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Book Review

Edible Wild Plants A North American Field Guide

by Thomas S. Elias and Peter A. Dykeman

In a typical field guide format with glossy pages and color photos for identification with plant descriptions. This

season-by-season guide is a richly detailed edible plant guide giving identification, harvest, and preparation of more than 200 edible plants found in the wild. The U.S. map is coded to show where plants are likely to grow. It offers a quick key guide allowing someone to identify a plant as trail nibble, salad addition, cooked green, underground vegetable, raw fruit, cooked fruit, jams; jellies or sauces, syrup, candy, grain, nut or seed, flour, hot beverage, cold beverage, pickle, seasoning, or thickener. A lot of useful information. The "Poisonous look-alikes" feature is a great added attraction with each plant description. In addition there is an entire poisonous plant section so there should be no mistake in what someone has found, if the guide is used properly.

With that said, some photos are of close-ups with no indication as to their scale / size, providing little context, making some plants harder to identify. Some plants are identified only by their flowers which mean someone needs to find the plant in flower or they may have trouble with proper identification. A volume providing all of this information would not be something that could be carried around or used very easily. It is always best to use a book like this when going on a hike with someone who knows their plants, after all it is the best way to learn, knowledge passed from one-person-to-another. It is a fabulous handbook for any gardener, hiker, or adventurous cook and a good addition to anyones library.

Buy a Copy of: Edible Wild Plants A North American Field Guide

 

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