1. Food for Free (Plants) What to eat & what to not!

2. What you need to do You will see pictures of 10 plants In pairs I want you to decide: 1.What the plant is 2.If it is edible or poisonous 3.If it is edible how you would eat it The answers are at the end

13. Answers

14. Dandelion Edible Eat leaves in salad Fry & then stew the root Make coffee from the root

15. Stinging Nettle Young leaves are edible Can be cooked to make stinging nettle soup, pesto, puree or even haggis!

16. Bilberry Edible berries Grow low to ground Eat raw Cook to make bilberry pie or pudding Add mint & make into jam

17. Cowberry Berries edible but bitter Grow low to ground Add apple & make into jelly or jam

18. Lords & Ladies Berries are POISONOUS They irritate the skin & cause swelling in the mouth, throat & stomach if eaten, resulting in pain, stomach upset & can cause difficulty in breathing

19. Sweet Chestnut Edible Roast over a fire Boil & then puree and eat like potato Dry & grind into flour

20. Horse Chestnut POISONOUS These nuts will cause stomach upset in small doses and can cause paralysis or worse in large doses!

21. Puffball Mushroom Edible when young & flesh is pure white Fry in breadcrumbs Hollow out & stuff with mixture of puffball, mince & rice

22. Death Cap Mushroom POISONOUS Will cause liver failure & death WILL occur about 6 days after eating!!!

23. Horse Mushroom Edible If still dome shaped stuff with whole tomato & cook If flat grill like a steak Or chop and use in other dishes Warning can be easily confused with the yellow stainer mushroom below – The yellow stainer is poisonous and will give you an upset stomach

24. Warnings As you have seen it isn’t always easy to know if a plant is edible or poisonous – especially when it comes to mushrooms Don’t eat wild foods unless you are absolutely sure they are edible (I am sure you can all safely identify & eat a blackberry!) If you want to eat wild mushrooms go mushroom picking with an expert (there are many courses around) to make sure you pick the right ones!