Edible and Useful Plants of the Southwest: Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona

By Delena Tull

A guide to useful Southwestern wild plants, including recipes, teas, spices, dyes, medicinal uses, poisonous plants, fibers, basketry, and industrial uses.

All around us there are wild plants useful for food, medicine, and clothing, but most of us don’t know how to identify or use them. Delena Tull amply supplies that knowledge in this book, which she has now expanded to more thoroughly address plants found in New Mexico and Arizona, as well as Texas.

Extensively illustrated with black-and-white drawings and color photos, this book includes the following special features:

·       Recipes for foods made from edible wild plants

·       Wild teas and spices

·       Wild plant dyes, with instructions for preparing the plants and dying wool, cotton, and other materials

·       Instructions for preparing fibers for use in making baskets, textiles, and paper

·       Information on wild plants used for making rubber, wax, oil, and soap

·       Information on medicinal uses of plants

·       Details on hay fever plants and plants that cause rashes

·       Instructions for distinguishing edible from poisonous berries

Detailed information on poisonous plants, including poison ivy, oak, and sumac, as well as herbal treatments for their rashes

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Sep 15, 2013
• ISBN: 9780292754119

Book preview

Edible and Useful Plants of the Southwest

TEXAS, NEW MEXICO, AND ARIZONA

Revised Edition

Including recipes, teas and spices, natural dyes, medicinal uses, poisonous plants, fibers, basketry, and industrial uses

BY DELENA TULL

Illustrations by Michael Earney, Julia Larke, Judy Teague, and Suzanne Rippe

Photographs by George Oxford Miller

University of Texas Press

Austin

The author and the publisher declare that to the best of their knowledge all material in this book is accurate. There are no warranties that extend beyond the educational nature of this book. Readers interested in consuming wild plants should consult other sources of information, including experienced botanists and literary works, before eating any wild plants. The authors and the publishers are not responsible for any undesirable outcomes that may occur for those who fail to read or heed this warning

Support for this book comes from an endowment for environmental studies made possible by generous contributions from Richard C. Bartlett, Susan Aspinall Block, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Passages from the writings of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá are reprinted by permission of the publishers, Bahá’í World Centre Publications, Haifa, Israel, and the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States, Wilmette, Illinois.

Copyright © 1987, 1999, 2013 by Delena Tull

Photographs copyright © George Oxford Miller

Illustrations copyright © Michael Earney, Julia Larke, Judy Teague, and Suzanne Rippe

All rights reserved

Originally published as Practical Guide to Edible and Useful Plants by Texas Monthly Press, 1987

First University of Texas Press printing, 1999

Revised edition, 2013

Requests for permission to reproduce material from this work should be sent to:

Permissions

University of Texas Press

P.O. Box 7819

Austin, TX 78713-7819

http://utpress.utexas.edu/index.php/rp-form

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Tull, Delena, 1950–

Edible and useful plants of the Southwest : Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona : including recipes, teas and spices, natural dyes, medicinal uses, poisonous plants, fibers, basketry, and industrial uses / by Delena Tull ; illustrations by Michael Earney . . . [et al.] ; photographs by George Oxford Miller. — Rev. ed.

p.      cm.

Originally published: Practical guide to edible and useful plants. Austin, Tex. : Texas Monthly Press, ©1987.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-292-74827-9 (pbk. : alk. paper)

1. Wild plants, Edible—Texas.  2. Wild plants, Edible—New Mexico.  3. Wild plants, Edible—Arizona.  4. Wild plants, Edible—Southwestern States.  5. Plants, Useful—Texas.  6. Plants, Useful—New Mexico.  7. Plants, Useful—Arizona.  8. Plants, Useful—Southwestern States.  9. Poisonous plants—Texas.  10. Poisonous plants—New Mexico.  11. Poisonous plants—Arizona.  12. Poisonous plants—Southwestern States.  I. Earney, Michael, 1937–  II. Miller, George Oxford, 1943–  III. Title.

QK98.5.U6T85 2013

581.6'32—dc23

2013013690

ISBN 978-0-292-75412-6 (library e-book)

ISBN 9780292754126 (individual e-book)

This is the Day wherein

the earth hath told out her tidings

and hath laid bare her treasures;

when the oceans have brought forth their pearls

and the divine Lote-Tree its fruit . . .

Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, page 107

Contents

List of Plates

List of Illustrations

Preface to the Revised Edition

Acknowledgments

INTRODUCTION

What’s in This Book?

Vegetation Regions

Why Use Botanical Terminology?

1. EDIBLE AND USEFUL WILD PLANTS OF THE SOUTHWEST

Cautions and Notes on Using Wild Edibles

Why Bother with Wild Foods?

Native Plants for Agriculture

Grazing from the Wild: Tips and Precautions

Edible and Useful Wild Plants by Family, Including Recipes

Alismataceae—Water-plantain Family

Arrowhead—Sagittaria Species

Amaranthaceae—Amaranth Family

Amaranth—Amaranthus Species

Lamb’s-quarters—Chenopodium Species

Orach, Four-wing Saltbush—Atriplex Species

Tumbleweed—Salsola Species

Amaryllidaceae—Amaryllis Family

Onion, Garlic, Chives—Allium Species

Anacardiaceae—Sumac Family

Sumac—Rhus Species

Asparagaceae—Asparagus Family

Agave, Mescal, Lechuguilla—Agave Species

Beargrass—Nolina Species

Blue Camass—Camassia scilloides

Sotol—Dasylirion Species

Yucca—Yucca Species

Asteraceae—Composite Family, Sunflower Family

Chicory—Cichorium intybus

Dandelion—Taraxacum officinale

Goldenrod—Solidago odora

Lettuce—Lactuca Species

Ragweed—Ambrosia trifida

Sow Thistle—Sonchus Species

Sunflower—Helianthus Species

Maximilian Sunflower—Helianthus maximiliani

Thistle—Cirsium Species

Bixaceae—Lipsticktree Family

Yellow Show, Saiya—Amoreuxia Species

Boraginaceae—Borage Family

Sandfood—Pholisma Species

Cactaceae—Cactus Family

Cholla—Cylindropuntia Species

Tasajillo—Cylindropuntia leptocaulis

Prickly Pear—Opuntia Species

Saguaro Cactus—Carnegiea gigantea

Strawberry Cactus—Echinocereus stramineus, Echinocereus enneacanthus

Caryophyllaceae—Pink Family

Chickweed—Stellaria media

Cleomaceae—Cleome Family

Bee Plant—Cleome Species

Clammyweed—Polanisia dodecandra

Commelinaceae—Spiderwort Family

Dayflower—Commelina Species

Spiderwort—Tradescantia Species

Crassulaceae—Orpine Family

Sedum, Stonecrop—Sedum Species

Cucurbitaceae—Gourd Family

Buffalo Gourd—Cucurbita foetidissima

Cyperaceae—Sedge Family

Nut-grass—Cyperus Species

Euphorbiaceae—Spurge Family

Bull Nettle—Cnidoscolus texanus

Cassava—Manihot Species

Noseburn—Tragia Species

Fabaceae—Legume Family

Acacia, Huisache, Catclaw—Acacia Species

Alfalfa—Medicago sativa

Black Locust—Robinia pseudoacacia

Desert Ironwood—Olneya tesota

Groundnut—Apios americana

Hog Peanut—Amphicarpaea bracteata

Honey Locust—Gleditsia triacanthos

Indian Breadroot, Scurf Pea—Pediomelum Species

Kudzu—Pueraria Species

Mesquite, Tornillo—Prosopis Species

Redbud—Cercis canadensis

Retama—Parkinsonia aculeata

Tepary Bean—Phaseolus acutifolius

Fagaceae—Beech Family

Oak—Quercus Species

Fouquieriaceae—Ocotillo Family

Ocotillo—Fouquieria splendens

Juglandaceae—Walnut Family

Hickory—Carya Species

Pecan—Carya illinoinensis

Walnut—Juglans Species

Lamiaceae—Mint Family

Henbit—Lamium amplexicaule

Liliaceae—Lily Family

Lily—Lilium Species

Golden Mariposa Lily, Sego Lily—Calochortus Species

Spanish Bayonet—Hesperoyucca whipplei

Loasaceae—Eveningstar Family

Blazing Star—Mentzelia Species

Malvaceae—Mallow Family

Turk’s Cap—Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii

Martyniaceae—Unicorn Plant Family

Devil’s Claw—Proboscidea Species

Nelumbonaceae—Lotus Family

Lotus—Nelumbo lutea

Nymphaeaceae—Water-lily Family

Spatterdock—Nuphar lutea

Water-lily—Nymphaea odorata

Onagraceae—Evening Primrose Family

Showy Evening Primrose—Oenothera speciosa

Orobanchaceae—Broom-rape Family

Broom-rape—Orobanche Species

Oxalidaceae—Wood Sorrel Family

Wood Sorrel—Oxalis Species

Pinaceae—Pine Family

Piñon—Pinus Species

Plantaginaceae—Plantain Family

Plantain—Plantago Species

Poaceae—Grass Family

Carrizo—Arundo donax

Giant Cane—Arundinaria gigantea

Reed—Phragmites australis

Polygonaceae—Knotweed Family

Dock, Canaigre—Rumex Species

Pontederiaceae—Pickerelweed Family

Pickerelweed—Pontederia cordata

Water Hyacinth—Eichhornia crassipes

Portulacaceae—Purslane Family

Purslane—Portulaca Species

Rubiaceae—Madder Family

Bedstraw—Galium aparine

Smilacaceae—Greenbriar Family

Greenbriar—Smilax bona-nox

Typhaceae—Cattail Family

Cattail—Typha Species

Urticaceae—Nettle Family

Pellitory—Parietaria Species

Stinging Nettle—Urtica Species

Violaceae—Violet Family

Violet—Viola Species

Xanthorrhoeaceae—Grass Tree Family

Day Lily—Hemerocallis fulva

2. PLANTS AS MEDICINE

3. TEAS AND SPICES

Teas

Alfalfa—Medicago sativa—Fabaceae

Basswood—Tilia Species—Malvaceae

Bee Balm—Monarda Species—Lamiaceae

Bee Brush—Aloysia gratissima—Verbenaceae

Blackberry, Dewberry—Rubus Species—Rosaceae

Catnip—Nepeta cataria—Lamiaceae

Clover—Trifolium Species—Fabaceae

Goldenrod—Solidago odora—Asteraceae

Greenthread—Thelesperma Species—Asteraceae

Horehound—Marrubium vulgare—Lamiaceae

Limoncillo—Pectis Species—Asteraceae

Limoncillo—Hedeoma Species—Lamiaceae

Mormon Tea—Ephedra antisyphilitica—Ephedraceae

Mullein—Verbascum thapsus—Scrophulariaceae

Peppermint—Mentha piperita—Lamiaceae

Persimmon—Diospyros virginiana—Ebenaceae

Prairie Tea—Croton monanthogynus—Euphorbiaceae

Redroot—Ceanothus americanus—Rhamnaceae

Rose—Rosa Species—Rosaceae

Sage—Salvia Species—Lamiaceae

Sassafras—Sassafras albidum—Lauraceae

Spearmint—Mentha spicata—Lamiaceae

Strawberry—Fragaria Species—Rosaceae

Yarrow—Achillea millefolium—Asteraceae

Yaupon—Ilex vomitoria—Aquifoliaceae

Spices

Chile Pequín—Capsicum annuum—Solanaceae

Epazote—Chenopodium ambrosioides—Amaranthaceae

Juniper, Cedar—Juniperus Species—Cupressaceae

Knotweed—Polygonum aviculare—Polygonaceae

Mintweed—Lippia graveolens—Verbenaceae

Mustard—Brassica Species—Brassicaceae

Onion, Garlic—Allium Species—Amaryllidaceae

Peppergrass—Lepidium Species—Brassicaceae

Red Bay—Persea borbonia—Lauraceae

Shepherd’s Purse—Capsella bursa-pastoris—Brassicaceae

Spicebush—Lindera benzoin—Lauraceae

Sweet Bay—Magnolia virginiana—Magnoliaceae

Watercress—Nasturtium officinale—Brassicaceae

Wax Myrtle—Myrica cerifera—Myricaceae

Wormwood—Artemisia ludoviciana—Asteraceae

4. EDIBLE AND POISONOUS BERRIES AND OTHER FLESHY FRUITS

Key to Southwestern Plants with Edible or Poisonous Fruits

Poisonous Fruit

Blue, Purple, or Black Fruit: Toxic

Cherry—Prunus Species—Rosaceae

Coyotillo—Karwinskia humboldtiana—Rhamnaceae

Eve’s Necklace—Styphnolobium affine—Fabaceae

Juniper, Cedar—Juniperus Species—Cupressaceae

Lantana—Lantana Species—Verbenaceae

Ligustrum—Ligustrum Species—Oleaceae

Nightshade—Solanum americanum—Solanaceae

Poke—Phytolacca americana—Phytolaccaceae

Virginia Creeper—Parthenocissus quinquefolia—Vitaceae

Red Fruit: Toxic

Coralito—Rivina humilis—Phytolaccaceae

Holly, Yaupon—Ilex Species—Aquifoliaceae

Jerusalem-cherry—Solanum pseudocapsicum—Solanaceae

Snailseed—Cocculus carolinus—Menispermaceae

Wahoo—Euonymus Species—Celastraceae

Yellow, Cream, or White Fruit: Toxic

Chinaberry—Melia azederach—Meliaceae

Mistletoe—Phoradendron Species—Santalaceae

Nightshade, Silverleaf Nightshade—Solanum elaeagnifolium—Solanaceae

Poison Ivy, Poison Oak, Poison Sumac—Toxicodendron Species—Anacardiaceae

Soapberry—Sapindus saponaria var. drummondii—Sapindaceae

Tallow Tree—Triadica sebifera—Euphorbiaceae

Fruits with Unknown Toxicity: Avoid Eating Them

American Beauty-berry—Callicarpa americana—Lamiaceae

Ampelopsis, Heartleaf—Ampelopsis cordata—Vitaceae

Carolina Buckthorn—Frangula caroliniana—Rhamnaceae

Dogwood—Cornus Species—Cornaceae

Elbow-bush—Forestiera pubescens—Oleaceae

Greenbriar—Smilax Species—Smilacaceae

Hercules’ Club—Aralia spinosa—Araliaceae

Honeysuckle—Lonicera Species—Caprifoliaceae

Indian Strawberry—Duchesnea indica—Rosaceae

Peppervine—Ampelopsis arborea—Vitaceae

Edible Fruit

Standard Jelly and Jam Recipes

Blue, Purple, or Black Fruit: Edible

Blackberry, Dewberry—Rubus Species—Rosaceae

Blackhaw, Rusty Blackhaw, Withe Rod—Viburnum Species—Adoxaceae

Blueberry, Whortleberry, Farkleberry—Vaccinium Species—Ericaceae

Brasil—Condalia hookeri—Rhamnaceae

Cherry, Black Cherry, Chokecherry—Prunus Species—Rosaceae

Coma, Gum Bumelia—Sideroxylon lanuginosum—Sapotaceae

Currant—Ribes Species—Grossulariaceae

Elderberry—Sambucus nigra subsp. canadensis—Adoxaceae

Grape—Vitis Species—Vitaceae

Mulberry—Morus Species—Moraceae

Palms—Arecaceae

California Fan Palm—Washingtonia filifera

Sabal Palm, Texas Palmetto—Sabal mexicana

Persimmon, Texas Persimmon—Diospyros texana—Ebenaceae

Prickly Pear Cactus—Opuntia Species—Cactaceae

Serviceberry—Amelanchier Species—Rosaceae

Brown Fruit: Edible

Pawpaw—Asimina triloba—Annonaceae

Green Fruit: Edible

Crab Apple—Malus Species—Rosaceae

Red, Orange, or Yellow Fruit: Edible

Agarita, Barberry—Mahonia Species—Berberidaceae

Anacua—Ehretia anacua—Boraginaceae

Buffaloberry—Shepherdia argentea—Elaeagnaceae

Chile Pequín—Capsicum annuum—Solanaceae

Desert Yaupon—Schaefferia cuneifolia—Celastraceae

Hackberry—Celtis Species—Cannabaceae

Hawthorn—Crataegus Species—Rosaceae

Jujube—Ziziphus jujuba—Rhamnaceae

Madrone—Arbutus xalapensis—Ericaceae

Mayapple—Podophyllum peltatum—Berberidaceae

Passionflower—Passiflora incarnata—Passifloraceae

Persimmon—Diospyros virginiana—Ebenaceae

Plum—Prunus Species—Rosaceae

Pyracantha—Pyracantha coccinea—Rosaceae

Rose—Rosa Species—Rosaceae

Strawberry—Fragaria Species—Rosaceae

Sumac—Rhus Species—Anacardiaceae

Tomatillo—Physalis Species—Solanaceae

Turk’s Cap—Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii—Malvaceae

Wolfberry, Desert-thorn, Matrimony Vine—Lycium Species—Solanaceae

White Fruit: Edible

White Mulberry—Morus alba—Moraceae

5. POISONOUS AND HARMFUL PLANTS

First Aid for Toxic Plant Ingestion

Plant Poisoning: Dispelling Some Myths about Poisonous Plants

Who Is Affected by Plant Poisonings?

Livestock Poisoning

The Toxins in Plants

Toxic Wild Plants by Family

Amaryllidaceae, Iridaceae, Liliaceae—Amaryllis, Iris, and Lily Families

Apiaceae—Carrot Family

Poison Hemlock—Conium maculatum

Water Hemlock—Cicuta maculata

Apocynaceae—Dogbane Family

Dogbane, Indian Hemp—Apocynum Species

Milkweed—Asclepias Species

Araceae—Arum Family

Asteraceae—Composite Family, Sunflower Family

Fabaceae—Legume Family

Black Locust—Robinia pseudoacacia

Bluebonnet, Lupine—Lupinus Species

Coral Bean—Erythrina herbacea

Devil’s Shoestring—Tephrosia virginiana

Locoweed, Milk Vetch—Astragalus Species

Mescal Bean—Sophora secundiflora

Rattlebush—Sesbania Species

Singletary Pea, Sweetpea—Lathyrus Species

Wisteria—Wisteria Species

Gelsemiaceae—Jessamine Family

Jasmine—Gelsemium sempervirens

Melanthiaceae—False hellbore Family

Death Camas—Zigadenus Species

Phytolaccaceae—Pokeweed Family

Coralito—Rivina humilis

Poke—Phytolacca americana

Rosaceae—Rose Family

Sapindaceae—Soapberry Family

Buckeye, Horse-chestnut—Aesculus Species

Mexican Buckeye—Ungnadia speciosa

Solanaceae—Nightshade Family

Jerusalem-cherry—Solanum pseudocapsicum

Jessamine—Cestrum Species

Jimsonweed—Datura Species

Nightshade, Silverleaf—Solanum elaeagnifolium

Tobacco—Nicotiana Species

Toxic Ornamental Houseplants and Yard Plants: The Enemy Within

Poisons in the Garden and the Kitchen

Rashes, Itches, and Stings

Contact Dermatitis

Allergic Contact Dermatitis

Poison Ivy, Poison Oak, Poison Sumac—Toxicodendron Species

Pollen Dermatitis

Photodermatitis

Irritant Dermatitis

Chemical Irritants

Mechanical Irritants

Stinging Nettles

Hay Fever Plants—Pollen Allergies

Fall

Winter

Spring and Summer

6. MUSHROOMS: TO EAT OR NOT TO EAT

7. COLORFUL DYES WITH SOUTHWESTERN PLANTS

Vegetable Dyes: A Historical Perspective

Dyes Today: Synthetic versus Vegetable Dyes

Fibers for Dyeing

Factors that Influence Dye Colors

Pigments from Plants

Colorfastness

Water

Dyeing Techniques

Plants for Dyes

How Much Should I Collect?

What Plant Parts Should I Use?

Kitchen and Garden Dyes

Mordants

Procedures for Dyeing Wool and Other Fibers

Equipment

Preparing the Plant Material for the Dye Pot

Preparing the Wool

Dyeing the Wool

Simmer Dyeing

Solar Dyeing

Cold-water Fermentation

Final Tips on Dyeing with Plants

Vegetable Dye Recipes

Symbol Key

Plant Species Used for Dyes

8. FIBERS AND BASKETS FROM SOUTHWESTERN PLANTS

Plants for Basketmaking

Preparation of Plants

Textile Fibers

Extracting Fibers: Retting and Scutching

Fibers Attached to Seeds

Dyeing Plant Fibers

Papermaking

9. RUBBER, WAX, OIL, AND SOAP: INDUSTRIAL RESOURCES

Appendix: Fifty Important Edible Wild Native or Naturalized Plants

Glossary

Bibliography

Index

List of Plates

1. Natural dye colors on wool

2. Ivy and broomsedge twined basket

3. Willow basket with handmade paper

4. Poison hemlock—Conium maculatum

5. Water hemlock—Cicuta maculata

6. Agave, maguey—Agave americana

7. Lechuguilla—Agave lechuguilla

8. Beargrass—Nolina texana

9. Sotol—Dasylirion leiophyllum

10. Yucca and Wisteria

11. California fan palm—Washingtonia filifera

12. Sweet goldenrod—Solidago odora

13. Greenthread—Thelesperma filifolium

14. Gumweed—Grindelia squarrosa

15. Limoncillo—Pectis angustifolia

16. Maximilian sunflower—Helianthus maximiliani

17. Mayapple—Podophyllum peltatum

18. Anacua—Ehretia anacua

19. Spanish moss—Tillandsia usneoides

20. Cholla—Cylindropuntia imbricata

21. Prickly pear—Opuntia engelmannii

22. Cochineal insects on prickly pear pads—Opuntia

23. Saguaro—Carnegiea gigantea

24. Strawberry cactus—Echinocereus stramineus

25. Dayflower—Commelina erecta

26. Dodder—Cuscuta sp.

27. Sedum—Sedum nuttallianum

28. Buffalo gourd—Cucurbita foetidissima

29. Juniper, mountain cedar—Juniperus ashei

30. Persimmon—Diospyros virginiana

31. Madrone—Arbutus xalapensis

32. Bull nettle—Cnidoscolus texanus

33. Candelilla—Euphorbia antisyphilitica

34. Snow-on-the-prairie—Euphorbia bicolor

35. Bequilla—Sesbania herbacea

36. Black locust—Robinia pseudoacacia

37. Desert ironwood—Olneya tesota

38. Honey locust—Gleditsia triacanthos

39. Mescal bean, Texas mountain laurel—Sophora secundiflora

40. Redbud—Cercis canadensis

41. Chinkapin oak—Quercus muehlenbergii

42. Autumn sage—Salvia greggii

43. Henbit—Lamium amplexicaule

44. Lemon mint—Monarda citriodora

45. Red bay—Persea borbonia

46. Sassafras—Sassafras albidum

47. Sego lily—Calochortus nuttallii

48. Snailseed—Cocculus carolinus

49. Spatterdock—Nuphar lutea

50. Privet—Ligustrum sp.

51. Showy evening primrose—Oenothera speciosa

52. Passionflower—Passiflora incarnata

53. Coralito—Rivina humilis

54. Carrizo—Arundo donax

55. Water hyacinth—Eichhornia crassipes

56. Hawthorn—Crataegus spathulata

57. Laurel cherry—Prunus caroliniana

58. Mexican plum—Prunus mexicana

59. Mexican buckeye—Ungnadia speciosa

60. Jojoba—Simmondsia chinensis

61. Buffalo bur—Solanum rostratum

62. Tree tobacco—Nicotiana glauca

List of Illustrations

Dandelion—Taraxacum officinale

Amaranth, pigweed—Amaranthus palmeri

Lamb’s-quarters—Chenopodium album

Tumbleweed—Salsola kali

Wild garlic, wild onion—Allium canadense var. canadense

Crow poison—Nothoscordum bivalve

Evergreen sumac—Rhus virens

Prairie flameleaf sumac—Rhus lanceolata

Beargrass—Nolina sp.

Prickly lettuce—Lactuca serriola

Sow thistle—Sonchus asper

Texas thistle—Cirsium texanum

Chickweed—Stellaria media

Spiderwort—Tradescantia

Huisache—Acacia farnesiana

Honey mesquite—Prosopis glandulosa

Retama—Parkinsonia aculeata

Bur oak—Quercus macrocarpa

Ocotillo—Fouquieria splendens

Turk’s cap—Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii

Lotus—Nelumbo lutea

Wood sorrel—Oxalis dillenii

Piñon—Pinus edulis

Plantain—Plantago lanceolata

Curly dock—Rumex crispus

Purslane—Portulaca oleracea

Cattail—Typha sp.

Pellitory—Parietaria pensylvanica

Day lily—Hemerocallis fulva

Yarrow—Achillea millefolium

Limoncillo—Hedeoma drummondii

Horehound—Marrubium vulgare

Prairie tea—Croton monanthogynus

Yaupon—Ilex vomitoria

Shepherd’s purse—Capsella bursa-pastoris

Peppergrass—Lepidium virginicum

Texas persimmon—Diospyros texana

Coyotillo—Karwinskia humboldtiana

Lantana—Lantana urticoides

Virginia creeper—Parthenocissus quinquefolia

Mistletoe—Phoradendron tomentosum

Brasil—Condalia hookeri

Coma—Sideroxylon lanuginosum

Elderberry—Sambucus nigra subsp. canadensis

Red mulberry—Morus rubra

Agarita—Mahonia trifoliolata

Chile pequín—Capsicum annuum

Tomatillo, ground-cherry—Physalis hederifolia

Poison hemlock—Conium maculatum

Water hemlock—Cicuta maculata

Wild carrot—Daucus carota

Indian hemp—Apocynum cannabinum

Green milkweed—Asclepias asperula

Indian turnip, jack-in-the-pulpit—Arisaema triphyllum

Coral bean—Erythrina herbacea

Woolly locoweed—Astragalus mollissimus var. earlei

Rattlebush—Sesbania drummondii

Death camas—Zigadenus nuttallii

Carolina jasmine—Gelsemium sempervirens

Poke—Phytolacca americana

Red buckeye—Aesculus pavia var. pavia

Jimsonweed—Datura wrightii

Silverleaf nightshade, trompillo—Solanum elaeagnifolium

Oleander—Nerium oleander

Castor bean—Ricinus communis

Poison ivy—Toxicodendron radicans

Stinging nettle—Urtica chamaedryoides

Noseburn—Tragia sp.

Giant ragweed—Ambrosia trifida

Short ragweed—Ambrosia artemisiifolia

Fly agaric—Amanita muscaria

Morel—Morchella esculenta

Mustang grape—Vitis mustangensis

Mullein—Verbascum thapsus

Arizona walnut—Juglans major

Peppervine—Ampelopsis arborea

Greenbriar—Smilax bona-nox

Devil’s claw—Proboscidea louisianica

Black willow—Salix nigra

Guayule—Parthenium argentatum

Soapberry—Sapindus saponaria var. drummondii

Preface to the Revised Edition

A lot of changes have occurred in my life since the first edition of this book was published in 1987 under the original title, A Practical Guide to Edible and Useful Plants. Sadly, I divorced my first husband, George Oxford Miller, the main photographer for my books. I married again, and my spouse, Roger Norris-Tull, and I moved to Alaska where we had many amazing experiences, including flying in bush planes to numerous remote villages, as part of our work teaching for the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Alaska may be bigger than Texas, but it could never compete with Texas and Texans for the warmth of the people. While I sorely missed Texas’s beautiful array of wildflowers in the spring, I must admit that I did not miss Texas summers!

A few years ago, after over a decade in Alaska, we moved to Montana, the fourth largest state in the nation. I think of Montana as sort of a cross between Texas and Alaska. The small towns are very remote, and there are many ranchers and farmers. The seasons are extreme. I live in a high desert, so annual precipitation is very low. Montana has lots of cowboys. In fact, the Beaverhead County rodeo grounds are about four blocks from my house in Dillon. Montana cowboys are a lot like Texas cowboys, except that they dress warmer and wear bigger, woolen cowboy hats. The people in Montana are as friendly as folks in Texas, but there are a lot fewer of them in Montana, which suits our lifestyle.

Beyond the spectacular landscapes, one of the most fascinating aspects of my life in Alaska and in Montana has been discovering that many people in both states still rely on native plants for food. Twenty different indigenous languages are spoken in Alaska, and Alaska is home to 225 federally recognized tribes. Montana is home to twelve indigenous tribes. Many people in the tribes in Alaska and Montana still rely on subsistence harvest of native plants and wild animals. In fall and winter, moose and caribou are harvested in Alaska, and deer and elk are the main hunting game in Montana. In Alaska, virtually everyone spends the summer catching and preserving fish (primarily king salmon, red salmon, and silver salmon). In both states, a wide variety of wild plants are harvested for medicinal and food purposes, including fiddleheads, wormwood, and plantains. In some coastal areas of Alaska, a wide variety of kelps and other algae are also harvested.

A number of women in Alaska and Montana, particularly tribal members, weave exquisite baskets from local grasses, vines, twigs, and bark. In late summer, native women harvest berries—blueberries, huckleberries, cranberries, salmonberries (similar to raspberries), and crowberries. In Alaska, many berries grow in the tundra, within two inches of the ground. The berry harvest is backbreaking work, but wild foods are crucial to rural life. Wild berries and greens are an essential source of vitamins A and C, among other nutrients. And wild game is much lower in fat than commercial meats.

While I miss the Texas bluebonnet trail in spring, several species of lupines grow in Alaska and in Montana. While plant diversity and numbers of plant species diminishes the farther north one travels, I have been amazed at the significant number of plant species found in Texas that also grow in Montana.

Nothing can match the diverse array of wildflowers that bloom throughout the Southwest in the spring, summer, fall, and even in winter. I love the mountains in Alaska and Montana, but when March and April come around, I always long for the brightly colored roadsides of the Southwest.

About the title: I originally wrote this book when I lived in Texas, and I focused my research and writing on Texas plant species. The original publisher, Texas Monthly Press, insisted on leaving Texas out of the title of the book, and it was first published as A Practical Guide to Edible and Useful Plants. The publisher wanted to appeal to a larger market, and reasoned that other wild edible plant books also did not mention their regional focus in the title. I have always wanted the title to reflect the regional nature of the book, and was able to convince the current publisher, the University of Texas Press, to republish the book in 1999 under the title Edible and Useful Plants of Texas and the Southwest.

For this, the first major revision of the book since it was originally published, the publisher and I consulted and agreed to retitle the book Edible and Useful Plants of the Southwest: Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. As a result, I have expanded the content of the book to more thoroughly address plants found in all three states. Enjoy!

Acknowledgments

Writing a book on uses of wild plants necessitates much personal investigation. I spent a summer with dozens of dye pots brewing on my back porch. I spent the fall, winter, spring, and summer searching back alleys, woodlots, and fields for edible and useful plants. But compiling the information for this book involved much more than my own simple experiments. I also relied on the experiments of dozens, if not hundreds, of other individuals. Only through countless hours of library research and interviews was I able to discover which plants I could safely sample, which plants have caused poisoning, and which plants have value in industry and medicine. And so, in acknowledging those who assisted in this book, I must first thank the many who conducted their own investigations and then saw fit to publish their findings. I have tried to give each one of them credit by listing bibliographical information throughout the book.

A few individuals deserve a more personal acknowledgment. I would like to offer my deepest gratitude to two men I will never be able to thank in person: Euell Gibbons, whose sense of adventure and sense of humor have inspired me since I first read one of his books and listened to him lecture one spring at Michigan State University, and Carroll Abbott, a Texas botanist with an inimitable sense of humor, who gave his all to make Texans aware of their great natural heritage: their native plants.

I also wish to acknowledge the generous assistance of my friends in the Weavers and Spinners Society of Austin, Texas, particularly Dona Price, Pat Crow, and Dorothy Matheson, whose own results with native dyes are incorporated into this book. Elizabeth Coulter’s dye research also furnished much useful information. And I thank Sue M. Smith for teaching me how to weave a basket and for her invaluable knowledge on native fibers.

I thank Lynn Marshall and Scooter Cheatham for so generously sharing their dye results and knowledge about edible plants. Along with University of Texas botanist, Dr. Marshall Johnston, these two individuals labored for more than a decade on their monumental two-volume work, The Useful Plants of Texas, the Southeastern and Southwestern United States, the Southern Plains, and Northern Mexico. The botanical reference Manual of the Vascular Plants of Texas, by Drs. Donovan Correll and Marshall Johnston, did not leave my side for several years. I relied heavily on that text for details of species descriptions.

I thank Michael Ellis of the Poison Control Center of Galveston, Texas, for reviewing the sections on poisonous plants. And I thank my longtime friends Eve and John Williams—John, for introducing me to Texas’s native plants and reviewing my manuscript, and Eve, for giving me my first list of dye plants.

Much thanks to my former husband, George Oxford Miller, for the many hours he spent taking the photographs that grace this book. And I can never thank him enough for helping me get through the three years that it took to write the original edition.

Four illustrators created the fine drawings for the book. I thank them greatly for their labors of love. Michael Earney, Julia Larke, and Judy Teague drew the illustrations found throughout the book. My childhood friend, Suzanne Rippe, created the beautiful cattails drawing for the frontispiece.

And finally, I thank my mother, whose curiosity about wildflowers and all things natural sparked my own, and whose arts, crafts, and writing filled my childhood.

Introduction

WHAT’S IN THIS BOOK?

This book covers a wide range of topics related to the uses of plants found in the Southwestern United States, both wild and ornamental. You will learn how to prepare wild foods, teas, and jellies, and find out which plants can be used as spices. You will learn which plants are poisonous, or are likely to cause allergies and skin rashes. You will learn some of the history of and recent research on uses of wild plants as medicines. You will discover how to create and use colorful dyes from plants, how to make paper, and how to prepare plant fibers for use in handmade items such as baskets.

The term wild typically refers to plants native to a region. But the term also includes naturalized plants, those plants that were brought to the United States from other countries and other continents and that flourish so well in our environment that they now grow like weeds. These nonnative plants may have been introduced to our country as ornamentals, as agricultural crops, or by accident.

This book is not designed as a field guide to plant identification. The book includes plant characteristics (description, habitat, and range), photos, and drawings to assist you in identifying many of the plants. These short descriptions can be supplemented by referring to other regional books and websites on identification of native plants. Chapter 4, on wild berries and fruits, does include an identification key.

The following books all provide excellent illustrated references to identification of plants of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona: Delena Tull and George Oxford Miller’s A Field Guide to Wildflowers, Trees, and Shrubs of Texas; Del Weniger’s Cacti of Texas and Neighboring States and Cacti of the Southwest; Robert Vines’s Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of the Southwest. See Susan and Van Metzler’s Texas Mushrooms for excellent photographs and detailed information on edible fungi, including recipes. For further lists of publications, refer to the websites of the Native Plant Society of Texas, the Native Plant Society of New Mexico, and the Arizona Native Plant Society. Each of these non-profit organizations have excellent websites and hold regional meetings and field trips that will help you in learning more about your local flora. Botanists at local colleges often are more than willing to help identify plants.

Taxonomic reference books, often called floras, are typically useful only to those with a background in botany, as they abound with scientific terminology and often lack photos or drawings. These encyclopedias of plant description include the following important works: Donovan Correll and Marshall Johnston’s Manual of the Vascular Plants of Texas; Arizona Flora, by Kearney, Peebles, Howell, and McClintock; Intermountain Flora, Vascular Plants of the Intermountain West, by Cronquist, Holmgren, Holmgren, and Reveal; and Flora of North America, a multi-volume set. Alas, these monumental works tend to be published once and not revised, thus they are all currently out of date. As a result, botanists have come to rely more and more on online taxonomic resources.

There now exist numerous excellent websites to assist in identifying native plants. In addition to websites maintained by the three state native plant societies listed above, check out the websites of the following institutions: American Society of Plant Taxonomists; Biota of North America Project; Flora of North America; USDA Plants Database; Texas A&M University Herbarium; Arizona State University Herbarium; Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum; the Southwest Environmental Information Network (SEINet); and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. For this revised edition, I relied on the Missouri Botanical Garden website, Tropicos, to decide on name changes for genera and families.

The first chapters of this book cover edible plants, teas, and spices, with recipes and instructions for their preparation, and a short chapter on plant medicines. The chapter on edible and poisonous berries and other fleshy fruits groups the fruits by color. Jelly and jam recipes are scattered throughout the section on edible fruits.

In addition to giving details on toxic wild plants, the chapter on poisonous and harmful plants provides information on toxic ornamentals as well as plants in our vegetable gardens and on our spice racks that can cause us harm. Some information on medicinal plants is included in this chapter. A section on dermatitis, with special reference to poison ivy, and a section on plants that commonly cause pollen allergies (hay fever) also are included in this chapter. A short chapter on mushrooms provides warnings about the most toxic species. (FYI, technically, mushrooms are not plants. They are fungi.)

The chapter on plant dyes provides detailed instructions on dyeing wool and other fibers. A list at the end of that chapter includes more than 120 dye plants with recipes for their use. The chapter on fibers explains how to prepare plant materials for use in weaving baskets or textiles, how to use natural dyes on plant fibers, and how to make paper. Plants with industrial value are reviewed in the final chapter.

A glossary at the back of the book furnishes definitions of the botanical terms used in the plant descriptions. Other terms can be found in a standard dictionary. Bibliographical references, noted throughout the text, are compiled in the back of the book. A single index includes both scientific and common plant names. Some allegedly edible plants can cause poisoning, so if you are interested in using a plant, be sure to check all pages listed in the index, to find out its potentially harmful qualities.

VEGETATION REGIONS

Variations in climate, elevation, geology, and soil across the Southwest enable a remarkable diversity of plant life to grow in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. The region has a little bit of everything, from a subtropical climate in far South Texas to frequent winter snows in the northern areas of each state; from 60 inches of rain per year in the Big Thicket in East Texas, to areas of 8 to 12 inches in the Chihuahuan Desert in West Texas, and anywhere from 3 to 16 inches of rainfall annually in the relatively wetter Sonoran Desert in Arizona; from sea level along the Gulf Coast, to altitudes of more than 8,700 feet in the mountains of Texas, and peaks of over 12,000 feet in Arizona. Because of the wide range of physical conditions, many plants are restricted to specific areas of the region.

Deserts: Deserts are typically defined by the amount of precipitation they receive, and generally have less than 10 inches of precipitation annually. The southwestern region is home to all four major North American deserts. Different combinations of animal and plant species tend to occur in each desert. However, the boundaries between the deserts are not as distinct as one would expect, and the boundaries are considered by some to be fairly arbitrary. The creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) is a distinctive feature of all four southwestern deserts. Within each desert are found a great diversity of ecosystems.

The Chihuahuan Desert, which extends from northern Mexico into West Texas, and stretches into Arizona and New Mexico, is the largest desert in North America. Candelilla (Euphorbia antisyphilitica) and lechuguilla (Agave lechuguilla) are two species found in this desert that are not found in the deserts further west, and thus are considered indicator species for the Chihuahuan Desert. Indicator species is rather a vague term. Indicators are those species that one would expect to find in a particular ecosystem. However, indicator species are not necessarily found solely in that region. Thus, biologists rely on a combination of several indicator species of both plants and animals, and on physical characteristics, to define a region such as a desert.

The Sonoran Desert, which ranges from the coast of Baja California and Sonora, Mexico, through most of the southern half of Arizona, to the southern tip of California, is an extremely diverse region, with many different ecosystems, from marshlands to mountains. It is noted for its large columnar cactus, such as the saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea). One of the pet peeves of Texas botanists is the confusion caused in Texas by the saguaro cactus. In the past, many western films, supposedly set in Texas, were actually filmed in Arizona, and often show the saguaro as a backdrop. Contrary to popular belief, the majestic saguaro does not grow in Texas, but resides in the Sonoran Desert further west. California fan palm (Washingtonia filifera), the only native palm in California, and jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis) are restricted to certain sections of this desert.

The Mojave Desert, mainly in California, extends into Arizona and Nevada, and is the home of the Joshua Tree (Yucca brevifolia) and the Mojave yucca (Yucca schidigera). It tends to overlap with the Sonoran Desert and extends to the boundary of the Great Basin Desert. The Mojave includes Death Valley and several low mountain ranges. Mojave Desert indicator species include the shrubs spiny menodora (Menodora spinescens), the yellow-flowered desert senna (Senna armata), and the purple-flowered Mojave dalea (Psorothamnus arborescens). Common shrubs include creosote bush (Larrea tridentata), all-scale (Atriplex polycarpa), the yellow-flowered white brittlebush (Encelia farinosa), and desert holly (Atriplex hymenelytra) (Turner 1994).

The Great Basin Desert, which sits mainly in Nevada and Utah, extends into surrounding states. It is not a single basin, but a series of basins and mountain ranges, extending from the Wasatch Range in Utah, to the Sierra Nevadas in California, and north to the Snake River Valley. This high-elevation desert is dominated by the big sagebrush, Artemisia tridentata, which is the indicator species for this desert. Other species commonly associated with big sagebrush are rabbitbrush (Ericameria nauseosa), common juniper (Juniperus communis) and Rocky Mountain juniper (Juniperus scopulorum), four-wing saltbush (Atriplex canescens), and single-leaf pinyon pine (Pinus monophylla), all of which are found in northern Arizona, and most of which also are found as far north as Montana. While it is not generally said that the Great Basin includes northern Arizona on the Colorado Plateau, the existence of the plant complex and desert conditions argues for inclusion of northern Arizona with the Great Basin. One might even make a case for including the high desert of southwestern Montana, my current home.

Mountains: The region hosts numerous mountain ranges, from the Davis and Guadalupe Mountains in West Texas, to the San Francisco Mountains in northern Arizona. Mountain peaks form veritable islands, where plant populations, long isolated from relatives at a distance, often evolve into species that are unique (endemic) to a particular mountain range.

Forests: The region hosts many forests, from the Big Thicket in East Texas, noted for its loblolly pines, bald cypress trees, and carnivorous pitcher plants, to the mountain forests in northern Arizona, home to the largest population of Ponderosa pines in North America.

And many more: Prairies and plains, plateaus and valleys, river valleys and canyons, all of these abound in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. Each tends to host a unique cluster of plant life, each with many potential plant uses. The Colorado Plateau, wherein resides the Grand Canyon, provides an astounding diversity of plant life, as does the Edwards Plateau in central Texas. Innumerable national parks, national forests, national wildlife refuges, and state parks provide opportunities for exploration and enjoyment of nature’s bounties.

WHY USE BOTANICAL TERMINOLOGY?

When you first learn to recognize wild plants, you probably will rely mainly on common names. However, if you move to a different area of the state or the country, you may find that people in that area use a different name for the same plant. Even in the same region a single plant may have several common names. In addition, two different plants may share the same name. For example, pigweed may refer to a member of either the genus Amaranthus or the genus Chenopodium. Because of the confusion that often arises from the use of common names, learning the scientific name of a plant becomes more and more important as you become more familiar with wild plants. Nonetheless, common names are also useful handles for plants. Ideally, you should become familiar with both the common and scientific names of the plants you know. In this book I have provided the common names that appear to be the most widespread. I have attempted to include both an English and a Spanish common name for the plants.

International congresses decide on the rules that determine validity of scientific names, and those names are recognized worldwide. Unfortunately for the amateur botanist, scientific names occasionally change. New data on plant classification (i.e., plant relationships) are provided through field research, and very recently, research on the DNA of various plants has enabled more precise determination of the evolutionary relationships between species. Some of the scientific names used in this book differ from those found in previous publications because of name changes that have occurred in recent years. For example, the asparagus family, Asparagaceae, consists of several plants that formerly were located in the lily and amaryllis families. Scientific names are based on a Latin word, or, as in the case of plants named for various botanists, the non-Latin word is given a Latin ending.

Botanists classify plants into groups based on genetic relationships and structural similarities, predominantly of flower and fruit. Other physical characteristics, such as those of root and leaf, also are noted but are not as reliable. The concept of species is complex, but generally a species can be defined as a more or less genetically isolated population of plants that share the same basic characteristics. By the way, species is used as both a singular and a plural noun. Species considered genetically and structurally similar are classified in the same genus (plural: genera). Groups of genera with similar characteristics are classified in the same family. Botanists also use larger classification groups, but only species, genera, and families are relevant to this book, as those groups are the easiest to distinguish in the field.

The scientific name of each plant species consists of two parts, the genus name, which is first, and the specific epithet, the second part of the name. For example, the species name of the potato is Solanum tuberosum. The potato belongs to the nightshade family, Solanaceae. More than a thousand different species are included in the genus Solanum, but the specific epithet tuberosum immediately distinguishes the potato from its many cousins. However, there may be plants in another genus with the specific epithet tuberosum. The genus name Solanum is necessary to distinguish this tuberosum from all others in the world. (Phlox drummondii and Hedeoma drummondii provide an example of two unrelated plants with the same specific epithet.) When the specific epithet is unknown, the species name may be written as, Phlox sp. (singular) or Phlox spp. (plural).

A species may be subdivided into subspecies (abbreviated subsp.) and varieties (abbreviated var.) when botanists discover distinctive local variations. Many genera and specific epithets have as their root the name of a botanist, such as Drummond, Engelmann, and Maximilian. Often, the botanist named is the one who first discovered the species. In some cases the classifying botanist names a plant in honor of another botanist.

With these basic tips, you are ready to begin your adventure into the world of wild plants and their uses.

1

Edible and Useful Wild Plants of the Southwest

Dandelion—Taraxacum officinale

If you beheld a garden in which all the plants were the same as to form, colour and perfume, it would not seem beautiful to you at all, but, rather, monotonous and dull. The garden which is pleasing to the eye and which makes the heart glad, is the garden in which are growing side by side flowers of every hue, form and perfume, and the joyous contrast of colour is what makes for charm and beauty . . .

‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Paris Talks

CAUTIONS AND NOTES ON USING WILD EDIBLES

WHY BOTHER WITH WILD FOODS?

When you come right down to it, living off wild edibles involves a lot of hard work. Finding, collecting, and preparing wild plants consumes a great deal of time and often results in a meager amount of food for the table. The task gives one a greater appreciation for the daily toil of early peoples who relied on wild plants for much of their food. Once you’ve tried a few of these wild delectables, you may find that the satisfaction of creating a meal from wild foods is well worth the effort. Besides, who knows when you might get stranded in the Chihuahuan or Sonoran Desert or lost in a pine forest and need to know what plants to rely on for food? (Do you have your pocketknife, matches, and first aid kit?)

Cultivated vegetables often have larger leaves, fruits, and tubers, but the flavor of wild plants often makes up for what they lack in size. Experimenting with wild edibles adds a variety of good-tasting foods to your diet. And many wild plants are highly nutritious. Euell Gibbons, author of Stalking the Healthful Herbs, had the nutritional value of a number of plants analyzed. The results were astounding. For example, half a cup of violet leaves (Viola sororia) supplies 8,200 international units of vitamin A, well above the minimum daily requirement and equivalent to the amount found in carrots. Violet leaves supply as much vitamin C as four oranges, about 210 milligrams. Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) leaves also are rich in vitamins and contain 42 percent protein by dry weight, an uncommon level of protein for a leafy vegetable. It seems unlikely that Americans will replace their hamburgers with nettle leaves anytime soon, but these data certainly give us food for thought.

The American Heritage Dictionary defines edible as capable of being eaten; nonpoisonous. To qualify as capable of being eaten, however, a food must be more than simply nonpoisonous. It must be both palatable and digestible. Surprisingly, the definition of edible does not include the term nutritious. Some would say that many foods consumed by Americans are not nutritious. Nonetheless, those foods are edible.

While many wild plants are nonpoisonous, some are far too bitter to eat, and some are too woody or fibrous to digest. Of those wild plants that truly are edible, however, many provide more nutrition than the foods we normally eat, even the foods that we consider good for us. In vitamins, minerals, and protein, wild foods can match and even surpass the nutritional content of our common foods. Amaranth grain furnishes a better source of protein than corn, rice, or wheat. Dandelion greens are more nutritious than spinach. Have we sacrificed nutrition and flavor to a larger strawberry and a bigger ear of corn? The emphasis on producing larger, more attractive fruits and vegetables for the market seems to have taken precedence over valuable nutritional qualities.

NATIVE PLANTS FOR AGRICULTURE

Of the more than half a million plant species in the world, only about one thousand are commonly used for human food, though many more are edible. In the United States today, we use only thirty plant species for 95 percent of our vegetables, fruits, and grains. Anthropological studies in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona revealed that of the 2,500 species of flowering plants in the area, nearly 450 were utilized as foods by local Native American tribes.

It is no longer practicable or even desirable that Americans harvest all their meals from the wild. But by putting the more desirable wild plants into cultivation, we have the potential to expand the variety of foods vastly and to improve the nutritional quality of our diet. A number of Chihuahuan Desert species in West Texas, for instance, are suitable for cultivation and are far better adapted to drought and the extremes of heat and cold that occur in the Southwest than most plants we currently grow for food.

By testing wild plants from all over the world for parameters such as resistance to disease, drought, and temperature extremes, we can open the door to innumerable alternatives to the delicate species that we have become so dependent upon for our daily bread. Some varieties of amaranth are highly resistant to drought and disease, making them desirable for use in drought-prone areas of the world. Further studies of the way indigenous peoples use wild plants can provide us with valuable information on plants for the agriculture of the future.

Incorporating native plants into the agricultural structure has the potential for providing more nutritious foods to poverty-stricken areas of the world. Native species are better adapted to local climate and soil conditions than the imported species on which we lavish water, pesticides, and soil conditioners. In some cases, such as in developing African nations, a number of native plants already are a part of the indigenous diet, thus making their use in agriculture much more readily acceptable to local people.

Disastrous events in human history point out the danger of becoming overly dependent on a limited variety of food crops. For example, in 1845, a fungus destroyed the potato crop in Europe. For the poverty-stricken people of Ireland, that meant the loss of their number-one food staple. More than one million people died of hunger in that country, and another million emigrated, mostly to the United States. In spite of such catastrophes, a number of countries, particularly in the developing world, count on one or a few crops to buoy up their entire economy. Seven crops—wheat, rice, maize (corn), barley, soybeans, common beans, and potatoes—are the major sources of nutrition for the majority of the world’s people.

The famines that have occurred much more recently in northern Africa and China should force us to reevaluate both our outdated methods of crop growing, which have resulted in disastrous losses of topsoil on a worldwide scale, and our choices of crops. By increasing the diversity of crops and using crops better adapted to the local climate, we may avert future agricultural tragedies. The impacts of global climate change are already forcing us to rethink our limited selections of food crops.

The same concern about overreliance on a limited number of food crops applies to plants valued in industry. During both world wars the United States was faced with critical shortages of imported raw materials, such as rubber and certain fibers. In several cases Americans were forced to rely on native wild plants to make up the deficit. For example, industries obtained rubber from guayule, a plant that grows in the Chihuahuan Desert of West Texas and Mexico, and the Navy used yucca fibers for paper and rope. When the wars ended, we went back to importing sources of these materials.

Today we rely even more heavily on imported materials such as rubber than we did before World War II. And many products manufactured from plants are now more cheaply synthesized from petroleum. Substitutes for fibers, rubber, medicinals, chemicals, fuel, and building materials come from oil. In recent decades, we have had a taste of what can happen if our imported supplies of petroleum are curtailed. The rapid depletion of Texas’s vast oil reserves, which currently supply a third of the oil used in the United States, is a reality that we cannot afford to ignore much longer.

Petroleum products have become substitutes for many plant products in recent years. Corn has already shown its value as a substitute for gasoline. Now is the time to start looking to many more plant species for substitutes for products made from oil. A number of potential industrial uses of native plants, such as guayule, are reviewed in Chapter 9, Rubber, Wax, Oil, and Soap. Cultivation of native plants with industrial value has tremendous potential for stimulating local economies.

Many of the world’s economically important crops originated from plant species native to the Americas. A number of these have been in cultivation for thousands of years; so long, in fact, that in a number of cases, they no longer exist in the wild, and their wild ancestor is not even known. Maintaining biological diversity in cultivated crops is challenging, and often depends on the continued existence of healthy populations of their native wild cousins (for one example, refer to the information on cassava later in this chapter). The list below provides an overview of a number of the world’s economically important plant species that came from the Americas.

Table 1.1 Economically important crops that originated in the Americas.

* Refer to index for additional information on species.

Harvesting plants from the wild served our ancestors well, but we no longer can depend on wild harvests to supply us with the vast quantity of food and industrial products required in our modern society. In a heavily populated world we have driven many plants to extinction, with many more on the way. Deforestation is a major problem in many developing nations that rely on firewood as their main fuel. If native plants are to play a major part in our industrial future, they must be put into widespread cultivation. Developing alternative crops for industry, building construction, and fuel may become a necessity rather than a choice in the not so distant future.

GRAZING FROM THE WILD: TIPS AND PRECAUTIONS

While some wild plants are in danger of extinction, many others grow in abundance. Some people consider nonnative naturalized plants to be noxious weeds—I consider some of these our best wild foods, plentiful and free for the taking. You can safely harvest plants from the wild for your personal use as long as you keep in mind the following guidelines.

State, federal, and local laws protect wild plants on public lands so you’ll need to restrict your harvest to privately owned property. Most of the plants included in the edible plants section grow commonly in the Southwest. Use plants that are uncommon, such as yuccas, agaves, and sotols, only if you have a large local population, and harvest them in a manner that minimizes damage to the population and the individual plant.

Collect only as much as you need. When gathering flowers and fruit, collect a small percentage of the total crop, leaving enough to produce a good crop next year. If gathering perennial herbs, clip the plant off above ground, leaving the roots intact for next year’s growth. With many wildflowers and herbs, you can collect seeds and grow your own crop at home. Digging up roots and tubers, of course, kills the whole plant, so harvest them sparingly unless the plants grow in abundance. With the permission of the landowner, you can pick and dig to your heart’s content on urban and rural lots about to go under the bulldozer.

In the paragraphs below, I present a number of cautions to guide you in your experiments with wild plants. I include these warnings with the hope of encouraging a cautious approach to harvesting wild foods. But at the same time, I wholeheartedly encourage you to try the wild edibles included in this book. While not all of them will appeal to your senses, chances are high that you will discover some delightfully delicious new foods to enhance your menu.

Moderation Is the Key

Before indulging in a large meal of wild foods, every prospective eater needs to keep in mind Ben Franklin’s admonition moderation in all things. Some wild foods cause unpleasant side effects with overindulgence. Prickly pear cacti are among the best-tasting wild edibles in the Southwest. While many people eat the pads or fruit with no ill effects, an overconsumption of the raw fruits causes constipation. For some people, eating a few small pads can cause diarrhea. How much is too much? is a question that only your body can answer.

Some families of plants contain a high percentage of species that commonly cause allergic reactions. For instance, the members of Anacardiaceae, the cashews and mangoes, cause contact dermatitis in some people. If you are allergic to cashews or mangoes, stay away from the red fruits of the sumacs (poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac are also members of this family).

You don’t have a lifetime of experience with wild foods to tell you which ones may not be right for you. Anyone can develop food allergies at any age. When experimenting with any wild foods, eat small amounts until you find out how your system reacts.

Toxic in Quantity

Certain wild foods can cause severe toxicity if they are eaten in large amounts. That type of toxicity occasionally affects livestock. Only when those plants become a major part of the diet do they cause problems for humans. For example, in times of famine, people in northern Africa have relied on the beans of Lathyrus sativus, a livestock forage crop, as their main or sole source of protein. Though apparently harmless if eaten occasionally, the beans eventually cause paralysis and death when consumed as the main food over a period of several weeks. A number of our common food crops such as spinach can also cause problems when eaten in quantity (see the section Poisons in the Garden in Chapter 5). I have included warnings on potential toxicity throughout this chapter, Edible and Useful Wild Plants. Unfortunately, some wild plants have not been used as foods often enough to determine whether they can cause problems when eaten in quantity. Again, the key to good health is moderation.

What Part Can I Eat?

One of the most important warnings to heed, and one that you’ll find repeated throughout this book, is that many edible plants have poisonous parts. A number of the plants that we commonly grow as vegetables—rhubarb, for example—also have toxic parts. A long tradition of how to prepare and eat garden vegetables and fruits prevents poisoning, even though most of us are not aware of the potential for poisoning.

In using wild plants for food, we need to be extra cautious. We can’t look back to how my mother did it to give us guidance on what parts to eat or how to cook the plant properly. Warnings included with the descriptions of edible plants furnish information on toxic parts. Though those who have a family tradition of its use consider pokeweed a premier vegetable, I have included it in the chapter on poisonous plants because of the high toxicity of all the plant parts, even the greens.

Carefully consider all warnings included in the information on each plant. And keep in mind that, for most wild plants, there is a sad lack of valid research on chemical makeup and potential toxicity. Do not experiment with eating any plant part that is not specifically mentioned for use in this book.

In other publications, I have seen instructions for sampling wild plants to determine whether or not they are safe to eat. Allegedly, the bad taste will warn you of toxicity. If the plant tastes all right, those authors advocate that you swallow a small amount and wait a few hours. They say that if you experience no ill effects, you can eat the plants. Those instructions show ignorance of several facts about wild plants: (1) a number of highly toxic plants actually taste good; (2) eating even a small amount of some plants can be deadly; (3) with some toxic plants, symptoms of toxicity may not appear for several days or weeks. For all of the above reasons, never experiment with unknown plants as foods. For further details on toxic wild plants, refer to Chapter 5.

EDIBLE AND USEFUL WILD PLANTS BY FAMILY, INCLUDING RECIPES

The following plants are arranged in family groups. The groups are placed in alphabetical order by the scientific family name. There are several advantages to becoming familiar with plants by their scientific family groups. Once you learn to recognize a number of members of a specific plant family, it becomes easier to identify related members. In many plant families, certain toxic substances, such as alkaloids, are common in many species of that family. So, for example, once you know that many western milkweeds are far more toxic than their relatives in the eastern United States, and you learn to recognize the unique flowering and fruiting characteristics of the milkweed family, it is very easy to recognize and avoid other members of the family. And if you know that many members of the Euphorbiaceae have a toxic, and often caustic, latex in their leaves and stems, you can learn to recognize and avoid direct contact with members of the family.

The plant descriptions provide useful information to assist you in recognizing various species. For additional listings of edible plants, see Chapter 4, Edible and Poisonous Berries and Other Fleshy Fruits. Chapter 3 includes information on wild teas and spices.

ALISMATACEAE—WATER-PLANTAIN FAMILY

Arrowhead, Wapato—Sagittaria Species

In times past, arrowhead tubers provided an important source of carbohydrates for Native American tribes across the continent. For some tribes, arrowhead, or wapato, was the main vegetable. The Lewis and Clark Expedition relied on the tubers for survival while exploring the Columbia River (The Lewis and Clark Fort Mandan Foundation 2009).

The small tubers that cling to the ends of the long underwater roots are what you are after. Collecting them is a messy job. If you are careful, you can remove the tubers without pulling up the whole plant. Follow the root underwater with your hands until you find the round lumps. The tubers are best in the late fall, when the flower stalk is dying back, and they vary in size. You may find some as large as a new potato or as small as a peanut. Boil them or bake them like a potato, then peel and eat them. They are considered a good source of carbohydrates.

I have never seen arrowheads growing in abundance. Use them only if you find a large supply. The Chinese cultivate arrowheads for food. The plants may be deserving of cultivation in this country (Fernald, Kinsey, and Rollins 1958; Crowhurst 1972; Harrington 1972; Gibbons 1962; Medsger 1966).

PLANT CHARACTERISTICS Arrowheads are aquatic plants, growing in a variety of shallow wetland habitats, such as streams, ponds, marshes, and roadside ditches. Nine species occur in Texas, five in Arizona, and seven in New Mexico. All species have probably been used as food. These wildflowers may be 1–4 feet (3–12 dm) tall. In several species the large leaf blade is shaped like an arrowhead. Leaves clasp the base of the flower stalk, and the sap of the plant is milky. The delicate white flowers have three showy petals and are attached to the flower stalk in whorls of three.

AMARANTHACEAE—AMARANTH FAMILY

Amaranth, Pigweed, Alegría—Amaranthus Species

(See illustration.)

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WARNING

Amaranth leaves contain some oxalic acid, which tends to bind calcium and thus restrict its absorption by the body. As long as your diet contains plenty of calcium from other sources, eating amaranth and other vegetables that contain oxalic acid should cause no problems. See spinach in the index for details on problems with oxalic acid in spinach.

Amaranths can accumulate excess nitrates in their leaves (not in the grain). While that does not pose a problem for humans eating a normal-sized meal of amaranth greens, it has caused some livestock losses. Researchers have found that nitrate