When the Wazoo Survival Gear crew asked me to help them create this foraging field reference bandana along with Mark Merriwether Vorderbruggen I was thrilled. Foraging is something I teach a few times every year because it is such an important part of being prepared in the wilderness and survival in the wild.
This USA-made bandana is not only useful, but it is also beautiful.
Designed as a field aid and emergency reference the 22″ x 22″ square, 100% cotton bandana features 12 wild, edible, and medicinal plants with both their common and scientific names. With explanations of 12 different designated uses such as Fire Starter, Carbohydrate Source, Medicinal, and Can Eat Raw along with accurate plant part indicator icons to show you which parts of each plant can be used and in which instance. The bandana helps you more easily identify the viable and edible plants and parts and what they can be used for.
The four corners of the bandana also include basic foraging information such as: “5 Steps of Identifying Edible Plants” by Samuel Thayer and “Rules and Ethics of Foraging” by Mark Merriwether.
The plants that were selected for inclusion on the foraging field reference bandana were chosen based on the ability to accurately depict them, as well as their abundance to North America and ease of identification with few or no poisonous look-alike plants. We also chose plants that are relatively easy to process into something you can use. Of course, we would have loved to have been able to include many, many more along with even more detailed information about the art of foraging – but there simply isn’t enough space to include it all!
The plants included on the foraging field reference bandana are:
- Arrowhead/Wapato (Maranta spp., Sagittaria spp.)
- Burdock (Arctium minus, Arctium lappa)
- Prickly Pear Cactus (Opunita lindheimeri)
- Cattail (Typha latifolia)
- Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
- Maple Tree (Acer spp.)
- Turkey Tail Mushroom (Trametes versicolor, Coriolus versicolor)
- Plantain (Plantago spp.)
- Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica)
- Wild Violet (Viola spp.)
- Willow Tree (Salix spp.)
- Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
The four corners of the bandana include the following information:
- About the Bandana
- Rules and Ethics of Foraging
- Suggested Uses of the Bandana
- The Five Steps of Identifying Edible Plants