Wild Medicinal Plants

Having a solid familiarity with a good set of wild edibles and medicinals in your area can be a life saver in a survival situation. The vast majority of individuals have no clue as to the bounty of resources that exist right in their own back yard, and this is real tragedy. Who wouldn't be interested in a plant that can stop bleeding like Quik Clot? What about a plant that can neutralize poison ivy? How about a plant that can treat headaches or a cough?

Most of us work diligently to create a luxurious green lawn and launch a full assault of chemicals on anything that threatens to blemish our prized “urban utopian pastures”. Don’t get me wrong, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with a nicely manicure lawn. In fact I too do my best to “keep up with the Jones’s” and maintain a nice weed free manicured lawn, so I am not here to judge. Hardly. Unlike many “experts” (ideologues), I am not here to demonize chemical lawn treatments or fertilizers. That is not my point at all. I am merely pointing out the irony that many of these plant species that most would consider “pests” in their lawns are actually an amazing resource in a survival situation, and it is worthwhile to get to know these plants intimately. There is absolutely nothing wrong with eradicating them from your beautiful lawn, but it may be worth considering keeping some of these plants nearby for future use. I would urge you open your mind and heart to the merits of so many of these amazing plants!

DISCLAIMER : Warnings from Equip2Survive about Wild Edibles and Medicinals

As with so many of the other topics on this website, I am in no way an expert on wild edibles or medicinals . Take and use what you read on this site at your own risk. In fact, as I openly indicate all over this website, I am in no way a “survival expert”. My intention with this site is to create a wonderful survival resource where I work hard to assemble the survival information and resources that I have discovered myself and share these discoveries with you. Please use all of the information shared on this site carefully! It is easy to misidentify plants, so be careful!

Wild Edible and Medicinal Resources

One of the major challenges to finding a terrific comprehensive yet concise resource for wild edibles and medicinals is that they are so contingent upon geographical location. The two choices that experts in this field have when assembling such resources are 1) create a comprehensive guide with species all over the country/world that forces users to sort through MOUNTAINS of information about plant species most of which the reader will never encounter just to get to a few pages of species that will be of value to them, or 2) assemble a geographically specific resource that is terrific for people of that specific area, knowing that it is going to be absolutely worthless to anyone outside of that area… and repeat for as many geographical locations as possible. While the second option is obviously more practical for most us to use, even these resources have their limitations.

So what should one do if they are seriously interested in a terrific resource on wild edibles and medicinals? They should create such a resource themselves tailored around their needs and preferences, their geographical location, and what works for them. And we’re going to take a look at how to do just that!

Wild Edibles

Wild edibles may not seem like the most appetizing food source to many survivalists, but knowing a few wild edibles can really diversify your meal options in a survival situation. I get it... who in their right mind would choose to feast on grasses and weeds instead of freshly harvested venison or wild boar meat? I know I wouldn’t. But the expectation of feasting on large wild game every day is simply not a reality. Unless you are an extremely experienced hunter/trapper, most survival situations are going to be extremely lean, and meat sources like these are likely to be few and far between.

On the flipside of that, you are not likely to “survive” very well or very long on only wild edibles. Let’s just say that it is no way to live for any sustained duration. The nice thing abouut wild edibles is that they are all around us, don't run, hide, or bite. They are just sitting there ready to be picked and eaten! And let's face it... they may not always be delicious, but in a pinch they are valuable calories and nutrients! Take what you can get when you can get it!

Wild Medicinals

It's always a great idea to keep a first aid kit handy or at least a handful of crucial first aid supplies in your kit, but what if you neglected to include something in your kit or get separated from it somehow? Well, the good Lord blessed us with a natural "medicine cabinet" that grows all around us. We simply need to know what to look for and how to use it! Let's take a closer look at some examples (from our neck of the woods, the Midwest) of these amazing wild medicinal plants!:

Yarrow

Mullien

Jewelweed

Plantain

Burdock

Heal All

Purple Dead Nettle

Cleavers

Milkweed

Horsetail

Boneset

Dandelion

Clover

Rattlesnake Plantain

Goldenrod

Transplant Your Own Wild Pantry and Medicine Cabinet!

More often than not, many of the wild edibles and medicinals native to your region are not going to be all conveniently located right behind your house. That being said, go for nature walks in parks and look for them. Some like full sun, others shade, others dry soil and others wet. When you find a new plant, by all means carefully dig it up and transplant it either in the ground or in a pot! Start your own wild edible and medicinal garden! Start with one or two in an outing and grow from there. In a few weeks you could have a couple of dozen terrific plants growing in your very own yard!

Site Map · Links ·