Universal Edibility Test

The best way to determine what is and is not safe to eat in the wild is a knowledge of plant families.

Do not gather plants near roads, especially down hill from a road as they may be contaminated by oil runoff from cars.

Some parts of a plant may be safe to eat and other parts of the same plant may be poisonous so be sure to treat different plant parts as seperate entities. While common fruits such as apple, tomato, and mango are edible, parts of these plants are toxic.

Plants growing in water may have Giardia on them. Boiling them may help to disinfect them.

If you have a very sensitive digestion you should avoid using wild plants as food.

The arum family (araceae / taro / 'ape) contains high concentrations of oxalic acid that sometimes can be boiled away.

Be especially leery of any plant that has a bean pod or looks like a tomato, potato, or morning glory.

Avoid any plant or plant part that smells like almonds or root beer.

Avoid fruit that may have developed mold.

Never test umbelliferies (apiaceaes / carrot family) plants or mushrooms for edibility.

2. Separate the plant into its basic components - leaves, stems, roots, buds, and flowers.

3. Smell the food for strong or acid odors. Remember, smell alone does not indicate a plant is edible or inedible.

5. During the 8 hours you abstain from eating, test for contact poisoning by placing a piece of the plant part you are testing on the inside of your elbow or wrist. Usually 15 minutes is enough time to allow for a reaction.

6. During the test period, take nothing by mouth except purified water and the plant part you are testing.

7. Select a small portion of a single part and prepare it the way you plan to eat it.

8. Before placing the prepared plant part in your mouth, touch a small portion (a pinch) to the outer surface of your lip to test for burning or itching.

9. If after 3 minutes there is no reaction on your lip, place the plant part on your tongue, holding it there for 15 minutes.

10. If there is no reaction, thoroughly chew a pinch and hold it in your mouth for 15 minutes. Do not swallow.

11. If no burning, itching, numbing, stinging, or other irritation occurs during the 15 minutes, swallow the food.

12. Wait 8 hours. If any ill effects occur during this period, induce vomiting and drink a lot of water.

13. If no ill effects occur, eat 0.25 cup of the same plant part prepared the same way. Wait another 8 hours. If no ill effects occur, the plant part as prepared is safe for eating.

Test all parts of the plant for edibility, as some plants have both edible and inedible parts. Do not assume that a part that proved edible when cooked is also edible when raw. Test the part raw to ensure edibility before eating raw. The same part or plant may produce varying reactions in different individuals.