Wild Edibles
06 Sep 2010 2 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: Blueberries, Food, Hiking, Plants, Wild Edibles
We just returned from an amazing hike in the North Cascades. We did about 40 miles along a stunning loop. There are so many amazing things to experience while being out in nature, and food is one of them.
Bernie and I are naturalists, and enjoy learning about the plants and animals that surround us. We study different wild edibles, and enjoy trying some of them when we are out hiking. On this hike we not only were blessed with a bounty of beautiful views, but also a vast number of edible plants.
We enjoyed snacking on wild ginger root (tastes like the ginger you buy in the store, and can be used in the same way, but is a very different plant than the ginger we are used to), wall lettuce, thimble berry, mountain sorrel (a tart plant that has oxalic acid in it), service berry, and last but not least Blueberries!
The blueberries easily distracted us from the rhythm of hiking. Many of the hillsides were covered in blueberry plants (the red hue to the hill in the top picture is blueberry plants). Some areas would have a bounty of berries, and others still were far from being ripe. It was such a treasure when we came across a slope that was dotted with little blue orbs. Mmm!!
Our ancestors used to survive purely on what they could gather from the land, and often now people do not even know that you can eat wild plants. I highly suggest going out and getting to know your wild edibles. I have to put the disclaimer in here to go out with a VERY good field guide and/or someone that really knows their wild edibles. There are many good field guides out there. Start with the more simple edibles (like the blueberries) and expand into the bounty that nature has to offer!
Sep 06, 2010 @ 08:50:25
I love grazing along the trail. And the PNW does offer a great variety of wild edibles. The blueberries, huckleberries and blackberries put me over the top and turn me purple in the fall. Yet in the spring I love the fiddleheads, tempuraed please.
Yet here there is a great variety of wild edibles too. Only a few gooseberries, currants and service berries found before the critters go to them. And of course the mushrooms.
It is a shame more people don’t at least know about these sources of survival and nutrients. But then, if too many did know, there wouldn’t be much left for us.
Sep 06, 2010 @ 14:40:29
I always wished I knew more about mushrooms; perhaps one day.