Learning The Plants For Life

Learning the plants, how to I.D. them and how to live with them, how they help us, how to prepare them, and the plants to stay away from.
Learning about the plants is really a lifelong commitment. Best learned in the field from an experienced teacher, instructor, and or mentor. Not always easy to find. When you do find one your job is to dedicate the time to learn. Books can help you along the path. Videos can help guide you. However, nothing beats a true plant guy, who not only can I.D. the plants but tell how to prepare them and what the properties of the plants are.

In my personal quest I had several “teachers” , many of which knew a little more than I did, and I knew I was sadly lacking.
About 20 years ago I met Christopher Nyerges. I had read many of his articles, I knew people that knew him, so I began taking his classes. I never looked back. Far and away the best plant guy I ever ran into. The only instructor who could I.D. a plant from the time any given plant is an inch out of the dirt through the time the plant is a dead critter. How to key out the plant without the flower, very different. That is more than useful. However this article is not about Christopher but it is because of him I have learned more than a few things about plants.

Just to clear up something that is a mistake for many just getting into plants… Herbs, and Medicinal plants are many times common plants that we eat. It depends on the application, how you intend to use the plant.

What follows is a very small list of books in no special order. This is a partial list from my collection of books about plants. There are many not mentioned, this is not intentional, just that these books are very good. And we only have so much room here. Besides reading a really long list gets boring very fast. And I have a very extensive collection.
Some have color plates, some have line drawings. A few even show the plants at different seasons. Keep in mind that plant book photos are examples of the best, the most perfect plant they could find. In your reality they can be very different, depending on soil, sun, shade, altitude, amount of water, a dry year and other factors.

A book that reached out and grabbed my attention in 1973 is : ” Of Men And Plants” by Maurice Messegue’. The first half of the book is in a novel form and tells the story of how this man became the plantman in France ” he grows miracles” , how he found fame and fortune with remedies handed down through generations of his own family, offers instructions for growing, successful diets and the medicinal uses of plants. Great book.
” Edible and Medicinal Plants of the West” By Gregory Tilford.
” Edible Wild Plants” A north American Field guide” by Thomas S. Elias and Peter A. Dykeman
“Herb Identifier and Handbook” by Ingrid Gabriel.

Of course some of these books are older, plants dont change much so the old books are always worth having.
The more books you have the more you can cross reference, that can be very important and helpful. You can find many plant books in used book stores, flea markets and garge sales. Many of these book when new were very pricey.

” Free For The Eating” by Bradford Angier, 100 wild plants 300 ways to use them. Very informative book.
” National Audbon Society Field Guide to North America Wildflowers” . A great deal of these plants are edible and have other healing qualities.
” Weeds Of The West” by a whole list of well known plant people. This is a great book because of the color pictures and three views of the plants. Many of these plants are found in the midwest and the east. They might have a mid-western and or an eastern version out by now.

Some of these books do not tell you if the plant is edible or not, but that is why you have collected other books to check them out, the point is they I.D. the plant.

I went to a seminar at USC one night and watched a film about this lady, and she was there and gave a talk. Rosita Arvigo is an amazing lady. She wrote this book with Nadine Epstein. The book covers common ailments and tells how to cure them from your kitchen, garden and grocery store. Any time James Duke puts his name on a book saying that it is good, grab it. ” Rainforest Home Remedies” The maya way to heal your body and replenish your soul. The healing qualities come from the rainforest of the Maya.
“Growing California Native Plants” by Marjorie G. Schmidt. You do not have to live in Califorinia to grwo these helpful plants. This might be hard to find, not sure.

Dont freak out at the authors name here. ” Medicinal Plants of the desert and canyon west” by Michael Moore, not the same MM. This is just simply a great book.
” Guide To Wild Foods” in the footsteps of our ancestors by Christopher Nyerges, not only I.D.s plants but in most cases informs you how to use the plants, and eat them, or not.

Help yourself with this book. ” Herbs, thier culture and uses” By Rosetta E. Clarkson. Informs you on the planting, propagation and culinary preps of all kinds of herbs.
” Herbs for Health and Healing” by Kathi Keville. Another fine book reccomended by Jame Duke.
” Mother Nature M.D. ” by Eric Meyer. A forward by James Duke. He is a PH.D kind of guy.
“The Green Pharmacy ” by James Duke PH.D. Get it..

This is a list to get you going. If you do not have some of these books they all belong in your house. I have read them them all and practice what they preach.
By combining live treks with a few of the books you will begin to learn about the plants.
Never ever eat any plant you not 100% , that is one hundred percent sure of what it is, that  in all the meaning of the word “Identified” that plant. There is no such thing as a “universal taste test” . Some think there is. NOT.  Well one day the trap door will open and zing, bye bye. Or you will get deathly sick, at the least. Not to be fooled around with.

I hope this will put you on the path to the plants. Remember you learn one plant at a time. If you can learn two new plants a month at the end of a year you have 24 plants down. After you start to learn it gets eaiser to learn more plants, at a faster clip.

Now lets find some tender lambs quarter, some young curly dock, a few wild berries and some Trader Joes dressing and add a chopped tomato and we are eating large.

By Dude McLean

By Dude McLean

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