Wild edibles resources
1. www.wildmanstevebrill.com
Steve Brill has an iPhone app that is extremely helpful.
2. www.eattheweeds.com
Green Deane has hundreds of YouTube videos. Just put eat the weeds in the search
box.
3. Vickie Shufer is the local native plants expert and she leads foraging tours in the area.
http://www.ecoimages-us.com/
P.O. Box 61413
Virginia Beach , VA 23466-1413
Phone: 757-421-3929
Email: wildfood@cox.net
Some basic foraging guidelines:
Be certain of identification before you taste any plant.
Do not harvest plants for consumption in drainage ditches, along the sides of highways,
pristine lawns, and gardens, which are likely sprayed with pesticides and herbicides
or another possibly contaminated environment. Do not harvest from private property
without permission.
White sap is a danger sign. There are a few wild edibles with white sap, but many more
poisonous plants with white sap, which is also a skin and eye irritant. White berries are
poisonous 99% of the time.
All mints are edible, all mustards are edible, and all mallows are edible, with varying
degrees of palatability. Learn the defining characteristics of these families and you open
up a whole world of culinary possibilities!
If it looks like a mint and smells like a mint, it is a mint. If it looks like an onion and
smells like an onion, it is an onion. If it has one, but lacks the other, steer clear.
When trying something new, start slow. Even edible plants sometimes cause undesirable
reactions in certain individuals.
Never eat a new plant on the same day you find it. Take your time to study it and be
certain you have what you think you have. Even experienced foragers tend to want to
make the plant fit the description sometimes. Some plants you will have to observe
through all seasons to be certain it fits the pattern it should.
Start small and keep at it, your brain will catch on.
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