Wild Plants I Have Known...and Eaten [Paperback]

Russ Cohen (Author), Stephanie Letendre (Illustrator)

Product Details

• Paperback: 86 pages
• Publisher: Essex County Greenbelt Assoc. (2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971966818
• ISBN-13: 978-0971966819
• ASIN: B000CQSILU
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #918,417 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely Helpful for Foraging in Essex County, Massachusetts, November 21, 2011

By 

Keith J. Champney Jr. (Beverly, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wild Plants I Have Known...and Eaten (Paperback)

This book is published by the Essex County Greenbelt Association and proceeds from its sales support land conservation. They explicitly allow responsible foraging on their property. This book introduced me to lands in my neighborhood where I can go foraging, but you will find a detailed description of Essex County Greenbelt Association lands on their web site rather than in this book. All the plants listed are present in Essex County. I actually have a hard time leaving my house without seeing Japanese Knotweed or Staghorn Sumac. I haven't yet attempted to forage outside of Essex County, but I believe the book should be relevant for anyone living in New England. If you are new to foraging, you'll certainly want a field guide in addition to this book. The illustrations are nice, but you'll want a field guide for identification purposes. If your not new to foraging, you already know the difference between this book and a field guide. Each plant is described with its uses, a recipe, and usually some historical information. The book is well written and a pleasure to read. In comparison to Samuel Thayer, Russ Cohen writes less about personal antidotes and more the about environment status of each plant. He'll let you know which plants are invasive species that can be harvested to help the local ecology and what plants are edible but rare. Samuel Thayer does include instructions on how to forage in an ecologically conscious manner and Russ Cohen does include personal antidotes, but not in the same amount.