Edible Wild Plant Bibliography (excerpt)

Angier, Bradford , Feasting Free on Wild Edibles. New York: Pyramid Books. c1966 (also published by Stackpole Books in 1972) 288pp. Paperback.

• a one-volume edition of two earlier books: Free for the Eating and More free for the Eating Wild Foods
• good recipes for some plants
• drawings are sketchy
• pretty comprehensive

• organized alphabetically by common name
• nice color drawings
• 116 species, therefore, leaves some out
• good descriptions, recipes are sketchy
• good single source

Arora, David , All that the Rain Promises, and More... A Hip Pocket Guide to Western Mushrooms. Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press. c1991 264pp. Softcover.

• great color photos of mushrooms and people enjoying them
• entertaining reading; great anecdotes
• although focusing on Western mushrooms, some species covered can be found in the East

Brackett, Babette and Mary Ann Lash , The Wild Gourmet. Boston: David R. Godine. c1975 160pp. Hardcover and softcover.

• beautifully printed
• arranged by season
• lots of good recipes
• authors live in Rockport, MA and plants in the book can be found in that area

Brill, "Wildman" Steve and Evelyn Dean , Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild (and not so wild) Places. New York: Hearst Books. c1994 317pp. Softcover (folio-size).

• very comprehensive
• book is organized by time of year and habitat
• good b/w illustrations of each plant
• numerous and good recipes

Derby, Blanche Cybele, My Wild Friends: Free Food from Field and Forest. Northampton, MA: White Star Press. c1997 264pp. Softcover (spiral-bound).

• contains over 40 "chapters" each focusing on a particular plant (and a few mushrooms), including personal anecdotes and recipes
• Blanche, a high school art teacher, drew marvellous and somewhat fanciful illustrations for the book, choosing a relevant "theme" drawing to head each chapter

Elias, Thomas S. and Peter A. Dykeman, Edible Wild Plants: A North American Field Guide. New York: Sterling Publishing Co. c1990 286 pp. Softcover.

• well-organized, by season
• good color photos

• still considered to be one of the foremost works on this subject
• comprehensive coverage
• good botanical drawings, but some plants aren't illustrated
• recently put back into print (Dover)
• extensive bibliography containing references to a number of books from the 1800s and earlier

Fischer, David W. and Alan E. Bessette, Edible Wild Mushrooms of North America: A field to kitchen guide. c1992 254pp. Softcover.

• good verbal descriptions and color photos
• mouth-watering recipes

Gardon, Anne The Wild Food Gourmet: Fresh and savory food from nature. Buffalo, NY: Firefly Books. c1998 (originally published in French in 1994 by Les Editions de l'Homme as La Cuisine des Champs). 174pp. Softcover.

• author grew up in Provence (France) and now lives south of Montreal; the 40 or so plant and mushroom species covered in the book can be found in that region
• contains dozens of recipes utilizing these plants/mushrooms, ranging from simple to complex preparations
• features numerous gorgeous close-up color photos of wild plants and mushrooms and the gourmet dishes prepared from them

Gibbons, Euell and Gordon Tucker, Euell Gibbons' Handbook of Edible Wild Plants. Virginia Beach, VA: Donning (a Unilaw Library Book). c1979 319pp.

• Gibbons died in 1975 while this work was underway, and Tucker was recruited to complete the book while in college and graduate school
• illustrations are by Freda Gibbons, Euell's widow
• quite comprehensive, covers most of North America
• preparation methods and some simple recipes are provided

Gibbons, Euell, Stalking the Blue-eyed Scallop. New York: David McKay Co. c1964 332pp. Paperback and Hardcover.

• Focuses on shellfish, but good info on seaweeds and shoreline edible wild plants of both coasts.

• The first of Gibbons' books, and probably the most useful
• well-organized, plants are for the most part sorted alphabetically

Hall, Alan , The Wild Food Trail Guide. New York: Henry Holt and Co. (an Owl Book). ©1973 230pp. Softcover.

• no photos, but each or the 85 species of edible wild plants covered in the book are illustrated with generally high-quality b/w illustrations
• also includes writeups and illustrations of 12 common poisonous plants

Johnson, Cathy The Wild Foods Cookbook: Vegetables, salads, desserts, preserves and beverages from the field to your table. New York: Stephen Greene Press/Pelham Books (Penguin). c1989 236pp. Softcover.

• excellent recipes are sorted by type (salads, soups, main dishes, breads, preserves, desserts, beverages); main course dishes include fish and game recipes
• a handful of well-known edible mushrooms species are included
• many helpful b/w illustrations

Kluger, Marilyn , The Wild Flavor: Delectable wild foods to be found in field and forest and cooked in country kitchens. Los Angeles: Jeremy P. Tarcher (distributed by Houghton Mifflin). c1973 285pp. Paperback.

• plants only (no wild meats)
• well-organized recipes
• organized by season
• especially good for south midwestern plants

Lincoff, Gary H., The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. c1981 926pp. Softcover.

• very good photos, grouped by similar field characteristics.
• currently the most popular single source used by mushroom hunters in the field.

Peterson, Lee Allen, A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants of Eastern/Central North America. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. c1977 330pp. Paperback with 75 color photographs. [Revised edition published in 1985 by Easton Press, Norwalk, CT.]

• part of the Peterson Field Guide series
• organized by color of flower or branching habit

Phillips, Roger, Wild Food. Boston: Little, Brown and Co. c1986 192pp. Paperback (folio-size).

• enthusiastic recipes
• excellent photographs of the plants and the dishes prepared from them at the locations where the plants were harvested
• includes a good section on mushrooms
• is now, unfortunately, out of print

Richardson, Joan , Wild Edible Plants of New England (including poisonous plants often encountered). Yarmouth, ME: DeLorme Publishing Co. c1981 217pp. Softcover.

• species are grouped by habitat, with edible and poisonous species discussed together, each marked with a “yum” or “yuck” symbol as appropriate
• 179 color photos, generally grouped by habitat, with similar-looking edible and (identified as such) poisonous species often presented on the same page (helpful or confusing depending upon your perspective); sparse b/w illustrations
• includes a short chapter on edible and poisonous mushrooms

Seymour, Tom Foraging New England: Finding, Identifying and Preparing Edible Wild Foods and Medicinal Plants from Maine to Connecticut. Guilford, CT: Globe Pequot Press (part of the Falcon Guide series). ©2002 183pp. Paperback with 87 color photos.

• plants are grouped by habitat
• includes a handful of well-known and easy-to-recognize mushroom species
• author is from coastal Maine and the plants selected for the book reflect that – although the book claims to cover New England, many well-known wild edibles found in southern New England such as Sassafras, Shagbark Hickory, Beach Plum, Mulberry and Pokeweed are left out
• includes a well-written section on edible wild animals (bullfrogs and a half dozen shellfish species)
• color photos are of uneven quality (many are out of focus)