Hi /out/
Was wondering if any of you could refer me to a good resource for identifying plants.
What I would really like to do is find some source of information that would be comprehensive, specific to my region, and slanted for more /out/ things. e.g. plants that are good for tinder, cordage, edible, good wood for carving, etc.
The problem I'm having is when searching for plant ID and where I live (Western Pennsylvania) I keep finding forums asking gardening related questions
Thanks
Bump, also interested
>>725483
I am interested too, I live in the midwest, and need a good list of easy to identify edibles.
bampu~
You could try visiting local library, maybe they could have some location-specific books with what you're looking for. Or at least they could tell you where to find it.
>>726542
You should be able to find a dichotomous key for where you live about tree and plant ID which would help you a ton. They're real easy to use if you know your basics in the OP
Adding dichotomous key to my search led me to this:
http://plants.usda.gov/adv_search.html
This will mainly only be helpful for people in America and Canada, but you can get pretty specific with search criteria, especially location. You can search by county! I selected my county, ticked the box for palatable for humans and got some cool results.
This doesn't include mushrooms, or things like cordage, tinder, etc, but the best thing Ive seen so far. Library is a good idea too.
>>726542
This. I think the library is a wonderful place to start, and then related government programs and institutions and find out what they know if available.
Honestly, go check out old ass books. I grew up with grandparents and parents that always had old books (think National Geographic, but some local guy did it type of things). It's not like birds and plants change that much, so you should have luck (I have). There was a lot of outdoor material pre-internet that should still be available and good.
You might have to hit up an old bookstore with someone who knows about such things, or ask the librarian. Do you have a local university (especially the land grant universities or other types of institutions that focused on farm/land/ag/etc.)? Game and Parks department will have information, or someone that will know how to point you in the right direction. What natural resource district are you in? Nearby state parks or national parks? Other extension offices should be useful, too. I can't think of all the names right now (>>726716 USDA is a good resource), but go talk to some people in your local offices.
tl;dr: old books, check out gov't offices and local universities... best resources
>>725483
Read multiple guides for you region and get good at distinguishing similar look alike. And spend time outside! The plants you will encounter will not all look like they do in your books, the more you look at the sharper you will become.
>>726464
Cattails
Dandelions
Wild Ramps
Mullberries
Brambles (Raspberries,Blackberries etc.)
Wild Rice (great lakes region)
Arrowhead lily (duck potatoes)
Watercress
Stinging nettle
Cherries (black,choke,pin)
Acorns (preferably white oak subgroup)
Maple samaras
Walnuts
these are mostly plants with some calories in them but I have more if anyone's interested along with and some preparation and ranges/habitats.
Any Army or Marine Infantry Survival Handbook at your local surplus store will have information on edible flora and fauna, and even how to trap critters and fish without a pole. They are super handy to have.
Also most Evergreens that produce a pinecone have pine nuts that are edible and delicious raw or roasted.
WPA here,
mywildflowers.com
USDA plants database
PNDI inventory
Newcombs Wildflower Guide
Plants of Pennsylvania (if you can handle botany terms)
Virginia Tech Tree ID app
>>727218
Well in Eastern North America most of the pine species produce small enough seeds to make it not worth collecting them.
>>728258
Yeah, it is easier gathering grass seed to eat to make bannock. lol
>>725483
Here's what I use.
-Dead Bird
>>725483
Reading Thomas elpel's botany in a day will teach you loads, there's even a free online course ro accompany it along with a dedicated Facebook group, the idea is to teach you how to recognise the same family of plants by its characteristics, for instance, all plants in the mint family are edible but could you recognise all plants in the mint family?
Added to that I would recommend wild survival food or pretty much most books by Lindale runyun, she lived most of her life eating trees and weeds, a fountain of information, there's a ton of free mp3's on her website offthefield.com which are educational.
Thomas elpel also has other books and dvd's for minimal survival (the art of nothing) and there are 100s of books on bushcraft (ray mears & mors kohanski are among the best) which teach you everything you need to know about firewalling, cordage and camp lore. Also YouTube has a ton of bushcraft channels.
There's also a bi-monthly magazine called primitive technology dedicated to true primitive technology
>>728503
*Linda Runyon
