Edible in AZ

[bryanmertz]

Does anyone have a good resource (preferably a book) of plants that are edible here in AZ, and poosibly some ways to use in camp/ backpack cooking?

Thanks,
Bryan

[kylemorgan]

I have an "lemon" tree in my backyard. Pretty delicious. Try and find one of those.

[joebartels]

A book is mentioned in this thread
http://hikearizona.com/dex2/viewtopic.p ... ible#18216

Myth busters deciphered if the box cereal comes in is more nutritious than the cereal on one of their shows. So I think twigs are in

[Al_HikesAZ]

In response to bryanmertz's reply:
Here is the definitive work:
http://www.uapress.arizona.edu/onlinebk ... tlprop.htm
By the Prophet of the Earth. Ethnobotany of the Pima By L.S.M. Curtin
Copyright © 1949. The Arizona Board of Regents
Gary Paul Nabhan who wrote Gathering in the Desert, wrote the foreward to the 1984 edition of this work. Link

For Northern AZ, consider
Wild Plants and Native Peoples of the Four Corners Author(s): Dunmire, W. W.; G. D. Tierney 1997 Santa Fe : Museum of New Mexico Press

Also
Edible and Useful Plants of Texas and the Southwest: A Practical Guide by Delena Tull 1999 University of Texas Press. http://www.utexas.edu/utpress/books/tuledp.html

[joebartels]

Since my last post I was going by REI so I stopped and gandered through a book they had. I don't have a clue what the book was, I'm sure it's the latest and greatest. Anyhow, unless you're heading out with Peter Bigfoot (or whatever his name is) I wouldn't head out into the woods depending on that book. You better start praying it's berry season or there's a dependable crop of cat tails unless you enjoy various roots

Interesting, just not for this cowboy.

[Al_HikesAZ]

In response to joe bartels' reply:
Or at least know the Universal Edibility Test.
http://www.survivaliq.com/survival/surv ... s1.htm#uet

There is a lot of edible stuff out there. The Pima make a mean liquor out of Saguaro fruit. Carry gloves to get at cactus fruits.

My uncle's father taught him the secret to knowing which mushrooms are poisonous. And he taught it to me. For a little tequila around a campfire, I might be willing to divulge this precious secret. :twisted:

"Ever eat a pine tree? many parts are edible" Euell Gibbons

[Nighthiker]

I have several books but I am on duty right now. Gary Nabhan has a couple of books that are good. Food and Fiber of the Arid Southwest but I can't remember the author. Thinds are generally not avalabe year round, most items have a "harvest season" Interested in grow your own, Native Seed Search in Tucson is your best source.

[wetbeaverlover]

Any library in AZ has a treasure trove of this sort of information. Look under anthropology and archeology of any particular culture in AZ and you will get the REAL DEAL on the whats, whens,wheres and hows the natives of any collected their food. Any you wont have to pay for some yuppies SUV by buying his 14.99 book. Quite intresting reading.

[Al_HikesAZ]

Any library in AZ has a treasure trove of this sort of information. Look under anthropology and archeology of any particular culture in AZ and you will get the REAL DEAL on the whats, whens,wheres and hows the natives of any collected their food.

I agree.

Any you wont have to pay for some yuppies SUV by buying his 14.99 book.

I respectfully disagree. I don't think Gary particularly needs my 14.99 now that he has won the MacArthur "Genius" Fellowship. His works are excellent and are works of dedication and passion. Here is some info on the Center for Sustainable Environments of which he is the director.
http://www.environment.nau.edu/aboutcse ... Nabhan.htm

But I am more than happy paying 14.99 to help Gary in his mission. And I don't feel that it is any of my business or concern as to what he drives.

[Fleas]

In response to al1inaz's reply:
Careful !! Remember they are old mushroom hunters and they are bold mushroom hunters, but they are NO old bold mushroom hunters
Fleas @ Arizona Mushroom Club..
Hey about that Tequila and campfire.....

[Al_HikesAZ]

In response to al1inaz's reply:
Careful !! Remember they are old mushroom hunters and they are bold mushroom hunters, but they are NO old bold mushroom hunters
Fleas @ Arizona Mushroom Club..
Hey about that Tequila and campfire.....

I'm glad we have a mushroom hunter here. A lot of members post photos of unusual mycota. You will notice in Photo Comments that we identify a few of them but many pass unidentified. Feel free to post comments and make your best guess at identification.

My uncle's father immigrated from northern Italy around Lake Como to Globe in about 1913. He harvested mushrooms in the Pinal mountains. He would agree with your comment on old, bold mushroom hunters. He lived to be 91. I'll email you his secret. :twisted: But maybe we can still hike Icehouse canyon and I'll bring the tequila.

[Nighthiker]

Mushrooms and Truffles of the Southwest by Jck States is an excellent resource. al1inaz, was your father a stonecutter/mason by chance ?

[Al_HikesAZ]

Mushrooms and Truffles of the Southwest by Jck States is an excellent resource. al1inaz, was your father a stonecutter/mason by chance ?

Pop Caceletto was my Uncle's father. Pop was a shoemaker. Several of his friends and relatives were stonemasons on the Dam and wrote home about Globe. He did well repairing boots in a mining town. Lots of Italians came to Globe. I remember the grapes coming in from California and everybody making wine. I remember great Columbus day picnics.

Lived on Euclid street next to the Tewksbury's. Better to have them as friends and not enemies.

[rushthezeppelin]

I do know if you de-needle and skin a pickly pear you can fry it up and eat it that way. I have had prickly pear juice before way back when I was on a camp trip in Texas and its pretty damn good tbh. I also know in parts of Mexico people will regularly eat grubs that live in and around the roots of agave. They are pretty fat little suckers and if you can stomach the squishy texture they are extremely high sources of protein (I don't have a problem with it because I ate bugs regularly as a kid : P). I think you can also cook em over a fire if you really want but that probably cooks off some nutrients.

[Jeffshadows]

I do know if you de-needle and skin a pickly pear you can fry it up and eat it that way. I have had prickly pear juice before way back when I was on a camp trip in Texas and its pretty pumpkin good tbh.

Cut the ends off the fruit, grasp it by the ends and skin the rest of the fruit, pop in mouth and devour; free, delicious, and readily-available carbs on the trail!

[te_wa]

same worm found in Mescal. the US is unique in that it may be one of the few countries that doesnt eat bugs willingly. (not to include that "red sauce" found in your frozen pizza)
I used to ride a motorcycle, so Ive eaten my share of bugs.

i love that the FNG keeps resurfacing all these old posts... good reading indeed.

[mapit]

botanical gardens had some great info and used to send it if requested,Its still great to just go.I also find edible guides do half the job you will get either a descrptive plus pic ,or partial of how to.Unless you were able to practise the need is for more than a couple of books.Also try the smithsonian I used to buy books from the store.

[azbackpackr]

Ok, I'm not really into this, but my son is. This past summer, with his job with a non-profit company where he takes troubled teens backpacking, he took several of them for 5 days with no food, no sleeping bags, etc. They took a tarp for rain, a pocket knife, etc. He said they mostly ate berries, greens and crawdads, and they had fun. It rained (it was monsoon season) so they made beds and covered themselves with some kind of vegetation. I don't remember all the details. (By the way, crawdads are not native to Arizona, but there are lots of them, and you can eat them.)

For another point of view, I would refer back to my sons' Tucson scoutmaster, who did NOT advise anyone to eat what the Indians ate, even if you knew exactly what they did eat. The reason is that many people will get what he referred to as "the trots" from eating unfamiliar foods, thereby becoming dehydrated, which of course is not an advisable state of physiology when hiking in the desert.

So the message is, that while some things are edible, it might behoove you to eat them at home where a toilet, lots of TP and Immodium AD are readily available!

[djui5]

I also know in parts of Mexico people will regularly eat grubs that live in and around the roots of agave. They are pretty fat little suckers and if you can stomach the squishy texture they are extremely high sources of protein

I was watching Survivorman last night and he was in Australia. He was digging grub worms out of these pockets in tree's and eating them. He'd cook them on hot coals first though. He said they tasted delicious, kinda nutty I believe. Super high source of protein

I'm gonna do some library research on what plants are edible. I know Agave and Cactus are, especially Prickly Pear. I'd like to know if I get stuck out in the Supers I can survive Catching rodents isn't easy work.

[PaleoRob]

Make a rabbit stick. Then all you've gotta do is brain 'em - they don't run away then!