Foragers Harvest by Samuel Thayer

Of all the foraging / wild food books I've read, I like this one the best! [Update: now only my second favorite book, because Thayer's latest book is even better yet!] It gives incredible detail based on the author's personal experiences. It debunks many of the wild food myths which other authors have passed down from book to another without ever personally verifying.

The table of contents lists the subjects and specific plants covered:

• • Introduction
  • The Meaning of Wild Food
  • The Purpose and Organization of this book
  • The History of Foraging and Wild Food Literature
• Getting Started With Edible Wild Plants
  • Why Forage?
  • Conservation
  • Where to Forage
  • Cooking With Wild Food
• Plant Identification and Foraging Safety
• Harvest and Preparation Methods for Wild Plant Foods
  • Greens
  • Shoots and Stalks
  • Underground Vegetables
  • Fruits and Berries
  • Seeds and Grains
  • Nuts
• Storing Wild Foods
  • Freezing
  • Canning
  • Drying
  • Cold storage
• Timing the Wild Harvest
  • Calendar
• Plant Accounts
  • Ostrich Fern
  • Cattail
  • Wapato, Arrowhead
  • Wild Rice
  • Wild Leek, Ramp
  • Smilax, Carrion Flower
  • Butternut
  • Siberian Elm
  • Stinging Nettle
  • Wood Nettle
  • Sheep Sorrel
  • Goosefoot, Lamb's Quarters
  • Spring Beauty
  • Marsh Marigold, Cowslip
  • Swamp Saxifrage
  • Serviceberry, Juneberry, Saskatoon
  • Chokecherry
  • Pin Cherry
  • Ground Bean, Hog Peanut
  • Hopniss, Groundnut
  • Black Locust
  • Sumac
  • Wild Grape
  • Basswood, Linden
  • Evening Primrose
  • Parsnip
  • Common Milkweed
  • Virginia Waterleaf
  • Nannyberry, Wild Raisin, Black Haw
  • Highbush Cranberry
  • Burdock
  • Thistle
• • References and Recommended Reading
  • Bibliography
  • Glossary
  • Index

And I vouch for the accuracy of the publisher's description of the book:

The Guide Features:

• 218 color photos, demonstrating each edible part in the proper stage of harvest, plus showing important identifying features
• Step-by-step tutorial to positive plant identification
• Photos and text comparing potentially confusing plants
• Thorough discussion on how to gather and use the plants
• Detailed information on harvest, preparation, and storage techniques
• A foraging calendar showing harvest times for wild foods
• A glossary of botanical terms illustrated with line drawings
• Bibliography and recommended reading list
• Index
• Durable, Smyth-sewn binding
• 368 6" x 9" pages

Rather than cover hundreds of plants in abbreviated accounts like the typical field guide, the author has chosen a smaller selection of species to discuss in exhaustive detail, including only those plants he has eaten fifty times or more. This book contains as many as ten high-quality color photographs of each plant. These have been painstakingly selected to facilitate identification and depict the plant parts at exactly the stage of growth in which they should be harvested. The accompanying text is accurate and thorough, giving readers of any experience level the confidence to harvest wild plants for food. Botanically, the text is accurate - yet it remains accessible to the layperson by using technical terms only when necessary.

The Forager’s Harvest has many unique features that will appeal to naturalists, hikers, campers, survivalists, homesteaders, gardeners, chefs, Native Americans, and whole-food enthusiasts. The book contains a calendar of harvest times for wild produce, a step-by-step protocol for positive identification, an illustrated glossary tailored to the needs of foragers, a recommended reading list, plus special sections on conservation, safety, nutrition, harvest techniques, preparation methods, and storage. While The Forager’s Harvest is not a regional guide, it will prove most useful to readers in the eastern US and Canada, the Rocky Mountains, and the Pacific Northwest.