Edible, Wild Plants of Western Canada, Including the North West and the Yukon Territories.

As all of my regular readers will now know, especially in today's MODERN world in which producers and manufacturers are allowed to deliberately inject poisons and toxins into our staple foods; there is no such thing as a perfectly"SAFE FOOD"; this list only contains only what are generally considered to be “safe” plants-those that are easy to identify and have no deadly poisonous look-a-likes and contain enough nourishment to keep you alive-thus making you the real SURVIVOR. See  also: Real Red Willow-Not Dogwood, Aspen and Poplar, Gift of the Conifers. Ferns and Fiddle-heads, There are many others that are equally edible but that present some risk.

1.    Agoseris

2.    Arrowhead

3.    Arrow leaved balsam root

4.    Asparagus

5.    Bear grass

6.    Bedstraw

7.    Bistort

8.    Bittercress

9.    Bitterroot

10. Bracken

11. Bulrush

12. Burdock

13. Camas

14. Catnip

15. Cattail

16. Chicory

17. Chickweed

18. Clover

19. Cocklebur

20. Coltsfoot

21. Common orache

22. Cow lily

23. Dandelion

24. Devils Club

25. Dock

26. False Solomon’s Seal

27. Fireweed

28. Fleaband

29. Garden orache
30. Goldenrod-CAUTION: belongs to the hemp family and does contain cannabis (marijuana) 
Grass-not marijuana:Although seldom thought of as human food.no known grass is poisonous; and eating some; or drinking tea made from it; just could save your life.

31. Ground cone

32. Ground ivy

33. High mallow

34. Horse radish

35. Indian pipe-ghost plant

36. Jerusalem artichoke

37. Knotweed

38. Lambs quarter-pigweed

39. Mariposa lily

40. Miners lettuce

41. Marsh marigold-although included here as a "safe", all parts of this plant are in fact poisonous.

42. Mountain sorrel

43. Musk mallow

44. Mustard

45. Pearly everlasting

46. Peppergrass

47. Pickleweed

48. Pineapple weed

49. Plantain

50. Prairie turnip-breadroot

51. Prickly-pear cactus-very common along highway 13 Camrose to Provost

52. Queen’s cup

53. Quick weed

54. Roseroot

55. Salsifry

56. Sheep sorrel

57. Shepherds purse

58. Silverweed

59. Sow thistle

60. Stinging nettle

61. Stonecrop

62. Stork’s- bill

63. Strawberry blight

64. Sunflower

65. Swamp hedge nettle

66. Sweet Clover

67. Sweet gale

68. Sweet flag

69. Thistle

70. Prairie-Tiger lily

71. Violet

72. Watercress

73. Wild bergamot-horsemint

74. Wild Ginger

75. Wild liquorice

76. Wild mint

77. Wild rose-Prairie rose

78. Wood lily

79. Woodsorrel

80. Yellow glacier lily

81.  Yellow cress 

Bugleweed

The variety found in Western Canada is Northern Bugle weed (Lycopus uniflorus). It grows by lakes and streams, in marshes, and in Peat bogs.

1. Roots are edible raw.
2. Roots are best gathered in spring
3. Roots were traditionally steamed or boiled.
4. Roots have a mild sweet taste
5. Can be dried, for storage

Bedstraw-Cleavers

Varieties found in Western Canada are Cleavers (Galium aparine, and Sweet Scented bedstraw (Galium triflorum).  Look for bedstraw alongside other low-growing vegetation and in disturbed soil sites.

1. Stem, leaves and flowers of plant an all be eaten raw.
2. Plant is best when collected before fruiting.
3. Raw plant has mild to no taste and older plants have an unpalatable texture.
4. Plant is definitely best when cooked along with something else.
5. However, is a good source of vitamin C

Bearberries,Arctostaphylos

Bearberries are rather mealy, and tasteless, so they are not going to be your favourite berry, or food, of choice, but, they are very often abundant; and they remain on branches all year, so they can, and do, provide an important survival food-for all animals. Survival is not about your favourite and many Canadians have traditionally used them for food and to survive in hard times.

Edibility: Edible, not palatable

 

Arctostaphylos alpina, with the common names Alpine Bearberry, and Red Bearberry is a trailing shrub, and usually found growing in the mountains. The leaves are wrinkled with veins, and the flowers are pinkish-white. The berries when ripe are purple-black and juicy but insipid. The taste is improved by cooking.
Distribution:
Circumpolar: at high latitudes, from Scotland east across Scandinavia, Russia, Northern Canada, and Greenland.At southern limits: Europe, in the Pyrenees and the Alps; Asia, to the Altay Mountains and Mongolia; and in North America, to British Columbia in the west and Quebec in the east.
This plant is also INCORRECTLY, now called kinnikinnick; which can not be; now or ever, because kinnikinnick is not; and never was; a berry, or an individual plant; said usage is but another Amerifictation.
Common Black Bearberry, Artostaphylos uva-ursi,  a trailing shrub with leathery, spoon shaped evergreen leaves. Flowers appear from May To June and produce the mealy fruits by late summer. Grows in well drained, often gravelly, or sandy soils, open woods, and rocky, exposed sites at all elevations throughout British Columbia. 
Hairy Manzanita, Arctostaphylos columbiana, is a much taller shrub Fruits are red. Grows in open coniferous forests, and openings in extreme South western British Columbia.
© Al (Alex, Alexander) D. Girvan. All rights Reserved.

Emergency Bushcraft Cooking, Equipment, to Carry on Your Person, in Your Large Survival Kit.

These items which may be included either in your large personal/vehicle emergency survival kit  must eventually all be carried by you on your person (full military field packs about 60 pounds); for obvious reasons, you must make sure that they are fashioned from heavy cast-iron and are the very largest you can find available. A large large part of bushcraft emergency SURVIVAL is keeping your cool, and using your head

©.Al (Alex-Alexander) D. Girvan. All rights reserved.

Braised Hare or Rabbit:

Braised Hare or Rabbit:

1. Skin and clean rabbit, taking special care not to puncture the bladder.

2. Place rabbit in braising pan, and cross the hind legs. Season with onion, salt and pepper, cover with fat and add a small amount of water.

3. Braise very slowly with cover on, for 3 hours.

4. To brown, turn heat up and remove cover the last 1/2 hour or so of cooking.

Broiled Hare or Rabbit:-Truthfully this recipe is steamed

The ARCTIC TUNDRA HARE is not the same thing as a SNOWSHOE HARE(which does not, really, live in the Arctic) pictured above. It is not even the same as a RABBIT.

Bush- rabbits or Cottontail rabbits (below) are among the 16 lagomorph species in the genus Sylvilagus, found in the Americas. In appearance, most cottontail rabbits closely resemble the wild European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus). Most Sylvilagus species have stub tails with white undersides that show when they retreat; giving them their name, "cottontails".

This work has been released into the public domain by its author, HarveyHenkelmann at the wikipedia project. This applies worldwide.

In case this is not legally possible:
HarveyHenkelmann grants anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.

 This work has been released into the public domain by its author, GorillazFanAdam at the wikipedia project. This applies worldwide.

In case this is not legally possible:
GorillazFanAdam grants anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.

The brush rabbit (Image directly above) is smaller than many of the other cottontails, and unlike most of them, the underside of its tail is grey rather than white (which may be why its common name does not include the word "cottontail"). The upperside of the brush rabbit's fur varies from light brown to grey

in colour  while the underside is usually always white. Adult rabbits measure anywhere from 10–14 inches long and rarely weigh over two pounds.

This feature is not present in some cottontails (for example, the underside of the brush rabbit's tail is grey), nor is it unique to the genus (for example, the European rabbit also has a white scut).

The genus is widely distributed across North America, Central America, and northern and central South America, though most species are confined to particular regions. Most (though not all) species live in nests called forms, and all have antiracial young.

North American Cottontail rabbits show a greater resistance to myxomatosis than European rabbits.

There are TWO HARES THAT DO LIVE IN ARCTIC AREAS - they are the Arctic hare (Lepus articus) and the Tundra hare (Lepus othus). 

The major difference between them is where they live, and the colour their tail turns. The Arctic hare is larger than a snowshoe(which is 18-20 inches in length and weighs only 3 to 4 pounds). His fur is long and white all the way through in the winter and his ears are blackish around the edges. In the summer his coat is greyish brown on top and white beneath.

Characteristics and Physical Features of the Arctic Hare

Identification:

   Size: 22-28 in.

   Weight: 9-12 lbs.

Colour: Brown in the summer, white in the winter. Ears tipped with black year round.

Other distinguishing Characteristics: Short ears, and a fur coat that changes colour with the seasons make the Arctic and Tundra hare special.

Habitat: Range: Lepus articus live in Canada and Greenland. Lepus othus (generally smaller) lives only in Alaska. The Arctic hare likes to live on the rocky slopes and upland tundra of the Arctic. They like to live in groups. They don't like to live in  wooded areas-snowshoe or low areas-tundra hare habitat.

Diet: The food they eat is mostly willow - the leaves, shoots, bark and roots - and grasses, flowers, saxifrage and crowberry. In summer, it feeds on plants such as, grass, ferns and leaves; in winter, it eats twigs, the bark from trees, and buds from flowers and plants. However, the Arctic hare, has been known to steal meat from baited traps. Hares are carnivorous under the availability of dead animals, and have been known to eat dead rodents such as mice; supposedly, due to low availability of protein in an herbivorous diet. It can sometimes be seen feeding in small groups. This animal is mainly active at night and does not hibernate.

Why does an Arctic hare have camouflage? The Arctic hare looks a lot different from the rabbits and hares that you see anywhere outside of the Arctic. In the summertime the Arctic hare is brown with black flecks. This helps to camouflage it during the growing season. When the weather starts to change the Arctic hare starts to change too. So that during the winter its coat is completely white. This change helps to protect it during the winter.     

Broiled Hare or Rabbit:-Truthfully this recipe is steamed

                             Hare or rabbit

                             Salt and pepper

                             Butter

        1. Skin and clean rabbit or hare, wipe dry.

          2. Split down the back and pound flat.

3. Wrap in heavy oiled paper. Hare or rabbit may be broiled (true broiling) without the oiled paper, but it will not be so juicy.

4. Broil at 350 F. until browned and tender, turning frequently.

5. Remove the paper and serve on a hot platter, seasoned with salt, pepper and butter, turning over and over so it will take up the fat. Serves 4 to 6.

©Al (Alex-Alexander) D. Girvan. All rights reserved.