A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants: Eastern and central North America (Peterson Field Guide) [Paperback]

Lee Allen Peterson (Author, Illustrator, Photographer), Roger Tory Peterson (Editor, Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Peterson Field Guide | Publication Date: September 1, 1999

More than 370 edible wild plants, plus 37 poisonous look-alikes, are described here, with 400 drawings and 78 color photographs showing precisely how to recognize each species. Also included are habitat descriptions, lists of plants by season, and preparation instructions for 22 different food uses.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Roger Tory Peterson, one of the world's greatest naturalists, received every major award for ornithology, natural science, and conservation as well as numerous honorary degrees, medals, and citations, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The Peterson Identification System has been called the greatest invention since binoculars. These editions include updated material by Michael O'Brien, Paul Lehman, Bill Thompson III, Michael DiGiorgio, Larry Rosche, and Jeffrey A. Gordon.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (September 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 039592622X
• ISBN-13: 978-0395926222
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 4.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (58 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,488 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #2 in Books > Science & Math > Nature & Ecology > Reference
  • #3 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Biological Sciences > Botany
  • #4 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Biological Sciences > Plants

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

156 of 157 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars How To Eat Nature, July 30, 2001

By 

"k8books" (Maine) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants: Eastern and central North America (Peterson Field Guide) (Paperback)

If you're like me and you enjoy trying to eat leaves and berries that you find while hiking and wandering about in nature, this is a handy book to own. The Peterson who wrote this book (son of the Peterson of the many, many wildlife guidebooks writer) is also a forest forrager and details some other cool books to own in the Introduction (including Stalking Wild Asparagus..excellent). I searched for a while to find a guide that would not only easily ID edible berries, roots and leaves..but also give recipe-like tips on how to prepare said roots and leaves..and they do here. Who knew, for example, that one could make a cool and refreshing beverage from staghorn sumac? Crafty! Guide is sub-divided into several search methods: color, plant-type (berry, leaf) and includes many color plates along with ink drawings to help to be sure that Amanita spp. mushroom you're eating won't cause you trouble later! And, the final great feature of the Peterson guides is that the front and back covers are tough so that you can make your copy go camping with you over many moons and you won't wear out your book. Nice!

111 of 113 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars excellent book for beginners but has some problems, June 26, 2000

By 

Morgan-Rodenbeck family - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants: Eastern and central North America (Peterson Field Guide) (Paperback)

This book contains descriptions and uses of hundreds of useful plants and is probably the most imporant book to have in your edible plant book collection. It also gives fair warning when some evidence suggests possible risks.

Despite these points, there are some things that make it hard to use. First, because they are trying to cram in as many plants as possible, they don't give enough attention to many plants that deserve it and give very breif descriptions, although they do point out some of the main identifying features. Second, the pictures, at least for the first half of the book, are simply recycled from the Peterson Guide to Wildflowers, which means that they often leave out important parts that you really need to see. Third, the book is organized for the most part so that you can't find a plant unless you know the color of the flower, which makes it really difficult to recognize plants unless you find them during the period they flower, which is usually pretty short. And did anyone notice that they switched the pictures of Nodding Wild Onion and Field Garlic on page 115?

Of course, the descriptions and drawings are better than most books on the subject, and it does have many useful features, so this book is definately worth having.

53 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well written., March 14, 2003

By 

Detra Fitch (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants: Eastern and central North America (Peterson Field Guide) (Paperback)

This book is very well written. it contains over 400 drawings and 78 color photos, to help in the identification of the mentioned plants. Each entry contains information on habitat, when they flower, a description and the uses. Also conatins any applicable warnings. The line drawings are very accurate and are more than enough, when coupled with the descriptions, to be able to identify just about any plant. But if you have any doubts, check the color photos. Also, at the back of the book, it contains the various types of plants divided up into habitat, and then each habitat divided into what plants can be harvested there during various seasons. This book is a great resource for any survivalist's bookshelf.