That age old question - wild food books

[nickidan]

hi guys,

there are plenty of threads on wild food books but im struggling to find the info i need. im planning on living of the land for a while and need a good uk field guide with a large amount of species listed. my main interests are food but extra detail like medicinal plants would be pretty damn good. i think someone really needs to write a book to those specifications - would sell a sit load.

i have food for free by richard mabey. im looking at rays wild food but its not getting many good reviews and im looking at roger phillips books aswell... i dont wanna go and spend a tenna on a book thats no better than mabeys

 

[bushwacker bob]

There arn't any books on the subject better than Mabeys.

 

[Gagnrad]

hi guys,
... my main interests are food but extra detail like medicinal plants would be pretty damn good.

I'd be wary of self-medicating with herbs myself except for the most minor complaint; but, as you say, plants can be used for much more than just food. You might want to know which wood is good for what purpose, and what plants you can make fibre from, for example.

I guess the same author's Flora Britannica would be about as definitive as you can get when it comes to British plants.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Flora-Britannica-Richard-Mabey/dp/1856193772/

The publishers have also done an edition with just the herbs pulled out:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Flora-Britannica-Book-Wild-Herbs/dp/1856197239/

im looking at roger phillips books aswell... i dont wanna go and spend a tenna on a book thats no better than mabeys

I agree the Roger Phillips guides are good. There used to be an awful lot of guides with prints from watercolours (maybe not so much now) and they're OK, but a good photo—and Phillips' are good—can be very much clearer. I'd say his fungi guide would be a good thing for any amateur gourmet. People who want to be adventurous in that line but lack the knowledge can avoid mistakes much better with a photographic guide.

 

[apj1974]

of course Mabey's, but you might also want to take a look at the River Cottage Handbooks written by John Wright. I think they are excellent and very well written. The are:

No 1 Mushrooms
No 5 Edible Seashore
No 7 Hedgerow

They are listed at £14.99 each, but I've seen them for less than a tenner online. Nice hardback well produced books.

 

[yomperalex]

Another vote for Roger Phillips - the free food guides are great, but for more in depth of fungi he is great - he lists loads of edible ones the you just wont find in a free food book.

Alex

 

[nickidan]

i guess the same author's Flora Britannica would be about as definitive as you can get when it comes to British plants.

This looks good... but 26 quid... would you go for mabeys flora britannica or miles irvings "the foragers handbook"

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/00919136...de=asn&creative=22206&creativeASIN=0091913632

 

[willpower]

I think if you are going to get into it, it is worth having at least a few different books to compare and cross ref. Food for free is of course the quintessential read and the new one with photos and arranged by seasons is especially good. However, I do think it is rather limited and covers only a fraction of what is out there. John Wright's books give bit more detail and are well written as already stated. Hedgerow Medicine is also an excellent, well thought out read which I would definitly recommend if you are also interested in the medicinal side.

 

[Gagnrad]

i guess the same author's Flora Britannica would be about as definitive as you can get when it comes to British plants.

This looks good... but 26 quid...

Second-hand? If you've got a large second-hand bookshop anywhere near you, it might be worth browsing the Natural History section. I've seen copies of it around second-hand, and there could be all kinds of other interesting things.

There are second-hand dealers offering stuff through Amazon, too—page for Flora Britannica:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/1856193772/

would you go for mabeys flora britannica or miles irvings "the foragers handbook"

I'm sorry I don't know that one, but it does sound good.

 

[Stanleythecat]

Foragers Hand Book is excellent.

I'm really pleased with it. As said before, more than one is a good idea. I have the River Cottage ones and Richard Maybe too.