I recently updated the Basketry and Plants page with annotated lists of useful books, journal articles, and online sites/repositories. The Basketry resources list already includes books that cover foraged basketry materials, but they do not focus heavily on how to identify the plants.
While teaching a plant identification class this past weekend, I was asked if there are any other books I recommend for identification besides my primary field guide. I did not have the titles on hand, but I do use three other books that are aimed specifically at edible/medicinal plants.
I said I would add the information for those books (pictured above) to my website. The following annotated list is now included on the Basketry and Plants page:
Plant ID and Edible Foraging Books:
DO NOT EAT ANYTHING FORAGED UNLESS YOU ARE 100% CERTAIN YOU KNOW WHAT IT IS. DO NOT RELY ON APPS FOR THIS.
North American Trees, 5th Edition (2003) – A field guide focused on woody plants (trees and shrubs) that introduces the anatomy and descriptive terminology used to tell many plants apart. Includes dichotomous keys for identifying plant families and species, with individual species descriptions, drawings, and information grouped by plant family.
The Forager’s Harvest: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants (2006) – Includes color photographs and descriptions of tools and proper preparation of foraged plant parts for eating. Provides a foraging calendar giving the ranges of when various plant parts are good to harvest at a certain latitude & altitude (can be copied and adjusted to your own location for personal use).
Ancestral Plants volume 1 (2010) – A “primitive” survival skills book on edible, medicinal, and useful plants. The plant profiles include multiple photos of identification features, descriptions of the uses (including non-edible uses like cordage), some history of the plant’s use, and a little information on preparation. The introductory section has more details on the mentioned preparation methods.
Northeast Foraging (2014) – This book focuses less on teaching you to identify, but it covers 120 plants found in the Northeast US region (from Maryland to southern Canada) with plant lists organized by season and area and individual profiles of each plant and its usage.
Smash the Shell 