Wild Foods

The Wild Foodies of Philly: This is a collaborative effort! We are a group of wild foods enthusiasts who came together in the summer of 2010 to learn more about wild edibles, both plants and small critters. We want to learn more and spread the news. We believe that wild foods, many of which grow up between the bricks on Philadelphia sidewalks and streets, can become a major part of the American diet, like it is in many other parts of the world!

PLANTS - Philly area

Wild Foodies of Philly's FREE FIELD GUIDE
LEARN The Wild Foodies DIRTY DOZEN for summer!
Great photo list of wild plants (edible and not) in Philadelphia: http://www.weedalogue.com/, plus reference list -- http://www.weedalogue.com/links.html We're reorganizing it for easier use. See below -- GENDLER'S LIST- (He takes great photos, but only a few of the plants are listed as edible plants, we will be working to identify all the edible plants. We're only about 1/3 through Gendler's list. (July 25, 2010)
http://www.phillyorchards.org SEE MAP - http://www.phillyorchards.org/orchards/map
Philadelphia Food Harvest Map - http://maps.google Created in the summer of 2007 by David Siller, a farm educator for Weavers Way Farm, it now has dozens of entries, including ones with charming notes: "nice apple tree - get it before the kids do" and "feral hops on the dog park fence." http://www.philly.com/inquirer/food/

From Patrick Hurley, Ph.D. Ursinus College phurley@ursinus.edu Do you gather wild plants or mushrooms in Southeastern Pennsylvania? We’d like to talk with you. For more info: http://webpages.ursinus.edu/phurley/SuburbanForagingFlyer.pdf

GENERAL PLANT RESEARCH

LOCAL GROUPS:

GUIDEBOOKS & GUIDES:

Edible Wild Plants, A North American Field Guide, by Thomas S. Elias and Peter A. Dykeman, 1990 (traditional style field guide with lots of color photos)
Wildman Steve Brill's http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/ 2 books: purchase online color edition of "Shoots and Greens" for $12.50 http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/Purchase/Payment.html#Anchor-The-47857 (big book, will use up your color cartridges) ALSO: http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/Books.Folder/I%20%26%20H%20Folder/Id'g%20%26%20Hvst'g.html (all illustrated, no color, no photos, but lots of information)
A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants: Eastern and central North America by Lee Allen Peterson. Also: Peterson Guide, "Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants and Herbs"
"Nature's Garden: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting and Preparing Edible Wild Plants" by Samuel Thayer (2010). Also, The Forager's Harvest, A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing edible wild plants, by Samuel Thayer, 2006 (much fewer photos than A North American Field Guide, but more information) ALSO SEE ONLINE: http://www.wildflowers-and-weeds.com/The_Forager/forager.html PHOTOS: http://www.wildflowers-and-weeds.com/Plant_Families/Plant_Families_Index.html
Doug Elliott - http://www.dougelliott.com
Nancy Klehm of http://spontaneousvegetation.net/ and http://socialecologies.net/
David Siller of Philadelphia, educator, forager, and tour guide: beezsveet@gmail.com

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Other BOOKS and WEBSITES recommended by our Wild Foodies of Philly:

Ancestral Plants by Arthur Haines, see http://www.arthurhaines.com/purchase.htm
Stalking the Wild Asparagus, and other books by Euell Gibbons http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euell_Gibbons
Secrets of the Soil : New Solutions for Restoring Our Planet by Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird
The Secret Life of Plants by Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird
Permaculture

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WEBSITES:

Excellent source: Plant For A Future - http://www.pfaf.org/user/edibleuses.aspx
Very helpful! Wikipedia (just type in name of plant in general search box), plus check out their list of plants with edible leaves and photos -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_plants_with_edible_leaves
Wildman Steve Brill: http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/ PHOTOS: http://foragingpictures.com/
http://www.wikihow.com/Find-Wild-Edible-Plants
http://njaes.rutgers.edu/weeds/thumbnail.asp Rutgers Weed Gallery
http://montana.plant-life.org/pics_edible.htm Montana's Edible Plant gallery
http://www.wildflowersofstrathclydepark.org.uk/ColourAll.htm Cool UK website, just click on the photo of the weed in flower
http://www.extension.umn.edu/gardeninfo/weedid/index.html
http://www.herbvideos.com/edibl.htm
http://foraging.com/
http://foodunderfoot.com/category/wild-plant-identification
http://outdooredibles.com/
http://www.torrens.org.uk/FFF/index.html (It's British, but still very helpful)
http://www.wildcrafting.net/, formerly http://www.wilderness-survival.net/plants-1.php
http://www.holisticonline.com/herbal-med/Hol_Herb_Directory_Index.htm herb index
http://almondstreet.net/Herblistpg2.html (medicinal information, but may not be reliable)
Ask Mr. Smarty Pants: http://www.wildflower.org/expert/new.php
Yahoo group: http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/ForageAhead/
http://wild-foods.blogspot.com/
http://botanical.com/ mostly medicinal, but very useful
Edible flowers:
- http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/garden/07237.html
- http://www.epicurean.com/articles/edible-flowers.html

CAUTION:

IDENTIFY (ID IT): Always be sure of what you are eating. If you haven't positively identified it, don't eat it.
DIGESTION: Don't eat a lot of a plant the first time you taste it. Go slowly and see how your system processes it.
TOXINS: Don't eat plants that grow in potentially contaminated areas, such as next to roads, former dump sites, current and former industrial areas, etc.. Some plants can taste sweeter if they are growing next to a roadway, but that sweetness could be its lead content!
OXALIC ACID: Many green plants contain important nutrients, but also oxalic acid. Too much oxalic acid, such as in spinach, is said to interfere with processing calcium and contribute to kidney stones. Here's more information on it, http://oxalicacidinfo.com/.
MINT: Mint makes my joints ache if I drink it or expose any part of my body to it, so I stay away from it! Editor: Lynn Landes
CARBON FOOTPRINT: Some plants, in order to be edible, need to be cooked, which results in a higher carbon footprint.