Botany: The Most Neglected Subject in Survival (and Why You Could Die From Not Understanding It)
Do-it-Yourself Botany: Plant Identification and Four Must-Have Resources for Your Survival Library
Lupine can be mistaken for chicory. Some plants, such as poison oak, ivy, or sumac are dangerous to you if they come in contact with the skin, and also if they’re accidentally burned over a campfire and the smoke inhaled. The first article that I wrote for Ready Nutrition was a review of the book “Eat the Weeds” that gave a listing of all the weeds that are fit and nutritious for consumption.
I’m going to recommend another reference that I found recently that will be a great addition to your preparation library. It is an easy-to-use resource that is very comprehensive in nature and an excellent instructional manual. “Botany in a Day: The Patterns Method of Plant Identification,” is written by Thomas J. Elpel, and this stresses identification by the plant family, and then narrowing it down to the individual plant.
The book gives the history and structure of plants and then how to identify the different families of plants, finishing off with an entire reference guide with the in’s and outs of each kind. This includes trees and ferns, as well as your standard flowering species. Elpel goes into great detail of the differences between Monocots and Dicots, and flower shape and structure to identify first the family and then the individual plant.
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