1. The Big Four Edible Plant Groups Grasses, Cattails, Pines, Acorns

2. Grasses Almost all bladed grasses are edible You can eat: –Young shoots up to 6” raw –Seeds raw, roasted, flour, mush High in protein Purple or black seeds may have a toxic fungus Mature leaves are too fibrous –can’t digest cellulose –Chew and spit out or make tea

3. Cattails Almost all parts of cattail are edible Young shoots up to 2 feet raw –Green flower heads boiled –Summer pollen heads – raw, flour –Sprouts raw or boiled –Roots raw, crush dissolve in water and dried into flour

4. Pine Trees Needles in bundles of 2 or 5 Needles - Chop, and boil in tea ( Vitamin C ) Pollen anthers – raw (protein) Seeds – heat pine cone in fire to open Inner bark – scrape off outer layer and eat inner layer between bark and wood raw or boiled

5. Acorns green or ripe white and pin oak = raw other oaks = leached in running water several hours or boiled in several changes of water

6. Do Not - test unknown plants by eating small amounts Do Not - eat anything just because animals can Not all parts of an edible plant are edible Some parts are only edible when cooked Some plants are only edible in certain seasons Other notes…

7. Edible during certain seasons Spring – shoots and leaves –Roots are still highly nutritious Summer – shoots, leaves, and flowers –Roots poor in nutrients Fall – seeds, berries, and nuts Winter – roots