A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants Eastern and Central North America
Peterson Field Guide Series No. 23
by Lee Allen Peterson
An important book for a wild food library. This is a high quality field guide focusing on the identification of wild edible plants of the eastern half of the country. Peterson uses a mixture of 78 photographs, but mostly, high quality black and white line drawings to help you recognize the plants they included. Unlike many 'flower' identification guides Peterson shows us leaves, stems, flowers and sometimes even fruits. And in a helpful way points out unique characteristics that might help us identify the plants.
Included here that you do not usually see in 'wildflower' guides are shrubs, trees, vines, non-showy flowering plants, and a few mushrooms. Understand that this book is valuable for what it is—an aid to identifying wild 'edibles'. More than most other books it shows edible and poisonous plant look-a-likes 'if their flowers are similar'. Use other books to help identify plants down to the species level.
And while abbreviated edibility information is included, it gives little or no detail for really successful wild food experiences. It does cover many plants that are rarely found in other edibility guides. Most of the focus is on the eastern half of North America, but at least 1/2 of the plants or their close relatives can be found in the west. Recommended for use in combination with other illustrated guides in an eastern wild food library!
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The average reviewer rating was 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Edible and Medicinal Plants of the West
by Gregory L. Tilford
An important book for a wild food library. This is a high quality photographic guide focusing on the 'identification' of edible and medicinal wild plants of the west. Tilford, his own photographer, uses 86 photographs to help you recognize the plants he included. Unlike many 'flower' identification guides Tilford shows us leaves, stems, flowers and sometimes even fruits. And in a helpful way points out unique characteristics that might help us identify the plants.
Included here that you do not usually see in 'wildflower' guides are shrubs, trees, vines, non-showy flowering plants, and a few mushrooms. Tilford's photographs are excellent. He often shows you more than one photograph per plant to focus in on an important identifying characteristic. Understand that this book is valuable for what it is - an aid to identifying wild 'edibles'. Because it includes so many plants of differing types, it does not have the room to show look-a-like (related or unrelated) plants - only select edible and medicinal plants.
Abbreviated edibility information is included. He gives only one to four sentences per plant to describe its food uses - giving little or no detail for really successful wild food experiences. It does cover many plants that are rarely found in other edibility guides. Most of the focus is on the western half of North America, but at least 1/2 of the plants or their close relatives can be found elsewhere in the country. Recommended for use in combination with other field guides in a western wild food library!
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The average reviewer rating was 4 out of 5 stars.

Wild Berries of the West
by Betty Derig and Margaret Fuller
An important book for a wild food library. This is a high quality photographic guide focusing on the 'identification' of wild plants that produce berries. Derig and Fuller are 'mostly' their own photographers who provide us with 103 berry photographs, 67 flower photographs, and a few vegetative photographs. There are 20 line drawings to supplement the photographs.
Like most wildflower guides, they focus in on the fruits and flowers, rather than on close-ups of other parts of the plants, but they do a fairly good job of showing at least the leaves and stems surrounding those fruits and flowers. Herbs, shrubs, trees, and vines that produce berries are all included. Derig and Fuller's photographs are excellent. They often show you both a plant's flowers and fruits.
Understand that this book is valuable for what it is - an aid to identifying wild berries and flowers. Abbreviated edibility information is included as well as historical information - mostly repeated from other authors' ethnobotanical studies included in a very useful bibliography. Their book does cover many plants that are rarely found in other identification guides. Most of the focus is on the western half of North America, but at least 1/2 of the plants or their close relatives can be found elsewhere in the country.
Near the end of the book they give 57 wild berry recipes in the following categories: Beverages; Breads (baked goods); Meats and Vegetables; Preserves; Salads and Salad Dressings; Sauces Syrups and Condiments; and Snacks. The explanations in these recipes provide more tips into preparation than you see in the text - improving the value of this book. Recommended for use in combination with other field guides in a western wild food library!
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Best-Tasting Wild Plants of Colorado and the Rockies
by Cattail Bob Seebeck
An essential book for those in the Southern and Central Rocky mountain areas and useful for the West, in general. This is a photo-based guide focusing on the identification of wild edible plants. Seebeck does more than any other guide by offering four thought-out photographs per plant. Yes, you heard me, four, not one, like most books. These photographs show different parts of the same plant. You are much more likely to be able to identify a plant if you can clearly see closeups of flowers, fruits, and leaves as well as portraits of whole plants and habitats.
This book covers 67 plants using about 300 photographs. Seebeck covers herbs, shrubs, and trees with edible parts, as well as eight of the most common poisonous plants of his area. Because the Rockies are mountains, Bob gives lots of attention to what is available on what plants at different elevations. Some food-related insights are given from Seebeck's experience, but edibility information is brief.
About 50% of the plants covered in this book can be found throughout the West where the habitats are appropriate - particularly in wooded elevations above 1,000 feet. About 30% of the plants covered can be found in various places across North America. Many of the plants covered are not found in other photographic guides. Highly recommended if you are in the Southern and Central Rockies, generally recommended for use in combination with other books as part of a western wild food library.
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Edible and Medicinal Plants of the Rockies
by Linda Kershaw
An important book for those in the Northern and Central Rocky mountain areas as well as other areas in the West. This is a photo-based guide focusing on the identification of wild edible plants. Kershaw's book, like other Lone Pine publications, covers lots of material. Brief descriptions of foods and medicines, often referring to uses by Native American Peoples, are given for each plant.
Like the other books in this section, there is no detailed processing information. This book covers 182 'kinds' of plants using about 350 photographs and 73 illustrations. A 'kind' for instance, is 'all docks', or 'all Oregon Grapes' discussed together. A 'Pictorial Guide', just after the Table of Contents, shows rows and columns of small duplicate pictures of all plants covered in the book for quick reference. Many people love this 'Pictorial Guide' concept in the field because it can help them quickly find the plant they are trying to identify.
The photographs and illustrations range from excellent to poor and are not as clearly thought-out as Seebeck's. Kershaw covers herbs, shrubs, trees, and mosses with edible parts as well as 29 poisonous plants. About 50% of the plants covered in this book can be found throughout the west where the habitats are appropriate - particularly in wooded elevations above 1,000 feet. About 20% of the plants covered can be found in various places across North America. Many of the plants covered are not found in other photographic guides. Highly recommended if you are in the Northern and Central Rockies, generally recommended for use in combination with other books as part of a western wild food library.
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Alaska Wild Berry Guide and Cookbook
by Alaska Geographic Editors
This book is divided into two sections - plant identification and recipes. There is a lot packed into this book. It could have just as appropriately been included in our cookbook section - the recipe part is prominent and impressive. The plants cover an area much larger than the title suggests. This book is just as appropriate for all of the Pacific Northwest as well as much of Canada and the very Northeastern United States (from the upper half of Minnesota to Connecticut).
The plant identification section covers 48 of the most common berry producing plants - including some poisonous ones. Most plants covered are represented by two photographs and one or two line drawings. There is one photograph of the flowers and one of the fruits - typically but not always showing some of the adjacent leaves and stems. The photographs range in quality from excellent to poor, but all are still useful. Accurate line drawings supplement the photographs nicely - showing detail that really helps you identify these plants.
The extensive 277 recipe section is impressive. They are divided into the following sections: Breads (berries in baked products); Salads and Dressings; The Main Course (sauces and berries flavoring main dishes); Desserts; Beverages; Potpourri (candies, syrups, trail foods, Eskimo and Indian Dishes); and Preserves. There are also sections on canning, freezing, and drying berries. This book is highly recommended as both a field guide and a cookbook for anyone interested in wild berries of the North. The recipes would be fun to try for anyone who enjoys cooking with wild foods.
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