How to determine a poisonous or healthful plant? [closed]








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I'm not a chemist or scientist, however i am interested in figuring out if the plants around me: 


can provide any nutritional value
Can be eaten in salads or poisonous 


I don't have any idea of the path to take to get my answers.
Going back to school isnt an option.


Please advise on the path to take to know these things.


Thank you 




There are a few books on this topic available on Amazon. They might be useful, depending on where you live.


A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants: Eastern and central North America (Peterson Field Guides) Sep 1, 1999
by Lee Allen Peterson and Roger Tory Peterson
[https://www.amazon.com/Field-Guide-Edible-Wild-Plants/dp/039592622X/ref=sr\_1\_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1490368083&sr=8-1&keywords=edible+plants](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/039592622X)


Edible Wild Plants: A North American Field Guide to Over 200 Natural Foods Apr 7, 2009
by Thomas Elias and Peter Dykeman
[https://www.amazon.com/Edible-Wild-Plants-American-Natural/dp/1402767153/ref=sr\_1\_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1490368083&sr=8-2&keywords=edible+plants](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/1402767153)


Edible Wild Plants: A Folding Pocket Guide to Familiar North American Species Dec 26, 2014
by James Kavanagh and Waterford Press
[https://www.amazon.com/Edible-Wild-Plants-Familiar-Naturalist-ebook/dp/B00USBMCE8/ref=sr\_1\_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1490368083&sr=8-3&keywords=edible+plants](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/B00USBMCE8)


Bushcraft 101: A Field Guide to the Art of Wilderness Survival Sep 1, 2014
by Dave Canterbury
[https://www.amazon.com/Bushcraft-101-Field-Wilderness-Survival/dp/1440579776/ref=sr\_1\_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1490368083&sr=8-4&keywords=edible+plants](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/1440579776)


Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild (and Not So Wild) Places May 20, 1994
by Steve Brill and Evelyn Dean
[https://www.amazon.com/Identifying-Harvesting-Edible-Medicinal-Plants/dp/0688114253/ref=sr\_1\_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1490368083&sr=8-5&keywords=edible+plants](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0688114253)


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I don't think there is a scientific approach that would be useful here. 


I advise you to buy a book on wild plants that can be eaten, maybe look for a book specific to your region. 


Identifying every plant, then checking if you can eat it would take a long time, so the faster approach would be to see what is edible, and then look for the plant. 


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