A Few Edible and Useful Desert Plants

http://www.arizonabushman.com There are hundreds of edible, useful, and medicinal plants in the desert. Here are just a few.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• Edible
• plants
• useful
• survival
• bushcraft

[themaxx69]

Nice vid. Any recommendations on books on this subject? I've seen quite a few books on edible plants, but not many specifically for Arizona.

[desertsurvivalist]

@themaxx69 I have had to spend around 10 years studying plants of this region. Micheal Moore put out some really good books on medicinal plants, Anne Orth Epple has a really good Plants of Arizona, There are also a few that cover specifically edible plants of the west. I found a few that I got from searching google. Some I have are old with black and white drawings. I use the scientific name from these and cross reference it with the field guide Just to be safe.

[DerFeindr]

Couldn't some kind of small press be useful to carry if you know you'll find cacti or other watery plants in the area? Perhaps it could even double the amount of water you could extract with less effort.

[desertsurvivalist]

@DerFeindr Although this works, It is better to add these to a vegetation still or a solar still to increase the volume of fluids. If in the desert try to go light. carrying too much weight can cause issues. You could dehydrate much faster. Any extra weight should be water. I have used this method (from the video) to soak a bandanna to help stay cool so I wouldn't use precious drinking water. It is a bit slimy but it works.

[mixturebeatz]

when was this shot because my bud has a christmas cholla and its fruited and looks jsut liek yours but its november

[polylingue]

That blue little lizzard has a hard on!!! WTF?

[juper0]

great video! very interesting and helpful. only complaint, your camera isn't the greatest so it was hard to see the plants to identify them well. are there any kinds of cacti you shouldn't eat and how do you identify them?

[MTNMANTIM]

great information. you do a fine job on your videos thanks for passing them along.

Tim

[desertsurvivalist]

@desertsurvivalist Keep in mind the plant I am demonstrating is Yucca baccata in this video.

[desertsurvivalist]

@desertsurvivalist In early spring the stalk will begin to sprout. At this point the plant can be harvested and pit roasted. It is eaten much like artichoke hearts. The inner fibers make an excellent cord that is extremely strong. The sharp needle can be pulled off the end of the leaf with the fibers attached and used as a needle and tread. I have a pair of pants that I sewed up with it and after several washes they are still holding. There are several varieties of plants in the agave family.