Any foragers out there???

“Anybody out there like to collect food from the wild (plants, bugs, etc.) Hoping to find out what to eat, or more importantly what not to eat, from the forest ...particularly Ozark Natnl in Arkansas. thanx”

“Hog On Ice probably knows this stuff...what's safe to eat and what's not. Perhaps he'll chime in if he sees the thread.

I guess that some people's version of LNT might include no foraging, but I've never seen any hiker or backpacker pass wild berries and not grab a few.”

“Thanks to my dad, I know a lot about what to eat and not eat in the woods. However, my knowledge is pretty limited to the Midwest,particularly Indiana.

I know that if you go your local library, there are plenty of books on the subject.

A few of the wild foods I eat include:

trout lily (greens spotted leaf great in salads)
water cress (salad green)
red and white clover (salads or dry and boil to make teas)
Dandelion greens (salad greens or cooked)
Poke weed (boiled, kinda like spinach)
all the berries, rasberry, strawberry, blackberry, etc.(you name it)
sheepsorel (salad green)
winter cress (boiled, kinda like brocolli)
daylilies (salads, or buds battered and fried)
violet (salads or boiled down to syrup)
Mushrooms, several varieties (lots of options)
Sasafras root (great tea)

With a fishing pole and a little foraging you can spend days in the woods in southern Indiana with no food.

Spring is the best however. Foraging gets a little harder as the summer goes on.”

“Having seen this post over on the other side, well, this poster plans on squatting in the NF for an undetermined time...living off of the land. IMO if they want to do that, fine, but go to a freaking library and get some books!! Like some back to nature books that tell you how to do it. (Which there aplenty of).
What bugs me on the other posting is the feeling that illegal hunting is part of the plan.
Fun.”

“Uh oh! Sounds like Strydalope season is in. Anyone want to go hunting?”

“Also read "Into the Wild" by Krakauer.

Sometimes knowing what NOT to eat is more important.
McCandless died because he misidentified a plant which was very similar to a food plant.

He was smart enough to diagnose what happened, but too late for him to survive.”

“Say, can I have some of your purple berries?”

“Yes, I've been eating them for six or seven weeks now, haven't got sick once.”

“"Probably keep us both alive"”

“Reminds me of my first ex-wife dying from eating poison mushrooms.”

“Destroying Angel cheaper than a lawyer?”

“Check out the Foxfire books. Your library should have them. They have all kinds of information.”

“I was reading a survival book recently and the author described the tastiness of field mice. His only issue was whether or not to skin 'em. He said if properly roasted the fur burns right off, but if you do decide to remove the hide they make excellent finger puppets.”

“finger puppets?”

“I suppose you could make a bikini out of them.”

“I suppose you could do that.

Kinda sorta like Janet Jackson did, huh?”

“It would still take a lot of mouse skins though.”