Picked up a 1960s guide to edible wild plants for 50 cents at a garage sale in Indiana and it saved me on a camping trip last spring

I got turned around on a hike with no cell service and remembered a section about cattail roots from that little yellow book that kept me from going hungry for two days, has anyone else found a random old book that actually came in handy?

2 comments

2 Comments

john64816d ago

Cattail roots are a lifesaver. Dig the runners deep, roast them slow. Had to do that once myself in the Smokies.

valgibson16d ago

Really? Roasting cattail roots in the Smokies sounds a lot like a story from a scout handbook, not a real emergency. I've eaten those things raw and they're just stringy and bland, not exactly a lifesaver. @john648, were you lost for a whole week or just a long afternoon? I feel like most folks would just walk back to the car and grab a granola bar before digging up swamp plants.

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