SC - Flaming Order of C

[Michael F. Gunter]

In a message dated 97-09-17 06:13:37 EDT, you write:

<< however it is very easy for the new scavenger 
 to mistake hemlock for Queen Anne's Lace out in the wild, with very 
 unhappy results.
 
 If memory serves, there's also a water parsnip variety (remember the 
 thread on skirrets a while back?) that is highly toxic as well.  >>

Correst. However, the flower heads of QAL are nothing like the other plants
you mention. The environment it grows in is basically dry waste places whle
the other two are almost always associated with wet places and the leaves on
th QAL are very fine and lacy as opposed to the larger and herbaceous leaves
on the poisonous plants.

When dug up the poisonous plants have large roots which stick out every which
way and the QAL's root is a single root about 6-8" long.

All in all caution when beginning to collect wild plants for food is a good
thing. But once you have experience at it the difference between an edible
plant and it's counterpart are glaringly obvious especially if the 2 are
placed side by side. In such cases you can but only ask yourself how anyone
could mistake the 2. The key is go out with an experienced collector for a
few trips before attempting collection on your own.

Lord Ras

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