This is a List of Plants which are widely distributed through-out
the United States which are too wild and Invasive to lend themselves
ideally to profitable agricultural purposes for the average farmer
(though it CAN be done in some cases given special considerations).
Because of this Fact they are wide spread and available, often right in
your own yard or in the edges of wooded areas and in fields and along
roadsides (though roadside cultivation runs risk of chemical
contamination from roadway pollution... always flush the root systems
with water for at least 12 to 24 hours and wash thoroughly before eating
ANYTHING found in a ditch or along a roadway... and consume at own risk
and ONLY as a last resort.).
They are extremely
edible and high in nutritional value. These plants can be used to
supplement your diet to ensure good nutrition even while abstaining from
an ever increasing list of known G.M.O. produce which previously
provided this nutrition.
Furthermore... because the
vast majority of these plants are widely considered to be "weeds to be
eradicated" or "undesirable plant species" (even though in many cases
they contain MORE of a given nutrient by weight than their agricultural
counterparts from which that nutrient is typically obtained) The odds
that any company would attempt to genetically Modify them or that they
would be capable of hybridization through cross-pollination with known
G.M.O. species are EXTREMELY unlikely.
For if
nothing more than THAT reason alone... knowing and eating these plants
on a daily basis presents a good, long term viable alternative to
purchasing and consuming potentially long term DANGEROUS or unhealthy
Genetically Modified Produce which may have severe long term negative
impacts on the environment, food sustainability, and public health.
SOURCE: WikiHow at
http://www.wikihow.com/ (with added personal commentary in some instances)
GRASS:
Dandelion
(taraxacum officinale): The young unfolding greens in the center are
great raw. The entire plant can be steamed. The flower is the best part.
Pick it off the stem, and with your fingers pinch off the green base of
the flower, so there's no white sap (the sap is very bitter). You're
left with a sweet, meaty, filling wild food that can be found in
incredible abundance. also the roots are a mild coffee substitute if
dried and ground...
Cress
(cardamine spp): This is one of the many wild plants in the mustard
family common in cities. When young, the leaves are excellent raw, with a
mild mustard flavor. As they get older the full plants can be steamed,
just as you would prepare mustard greens at home.
Tiger
Lily: The Tiger Lily, bears large, fiery orange flowers covered by
spots. The name tiger probably refers to the spots on the petals. The
bulbs of its plants are boiled and eaten in some countries, especially
China. They taste like potatoes.
The flowers of this perennial
can grow up to three inches in width. The Tiger Lily is also known as
the Ditch Lily as it is found in and around ditches in large parts of
America.
The Tiger Lily has a strong, sweet and distinctively
lily smell. Besides producing a stunning spectacle, most parts of this
plant are edible. There are two varieties of the Tiger Lily:
The Oriental Variety: Propagates through bulbs that form at leaf axils.
The Common Wildflower Variety: Propagates by tuberous roots.
SilverBerry:
Look for berries on ornamental shrubs, such as this silverberry.
Ebbing's silverberry is frequently planted in cities as bushes and
hedges - but it will escape into any disturbed habitat and form
thickets. The stems, foliage, and berries are all speckled with silver.
The red berries are excellent when fully ripe.
Plantain
(plantago lanceolata): Young leaves in the center are good raw - have a
slight salty flavor. There's both a common and an English plantain,
that are very similar.
Wild
onion (allium spp): Very common in areas that are mowed. A very mild
onion that is excellent raw. Harvest bunches of it and use it just like
scallions.
Sow
thistle (sonchus spp): The young leaves are decent - treat it like
dandelion, and try and avoid the bitter latex sap. Sow thistle has
excellent yellow flowers very similar to dandelion, yet even better,
that's prepared the same way and eaten raw. Unlike dandelion, sow
thistle has an upright stalk and a more prickly-looking thistle-like
appearance.
Dead-nettle
(lamium purpureum): Another Lamium, just like henbit. It's eaten the
same way - and will also form huge carpets covering the ground,
especially in spring.
Henbit
(lamium amplexicaule): Another plant entirely edible raw. It's a
Lamium, a very mild mint. Like chickweed, it has a sweet, grassy flavor -
pluck off the tops to avoid the stems. This plant will form huge
carpets in places, very early in the year, with an understory of
chickweed beneath it.
Wood
Sorrel (oxalis spp): The whole plant is great raw - it has a nice acid
flavor, refreshing. The flowers of the cosmopolitan weeds are yellow,
but many varieties grow in the wild with pinkish flowers. This is a
plant extremely common not only in lawns and cleared areas, but also
deep in the wilderness. It should not be consumed in any quantity as it
contains relatively high levels of toxic oxalic acid.
Chickweed
(stellaria media): The entire plant can be eaten raw. It has a sweet,
grassy flavor. If you want to avoid the stems, and eat mostly the new
growth, pluck off the tops and eat those.
Asparagus: Wild asparagus is common in many parts of North America, Europe and
West Asia. It is very similar to asparagus that you find in your grocery
store but has a lot thinner stalk. It typically resembles a cluster of
green fingers. The mature plant is fern-like with red berries. The
plant’s flowers are small and green in color.Wild asparagus is most
common between March and June. It is a great source of Vitamin C,
thiamine and potassium. You can eat it raw or boil it.
Amaranth (Amaranthus retroflexus and other species)
Native to the Americas but found on most continents, amaranth is an
edible weed. You can eat all parts of the plant, but be on the look out
for spines that appear on some of the leaves. While not poisonous,
amaranth leaves do contain oxalic acid and may contain large amounts of
nitrates if grown in nitrate-rich soil. It’s recommended that you boil
the leaves to remove the oxalic acid and nitrates. Don’t drink the water
after you boil the plant. With that said, you can eat the plant raw if
worse comes to worst in smaller quantities.
Burdock (Arctium lappa)
Medium to large-sized plant with big leaves and purplish thistle-like
flower heads. The plant is native to the temperate areas of the
Eastern Hemisphere; however, it has been naturalized in parts of the
Western Hemisphere as well. Burdock is actually a popular food in Japan.
You can eat the leaves and the peeled stalks of the plant either raw or
boiled. The leaves have a bitter taste, so boiling them twice before
eating is recommended to remove the bitterness. The root of the plant
can also be peeled, boiled, and eaten.
Cattail (Typha)
Known as cattails or punks in North America and bullrush and reedmace in
England, the typha genus of plants is usually found near the edges of
freshwater wetlands. Cattails were a staple in the diet of many Native
American tribes. Most of a cattail is edible. You can boil or eat raw
the rootstock, or rhizomes, of the plant. The rootstock is usually found
underground. Make sure to wash off all the mud. The best part of the
stem is near the bottom where the plant is mainly white. Either boil or
eat the stem raw. Boil the leaves like you would spinach. The corn
dog-looking female flower spike can be broken off and eaten like corn on
the cob in the early summer when the plant is first developing. It
actually has a corn-like taste to it.
Clovers (Trifolium)
Lucky you-clovers are actually edible. And they’re found just about
everywhere there’s an open grassy area. You can spot them by their
distinctive trefoil leaflets. You can eat clovers raw, but they taste
better boiled.
Chicory (Cichorium intybus)
You’ll find chicory growing in Europe, North America, and Australia.
It’s a bushy plant with small blue, lavender, and white flowers. You can
eat the entire plant. Pluck off the young leaves and eat them raw or
boil them. The chicory’s roots will become tasty after boiling. And you
can pop the flowers in your mouth for a quick snack.
Curled Dock (Rumex crispus)
You can find curled dock in Europe, North America, South America, and
Australia. It’s distinguished by a long, bright red stalk that can reach
heights of three feet. You can eat the stalk raw or boiled. Just peel
off the outer layers first. It’s recommend that you boil the leaves with
several changes of water in order to remove its naturally bitter taste.
Field Pennycress (Thalspi vulgaris)
Field Pennycress is a weed found in most parts of the world. Its growing
season is early spring to late winter. You can eat the seeds and leaves
of field pennycress raw or boiled. The only caveat with field
pennycress is not to eat it if it’s growing in contaminated soil.
Pennycress is a hyperaccumulator of minerals, meaning it sucks up any
and all minerals around it. General rule is don’t eat pennycress if it’s
growing by the side of the road or is near a Superfund site.
Fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium)
This pretty little plant is found primarily in the Northern Hemisphere.
You can identify fireweed by its purple flower and the unique structure
of the leaves’ veins; the veins are circular rather than terminating on
the edges of the leaves. Several Native American tribes included
fireweed in their diet. It’s best eaten young when the leaves are
tender. Mature fireweed plants have tough and bitter tasting leaves. You
can eat the stalk of the plant as well. The flowers and seeds have a
peppery taste. Fireweed is a great source of vitamins A and C.
Purslane (Portulaca oleracea)
While considered an obnoxious weed in the United States, purslane can
provide much needed vitamins and minerals in a wilderness survival
situation. Ghandi actually numbered purslane among his favorite foods.
It’s a small plant with smooth fat leaves that have a refreshingly sour
taste. Purslane grows from the beginning of summer to the start of fall.
You can eat purslane raw or boiled. If you’d like to remove the sour
taste, boil the leaves before eating.
White Mustard (Synapsis alba)
White mustard is found in the wild in many parts of the world. It blooms
between February and March. You can eat all parts of the plant- seeds,
flowers, and leaves.
Paw Paw (Asimina triloba), the common pawpaw, is a species of Asimina(the pawpaw genus) in the same plant family (the Annonaceae) as the custard-apple, cherimoya, sweetsop, ylang-ylang and soursop. The pawpaw is native to the Eastern, Southern, and Midwestern United States and adjacent southernmost Ontario, Canada, from New York west to southeastern Nebraska, and south to northern Florida and eastern Texas. The pawpaw is a patch-forming (clonal) understory
tree found in well-drained, deep, fertile bottom-land and hilly upland
habitat, with large, simple leaves and large fruits. The paw paw is the
largest edible fruit indigenous to the United States.
Lambs Quarters
Also known as goosefoot, lamb’s quarters grows wild in many
places, and the leaves and young stems can be boiled and eaten like
spinach (it even has a spinach-y taste). Lamb’s quarters is a relative
of quinoa, and its seeds are high in protein, making it another
important survival food.