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the first consideration when foraging. There are many thousands of edible plants in North
America, and the following test can be used to determine the edibility of unknown plants. Only
one person should test each plant. If stomach problems arise, drink lots of hot water for relief.
If necessary, induce vomiting by sticking your finger down your throat or swallowing some
charcoal.
Caution: Do not assume that a plant is safe to eat because birds, insects, or animals have
eaten it. Many plants that are poisonous to humans serve as food sources for certain animals,
birds, or insects.
Edibility Test
Since most of us will not be fortunate enough to have a guide to wild edibles in our back pock-
et when a disaster strikes, this plant edibility test could save your life someday. When properly
executed, the plant edibility test enables a person to safely test any wild plant for its edibility.
Caution: Don't skip any of the following steps—go slow and be thorough.
• Do not use the edibility test for mushrooms. Mushrooms must be positively identi-
fied. Improperly identified mushrooms may taste fine but prove deadly in small
amounts.
• Do not eat plants with milky sap, except for dandelions.
1. Smell. Crush some of the plant. If it smells like almonds or peaches, it probably contains the com-
mon plant poison hydrocyanic acid. Reject plants with this smell.
2. Skin irritation. Crush a small portion and rub some of the juice onto the skin of a sensitive area,
such as the inside of your arm or thigh. If you experience any discomfort, rash, swelling, or burn-
ing sensations, reject this plant. Oxalic acid, a common plant poison, can be recognized by the
sharp dry stinging or burning feeling it leaves on the skin or tongue.
3. Mouth test. Ifthetestplantpassedtheskintest,cautiouslyproceedwiththemouthtest.Atthefirst
sign of burning, irritation, swelling, stomach ache, nausea, dizziness, or other ill effects, spit it out
and reject this plant. First, crush a little bit of the plant and place a small amount on the lips for
at least 10 seconds. Next, place a pea-sized portion in a corner of the mouth for 10 more seconds.
Move this portion to the tip of the tongue for another 10 seconds. Hold it under the tongue for 10
more seconds. Chew and then hold in the mouth for about 15 minutes total. Spit it out, and then
wait for 5 hours.
4. First-swallow test. If there are no ill effects after 5 hours, chew and swallow one teaspoon-sized
bite. Wait 10 hours, drinking and eating nothing else during this period.
5. Second-swallow test: Eat about 1/3 cup of this plant. Wait 24 hours. If there are no ill effects,
consider this plant edible. When in doubt, go slow!
Tree Bark
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