Customer Reviews

Discovering Wild Plants: Alaska, Western Canada, The Northwest

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I just got this book (fourth printing, 1998) in my mail, and I can testify that it's well worth the money. It's a really good field guide to plants of The Far North, be it Alaska or Finland.

In addition to excellent pictures (which really show you clearly how to tell this plant apart from others) you'll frequently run across a sentence that goes something like "So-and-so says in his/her book that it's edible after it's been dried /boiled /whatever, but my taste tests implied ...".

Truly outstanding research and practical information, both on medicinal and culinary uses of these plants, make this an invaluable addition to the library of anybody interested in plants in the Far North.

Great work, Janice!

I enjoyed this book thoroughly, from it's interesting tidbits on historic uses of plants, to the explanations of known toxic principles within plants. The cautions about harvest, use, and overuse are well-stated. The descriptions enhance the line-drawings, and each plant description comes with an excellent photograph, making this a terrific guide for identification of wild edibles!

I read far enough in this book to know that I need to study it, learn it, memorize it.

Schofield's book is a great addition to any apocalypse-preparedness library. It covers edible species of plants that grow in the wild (and in urban areas).

Discovering Wild Plants describes how to find edibles, when to harvest them, how to prepare them, and what they'll do for you in terms of nutrition, wellness, and healing.

This book is the standard in wild edibles if you live in Washington state, and it's required reading for students of Alderleaf Wilderness College ([...]).

It's a shame that this book is out of print. Count yourself lucky if you manage to snag a reasonably-priced used copy. I'm still looking for mine, and borrowing constantly from the library in the meantime.

This book is very informative and has already come in very handy for a remote location in Alaska where fresh quality commercial vegetables are hard to come by. Now, we're able to substitute fresh quality wild plants for wilted commercial produce.

Living in Alaska, I must say this is one of the finest books out there to help not only identify but work with wild plants in so many ways. The photos are excellent, the descriptions thorough and elaborate, the only negative is that it is too short, and yet too large to take out in the field! GREAT book, highly recommend.

While I did not read every word of this interesting and well written manual, I did end up reading a lot of it. I like the way it is laid out, by habitat. This was an especially attractive feature because most of the plants that I have been falling in love with on my paddling trips are all in one place in this book.The details (there is usually some good depth to the writing) are charming and useful and drawn from several first nation's contacts, Alaskan residents, and most interestingly the author's own experience and experiments with cooking and eating many of the plants.

While the focus of the book appears on first blush to be Alaska, in fact most of the plants listed are common to my area (Vancouver Island BC) and there were only one or two that I had not heard of.

Occasionally the information is tantalizing because of it's gaps. I found myself thinking, "OK, so you eat the flower -- so is that just the petals or the whole thing?" and similar questions which may not have occurred to the writer who is obviously very familiar with the material and who regularly gathers wild plants for food. A little more precision on the culinary aspects of the book would have pushed it from a good guide to an outstanding one.

If you like plant identification and the history, lore, and practical uses of local plants, this guide will not disappoint.

This a great book for the outdoors person & naturalist who wishes not always to eat out of Costco & eliminate the danger of MONSANTO & the world of unnatural & unsafe foods. Great pix & descriptions, also uses both medicinal & edible

This book has provided me with the ability to further my daily quest to eat only raw food. With Global warming now upon us and with the rising cost of organic vegetables this book will allow me to supplement me diet with raw wild plants.

I own three copies of this - an autographed hardbound that I keep at home and two duct-tape reinforced softback copies that have been on many trips into the field on personal trips, as part of field reference libraries on wilderness kayaking trips, at camps and on natural history cruises, and even in my day pack from time to time (though this is really too big to be a backpacker field guide). When this first came out it was THE gift of the year among my coastal Alaskan friends with any interest in nature (thus my three copies).

What can be said besides pointing out that it is a very thorough and and relevant reference for plant identification and consumption for Alaskans? One of, if not "The" quintessential guide to wild Alaskan edibles.