Arrowleafe Balsamroot (Balamorhiza sagittata) & Cattail
So yesterday I gathered some Arrowleaf Balsamroot, leaves, flowers & root. I boiled up the leaves & flowers this morning and was pleasantly suprised at the taste, kinda like a strong mustard green. The larger leaf veins didn't get tender so they were unpatabable.
I only used a knife to dig with as I wouldn't have a shovel in a survival situation, they wer hard to dig. They have a tough woody, barklike exterior, & are very stringy. In my research, the roots were historically baked and then ground into flour. I boiled them for 45 minutes and they were still to tough & stringy to eat. But I could have ground them.
I also gathered some new growth cattail. The white center part of the stalk we ate raw. My wife said it was better than celery & reminds her of bamboo shoots or water chestnut.
I boiled some of the tougher greener parts of the cattail shoot & balsamroot together. A nice combination.
So in 1 hour or less of gather I got enough to make one meal for 2 folks. I could have got a great deal more if I hadn't wasted time digging up the balsamroot tuber & gathered more cattail.
My conclusion is that the young tender parts of both plants would be a very good addition to a survival diet and would make a nice flavoring to a soup.
