Need Help Identifying Wild Plants ...

[vja4Him]

Is this fireweed:

http://www.discussny.com/members/vja4him-albums-winter-foraging-hike-central-valley-california-picture2839-plant05-112310a.jpg

[vja4Him]

Is this fireweed:

http://www.discussny.com/members/vja4him-albums-winter-foraging-hike-central-valley-california-picture2839-plant05-112310a.jpg

We had many of these plants in our front yard and in my garden. Some grew 7-8 feet high! They came up as volunteers. All these in my yard have died, but I've seen a few small ones growing down the road.

I've read that fireweed is edible. If this is fireweed, how would I prepare for consumption?

[crimescene450]

just post in your other threads

you now have three
if you go to the previous one, youll see that people have responded with help and info


edit: whoops

thats horseweed actually
made an error

[vja4Him]

just post in your other threads

you now have three
if you go to the previous one, youll see that people have responded with help and info

edit: whoops

thats horseweed actually
made an error

Looks like horseweed is useful as a medicinal plant.

[your_comforting_company]

it is horseweed, Conyza canadensis. It's one of my favorite friction fire materials, for the hand drill method.

This shows how widespread and available horseweed is. The ones in my yard look exactly the same.
Couldn't find my picture of live ones, but here's a picture of some I havested for firemaking.
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg184/your_comforting_company/Primitive Skills/firemaking/DSCN4954.jpg

[crimescene450]

it is horseweed, Conyza canadensis. It's one of my favorite friction fire materials, for the hand drill method.

This shows how widespread and available horseweed is. The ones in my yard look exactly the same.
Couldn't find my picture of live ones, but here's a picture of some I havested for firemaking.


oh wow i never knew that
im about to try the hand drill. but i harvested mullein

is horseweed easier that mullein?

im using a cottonwood hearth btw

[your_comforting_company]

IMO horseweed is easier than mullein. I would put horseweed and wild lettuce together as easy ones, and mullien a little harder than those two. I use mullein, too, and learned it with thumb straps over the top, I have since started a fire using mullein without thumbstraps. Make sure you smooth off the knobs where the leaves attached or you'll get a sore hand!!
The nodes on horseweed and lettuce (where the leaves attach) lend, IMO, to add grip to the stick to help apply downward pressure.

[charibelle18]

I don't know how to load the pics from my album on here but, I took various pics of berries from trees. I wanted to know if anyone can identify them, & are they edible.

[gryffynklm]

Charibelle, here is a link to posting pictures. This may help.

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1318

[charibelle18]

These are the tree growing berry pics I spoke of earlier.

[charibelle18]

Charibelle, here is a link to posting pictures. This may help.

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1318

Thanks gryffynklm for the assist. :flowers:

[crimescene450]

Its gonna be really really hard to ID a deciduous plant at this time of the year. Yiu should probably come back in spring, and take note of the leaves, and flowers.

Also, where does this plant grow? (near water, valleys, etc.)

[charibelle18]

The trees were growing in a roadside ditch near a field. There were willows, & pear, or apple trees, nearby.

[your_comforting_company]

Those white berries look really familiar. I'll go get my tree book and have a look, but it's east-side so don't expect too much..

[crashdive123]

Could the white ones be from some sort of Dogwood?

[your_comforting_company]

Can I get a better picture of the very bottom of the berries, and the top where the stem connects?
The bark would help also.

and just a wag here, does it have thorns?

[charibelle18]

No thorns, but I'll have to shoot them tomorrow.

[your_comforting_company]

I was thinking hawthorne berries, but most hawthornes have, well.. thorns. The only dogwood listed in my book with white berries is roughleaf dogwood Cornus drummondii. Without leaves or flowers it's gonna be hard to identify. There are lots of trees with white berries. Might have to bust a berry open and describe what's in there.

[charibelle18]

There are actually two different white berries off of two different trees. Until I can drive to the site I got it I can't tell you more than what I know off the branches. There appears to be vestigial thorns on both branches. because of the picture limits I will talk about one at a time.

The first has smaller berries in larger clumps.

[charibelle18]

The Second has larger berries (2x), also in good size clumps.

[Rick]

Okay. I thought that was off of one tree. It looked like dogwood to me, too, but some of the other pics had me messed up. I have a white dogwood that had the red berries on it until a couple of weeks ago.

[your_comforting_company]

the second one looks an aweful lot like a chinaberry berry. Sorry, I can't say for sure about either one of them. leaves would be a huge help. The top one resembles the soapberry but i'm going on memory. (that's not so good sometimes!)

[crimescene450]

btw charibelle, white berries are usually not edible.

at least thats what ive heard.

white berries are often not edible, red berries are usually 50-50, and blue/black are often edible.

[crashdive123]

My knowledge of wild edibles is very limited. I was doing some research this morning and came across what I think is very scary. I was looking at what looked like a professionally made web site that was providing informations on wild berries. The following statement was on the site.
It is very easy to identify the berries. If you are on a nature's trail and spot a berry in the wilderness, pluck the berry. Eat it. If it tastes like any of the berries you have eaten, then the berry is an edible fruit. But in case you come across a white berry and you are not sure, whether it is an ivy-berry, then it is better not eaten. Ivy-berries are poisonous berries. So, here is a place on the web (where everything is factual right?) that is advocating - if you don't know what it is, then eat it and see if it tastes good? Yeah - I'll pass on that advice.

[dezertdude]

go here http://www.eattheweeds.com/www.EatTheWeeds.Com/EatTheWeeds.com/EatTheWeeds.com.html
Dean will answer emails and is always more than willing to help.

[FarmGirl]

Wow there CrashDive That web site you referenced could get a person sick or worse. I am sure you are joking about passing that info on.
Deadly Night shade has a black berry that said to taste sweet. . . do not eat it or even taste it.
If it is not a positive ID as a safe plant don't stick it in your mouth F.G.

[Rick]

I think you need to re-read his post, FG. He's saying that kind of information is on the web and it's wrong. Everyone here is in the camp that if you can't make a positive ID then don't eat it.

[crashdive123]

Wow there CrashDive That web site you referenced could get a person sick or worse. I am sure you are joking about passing that info on.
Deadly Night shade has a black berry that said to taste sweet. . . do not eat it or even taste it.
If it is not a positive ID as a safe plant don't stick it in your mouth F.G.

Yeah - that was pretty much my point. As Rick said - you'll quickly see that we will not let folks get away with posting things that could get people hurt. Mine was a cautionary note to not believe everything you read on the web.