Edible and Useful Plants

I was given a wonderful book as a gift a few months ago by my son and daughter-in-law. They hear me talking about my Master Naturalist adventures and also follow the blog, so they knew this one would interest me.

The book is "Edible and Useful Plants of  Texas and the Southwest" by Delena Tull. Ms. Tull is an environmental science educator and naturalist who lived in central Texas for twenty years and earned her Ph.D. in science education form the University of Texas in Austin.

The book was originally published in 1987 and was updated in 1999. It's in paperback, with about 500 pages, and has many plant illustrations and photographs.

She divides the book into seven sections:

1. Edible and useful wild plants
2. Teas and spices
3. Edible and poisonous berries and other fleshy fruits
4. Poisonous and harmful plants
5. Colorful dyes with Texas plants
6. Fibers from Texas plants
7. Rubber, Wax, Oil, and Soap: Industrial resources from Texas plants

In a brief introduction she discusses the vegetation regions in the state, the problems of using plants as medicine, and the dangers of trying mushrooms. The main problems with plants as medicine is the variability of the effect from plant to plant because of varying growing conditions and life history of the plant. You're never sure of the dose.

In each section she includes many warning about the dangers inherent in sampling native plants: poisoning, allergic reactions, etc. Nonetheless, there are many plants and fruits are quite safe to eat - the challenge is in making sure you've identified them correctly. She includes the history of usage, going back to Native Americans, and many recipes. There is much useful knowledge and folklore which we've lost in modern times.

I never considered the possibility of using dyes from native plants, although I knew the wood of agaritas (Mahonia trifoliolata) is a bright yellow on the inside and that the cochineal (Dactylopius coccus) insect found on prickly pears (Opuntia sp.) is bright red when crushed. I found that section quite educational and she has many procedures listed for creating dyes.

The other interesting part was in the last section of industrial resources from Texas plants. Did you know there are at least two plants in Texas which are a source  of rubber? They became important during both World Wars, when imported rubber was scarce, but commercial interest has since died off.

I doubt I'll ever be able to "live off the land", although that concept fascinates me. This book will help me find snacks, though, as I hike up and down the Hill Country.