survival food Archives - The Cargo Cult Café

Tall Coneflower: Edible & Medicinal

May 6, 2016 by Mike Leave a Comment

Tall Coneflower, Rudbeckia laciniata, is a sunflower plant of moist thickets that you can’t miss and it offers both edible and medicinal benefits. The flowers are yellow and has a disk that is a greenish-yellow knob. American Indians ate the shoots, leaves, and stem. Medicinally, the plant is diuretic, tonic and balsamic and the blossoms were used as a burn dressing.

Keep your eyes and ears open and your powder dry!

Tall Coneflower Sources:

Audubon Guides Box Set – Birds, Tree, Wildflowers & Mammals. Computer Software. Green Mountain Digital. Version: 2.3. Web. Jul 10, 2014.

Felter, Harvey Wickes, M.D., and John Uri Lloyd, Phr. M., Ph. D. King’s American Dispensatory, Vol. 1. Cincinnati: The Ohio Valley Company, 1905. pg. 671-677

Foster, Steven and James A. Duke. The Peterson Field Guide Series; A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs of Eastern and Central North America. 2nd. ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000. Print. pg. 142

Hamel, Paul B. and Mary U. Chiltoskey. Cherokee Plants and Their Uses- A 400 Year History. North Carolina: Herald Publishing. 1975. Print. pg. 30

Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany, Portland: Timber Press. 1998. Print. pg. 495

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. pg. 376-377

United States Department of Agriculture. Natural Resources Conservation Services. Web.

Pineapple Weed: Edible, Medicinal, Cautions & Other Uses

August 13, 2015 by Mike Leave a Comment

Pineapple Weed, Matricaria matricarioides, an easily overlooked plant with an unforgettable tropical aroma. It makes a nice pineapple flavored tea and has many medicinal purposes.

Keep your eyes and ears open and your powder dry!

Pineapple Weed Sources:

Audubon Guides Box Set – Birds, Tree, Wildflowers & Mammals. Computer Software.Green Mountain Digital. Version: 2.3. Web. Jul 10, 2014.

Brill, Steve. Wild Edibles Plus. Computer Software. WinterRoot LLC. Version 1.5. 2012. Web. Feb. 15, 2014.

Hamel, Paul B. and Mary U. Chiltoskey. Cherokee Plants and Their Uses- A 400 Year History. North Carolina: Herald Publishing. 1975. Print. pg. 49

Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany, Portland: Timber Press. 1998. Print. pg. 337

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. pg. 426-427

Peterson, Lee Allen. The Peterson Field Guide Series; A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants; Eastern and Central North America. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1977. Print. pg. 90-91

United States Department of Agriculture. Natural Resources Conservation Services. Web.

Tobacco Hornworm

April 29, 2015 by Mike Leave a Comment

Tobacco Hornworm, Manduca sexta, is a common garden pest that you can bite back! This guy wiped out my roma tomatoes a few years back thus starting my interest in the study of entomophagy or bug eating. That and bugs are cool to look at!

Tobacco Hornworm Sources:

Audubon Guides – Insects and Spiders. Computer Software.Green Mountain Digital. Web

Evens, Arthur V., National Wildlife Federation: Field Guide to Insects and Spiders of North America, New York: Sterling Publishing, 2008. pg. 331

Milne, Lorus and Margery, National Audubon Society: Field Guide to North American Insects and Spiders, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1980. pg. 781 pl. 25, 558

Spring Beauty: Edible, Medicinal & Other Uses

April 27, 2015 by Mike Leave a Comment

Spring Beauty, Claytonia virginica, is a small, easily overlooked, spring plant that is a surprisingly useful survival food if you are willing to dig for it. Medicinally, it has been used as a contraceptive and pediatric anti convulsive remedy.

Keep your eyes and ears open and your powder dry!

Spring Beauty Sources:

Audubon Guides Box Set – Birds, Tree, Wildflowers & Mammals. Computer Software.Green Mountain Digital. Version: 2.3. Web. Jul 10, 2014.

Brill, Steve. Wild Edibles Plus. Computer Software. WinterRoot LLC. Version 1.5. 2012. Web. Feb. 15, 2014.

Herrick, James William. Iroquois Medical Botany. Ph.D. Thesis, New York: State University of New York, Albany 1977. Print. pg. 91, 143

Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany, Portland: Timber Press. 1998. Print. pg. 167

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. pg. 270-271

Peterson, Lee Allen. The Peterson Field Guide Series; A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants; Eastern and Central North America. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1977. Print. pg. 32-33, 104-105

United States Department of Agriculture. Natural Resources Conservation Services. Web.

Brown Snake

April 24, 2015 by Mike Leave a Comment

Brown Snake, Storeria dekayi, Learn how to find and identify this common non-venomous snake.

Keep your eyes and ears open and your powder dry!

Brown Snake Sources:

Audubon Guides – Reptiles and Amphibians. Computer Software.Green Mountain Digital. Version: 2.3. Web. Jul 10, 2014.

Behler, John L., National Audubon Society, Pocket Guide: Familiar Reptiles and Amphibians of North America, New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 2000. pg. 116-117

Conant, Roger and Joseph T. Collins, A field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians, third edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. 1998. pg. 306 pl. 22

Northern Leopard Frog

April 22, 2015 by Mike 3 Comments

Northern Leopard Frog, Lithobates (Rana) pipiens, a small but tasty treat. You can eat it like a green or bull frog but its legs are not as substantial. Plus amphibians carry salmonella a potentially deadly bacteria that can cause diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps.

Northern Leopard Frog Sources:

Audubon Guides – Reptiles and Amphibians. Computer Software.Green Mountain Digital. Version: 2.3. Web. Jul 10, 2014.

Behler, John L., National Audubon Society, Pocket Guide: Familiar Reptiles and Amphibians of North America, New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 2000. pg. 24-25

Conant, Roger and Joseph T. Collins, A field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians, third edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. 1998. pg. 566-567