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A weed is a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson
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In the wild, the major sources of food and medicine are usually plants. Many plants you probably see every day, including those despised as "weeds", can be used in some way for food, medicine, or tools -- including dandelion*, clover*, jewelweed or touch-me-not*, and wood-sorrel*. (Click on the bold asterisk (*) to go to a briefer, simpler profile of the plant. I add more plant pages occasionally, so check back soon!) The plants on this page are found in the eastern United States. Please read the tips and warnings below before exploring my plant pages.

To use most plant guides (such as one of the Peterson Field Guides), you should find a plant, look it up in the guide based on flower type and leaf formation, and determine which plant listed looks most like it. Then check the guide against the actual plant, point for point, and become familiar with it to the point at which you feel comfortable using it. You can also read through the field guide, learning about many different plants; this will make things easier.

Plant books are the most convenient way to identify plants, but storing plant information on a web page has its advantages too. A web page has space constraints that are very different from those of a book, and often much looser; thus, where Peterson's has a few terse lines of description, these pages can afford to be a little more thorough. Also, a web page can be updated instantly at any time and accessed from almost anywhere. You can't take these pages with you while gathering plants, but you can learn more about plants you've already seen or might see in the future.

Each of the main plant pages in this section has about the same format. At the top of the page is a photo or picture of the plant (if one is available), the common name, and the scientific (Latin) name (that is, the genus and species names). There follows a detailed description of the plant and its physical characteristics (with important ones in italics), a description of any edible, medicinal, and other uses it may have (with major, best-known, or most scientifically corroborated in italics), any warnings that may apply, and any folklore/spiritual/symbolic information I may have heard about the plant. Last, there may be a few links to more information on and pictures of the plant; extra pictures can sometimes be very helpful in identification. If all this is too complicated, go to the brief profile pages, which are linked by bold asterisks (*) next to the main ones.

When gathering plants, always check carefully to make sure you have identified the plant correctly. Check the plant with a picture of some sort and with several different identifying characteristics. The flowers and leaves should be the first characteristics you check; the roots and the taste of the plant should be the last. If the plant doesn't quite match, be cautious and look it up elsewhere or ask an expert. It could be a related species or subspecies, or it could be a lookalike plant. Some plants, like the rose/blackberry family, are easily distinguished from harmful species; others, like wild carrot and grape, have evil twins. Become familiar with plants that look similar to the ones you wish to harvest, and learn to tell them apart easily.

Make sure you gather the correct parts of the plants (of course). A plant may have some edible and some poisonous parts, like pokeweed and elderberry. Learn the exact difference between different plant parts before gathering them. Prepare your plants correctly, as some must be cooked or treated to make them edible and digestible.

Make sure you gather your plants at the correct times of year and the correct stages of their development, when they will have the greatest food and medicine value. A good rule of thumb is this: leaves are best gathered when they first grow, before the flowerbuds emerge; roots and tubers, the storage rooms of the plants, are best gathered just before winter, when the leaves are gone.

When using plants for food and medicine, avoid gathering them from polluted areas and roadsides. Staying at least eight feet away from the roadside is thought to reduce risk. Avoid gathering plants from areas that have been sprayed for weeds or pests. Wash the plants before using them.

Be aware that overharvesting plants could damage their populations in some areas. Most of the plants listed on this page are common and hardy, but they may include notes on harvesting them sustainably. In general, avoid taking more than you need; for instance, leave the roots or parts of the roots in the ground when harvesting a plant's stalk, and don't take too many leaves or fruits from a single plant. If you must kill a whole plant, try to save every part you can use, and avoid taking the strongest plants.

The information in these pages is accurate to the best of my knowledge, but I make no guarantees about its accuracy, nor do I take responsibility for any damage or injury caused by use or misuse of this information.

Many thanks to Moonwatcher , Del Hall's Nature Awareness School, Mother Herb, John Fishback, and everyone else who helped me learn about wild plants. Some information on this page is drawn from A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants : Eastern and Central North America by Lee Allen Peterson and Roger Tory Peterson (Peterson Field Guides).



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