10 Things You NEED TO KNOW When Foraging Wild Edible And Medicinal Plants

number 10 sometimes less is more when making medicine it's easy to want to make it as strong as possible but that's not always a good thing sometimes medicine being too strong will have the opposite effect of what the medicine was supposed to do or in other times it can cause unintended side effects like diarrhea vomiting dizziness rashes blisters or even lethargy there's a really simple phrase that i like to tell people in my classes when it comes to medicinal plants and that is you can always take more but you can never take less so when you make your medicine don't always go for the strongest go for a good mild medicine and if you find it to be too weak you can easily adjust the recipe for next time that you make it doing this will also allow you the time to really figure out what works best for you and your loved ones number nine be aware of unknown allergic reactions when you're out foraging you're definitely going to be coming into contact with many new plants that you never have before while this is extremely fun and exciting it does carry some risks one of those risks being an allergic reaction to a plant there are many plants that can cause allergic reactions like poison ivy for example but there are others you may not even think of plants like virginia creeper poison hemlock and even the wild carrot can cause an allergic reaction in some people even if you just simply touched the plant one plant family that is very well known for this is the aster family this family is comprised of so many plants i certainly can't and will not list all of them here but some things like daisies and the common dandelion are two examples of plants in this family that can cause a reaction in some people who may not know that they are allergic so always use caution whenever you're out foraging and keep an eye out for any signs of an allergic reaction so that way you can get it taken care of as soon as possible just because two plants are related doesn't make them safe to consume i'm going to use nightshade here because it is the most well-known example the nightshade family is absolutely massive and contains things that we all eat all the time like tomatoes potatoes tomatillos and even tobacco for example however there are many deadly nightshade species and it's important to know how to distinguish ones that are edible from the poisonous ones and it's also important to know that if a particular plant has a specific part of it to be used or if it requires special preparation another example of this is the sumac there are edible varieties of sumac like staghorn and the winged sumac but there's also the notorious poison sumac while these plants are related one will most definitely cause you a lot of harm and discomfort if you consume it and the other two will give you a very nice lemonade flavored beverage to enjoy with friends and family so when foraging keep in mind that each plant is different and even if they're related it's important to know the nuances of each one that you plan to consume number seven don't underestimate the power of your yard our lawns can certainly be a major chore what with all the mowing the trimming and all that jazz but our lawns can also be an excellent place to find many wild plants that are highly nutritious and taste really good the greatest thing about foraging from your yard though is the simple fact that it's always right there just waiting for you to discover the potential that it holds a lot of the plants many people consider weeds like chickweed dandelion clover doc thistles and more are not only edible but many are also medicinal in fact some of the plants that grow on our lawn can be some of the more nutritious plants that you will find like garlic mustard for example which is one of the most nutrient dense greens available another good thing about wild plants in your yard is they can be helpful for your lawn like clover for example which helps fixate nitrogen into the soil and feed the bees which helps for a really healthy ecosystem number six you don't always have to travel deep into the wilderness to forage this kind of relates to the last point because a lot of foraging can be done in our yards but also many parks can be a great place to forage just make sure that it's allowed before you take anything from public land of course while many people think that the best things are always way out in the wilderness and there certainly are many plants that can be found there the majority of my foraging is done either in a lawn around a garden or even in local parks or local forests right near the trails sure i really love getting out there off trail and covering miles and miles but in reality i only notice more of the same plants more often than not if you just take a good look around you the next time you're in a local park take note of all the plants and keep a tally of ones that are edible and medicinal you're very likely going to be surprised at how many plants you can actually find in these places number five everyone has different tastes this may seem like a given but it's important to touch on because in forging books and guides you're going to undoubtedly hear about the dandelion however not everybody finds it palatable because it can be quite bitter there is a special method to ensure your dandelion greens aren't too bitter and that's mainly by just picking them from shady areas another good example is garlic mustard this plant can have several different flavors to it depending upon factors like where it's growing the time of year that particular plant and even your own personal tastes some people in the classes i teach love it others hate it and some are just ambivalent to it another good example is spicebush a plant that is often described as a citrus-like flavor but for me i get more of a sassafras and allspice sort of flavor from it so keep in mind that just because someone else says a plant is good doesn't mean that you will like it and that's okay because there are plenty of other wonderful plants for you to choose from number four just because a medicine works for one person doesn't mean it will work for another just like with modern medicine this is true for herbal medicine we all have our own individual body chemistry and even allergies to keep in mind when we are making medicine sometimes a medicine that has worked for me did absolutely nothing for another person i gave the same medicine to for the exact same ailment that's okay and it is going to happen that does not mean that that plan is useless it just means that it didn't work for that particular person number three just because a plant is everywhere doesn't make it safe to consume this is something i hear frequently and it's just simply not true and is oftentimes extremely dangerous for example in my area white snake root and poison hemlock are everywhere when you drive down the highway during late spring and early summer you're going to see thousands of poison hemlock plants and not only is this plant unsafe it's extremely deadly the white snake root is a plant that is known for causing milk sickness in fact it's responsible for the death of abraham lincoln's mother however on the edge of my yard and on the edges of local parks this plant turns the area into a line of white with all of its flowers another good example is poison ivy there are places in local parks that this literally covers the edges of the trails and this is definitely not a plant that you want to consume even if you're not allergic to it so keep in mind that a plant being prevalent does not make it safe to consume and in some some cases that plant could outright kill you number two a plant being edible doesn't mean it's worth your effort there are plants like putty root or jack in the pulpit that while they are edible they are not worth your effort putty root has extremely small roots and is a somewhat rare orchid harvesting the roots of this plant will undoubtedly kill many of the wonderful plants just to make enough food for you to eat or let's look at jack in the pulpit it has an extremely small corn that requires a very lengthy process of drying and roasting for hours just to make a small amount of food this would be way too much effort for what would amount to just a couple of grams of edible food meaning that it's certainly not worth the time that you would put into it number one don't make a plant into something that it's not when foraging it's easy to get excited and think we finally found this one plant that we've been looking for for a long time this can be extremely dangerous and can lead us to unintentionally poisoning ourselves by misidentification there are multiple reports of people foraging poison hemlock because they were so sure that it was wild carrot and that that has never worked well for those unfortunate people there are many plants that can look so similar that it's important to ensure we have the correct one before we consume it another good example of this is the white snake root and wood nettle they oftentimes grow in similar areas and they can also look alike i've seen people in classes make this mistake even after i had pointed out the differences granted nobody was hurt because i was there to ensure what they were harvesting before they actually harvested it but it makes me wonder what would happen if i wasn't there how would it have gone the answer is probably not good sure they might have noticed when they were cooking it that something was off but it's just one of the risks when you are foraging so always ensure with 100 certainty before you consume anything from the wild also when in doubt throw it out you can always pick more plants and the safety of you and your loved ones is very important

Channel: Trillium: Wild Edibles

Views: 4,088

Keywords: things you need to know when foraging wild edibles and medicinal plants, foraging safety, wild edibles, medicinal plants, foraging, trillium wild edibles

Id: 2yBDcFtwQcg

Length: 8min 58sec (538 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 24 2022