heya,
so as i am practicing my IDs when is it safe to go ahead and use the plants as the book recommends? i have peterson's edibles, not newcombe's yet. i feel like newcombe's guide might give me a more positive identification...? yesterday i found some wild anise and some spicebush. when making tea from spicebush do you use the roots or the leaves or both?
has anyone else been playing in the woods? do you have a new appreciation for your environment at home?
have a nice weekend,
claire
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The teachings in this program have been passed down for thousands of years by native elders and communities around the world. First and foremost we thank them.
More recently, many of the specific teachings were passed to us either directly or indirectly from Tom Brown Jr., and to him from Grandfather Stalking Wolf. Many other teachers, including Jon Young, Frank Sherwood, Malcolm Ringwalt, Errett Callahan, Barry Keegan, Jack Cresson, Ricardo Sierra, and a host of others have also inspired this program.
More recently, many of the specific teachings were passed to us either directly or indirectly from Tom Brown Jr., and to him from Grandfather Stalking Wolf. Many other teachers, including Jon Young, Frank Sherwood, Malcolm Ringwalt, Errett Callahan, Barry Keegan, Jack Cresson, Ricardo Sierra, and a host of others have also inspired this program.
2 comments:
Flaire,
If you have a plant that you feel is a strong match for one in the book, you want to do the following:
1) Read the identifying points and description IN DETAIL. Make sure EVERY POINT matches up..ie if it says "white underneath with fine hairs, no thorns" make sure that the plant has these characteristics.
2) The Peterson's guide has poisonous look alikes...so read those in detail, and make sure you aren't dealing with one of those. There really isn't much gray area when you read every single identification detail.
3) Thumb through the poisonous plants section of the Peterson's guide, since it has the most common and dangerous plants, excluding some ornamentals.
4) If all this checks out, take a small piece of the leaf or stem, and place it on your tongue...taste it slowly...notice how your body feels, how it strikes your senses. If you're not having any kind of adverse reaction after a few minutes, go ahead and chew and swallow a small amount. There are very few plants that can do much harm in this concentration, the most prominent being Poison Hemlock, Water Hemlock, Fool's Parsley and many mushrooms.
Even if you feel fine at this point, don't eat too much if it's a new plant.
Doubt can also be your friend here....make sure you exhaust everything esle it could be before you settle on an ID...you don't want to make a mistake.
You can also always email me for verification.
Have Fun.
As far as Spicebush, I've only made tea out of the green twigs in winter time, but I imagine the leaves, roots and berries would be good as well. I can't say for sure wothout looking it up though.
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