In my last couple of entries about wild edible plants, I repeatedly cite Cattail Bob Seebeck, author of Best Tasting Wild Plants of Colorado and the Rockies (1998). Today I figured I'd take a moment to officially review his guide.
Over the years I've used many wild edible plant guides, so I feel comfortable saying I know a great one when I see it. In fact, until further notice, Cattail Bob's guide is my absolute favorite. Some of the salient features of Best-Tasting Wild Plants of Colorado and the Rockies include the following:
- It has four (4) full-color pictures of each plant at different seasons of the year.
- It separates plants into high and low altitude.
- Each entry has a chart describing the growth phases of the plants by month and altitude.
- Look-alikes for edible plants are listed along with their toxicity.
- There is a separate section on toxic plants including pictures to help distinguish toxic plants from edible ones.
- Each entry has suggestions for how to prepare and eat the plants.
Cattail Bob also gives a map of the geographical locations in which one can find the majority of these plants, which range from Colorado to Wyoming, Montana, New Mexico, and parts of Arizona, Idaho, Utah, South Dakota, and Nebraska. I will say, however, that some of the plants included in this guide have a march larger range, with several I know for certain growing in the northeastern United States, where I foraged as a young girl.
Based on information gleaned from Best-Tasting Wild Plants I have prepared and eaten: stonecrop pizza, stonecrop pickles, stonecrop burritos, lamb's quarter with tansy mustard and peppergrass seeds, fried yucca flowers, and pennycress omelettes, to name only a few!
So that about covers it. Best-Tasting Wild Plants of Colorado and the Rockies gets 5 stars from me. And be sure to look for more edible plants book reviews from this blogger in the future!
(By the way, Pam, if you're reading this, check out Common Edible and Medicinal Plants of Colorado with recipes and prescriptions by Kathryn G. March and Andrew L. March; 1979; which I believe is also available at the Fairplay library.)
Hey, I really like your articles about the edible plants. I've been eating flowers all over the place here in the Midwest (MN) but I get sick to my stomach sometimes. It's great to know that you can look up which ones are edible and which ones to avoid. Can you post something about look-alikes and which flowers I should avoid? I've been eating the dandelions that grow in my field, and also some blue or purple flowers that taste a little sweet.
Thanks, Steve
Hi Steve, thanks for the compliment. You are the very first person (who is not my best friend or boyfriend) to comment on the blog. Welcome!
I'm going to respond briefly to your question here and then look into it further to give you a more solid recommendation (on books covering your area & edible flowers) at a later date. First off, my understanding about flowers in general is that overconsumption can cause stomach irritation--which is why it is safest to test them in small quantities first.
In the meantime I'm pretty sure you have milkweed in Minnesota, which has edible flowers (small quantity first - cooking them is probably best); as well as wood sorrel, which has three heart-shaped leaves on each stalk and a yellow flower, with both leaves and flowers being edible and offering a yummy lemon taste.
Listen, if you use any sort of poison on the lawn, don't eat the dandelions that grow there. Always find a spot to forage where the ground hasn't been treated and where there's not too much traffic nearby.
Hi Erica, I just wrote a couple of paragraphs to you but they disappeared into cyberspace. Maybe you got them. If so, I apologize for the redundancy. Anyway, your sister emailed me about you and your interest in wild herbs! Great! I love your blog! You are a good writer! Thanks for pushing my book! Hey, energy like yours cannot go unrewarded. If you're going to be in the area this Sat Sept 12 I would like to invite you and a friend to my last public class of the season... no charge. It is a Loveland Parks & Rec class with 7 registrants the last I heard. We will cover almost 100 useful plants of Colorado. Just show up at 9 am next to the Drake, Colo post office. We go til about 4 pm. Bring a lunch. Don't forget to bring your book so I can sign it for you! Hope to meet you. Ciao, Cattail
PS If you're coming from Denver, it's about a one hour and 15 minute drive to Drake.