Basic Essentials: Edible Wild Plants and Useful Herbs

Basic Illustrated Series

by Jim Meuninck

For a generation, BASIC ESSENTIALS series has been as much a part of the outdoors experience as backpacks and hiking boots. Information-packed tools for the novice or handy references for the veteran, these volumes distill years of knowledge into affordable and portable books. Whether you're planning a trip or thumbing for facts in the field, BASIC ESSENTIALS books tell you what you need to know.

BASIC ESSENTIALS EDIBLE WILD PLANS AND USEFUL HERBS

Learn how to:
-Forage for wild plants and herbs and identify edible berries
-Treat a variety of ailments and illnesses, from colds to hear disease and more
-Distinguish between edible and nonedible parts of plants
-Moderate your intake of certain plants and herbs to avoid physical illness
-Make delicious desserts, herbal teas, and other healthy recipes

(From the back of the book)

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction, Reference, Food

88 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1988

Reviews

[OneDayI'll · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting collection of various flora and fungi. There are some cautions added but not nearly enough. The very first item, stinging nettle, not a single caution is mentioned. It should be avoided by pregnant and nursing parents. It has also been known to fluctuate blood sugars higher and lower, so diabetics would need to use caution if they attempt to make a tea or add it to meals. It has also been known to affect kidney function. None of these things are mentioned. As I said, some do come with warnings. Thankfully. But far too many do not, which is concerning. Outside of those very real concerns the pictures, recipes and suggested uses is nicely put together.

[Justyna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an awesome reference. Good descriptions, where it is from, what medical benefits you may receive from them, how you can eat them, recipes, and colored pictures. I would definitely recommend this book!

[Jaymes Dunlap · Rating 4 out of 5]

Generally an okay book to get you started or if you are curious about edible plants in and around North America. But as the book cautions, this should not be your final authority. There is a high amount of emphasis on using this book with a qualified person familiar with foraging for edible plants. Additionally, author Jim Meuninck recommends taking three field guides to assist in positive identification of the plant. Driving it home, the final section has poisons plants, some with similarity to edible plants (such as Poison Hemlock, or Conium maculatum, bearing high resemblance to many in the carrot family) that should not be eaten else they could prove fatal.

This book is supposed to be used in tandem with a video, which is partially why the images may be just drawings. Even so, I was able to recognize a few of these plants in my area as well (both edible and toxic). Some even surprised me. Meuninck includes the Latin names, how he or others cook with them (aside for salads and cooking, be prepared to read a lot of butter, frying, and even cream cheese references for cooking/preparing). He also includes potential medicinal uses he included for fun (cautions he is not an authority and cannot recommend it). The other thing that impressed me is that he included some plants may even be carcinogenic, even though they are considered edible. He does sometimes include his own personal experience with the plant and goes as far as including warnings on parts that cannot be eaten in several plants—either due to (critical) warnings or just being straight inedible. He also lists bland or undesirable survival foods.

Sadly, many of the poisonous ones did not come with drawings, but considering this is just a minor introductory book with 63 pages of information on plant edibility/toxicity, it was a decent read. Great as a starter if you are showing fleeting interested on the subject, but should not use it as the final authority. Believe it was generally made to be a quick read due to drawings, and few page numbers.

The reason I give it only 3 stars is because it would have been nice to have color photos and because more in-depth information could sometimes be lacking. Also, sparse number of sources, so it is tough to verify where he gets his information outside of personal experience.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would have loved more pictures or illustrations

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

While this was published in 1999, the information is still extremely useful. A handy book if you really want to get into foraging and finding plants to eat when other resources are scarce.

[Justin · Rating 2 out of 5]

not much information per plant but it is good at highlighting potential toxicity issues

[BookBec · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very simple foraging book, covering selected plants across North America. A good starter book, but pretty small entries on each plant (most less than a page). If you're looking for a detailed field guide or a focus on plants of a specific region, this won't be it. It has some regional information ("Eastern Forested Areas," "Mountain West"), some recipes, and a list of poisonous plants to look out for (many are cross-referenced with edible plants, when part of the plant is toxic and part is edible).

[Emily Mellow · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is pretty useless. There are very tiny pictures for SOME of the plants; others have no photos at all. Do not rely on this book for plant id!
There was some interesting info here and there, but it's all very brief and more useful information and descriptions can be found in virtually any other foraging book.

[Erin Burke Edwards · Rating 3 out of 5]

This handbook has good information about common wild edible plants. However, since the pictures are in black and white and there are numerous warnings about look-alike poisonous plants. Color photographs would have been very helpful.

[Natalie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great for the basics, not very detailed. Includes simple photographs and same amount of information for each plant, covers broad area. Plants like asparagus, kitchen favorites - not many medicinals. A pocket guide kind of approach.

[Sandy D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good introduction to foraging, with clear photographs and short essays on the most commonly collected wild plants in several eco-zones (wetlands, yards, woodlands, deserts, sea shores). There are some fun recipes at the end of the book.

[Cora · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good handbook for the survivalist or anone who spends time in the outdoors. I love discovering that plants I have seen all my life actually have value beyond groundcover and beauty.

[Pandionhalatius37.6 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very limited range information, I was disappointed by the limited detail

[Ann]

Basic Essentials Edible Wild Plants and Useful herbs by Meuninck SIGNED: 9780762740864 @ 2007, PB eBay, 10/2011, different front cover than what Goodreads is showing.