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Kelly Kindscher
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Edible Wild Plants of the Prairie: An Ethnobotanical Guide Paperback – July 30, 1987

by Kelly Kindscher (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 88 ratings
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Edible Wild Plants of the Prairie: An Ethnobotanical Guide
Edible Wild Plants of the Prairie: An Ethnobotanical Guide
$29.99
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Long before sunflower seeds became a popular snack food, they were a foodstuff valued by Native Americans. For some 10,000 years, from the end of the Pleistocene to the 1800s, the indigenous peoples of the plains regarded edible native plants, like the sunflower, as an important source of food. Not only did plants provide sustenance during times of scarcity, but they also added variety to what otherwise would have been a monotonous diet of game. Nevertheless, the use of native plants as food sharply declined when white men settled the Great Plains and imposed their own culture with its differing notions of what was fit to eat. Those notions tended to excluded from the accepted diet such plants as soapweed, labsquarter, ground cherry, prairie turnip, and prickly pear. Today it is strange to think of eating chokecherries,, which were a key ingredient in that staple of the Indian diet, permmican.

Based on plant lore documented by historical and achaeological evidence, Edible Wild Plants of the Prairie related how 122 plant species were once used as food by the native and immigrant residents on the prairie. Written for a broad audience of amateur naturalists, botanists, ethnologists, anthropologists, and agronomists, this guide is intended to educate the reader about wild plants as food sources, to synthesize information on the potential use of native flora as new food crops, and to encourage the conservation and cultivation of prairie plants.

By writing about the edible flora of the American prairie Kelly Kindscher has provided us with the first edible plant book devoted to the region that Walt Whitman called “North America's characteristic landscape” and the Willa Cather called “the floor of the sky.” In describing how plants were used for food, he has drawn upon information concerning tribes that inhabited the prairie bioregion. As a consequence, his book serves as a handy compendium for readers seeking to learn more about historical uses of plants by Native Americans.

The book is organized into fifty-one chapters arranged alphabetically by scientific name. For those who are interested in finding and identifying the plants, the book provides line drawings, distribution maps, and botanical and habitat descriptions. The ethnobotanical accounts of food use form the major portion of the text, but the reader will also find information on the parts of the plants used, harvesting, propagation (for home gardeners), and the preparation and taste of wild food plants.
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  1. Print length
    288 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    University Press of Kansas
  4. Publication date
    July 30, 1987
  5. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.6 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0700603255
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0700603251
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Whether you simply like prairie plants, want to diversify your diet, plan to recreate Grandma's plum jam, or are a scholar comparing tribal uses, this book is an invaluable reference."--Great Plains Quarterly

"This book is semi-popular in nature, containing much information useful to the professional yet accessible to the non-specialist as well."--Journal of Ethnobiology

"A fascinating and readable book, which will please a wide audience from historians and anthropologists to amateur naturalists, botanists and the home gardener."--Missouri Prairie Journal

"Unique and important. . . . A definitive contribution to the study of wild edible plants and American Indian ethnobotany."—E. Barrie Kavasch, author of Native American Harvests: Recipes and Botanicals of the American Indian

From the Back Cover

"Unique and important. . . . A definitive contribution to the study of wild edible plants and American Indian ethnobotany."--E. Barrie Kavasch, author of Native American Harvests: Recipes and Botanicals of the American Indian

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ University Press of Kansas (July 30, 1987)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0700603255
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0700603251
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.01 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.6 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 88 ratings

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Kelly Kindscher

Kelly Kindscher

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
88 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book has good information, great research, and vivid descriptions of uses. They also describe it as an excellent reference for people living in the area with a brief glossary but a useful literature cited. Readers also mention the book is easy to read and well-written.

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Information qualityReadability
8 customers mention "Information quality"8 positive0 negative

Customers find the information in the book good, great, and excellent. They appreciate the vivid descriptions of uses, growth habits, and processing. Readers also mention the book guides them to more useful genera and other resources.

"...to familiarize yourself with grasses because it will guide you to more useful genera and other resources where you can find more information on the..." Read more

"...can't wait to grow them for my own garden in CA! With all the useful, edible, and well adapted plants for the prarie and other arid lands it..." Read more

"This is a well-written, well-researched, and easy to read book that is all about the edible uses of the North American prairie...." Read more

"I thoroughly enjoyed the wealth of information in this book, though the illustrations are not colored, the description, use by the natives, and..." Read more

3 customers mention "Readability"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book easy to read, well-written, and a blast to read. They also appreciate the vivid descriptions of the uses.

"...Boy, was I wrong! This book was a blast to read with vivid descriptions of the uses, growth habits, processing of the foodstuffs, and other..." Read more

"This is a well-written, well-researched, and easy to read book that is all about the edible uses of the North American prairie...." Read more

"...Enjoyed the many facets of new wild Plants not known to me. Easy reading and should be interesting to the General public." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

Randy J. Mercurio
5.0 out of 5 stars Great resource for prairie plants!
Reviewed in the United States on October 3, 2009
Verified Purchase
I strongly agree with the reviews of "A Customer" and Sam Thayer. I will add that this book is a great starting place to familiarize yourself with grasses because it will guide you to more useful genera and other resources where you can find more information on the group of plants that provide the staple diet for humans. Three major sections "Edible Wild Plants of the Prairie", "The Grasses" and "Other Edible Pairie Plants" which contains what I would consider less useful or poorly known edible plants. All plants are organized alphabetically by genus. Each plant account has "Common Names", "Indian Names", "Scientific Name", "Description", "Habitat", "Parts Used" (includes harvesting season), "Food Use" and "Cultivation" sections. Each plant also has a simple distribution map. Brief glossary but a lengthy and useful Literature Cited. On the downside, the stippled illustrations are well done but still don't provide the needed visuals for identifying plants so there are no color photos. A wealth of information contained in this book covering some common plants that may be found outside the prairie too.
7 people found this helpful
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Tynan Wyatt
5.0 out of 5 stars More than expected
Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2011
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I expected a fairly dry text that I would have to studiously dig through to find any nuggets of useful information for my purposes (drought tolerant edible plants). Boy, was I wrong! This book was a blast to read with vivid descriptions of the uses, growth habits, processing of the foodstuffs, and other ethnobotanical notes. After reading this book I tracked down seed sources for a number of these plants and can't wait to grow them for my own garden in CA!
With all the useful, edible, and well adapted plants for the prarie and other arid lands it makes you wonder why we aren't growing more of the plants this book describes, i.e. purple poppy mallow, thelosperma, leadplant, sunchoke, serviceberry, etc.
7 people found this helpful
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Eat at Joe's
5.0 out of 5 stars The best reference of its kind IMO
Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2021
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This is a well-written, well-researched, and easy to read book that is all about the edible uses of the North American prairie. An excellent reference for people living here.
One person found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Good condition, adequate delivery time.
Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2022
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Order arrived as expected in good condition with adequate delivery time.
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James W. Popp
4.0 out of 5 stars Edible Wild Plants
Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2013
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Would recommend to interested Friends.Enjoyed the many facets of new wild Plants not known to me. Easy reading and should be interesting to the General public.
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dr. egg
5.0 out of 5 stars Superb wealth of information.
Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2012
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I thoroughly enjoyed the wealth of information in this book, though the illustrations are not colored, the description, use by the natives, and early settlers accounts more than make up for it. This book is a foothold for novices like me, and botanists and anthropologists alike. 5 out of 5 for sure.
3 people found this helpful
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medicine Woman
5.0 out of 5 stars LOVE THIS
Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2014
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HAVENT REALLY STUDIED THIS ALL YET BUT WHAT I DO SEE IS GREAT INFO AND BEING I HAVE BEEN TOO BUSY THIS IS ANOTHER BOOK I AM GOING TO MAKE A THOROUGH RESEARCH OF A WONDERFUL THOROUGHBRED BOOK THAT WILL BE USEFUL IN SURVIVAL IF WE EVER NEEDED IT THAT SOON MAY COME FOR ALL.AMAZON THX SO MUCH FOR SELLING IT. THX MEDICINE
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Bacawind
5.0 out of 5 stars I also got "Medicinal Wild Plants of the Prairie" and ...
Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2017
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I also got "Medicinal Wild Plants of the Prairie" and I've jumped between the two, reading and rereading. I've lived on the prairie for 16 years, near daily walks of 2 miles. After reading these books I'm "seeing" so much more!
5 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

R. Gray
5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent guide.
Reviewed in Canada on January 1, 2018
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A fabulous resource. Each plant has a black and white drawing of the entire plant, it's leaves and, depending on what portion is edible, it's root and or fruit. It includes common names, Indian names and scientific name (including what the scientific name refers to). There is a description of the plant, its habitat and a range map. Then there is a section on the parts of the plant that are used for food followed by a fairly lengthy section on how it has been used and, in some cases, on it's cultivation. A great read.
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Patagaway
3.0 out of 5 stars only partiallty topical for Canada
Reviewed in Canada on January 14, 2013
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Most of the info is for the American Prairies but there is enough overlap to give the book merit for the Canadian prairies, too.
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Line Laflamme
1.0 out of 5 stars Not what I was expected… disappointed it wasn’t around my area
Reviewed in Canada on June 26, 2022
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Not what I was expected… disappointed it wasn’t around my area
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