Decent "Wild Foods" fieldbook

[Agile]

I've just got myself two little books "Wild Food" by Roger Phillips and "Food for Free" by Richard Mabey.

Although one of them is excellent (Food for free) and the other totally useless, they are both rather large. Does anyone know if there are any smaller guides which focus more on the in-field identification of the plant - preferably Ray Mears "Bushcraft" sized, or similar?

FYI - Wild food is going begging, so if anyone wants a copy PM me - but you will have to provide a stamped addressed envelope... (it's good, but only if you are looking for a wild-food cook-book, instead of an ID book)

Thanks,

Agile

[JonnyP]

I am surprised.....I think wild food by Rodger Phillips is a superb book, with some great recepes in it. What makes you say, it is totally useless...?

[stuartmac5]

Collins gem do a version of 'food for free' by Richard maybey, which is tiny and you can take it out with you in your pocket, its about a fiver

[falling rain]

I am surprised.....I think wild food by Rodger Phillips is a superb book, with some great recepes in it. What makes you say, it is totally useless...?

I have to agree with Jon, I think it's a wonderful book with some great photos and information and cooking ideas. I think it's supposed to be a guide to what you can do with wild foods rather than an Identification book so used in conjunction with a good ID field book they work well. Maybe some one will bring out a wild food guide book and suggestions for how to use the plant/tree........... and on the opposite page do an ID guide to that plant/tree, so making a double page spread for each plant. That would be a good book.

[ScottC]

Sssh guys don't change his mind, I want the book lol

[The Joker]

I use one of the many "Wild plant reference guides" to ID a plant, then something like Richard Mabey book to see if its edible.

I to have Roger Phillips book and all though different to Mabey's still a worthy wild plant book.

[FGYT]

Collins gem do a version of 'food for free' by Richard maybey, which is tiny and you can take it out with you in your pocket, its about a fiver

yep they do


very pocket sized
just my daughter needs bigger pockets

[The Joker]

What a lovely pic, your a lucky man

(you can tell fellow parents cant ya)

[stuartmac5]

Geez Fygt,

Was you daughter born tonight? she is so wee
That book fits in my pocket!
Lovely girl by the way, you must be proud

She is getting a good head start, reading stuff like that

[FGYT]

Geez Fygt,

Was you daughter born tonight? she is so wee
That book fits in my pocket!
Lovely girl by the way, you must be proud

She is getting a good head start, reading stuff like that

that was the morning after she was born 11 days ago But just got ther home today due to a blood problem 7lbs 3oz and 21 1/4" long so not real tiny
allready making a 3/4 sized bushcraft knife for her

[stuartmac5]

hey Fgyt, I guess you will be posting at strange hours then from now on now you've got her home
reckon the knife you are making needs to be about 1/8 not 3/4.

[Celberon]

Haha ... I love the juxtaposition! The last person needing to be told where to get food for free is a newborn baby!

Wonderful photograph, and a beautiful child.

[Burnt Ash]

I've just got myself two little books "Wild Food" by Roger Phillips and "Food for Free" by Richard Mabey.

Although one of them is excellent (Food for free) and the other totally useless, they are both rather large. Does anyone know if there are any smaller guides which focus more on the in-field identification of the plant - preferably Ray Mears "Bushcraft" sized, or similar?

FYI - Wild food is going begging, so if anyone wants a copy PM me - but you will have to provide a stamped addressed envelope... (it's good, but only if you are looking for a wild-food cook-book, instead of an ID book)

Thanks,

Agile

I'm astonished that you describe Roger Phillips's Wild Food as "totally useless". It's a lovely book, IMO and does what it does very well. And while I share the same high opinion of Mabey's classic, that isn't anything particularly special for ID (my edition, any rate).
At a guess, I'd say that Roger Phillips has single-handedly helped more people in Britain identify trees, wild flowers, mushrooms, etc., etc., than just about all the other authors put together.

Burnt Ash

[g4ghb]

I wouldn't say Mabeys book is useless but I must admit I was dissapointed with it.


I have just borrowed wild from the wild by ian burrows and I must say i'm more impressed wuith that than mablys. The only downside i sthet it is illustrated rather than photos but having said that the illustrations look like they will be better for identification than mableys photos

So far I havn't found a book that gives a good id guide and a good 'how to use' but It looks like Burrows may be the best book for me so far

......... just to throw another book into the equation!

[Matt Weir]

Chaps,

If anyones interested have found the Collins gem copy of Food For Free on amazon pretty cheap (starting at £1.39 + p&p at £2.75).

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-lis...UTF8&s=gateway

Matt.

[maverix]

Did you get my PM?

Figured if the book wasnt for you it could be added to the "library as i suggested a few weeks back in this thread

[Agile]

Well all - the book's now gone - sorry to any more takers.

I am sorry but I still stand by my word when it comes to "Wild Food". For what I need it for (i.e. ID'ing a plant and seeing if it's edible) it does not serve it's purpose. For cooking wild food together with commercially available produce, I am sure it is good.

I shall try and get a generic tree/plan guide for the UK in a pocket size then and cross reference it to the "Food for free" book - any recommendations?

Thanks - and sorry to all those "Wild Food" readers out there who I have enraged

Agile

[Burnt Ash]

Well all - the book's now gone - sorry to any more takers.

I am sorry but I still stand by my word when it comes to "Wild Food". For what I need it for (i.e. ID'ing a plant and seeing if it's edible) it does not serve it's purpose. For cooking wild food together with commercially available produce, I am sure it is good.

I shall try and get a generic tree/plan guide for the UK in a pocket size then and cross reference it to the "Food for free" book - any recommendations?

Thanks - and sorry to all those "Wild Food" readers out there who I have enraged

Agile

It all depends on whether or not you're prepared to work at becoming a competent amateur botanist, or do you just want a quick n' easy layman's field guide?

For the former, the new revised and expanded edition of The Wild Flower Key, by Francis Rose (expanded and updated by Claire O'Reilly) Pub. Warne.

For an easy reference (segregated by flower colour) I keep a copy of Wild Flowers of Britain and Europe, by Lippert and Podlech, Collins Nature Guides, permanently in my bum bag. This is a reasonably handy-sized field guide.

In summer and autumn, I'll add a copy of Mushrooms (the Photographic Guide to Identify common and important Mushrooms) by Roger Phillips, Elm Tree Books ISBN 0-241-11811-5. Again, this is a pocket-sized field guide.

There may be more recent/better small field guides around, but the above two are both photographic, which tend to show plants/fungi in context where, often, paintings don't.

Roger Phillips's larger format photographic guides to Wild Flowers; Trees and Mushrooms (Pan Macmillan) are a bit too big to take along if you're just out for a walk. They are invaluable to have back on your bookshelf at home to confirm IDs or for more detailed information.

Burnt Ash

[spoony]

dandk do a good one herbs but it covers allsorts of plants and their uses/edibility
wild foods by roger phillips isnt a id book, its more of a what to do with thme when you found them, and all his books are very good,

[Agile]

Thanks for the input Burnt Ash & spoony, I shall keep my eyes open for both of those and attempt to check them out.

Cheers,

Agile

[spoony]

roger phillips does do some very good plant id books
mushrooms
trees in britain
wild flowers of britain, to name a few all very good id books

[xylaria]

What I have done is take a good field guide and then with cross referancing wild food books come up with a key which I write in the field guide. For example when a plant is looked up the guide there would be a small saucepan for edible when cooked, and leaf for salad herbs. I have also marked poisonous plants down as well.

Generally books with writing in the margin are an abomination, but until I can get hold a guide(and they do exist) that contains all the infomation that I need I am stuck with doing this.

Ediblity is always in opinion of the author. One of the problems with plants and to some extent fungi is that how edible something is has alot do with how it is prepared. I am really horrified at some of the ediblity advise that turns up in some fungi guides. Like forgetting to mention Galerina marginata + autmnalis are deadly poisonous and look like kuehneromyces.

[Mikey P]

Well all - the book's now gone - sorry to any more takers.

I am sorry but I still stand by my word when it comes to "Wild Food". For what I need it for (i.e. ID'ing a plant and seeing if it's edible) it does not serve it's purpose. For cooking wild food together with commercially available produce, I am sure it is good.

I shall try and get a generic tree/plan guide for the UK in a pocket size then and cross reference it to the "Food for free" book - any recommendations?

Thanks - and sorry to all those "Wild Food" readers out there who I have enraged

Agile

I found the Collins 'Wild Flowers' book to be really useful for getting a proper ID of the stuff mentioned in 'Food For Free'. It's not the 'Gem' edition, but is still small enough to carry.

[gunnix]

I would like to have just a text book about edible, medicinal foods with perhaps very small drawings to keep it thin (small books packed with information is what I like to carry); names ofcourse written in latin as well. And that combined with several decent field ID guides (mushrooms seperate, plants, insects, animals:fish,birds,mammals..). I think that'd be great, but I guess I need to work it out on my own

I got a great mushroom id book (it's dutch , my language "De grote paddestoelengids voor onderweg" Tirion) which also says if it's edible, or which effects you get (psychotic for example ). It's all very very short but you get all the needed information, this way the book has about all mushrooms (about 1300) in it, with good id info (and it says which mushrooms look a like, very important) and info about edibility and it's still possible to put it in your trousers pocket! I'd like to see some more guides like it, about plants, animals....