can supply you with weapons and raw materials to construct shelters and build fires. Plants can even provide you with chemicals for poisoning fish, preserving animal hides, and for camouflaging yourself and your equipment.

NOTE: You will find illustrations of the plants described in this chapter in Appendixes B and C.

EDIBILITY OF PLANTS

9-1. Plants are valuable sources of food because they are widely available, easily procured, and, in the proper combinations, can meet all your nutritional needs.

WARNING

The critical factor in using plants for food is to avoid accidental poisoning. Eat only those plants you can positively identify and you know are safe to eat.

9-2. Absolutely identify plants before using them as food. Poison hemlock has killed people who mistook it for its relatives, wild carrots and wild parsnips.

9-3. You may find yourself in a situation where you have had the chance to learn the plant life of the region in which you must survive. In this case you can use the Universal Edibility Test to determine which plants you can eat and which to avoid.

9-4. It is important to be able to recognize both cultivated and wild edible plants in a survival situation. Most of the information in this chapter is directed toward identifying wild plants because information relating to cultivated plants is more readily available.

9-5. Consider the following when collecting wild plants for food:

WARNING

Do not eat mushrooms in a survival situation! The only way to tell if a mushroom is edible is by positive identification. There is no room for experimentation. Symptoms caused by the most dangerous mushrooms affecting the central nervous system may not show up until several days after ingestion. By that time, it is too late to reverse their effects.

PLANT IDENTIFICATION

9-6. You identify plants, other than by memorizing particular varieties through familiarity, by using such factors as leaf shape and margin, leaf arrangements, and root structure.

9-7. The basic leaf margins (Figure 9-1) are toothed, lobed, and toothless or smooth.

Figure 9-1. Leaf Margins

Figure 9-1. Leaf Margins

9-8. These leaves may be lance-shaped, elliptical, egg-shaped, oblong, wedge-shaped, triangular, long-pointed, or top-shaped (Figure 9-2).

Figure 9-2. Leaf Shapes

Figure 9-2. Leaf Shapes

9-9. The basic types of leaf arrangements (Figure 9-3) are opposite, alternate, compound, simple, and basal rosette.

Figure 9-3. Leaf Arrangements

Figure 9-3. Leaf Arrangements

9-10. The basic types of root structures are the taproot, tuber, bulb, rhizome, clove, corm, and crown (Figure 9-4). Bulbs are familiar to us as onions and, when sliced in half, will show concentric rings. Cloves are those bulblike structures that remind us of garlic and will separate into small pieces when broken apart. This characteristic separates wild onions from wild garlic. Taproots resemble carrots and may be single-rooted or branched, but usually only one plant stalk arises from each root. Tubers are like potatoes and daylilies. You will find these structures either on strings or in clusters underneath the parent plants. Rhizomes are large creeping rootstock or underground stems. Many plants arise from the "eyes" of these roots. Corms are similar to bulbs but are solid when cut rather than possessing rings. A crown is the type of root structure found on plants such as asparagus. Crowns look much like a mophead under the soil's surface.

Figure 9-4. Root Structures

Figure 9-4. Root Structures

9-11. Learn as much as possible about the unique characteristics of plants you intend to use for food. Some plants have both edible and poisonous parts. Many are edible only at certain times of the year. Others may have poisonous relatives that look very similar to the varieties you can eat or use for medicine.

UNIVERSAL EDIBILITY TEST

9-12. There are many plants throughout the world. Tasting or swallowing even a small portion of some can cause severe discomfort, extreme internal disorders, and even death. Therefore, if you have the slightest doubt about a plant's edibility, apply the Universal Edibility Test (Figure 9-5) before eating any portion of it.

1.

Test only one part of a potential food plant at a time.

2.

Separate the plant into its basic components—leaves, stems, roots, buds, and flowers.

3.

Smell the food for strong or acid odors. Remember, smell alone does not indicate a plant is edible or inedible.

4.

Do not eat for 8 hours before starting the test.

5.

During the 8 hours you abstain from eating, test for contact poisoning by placing a piece of the plant part you are testing on the inside of your elbow or wrist. Usually 15 minutes is enough time to allow for a reaction.

6.

During the test period, take nothing by mouth except purified water and the plant part you are testing.

7.

Select a small portion of a single part and prepare it the way you plan to eat it.

8.

Before placing the prepared plant part in your mouth, touch a small portion (a pinch) to the outer surface of your lip to test for burning or itching.

9.

If after 3 minutes there is no reaction on your lip, place the plant part on your tongue, holding it there for 15 minutes.

10.

If there is no reaction, thoroughly chew a pinch and hold it in your mouth for 15 minutes. Do not swallow.

11.

If no burning, itching, numbing, stinging, or other irritation occurs during the 15 minutes, swallow the food.

12.

Wait 8 hours. If any ill effects occur during this period, induce vomiting and drink a lot of water.

13.

If no ill effects occur, eat 0.25 cup of the same plant part prepared the same way. Wait another 8 hours. If no ill effects occur, the plant part as prepared is safe for eating.

CAUTION

Test all parts of the plant for edibility, as some plants have both edible and inedible parts. Do not assume that a part that proved edible when cooked is also edible when raw. Test the part raw to ensure edibility before eating raw. The same part or plant may produce varying reactions in different individuals.

Figure 9-5. Universal Edibility Test

9-13. Before testing a plant for edibility, make sure there are enough plants to make the testing worth your time and effort. Each part of a plant (roots, leaves, flowers, and so on) requires more than 24 hours to test. Do not waste time testing a plant that is not relatively abundant in the area.

9-14. Remember, eating large portions of plant food on an empty stomach may cause diarrhea, nausea, or cramps. Two good examples of this are such familiar foods as green apples and wild onions. Even after testing plant food and finding it safe, eat it in moderation.

9-15. You can see from the steps and time involved in testing for edibility just how important it is to be able to identify edible plants.

9-16. To avoid potentially poisonous plants, stay away from any wild or unknown plants that have—

9-17. Using the above criteria as eliminators when choosing plants for the Universal Edibility Test will cause you to avoid some edible plants. More important, these criteria will often help you avoid plants that are potentially toxic to eat or touch.

9-18. An entire encyclopedia of edible wild plants could be written, but space limits the number of plants presented here. Learn as much as possible about the plant life of the areas where you train regularly and where you expect to be traveling or working. Figure 9-6 list some of the most common edible and medicinal plants. Detailed descriptions and photographs of these and other common plants are in Appendix B.

Temperate Zone

  • Amaranth (Amaranths retroflex and other species)

  • Arrowroot (Sagittarius species)

  • Asparagus (Asparagus officials)

  • Beechnut (Fags species)

  • Blackberries (Rubes species)

  • Blueberries (Vaccinium species)

  • Burdock (Arctium lappa)

  • Cattail (Typha species)

  • Chestnut (Castanea species)

  • Chicory (Cichorium intybus)

  • Chufa (Cyperus esculentus)

  • Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)

  • Daylily (Hemerocallis fulva)

  • Nettle (Urtica species)

  • Oaks (Quercus species)

  • Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana)

  • Plantain (Plantago species)

  • Pokeweed (Phytolacca americana)

  • Prickly pear cactus (Opuntia species)

  • Purslane (Portulaca oleracea)

  • Sassafras (Sassafras albidum)

  • Sheep sorrel (Rumex acetosella)

  • Strawberries (Fragaria species)

  • Thistle (Cirsium species)

  • Water lily and lotus (Nuphar, Nelumbo, and other species)

  • Wild onion and garlic (Allium species)

  • Wild rose (Rosa species)

  • Wood sorrel (Oxalis species)

Figure 9-6. Food Plants

Tropical Zone

  • Bamboo (Bambusa and other species)

  • Bananas (Musa species)

  • Breadfruit (Artocarpus incisa)

  • Cashew nut (Anacardium occidental)

  • Coconut (Cocoa nucifera)

  • Mango (Mangifera indica)

  • Palms (various species)

  • Papaya (Carica species)

  • Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum)

  • Taro (Colocasia species)

Desert Zone

  • Acacia (Acacia farnesiana)

  • Agave (Agave species)

  • Cactus (various species)

  • Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera)

  • Desert amaranth (Amaranths palmer)

Figure 9-6. Food Plants (Continued)

SEAWEEDS

9-19. One plant you should never overlook is seaweed. It is a form of marine algae found on or near ocean shores. There are also some edible freshwater varieties. Seaweed is a valuable source of iodine, other minerals, and vitamin C. Large quantities of seaweed in an unaccustomed stomach can produce a severe laxative effect. Figure 9-7 lists various types of edible seaweed.

  • Dulse (Rhodymenia palmata)

  • Green seaweed (Ulva lactuca)

  • Irish moss (Chondrus crispus)

  • Kelp (Alaria esculenta)

  • Laver (Porphyra species)

  • Mojaban (Sargassum fulvellum)

  • Sugar wrack (Laminaria saccharina)

Figure 9-7. Types of Edible Seaweed

9-20. When gathering seaweed for food, find living plants attached to rocks or floating free. Seaweed washed onshore any length of time may be spoiled or decayed. You can dry freshly harvested seaweed for later use.

9-21. Different types of seaweed should be prepared in different ways. You can dry thin and tender varieties in the sun or over a fire until crisp. Crush and add these to soups or broths. Boil thick, leathery seaweeds for a short time to soften them. Eat them as a vegetable or with other foods. You can eat some varieties raw after testing for edibility.

PREPARATION OF PLANT FOOD

9-22. Although some plants or plant parts are edible raw, you must cook others for them to be edible or palatable. Edible means that a plant or food will provide you with necessary nutrients; palatable means that it is pleasing to eat. Many wild plants are edible but barely palatable. It is a good idea to learn to identify, prepare, and eat wild foods.

9-23. Methods used to improve the taste of plant food include soaking, boiling, cooking, or leaching. Leaching is done by crushing the food (for example, acorns), placing it in a strainer, and pouring boiling water through it or immersing it in running water.

9-24. Boil leaves, stems, and buds until tender, changing the water, if necessary, to remove any bitterness.

9-25. Boil, bake, or roast tubers and roots. Drying helps to remove caustic oxalates from some roots like those in the Arum family.

9-26. Leach acorns in water, if necessary, to remove the bitterness. Some nuts, such as chestnuts, are good raw, but taste better roasted.

9-27. You can eat many grains and seeds raw until they mature. When they are hard or dry, you may have to boil or grind them into meal or flour.

9-28. The sap from many trees, such as maples, birches, walnuts, and sycamores, contains sugar. You may boil these saps down to a syrup for sweetening. It takes about 35 liters of maple sap to make 1 liter of maple syrup!

PLANTS FOR MEDICINE

9-29. In using plants for medical treatment, positive identification of the plants involved is as critical as when using them for food. Proper use of these plants is equally important.

TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

9-30. The following terms and their definitions are associated with medicinal plant use:

9-31. Many natural remedies work slower than the medicines you know. Therefore, start with smaller doses and allow more time for them to take effect. Naturally, some will act more rapidly than others. Many of these treatments are addressed in more detail in Chapter 4.

SPECIFIC REMEDIES

9-32. The following remedies are for use only in a survival situation. Do not use them routinely as some can be potentially toxic and have serious long- term effects (for example, cancer).

MISCELLANEOUS USES OF PLANTS

9-33. Plants can be your ally as long as you use them cautiously. Be sure that you know the plant and how to use it. Some additional uses of plants are as follows:

9-34. Whether you use plants for food, medicine, or the construction of shelters or equipment, the key to their safe use is positive identification.


Home Back List Next