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Incredible Edibles

Las Pilitas is not responsible for indigestion or death due to eating plant parts!

This list represents historical data, Eat at your own risk! Don't crawl out of the hospital and yell at us, we're just listing information.

Many of these plants cause severe allergic reactions, convulsions and death. Two books are a must if you wish to include some of these plants in classes South Fuller, Thomas C., and Elizabeth McClintock, 1986. Poisonous Plants of California. California Natural History Guides 53. University of California Press, South Los Angeles AND Wild Edible Plants, Kirk, 1975, Nature graph(there is a newer version out).
I've sampled many, if not most of these, most just taste bad.

Fragaria californica Wood Strawberry is edible and although small, tasty It makes a low ground cover in moist shade. - grid24_12

Scientific Name

Common Name

Range

Uses

Acacia greggii

Cat claw Acacia

Southern deserts

Seed Pod Ground into Meal and Eaten seeds placed in eye for inflammation

Acer spp.

Maple

Throughout

A rather poor maple syrup can be boiled from sap

Adenostoma sparsifolium

Red Shank

Cuyama to San Diego

For cramps,chills,fever,lock- jaw,sours,tonic,purgative Leafy twigs boiled well, wound washed with

Adiantum capillus-veneris

Maiden Hair

Throughout South US

Tea used for coughs, respiratory, menstrual, Stems used in Baskets

Adiantum jordani

Maiden Hair

California

as above

Adiantum pedatum

Five Finger Fern

California to Quebec

as Above

Aesculus californica

Buckeye

Mountains California

All Parts Deadly, Indigenous Californians used crushed seeds and leaves to stupefy fish. They also cooked seeds cut or ground seeds then leached them for 2-5 days and ate no taste to toxicity, one bite you die

Agastache urticifolia

Giant Hyssop, Horsemint


Seeds raw or cooked

Agave deserti

Mescal

San Diego Co.

Roast the short Flowering Stalk

Agropyron repens

Quack Grass

common weed

roots dried and ground for meal

Alisma species

Water -Plantain

ponds and marshes

roots edible after drying

Allium

Wild Onion

Throughout

all of plant edible

Alnus rhombifolia

White Alder

throughout

tea used as blood purifier, and to cure stomachache

Amaranthus

Amaranth

common weed

seeds, or used as green

Ambrosia sp.

Ragweed

Most California

Poultice for Poison Oak, Diarrhea

Amelanchier alnifolia

Service Berry

Mostly North California North

Berry Edible

Ammobroma sonorae

Sand Food

Lower Deserts

edible raw or cooked

Anemopsis califonica

Yerba Mansa

Wet Places

Roots made into tea for skin trouble, cuts, Rheumatism

Antennaria

Pussy Toes

Middle to high el

Sap used as gum

Apium graveolens

Celery

Weed. along coast

Garden Celery

Apocynum cannabinium

Indian Hemp

California to New England

crushed root used as laxative, heart stimulant ,powdered root to induce vomiting

Arbutus menziesii

Madrone

Middle California North

Berries great raw

Arctostaphylos

Manzanita

Throughout

Berries dried fruits ground into pinole Green mature fruits soaked in boiling water, resulting juice ok for drink or jelly

Arctostaphylos uva-ursi

Kinnikinnik

Middle California to Alaska

One of Indian's Tobacco

Aristolochia californica

Dutchman's Pipe

Monterey North

Decoction of plant used for sores, childbirth

Artemisia californica

California Sage Brush

Dry slopes ad coastal

Smoke for Skunk odor, tea for fever, hair stimulant

Artemisia tridentata

Big Basin Sagebrush

Desert Mountains

Seeds ground and eaten, leaves chewed for Digestion. Too much and Artemisia tridentata can cause internal bloodclots by way of the liver.

Asarum sp

Wild Ginger

moist north slopes

root part used as ginger

Asclepias speciosa

Showy Milkweed

North California

limited quantities of flowers edible

Avena fatua, barbata

Wild Oats

Weed throughout

seed edible if hairs burnt off

Balsam orhiza sagittata

Balsam Root

Kern to Canada to Rockies

Seeds used in pinole, inside of root ate

Barbarea verna and vulgaris

Winter cress

weed

young plants eaten in salads, or blanched to remove bitterness

Beckmannia syzigachne

Slough grass

South F. North and E.

seeds used in pinole(meal)

Beloperone californica

Chuparosa

South California & Arizona

flowers edible or cooked

Berberis see Mahonia

Brassica nigra

Black Mustard

Throughout

Leaves cooked as potherb,seeds ground

Brodiaea

Blue Dicks

Throughout

Bulbs eaten raw or roasted

Cakile edentula

Sea Rocket

coastal areas

young leaves and tips edible raw,or cooked

Calandrinia ciliata

Red Maids

open fields

plants edible raw or cooked

Calochortus sp.

Mariposa Lily

Throughout

bulbs raw(to pretty to eat)

Calypsa bulbosa

Fairy Slipper

North California across U.S.

bulb edible raw or cooked

Camassia quamash

Camass (very similar to Death Camass, Zigadenus)


bulb mainstay of Indigenous Californians' diet North Coast and Sierras

Capsella bursa-pastoris

Shepherd's purse


seeds roasted and eaten

Cardamine species

Bitter Cress

common weed

raw or cooked

Carum gairdneri

Squaw Root

Mid Coast ranges, Sierras

Like Small Potatoes

Carduus species

Plumeless Thistle

roadside weed

inner part of stem boiled and eaten

Castanopsis sempervirens

Bush Chinquapin

North California to Washington

nuts raw or roasted when ripe

Castilleja lineariaefolia, etc.

Indian Paint Brush


flowers ok raw

Caucalis microcarpa

Snake Herb

Coast Ranges, Sierra Nevadas

For Poison Oak

Ceanothus species (most)

Mountain Lilac

Throughout California

Flowers Make good tea if seeped 10 sec. or less Vigorous rubbing of flowers will bring up lather

Celtis douglasii

Hack berry

damp places desert areas

fruit raw or ground

Cercidium sp.

Palo Verde

Whipple Mountains

young seeds cooked as veg.,or ground and as gruel

Cercis occidentalis

Redbud


flowers edible in salads

Cereus giganteus

Saguaro

South California, Arizona

ok raw

Chama esaracha coronopus


South California to Utah

berries raw or cooked

Chenopodium californicum

Indian lettuce


roots used as soap

Chenopodium fremontii

Goose foot


eaves cooked as greens,seeds in summer

Chimaphila umbellata

Pipsissewa


tea from roots or leaves,leaves raw

Chlorogalum pomeridianum

Soap Plant

Throughout California

Root as Soap,root eaten after cooked

Chrysothamnus nauseosus

Rabbit Brush

Cuyama east & north to Plains

Chewing Gum from inner bark


Chichorium intybus

Chicory

Naturalized in California

Boiled as veg.,leaves as salad, root dried and roasted for coffee substitute

Cirsium spp

Thistle

Many species found throughout California

roots raw, boiled or roasted, peeled stems cooked as greens

Claytonia species

Spring beauty

high elevations

bulbs edible raw, boiled or roasted

Cleome serrulata, etc.

Bee plant

North California and North East

boiled leaves and flowers eaten

Cornus nuttallii

Mountain Dogwood

North Coast Ranges, Sierras

tea used for fever

Corylus cornuta

Hazelnut

North California to B.C.

used as hazelnuts

Comandra pallida

Bastard Toadflax

Tehachapi, Death Valley North

Fruit edible

Cosmos sulphureus

Cosmos

yellow garden plant

young tops raw or cooked

Cowania mexicana

Cliffrose

Eastern California to Colorado

tea made from leaves

Crataegus species

Hawthorn

North California

berries eaten raw or cooked

Cucurbita foetidissima

Calabazilla

San Joaquin to Neb.

Seeds as food,pulp used to wash with

Cycloloma atriplicifolium

Winged Pigweed

South California to Manitoba

seeds edible when ground and cooked

Cymopterus purpurascens

Gamote

South E. California to Idaho

cooked roots edible

Cyperus esculentus

Nutsedge

bad weed

Brazil nut like flavored tubers,

Cytissus scoparius

Scotch Broom

naturalized weed shrub

roasted seeds used as substitute for coffee

Dactyloctenium aegyptium

Crowfoot Grass

weed

seeds dried and ground

Datisca glomerata

Durango Root

Central and South

used to stupefy fish

Datura meteloides

Thorn Apple

San Joaquin to Tex.

leaves or seeds pounded and put on bruises if skin not broken,dried leaves smoked for asthma
(a little  can kill you, skin contact can put you in hospital, see the poisonous section below)

Datura stramonium

Jimson Weed


as above

Daucus pucillus

Rattlesnake Weed

hills and mountains California

Herbage applied on snake bite

Dentaria I ntegrifolia

Milk Maids

SLO North

Eaten as Radishes

Digitaria sanguinalis

Crab Grass

common weed

seeds roasted and used as flour or cereal

Descurainia species(except D.pinnata)

Tansy-Mustard

salad greens or seeds roasted and ground


Disporum Hookeri var trachyandrum


Sierra & North Coast Ranges

berries edible

Dodecatheon hendersonii

Shooting star

Northern California & high elevation

roots & leaves roasted or boiled(poisonous raw)

Echinocactus acanthodes

Barrel Cactus

Colorado & Mojave Desert Interior

ok Raw

Echinochloa colonum & crusgalli

Barnyard or Jungle grass


Weeds with edible seeds

Eclipta alba

Eclipta

freshwater swamps

above ground parts edible

Eleusine indica

Goose grass

filed grass

seeds cleaned and roasted

Empetrum nigrum

Crow berry

coastal Bluffs North California North

berry edible raw or cooked

Encelia farinosa

Incienso

Mojave and Colorado Deserts

Chewing Gum

Ephedra

Mormon Tea

California to Texas

stems or branches brewed for tea (can cause heart problems and death, 'and he was still twitching')

Epilobium angustifolium

Fire Weed

occurs after fires


Equisetum Sp

Horsetails

stream side

inner pulp edible in small quantities

Eriodictyon californicum

Yerba Santa

Monterey North Sierras

Leaves made into tea for sore throat, dried leaves smoked for asthma

Eriogonum fasciculatum

Buckwheat

Central California South

tea of leaves used for head and stomach pains Liquor made from flowers for eye wash young stems of most species may be eaten

Erodium cicutarium

Stork bill Filaree

BAD WEED

young plants cooked or raw

Erythronium grandiflorum

Fawn Lily

Siskiyou North

Indigenous Californians bathed themselves to keep from snake bites

Eschscholtzia californica

California Poppy


Juice of root used for toothache, and hair oil. (AND a bad trip to the hospital)

Euphorbia albomarginata

Rattlesnake Weed

South California to Texas

Poultice on bite or tea

Floerkea proserpinacoides

False Mermaid

moist Northern California to Atlantic

greens in salad

Foeniculum vulgare

Fennel

common weed

stem or seeds edible

Fouquieria splendens

Octillo

Colorado Desert

Blossoms raw ok

Fremontia spp.

Flannel Bush,Slippery Elm,

Mountains California

Inner bark used for poultices, (downy material on leaves was used as iching powder)

Fritillaria species

Fritillary Mission bells

bulbs of native species edible


Frasera speciosa

Elkweed,Deer Tongue

roots eaten raw, roasted or boiled


Galium aparium

Bed Straw

throughout California

for sores, bake and put powdered leaves on

Garrya elliptica

Silk Tassel Bush

SLO to Humbolt

tea for bark for fever

Gaultheria shallon

Salal

Santa Barbara North

berries boiled with roots for soup

Glycyrrihiza lepidota

Licorice

fields in the interior

roots chewed like licorice

Glyceria species

Manna Grass

North California to Alaska

seeds edible

Glyptopleura marginata

California Pearly Everlasting

Mojave Desert North&East

leaves eaten raw

Gnaphalium decurrens

Cudweed

Throughout California

for stomach

Grindelia robusta

Gum Plant

Avila south along coast

wash for skin diseases, poison oak

Habenaria dilatata,etc.

Rein Orchid

rare

roots raw or cooked

Helianthus annuus

Sunflowers


seeds edible

Heracleum lanatum

Cow-Parsnip South California to Alaska


cooked root eaten

Hesperocallis undulata

Desert Lily

Deserts of California Arizona

bulbs roasted or boiled

Heteromeles arbutifolia

Toyon, Christmas Berry


berries raw,steamed or boiled

Heuchera species

Alum-root

north slopes

roots chewed to reduce diarrhea

Hieracium species

Hawkweed


greens used as chewing gum

Hoffmann seggia densiflora

Hog Potato

South California to Kansas

enlarged roots eaten after roasting

Holodiscus discolor

Ocean spray, Cream bush


fruits ok raw or cooked

Hydrophyllum occidentale

Water leaf


young shots ok fresh or cooked,roots cooked

Hyperocallis undulata

Desert Lily Mojave & Colorado


Small bulb Cooked

Hyptis emoryi

Desert Lavender

South California, Arizona

seeds roasted and ground in to flour

Juglans californica

Black Walnut

Along streams

edible nut

Juglans hindsii

Black Walnut

Along streams

nut with hard shell

Juniperus californica

California Juniper


Tea of berries for rheumatism

Lactuca tatarica

Wild Lettuce


leaves ok in salad,gum of roots chewed

Lamium amplexicaule

Henbit, Deadnettle


boiled and eaten

Larrea tridentata

Creosote

Deserts

Crushed leaves used for antiseptic

Lavitera assurgentiflora

Tree Mallow

Channel Islands South (Cultivated)

Leaves boiled down to gummy residuum residue,small plants made into tea for fevers

Lepidium fremontii

Desert Alysum

Southwest desert areas

seeds edible

Lewisia rediviva

Bitter Root

North SLO. Co to B.C.

Root was cooked and eaten

Lilium

True Lilies

stream side

bulb edible

Linum lewisii

Blue Flax


seeds contain cyanide edible after roasted

Lomatium species

Biscuit root

poor dry spots

tea from leaves,young stems ok, roots edible

Lonicera involucrata, ciliosa, utahensis

Honeysuckle, Twinbery


berries edible raw

Lycium pallidum

Tomatilla

Mojave Desert

Raw, Boiled or dried

Lysichiton americanum

Yellow Skunk Cabbage North California North


roots roasted and dried,young greens boiled and poured off repeatedly

Madia glomerata, sativa

Tarweed

common

seeds raw or roasted

Mahonia species

Oregon Grape

wooded areas or garden plants

berries ok raw, better cooked

Malus fusca

Oregon Crab Apple

North California North

fruit raw or cooked

Marrubium vulare

Horehound

Bad weed

Tops steeped and liquor boiled to cough syrup

Matricaria suaveolens

Pineapple Weed

Common Weed

Tea for stomach ache,causes ragweed hay.

Medicago lupulina

Black Medick

Common Weed

roasted seeds edible

Mentzelia albicaulis

Stick leaf

Western US

seeds edible

Mesembryanthemum edule

Ice Plant, Hottentot Fig

BAD WEED

leaves and fruit ok raw

Microseris nutans

Nodding Microseris,

Northern California North

small roots raw

Mimulus guttatus

Common Monkey

Stream side

Like lettuce, (but commonly covered with giardia from the stream water)

Monardella lanceolata (all ok)

Mustang Mint

SLO to Siskiyou

tea for fever

Monolepis nuttalliana

Poverty weed

poor alkaline spots

plant cooked and eaten,seeds also

Monotropa hypopithys, uniflora

Indian Pipe



Montia perfoliata

Miner's Lettuce

Shady spots

High vitamin C, Young leaves as lettuce

Nasturtium officinale

Water-cress

wet places

The cultivated watercress,clean water only

Nictotiana

Indian Tobacco

Throughout

Dried Leaves smoked

Nyphaea polysepala

Yellow Pond-Lily

SLO to South Dakoda

Seeds roasted and eaten

Oenothera species

Evening Primrose


Roots roasted

Olneya tesota

Desert Ironwood

Colorado Desert

Roasted beans ground and used for pinole

Opuntia biglovii

Prickly Pear

South California

Fruit Raw,seeds ground to meal and cooked Pads cut in strips and fried

Orbanche

Broomrape

parasitic plant

entire plant edible

Orogenia fusiformis

Indian Potato

North California east

roots raw, roasted or baked

Oryzopsis hymenoides

Indian Rice grass

arid areas

edible seeds, raw or dried & ground into flour

Osmaronia cerasiformis

Oso Berry, Indian Plum

Shaded woods

edible but not good tasting berry

Osmorhiza species

Sweet Cicely

roots used as anise seasoning


Oxalis oregana

Redwood Sorrel

redwood belt

raw

Oxyria digyna

Mountain Sorrel

High Elevation

good in salads or cooked like spinach

Paeonia brownii

Western Peony

Sierras

Root boiled long used as tea for teething babies,seeds chewed and put in horse's mouth before race

Panicum species

Witch Grass


seeds raw or cooked

Perezia microcephala


SLO to San Diego

tea for Lung troubles,sores

Perideridia species

Wild Caraway


roots raw or cooked

Phacelia tanacetifolia, distans


Coast Ranges, San Joaquin Vally

tea for fever

Phalaris canaiensis

Canary Grass

common weed

edible grain

Petasites species

Sweet Coltfoot

shady spots Monterey North

young foliage as greens

Phoradendron juniperinum

Mistletoe


Dried, powdered stems for saddle sores on horses

Phragmites communis

Reed,Reed Grass

widespread

roots raw or cooked, young shoots raw

Pinus sp

Pines


Seeds cracked for nuts

Plantago major

Plantain

common weed

leaves raw or cooked seeds eaten for laxative

Polygonum species

Knot weed, Smart weed

Weed

varying degrees of edibility(?), seeds, roots, and foliage

Polypodium vulgare

Licorice Fern


stem of the leaf chewed like licorice

Populus fremontii

Fremont Cottonwood


Catkins raw or cooked inner bark as emergency food

Portulaca oleracea

Purslane

common weed

plant used in salad or cooked like spinach

Potamogeton species

Pond weed

wet places

rootstock edible

Potentilla anserina

Silver weed

East Side Sierra

roots boiled like parsnips

Proboscidea species

Unicorn Plant, Devil's Claws


young pods boiled and eaten

Prosopsis species

Mesquite

San Joaquin Valley to Baja

Flowers and dried pods eaten like carob

Prunella vulgaris

Self heal

weed in lawns

cold water tea for drink

Prunus ilicifolia

Hollyleaf Cherry


Fruit ok raw,seeds cracked roasted and leached to remove cyanide(bitterness)

Prunus lyonii

Catalina Cherry



Prunus subcordata

Sierra Plum


like a small plum

Prunus virginiana

Western Chokecherry


ok when raw,much better cooked with sugar

Pseudotsuga menziesii

Douglas Fir


fresh needles for tea

Psoralea physodes

California Tea

Central Coast Ranges

drank as tea

Quercus agrifolia

Coast live Oak


Acorns ground and leached for mush,very bitter

Quercus dumosa

Scrub Oak


as above

Quercus kelloggi

Black Oak


as above

Quercus lobata

Valley Oak


as above but much less bitter

Ranunculus occidentalis

Buttercup

North Coast Ranges

Seeds roasted and ground into meal

Reseda lutea

Yellow Mignonette


young plants good in salads

Rhamnus californica

Coffee Berry


tea from bark as laxative, berry juice for Poison Oak

Rhus integrifolia

Lemonade Berry

Santa Barbara South

berries soaked in hot water for tea Seeds ground for coffee

Rhus ovata

Sugar Bush

Santa Barbara South

sticky seed coat for colds tea from leaves for pains in chest

Ribes species

Gooseberry, Currant


used in pemmican,all berries edible

Rosa californica

Wild Rose

roses throughout California

hips raw, cooked or as tea

Rubus vitifolius

Blackberry

throughout California

root tea for diarrhea,fruit raw eaten

Rumex hymenosepallious

Sour Dock

SLO to SouthCal

stems peeled raw or cooked,roots high in tannin

Sagittaria latifolia

Tule Potato

Tule Beds San J.V.

Root roasted and eaten as bread

Salicornia species

Pickleweed

saline or alkaline spots

eaten raw

Salvia apiana

White Sage

Coastal California

Seeds roasted and ground into meal then mush

Salvia carduacea

Thistle Sage

Dry areas

as above

Salvia columbaria

Chia

sunny dry areas

as above, also as trail food on long hikes

Sambucus mexicana

Blue Elderberry

most of California

raw(some people get sick),cooked ok for all tea of leaves and flowers for colds and fever

Sanguisorba occidentalis, minor

Burnet

pasture escape

young leaves ok for salad

Sarcobatus vermiculatus

Grease wood

alkaline desert areas

tender young growing twigs diced and boiled until tender

Satureja douglasii

Yerba Buena

excellent for tea


Scirpus robustus

Bull Tulle

Salt Marshes

Leaves cooked and chewed for wounds

Sedum species

Stonecrop

Seeps

salad or potherb

Setaria species

Bristly Foxtail

weeds

dried,husked and used as flour

Shepheria argentea

Silver Buffalo berry

mountain seeps

berries edible

Sidalcea neomexicana

Prairie Mallow

L.A. New Mexico

cooked greens

Simmondsia chinensis

Jojoba

desert areas

nut edible

Sisymbrium officinale

Hedge Mustard

weed

young plants as potherb,seeds roasted ground into flour

Sisyrinchium bellum

Blue-eyed grass

plains of California

tea for fever

Smilacina racemosa

False Solomon Seal


rootstocks eaten if soaked overnight in lye then boiled to remove lye,berries edible but a laxative

Smilax californica

Greenbier

stream side Napa to Oregon

roots in soups and stews,roots dried and ground into flour

Solidgo californica

Goldenrod


whole plant boiled long to wash wounds

Sonchus asper

Prickly Sow-Thistle


young leaves used as greens

Sorbus species

Mountain Ash


ripe berries raw,cooked or dried

Sparganium eurcarpum

Bur-reed

Coastal Swampy areas

underground parts edible when cooked

Sporobolus species

Drop seed

desert areas

seeds ok raw or roasted and ground into flour

Stanleya species

Princes Plume


seeds roasted ,ground and used for mush cooked leaves and stems cooked as a cabbage

Stellaria media

Chickweed

weed

young plants boiled like spinach

Streptanthuscrass inflatum

Squaw Cabbage


dip in water several times then cook as cabbage

Suaeda species

Desert Blite

alkali seeps

seeds raw or roasted,young plants raw or cooked Berries very bitter and soapy but edible raw or cooked

Symphoricarpos species

Snowberry



Taraxacum officinale

Dandelion

common weed (confused with sow thistle)

leaves raw or cooked, roasted roots used for coffee, wine from flower heads

Tetragonia expansa

New Zealand Spinach


cooked as potherb or raw

Thysanocarpus curvipes

Fringepod


seeds cooked and eaten

Tragopogon species,

Oyster Plant

common weed

raw or cooked as parsnips

Trichostema lanatum

Woolly Blue Curls


vapor of tea for colds

Trifucatum virescens


Northern California and Oregon

edible after dipping in saltwater

Triglochin maritima

Arrow Grass

salt marshes

seeds roasted and ground into flour seeds also used as coffee substitute

Tsuga mertensiana, heterophylla

Mountain Hemlock


tea made from leaves, inner bark cooked into a bread

Typha species

Cattail


roots roasted,young shoots and pollen raw or cooked

Umbellularia californica

Bay Laurel


roasted nuts leached and used in mush, leaves used to discourage lice, leaves ok  as Bay, smaller dose, nuts have to be proceesed or poisonous

Urtica gracilis

Stinging Nettles

shady spots

cooked as spinach, kinda slimy when cooked, nasty sting when raw

Vaccinium ovatum

Huckleberry

North slopes

raw or in jams and jellies

Valerianella olitoria, carinata

Corn Salad


stems and leaves in salads

Verbena hastata

Blue Verbena


seeds roasted and ground into a flour

Viola

Johnny-jump-up, Violet


Leaves and stems as greens, flowers raw

Vitis

Wild Grape

Riparian corridors

grape

Washingtonia filifera

California Fan Palm

Colorado desert

seeds as dates,leaf bud roasted

Wislizenia refracta

Jackass Clover

South California to Texas

cooked as potherb

Wyethia augustifolia

Mule Ears


green shoots ok raw, seeds parched and ground into pinole

Xerophyllum tenax

Bear Grass

Monterey North

roots boiled and roasted,eaten,roots as soap

Yucca species

Joshua tree

South Dagger, South Bayonet

roots used as soap,flowers cooked and eaten, stems when 1' or less

Yucca whippleii

Our Lords Candle

Dry rocky hillsides

flowers cooked and eaten,seeds raw or cooked

Zauchneria californica

California Fucshia,

Seasonal creaks, rock outcroppings

Flowers a wash made of plant for wound

Zostera marina

Eel Grass

Coastal ponds

Stems chewed for juice

Poisonous Natives

Scientific name

Common name

Poisonous part

Poison

Acacia greggii

Catclaw

Twigs and leaves

Hydrocyanic acid

Aconitum spp.

Monkshood

all parts poisonous

Hydrocyanic acid

Actaea rubra

Red Bane berry

all

Protoanemonium

Aesculus californica

Buckeye

all

Aesculin

Argemone munita

Prickly Poppy

all,seeds

isoquinoline alkaloids

Baileya multiradiata

Desert Poppy

all

sesquiterpene lactones

Calycanthus occidentalis

Western Spicebush

seeds

Calycanthine

Cercocarpus spp.

Mountain Mahogany

seeds

cyanoganic glycosides

Chrysothamnus nauseosus

Rabbit Bush

all

unpalatable

Cicuta spp.

Water hemlock

all

cicutxin,an aliphatic alcohol

Conium maculatum

Poison Hemlock

all

coniine and lambda coniceine

Datura species

Jimsonweed

all

tropane belladonna alkaloides

Delphinium spp.

Larkspur

all

diterpene alkaloides

Helenium hoopesii

Orange Sneezeweed

all

Hymenovin

Heteromeles arbutifolia

Toyon

seed,

cyanogenic glycosides

Iris spp.


rhizome and leaves

irritant resin

Juncus spp.

Rush

shoots after frost

hydrocyanic acid

Linum lewisii

Blue Flax

leaves and seeds

a cyanogenic glycocide

Lobelia cardinalis

Cardinal Flower

all

pyridine alkaloids

Lupinus spp.

Lupine

all

alkaloides when in large amounts,

Mahonia aquilfolium

Oregon Grape

All, But berries

isoquinoline alkaloids

Malva parviflora

Cheese weed


severe muscular tremors(as we have eaten these after cooking and three other sources say it is edible I believe moderation is the key)

Ptela trifoliata

Hop Tree

all

furocoumarins

Ranunculus spp.

Buttercup

all

a glycoside(although very bad taste)

Rhododendron occidentale

Western Azalea

leaves toxic

diterpenes

Sambucus spp.

Elderberry

All, but Berries

alkaloids and cyanogen

Solanum spp.

Nigthshades

all

glycoalkaloids,like gastroenteritis

Zigadenus spp.

Death Camus

all

steroidal alkaloids

References

1.Poisonous Plants of Calif.,Fuller and McClintock,1986,Univer. Calif. Press

2.Edible Wild Plants,Medsger,1966,Macmillan Pub.

3.Edible Plants, Brown in a paper from the 1940's down for the Paso Robles School Dis

4. Wild Edible Plants,Kirk, 1975, Naturegraph

5.Indian Uses of Native Plants,Murphey,1959,Mendocino Co. Historical Soc.,Fort Bragg,95437

6. A Guide to the Medicinal Plants of the U. South, Krochmal,1975,Quadrangle,New York Times Book 7. Wild Edible Fruits and Berries,Furlong & Pill, 1974, Naturegraph

8. Early Uses of Calif. Plants, Balls, 1975, Univ. of Calif. Press

9. Plants for Man, Schery, 1972,Prentice-Hall

Related needed books

1. An Illustrated Manual of Calif. Shrubs, McMinn,1939, University of California Press

2. Vascular Plants of San Luis Obispo Co., Hoover, 1970,Univer. of California Press

3. A Calif. Flora, Munz, 1968, Univer. of California Press

4. Hickman, JameSouth 1993. The Jepson manual: higher plants of Calif. University of Calif. PresSouth Berkeley.

Goosefoot, Chenopodium album, is a common garden weed that is considered  edible. - grid24_12
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Edited on Jun 21, 2013. Authors: Bert Wilson
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