# Edible Wild Michigan Plants?



## WinMag

Assuming you were stuck in the Michigan woods and needed to live off the land, what wild plants are edible? My daughter asked me this question and I mentioned dandelion greens, acorns and raspberries. She already knows about apples, pears, etc. I'm not an expert on mushrooms and I don't eat them so I cautioned her against those. Those were the main things I could think of. I had to tell her that I have very little experience eating wild plants. Too much suburban living I guess. However, it made me promise her that we would learn about wild plants together. Can anyone recommend a good reference book? Or better yet, tell me about the wild plants you have eaten and how it worked out. Thanks.


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## fishergirltc

I don't know of any reference books but here's a great website for information on edible flowers:

http://whatscookingamerica.net/EdibleFlowers/EdibleFlowersMain.htm

I remember eating clovers, violets and mint as a kid...


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## Linda G.

Might have that first name spelled wrong, but Euell Gibbons is still the master of wild foods, he wrote a series of them before he started doing corn flakes commercials. 

You can add the tubers of cat tails and spring beauties to your list, as well as ramps (wild leeks) and wild asparagus.


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## itchn2fish

Fiddlehead ferns in the spring, blueberries, blackberries (just got 1 1/2 quarts yesterday afternoon), lambs-quarters (like spinich), purslain and many other greens like water cress, beech/hickory/chess/walnuts, paw-paws, persimmons, maple sugar/syrup, choke-cherries, wild grapes and grape leaves, stinging nettle (fire-weed), young milkweed pods, rose hips, black (yellow) birch sap tea, juniper berry, prickley-pear cactus.
There are some pretty good books at public librarys. Euell Gibbons came to mind immediatley, but there are others also (can't think of them right now, but Google it). Wild edibles are fun to collect, but some take alot of effort to obtain and make palatable. 
It is also alot of fun making fire with a bow & drill. It's amazing, and sad, when someone dies that is lost, from the cold & elements, when they are found with enough food and fire-fuel nearby to feed and heat a small town.
Good luck! Wild edibles are not only great fun, but they usually pack more nutrients than domesticated varieties (WILD blueberries were found to have a MUCH higher percentage of anti-oxidants in them).
Sam Thayer's wild food website is - 
http://www.foragersharvest.com/index.php
Here's one more book - "Feasting Free on Wild Edibles" , by Bradford Angier.


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## WinMag

Thanks to all for this great advice on wild plants. I have ordered some of the Gibbons books and the Angier book. I remember Gibbons from his commercials and I have Angier's book "How to Survive in the Woods". This is an interesting topic and I plan to absorb all the info I can.


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## Fishndude

Euell Gibbons was certainly the master of edible wild plants; but some of his suggestions need to be taken with a grain of salt. I tried his pine needle tea one time, as a kid, and it was horrible. I cannot imagine that the minimal nutitional value would be worth consuming it:lol:

Fiddlehead ferns, on the other hand; well, I make it a point to pick a bunch of those every Spring, when they are popping up. You can pick several sprouts from each corm, and they just send more up the next day. They are sweet and very nutritious. I have had Watercress with baked Trout, and it works. Wintergreen makes okay tea, and the berries are okay, too. I ate Cattail tubers once, and they were okay - supposed to have a good amount of starch, and are nutritional. 

Anymore, in the lower peninsula, how far would one have to walk before you found a road, and could hitch a ride? I wouldn't think much more than 15 miles hardly anywhere, unless you walked in circles.


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## M1Garand

WinMag, I posted some links to a few books available that are good references for edible plants:

http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/forum/showthread.php?t=185044


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## Oldgrandman

Linda G. said:


> Might have that first name spelled wrong, but Euell Gibbons is still the master of wild foods, he wrote a series of them before he started doing corn flakes commercials.
> 
> You can add the tubers of cat tails and spring beauties to your list, as well as ramps (wild leeks) and wild asparagus.


 "Ever eat a pine tree? Many parts are edible...." Yeah he was a character. I think we could use more public figures like him these days. Reminds me of the 'Alone in the Wilderness' guy.
Also edible are dandelion flowers and greens, other flowers, and a bunch of shrooms but be very careful there.
Here is an interesting site, may not be exactly what you're after but it is in the ball park.
http://www.wild-harvest.com/index.htm


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## M1Garand

Oldgrandman said:


> Reminds me of the 'Alone in the Wilderness' guy.


That was an amazing story...have you read the book? I was thinking of ordering the DVD..I saw it on PBS one night and I think it's a secret dream we'd all like to do if we could break the ties.


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## itchn2fish

....for eating the crotch out of a pine tree???:corkysm55


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## Oldgrandman

M1Garand said:


> That was an amazing story...have you read the book? I was thinking of ordering the DVD..I saw it on PBS one night and I think it's a secret dream we'd all like to do if we could break the ties.


Yeah, that would be the way to go if you could do it. I have both DVD's, did not read the book though.


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## Backwoods-Savage

WinMag said:


> Thanks to all for this great advice on wild plants. I have ordered some of the Gibbons books and the Angier book. I remember Gibbons from his commercials and I have Angier's book "How to Survive in the Woods". This is an interesting topic and I plan to absorb all the info I can.


I agree the Bradford Angier books are great too.


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## Steve

Don't forget bullrush.


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## William H Bonney

itchn2fish said:


> ....for eating the crotch out of a pine tree???:corkysm55


"and by the way,, I'm Chris Hanson with Dateline NBC,,,,,," :lol:


On a serious note,,, I've found wild lettuce growing all over my yard this year,,, never knew what it was until now. Tasted half way decent.


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