WILD PLANT EDIBILITY RULES
1. Never eat large quantities of an unknown food without first testing it.
2. When in doubt, chew a berry or small portion of a plant to taste possible bitterness or astringency. Spit it out.
4. When cooking facilities are available, cook the plant 5-15 minutes. Take a teaspoonful of the plant and hold it in your mouth five minutes. If no burning sensation is noted, then swallow it. Wait 8 hours. If there are no ill effects such as nausea, cramps or diarrhea, eat more, and wait another 8 hours. If no ill effects are noted, the plant should be edible.
4. Cook all plant foods when in doubt of their edibility. Cooking, however, does not always destroy toxicity.
5. When cooking facilities are not available, it is generally considered safe to try foods that you observe being eaten by birds and mammals. However, this does not always hold true, as birds will eat baneberries, etc.
6. Never eat a wild mushroom without positive identification. Cooking does not dissipate the poisonous properties of mushrooms. BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL!
7. Avoid eating an unknown plant with a milky juice. There are some edible plants, however, with milky juice, such as dandelion, wild lettuce, milkweed, figs, papaya, etc.
8. Most blue and black berries are edible, red berries are sometimes edible, and white berries are never edible.

EDIBILITY RULE - MEMORY TOOL
If it's blue - it's good for you.
If it's red - use your head.
If it's white - do not bite.

Please print out this information and save it. It would also be wise to MEMORIZE IT. It is very important. Thanks.

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