TONGVA LIVING HISTORY GARDEN
SAFETY IN THE USE OF WILD, EDIBLE, AND MEDICINAL PLANTS
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1. Do not eat anything you cannot positively identify
2. Study and learn all you can about edible and medicinal plants of your area
3. Study ecological (habitat) plant communities and seasons of usability
4. Use botanical names along with common names
5. Get out in the field to identify and sample plants
6. Know what parts of the plant is useable and how to prepare it. Some parts may be toxic
7. Most grasses are edible, but avoid grasses with disease or fungus
8. Ferns are edible in the fiddlehead stage only
9. Make a dish with a simple recipe
10. If the greens are bitter, cook in more than one water and continue to change water until the greens are mild. Start with boiling water.
11. Don't eat too many wild plants at first
12. Caution about contamination in roadsides, waterways, etc. Clorox or iodine rinse any plants for 10 minutes if harvested in these areas.
13. Know poisonous plants in your area
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EIDBLE RULES
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1. Don't eat large quantities of any plant until you test it. Cook it, if possible, and sample, then wait 8 hours.
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2. Cook all plants when in doubt of their edibility.
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3. Know your mushrooms uf you want to collect them.
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4. Avoid plants with milky juice or sap. This substance is often a defense mechanism. Some such plants are okay, such as dandelion.
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5. Berry color: Black or blue: 80% edible
Red: 50% edible
White: 10% edible