Wild Edibles & Medicinal Plants

When people hear about wild mushrooms, their first thoughts are usually ones of suffering a painful, messy death. This shows how far removed we’ve taken ourselves from Nature. The famous anthropologist Jared Diamond (Germs, Guns, & Steel) was in the wild with several bushmen who were excited when they found some wild mushrooms, but Diamond badgered them into dropping their feast because he “knew” wild mushrooms are poisonous. He thought he was protecting the bushmen. Talk about arrogance!

You may remember from school that vitamin C is a critical nutrient, but our body cannot synthesize or store it. We need approximately 175g of this multipurpose molecule to avoid scurvy and other health issues. Vitamin C, aka ascorbic acid, is the glue that attaches cells to each other, the signal flare the innate immune system uses to call for help, protects against cancer-causing free radicals, and much more. In plants, it helps redirect excess sunlight energy into non-destructive pathways. Pretty amazing! Granted, you could carry vitamin C tablets along on your adventure, but considering the ascorbic acid in these tablets is always synthetic, there are better choices for bushcrafters.