Harvesting wild edible plants can save the day when modern agricultural practices fail. As we mentioned in our recent article about Primitive Technology's yam garden, crop cultivation is the most reliable and efficient means of collecting edible fruits and veggies in a survival situation. However, that doesn't mean that you should disregard foraging — if you know where to look and the season is right, it's possible to gather a huge selection of tasty and nutritious wild edibles. These can supplement your shelf-stable food stockpiles, garden produce, and hunted meat.

Wild Edible Plant Basics

There are a few key considerations when searching for wild edibles. First and foremost: is it actually edible? There are many toxic plants and convincing lookalikes that can make you dangerously ill, so positive identification is the name of the game. Always be extremely cautious when identifying wild edibles, and use the Universal Edibility Test if there's any uncertainty.

Some items, such as these Rowan berries, must be cooked to break down naturally-occurring toxins.

Another factor is recalling which parts of a specific plant are edible, and how to process them. Many can be eaten whole and raw, while others need more preparation before you chow down.

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A new video from British outdoorsman AlfieAesthetics analyzes 25 different edible plants, flowers, fruits, nuts, and seeds. These include common varieties such as primroses, thistles, fireweed, dandelions, nettles, daisies, and more. Some are native to the UK, but many can be found around the world. But beyond just telling you what's edible, Alfie explains some of the ways to clean and prepare each plant — some are techniques you may not have thought of, such as roasting and grinding dandelion roots to make a coffee or tea substitute.

Check out the extremely helpful 35-minute video below:

For more survival and bushcraft videos from AlfieAesthetics, check out his YouTube channel.

Related Posts

• Infographic: A Survivalist's Guide to Wild Edible Plants
• Infographic: Poisonous vs. Edible Berries
• Urban Foraging: Food is Everywhere
• Edible Plants & Their Dangerous Doppelgangers

Written by Patrick McCarthy