Edible and Useful Plants of Texas and the Southwest: A Practical Guide

by Delena Tull

All around us there are wild plants good for food, medicine, clothing, and shelter, but most of us don’t know how to identify or use them. Delena Tull amply supplies that knowledge in this book, one of the first focused specifically on plants that grow in Texas and surrounding regions of the South and Southwest.
Extensively illustrated with black-and-white drawings and color photos, this book includes the following special
• Recipes for foods made from edible wild plants.
• Wild teas and spices.
• Wild plant dyes, with instructions for preparing the plants and dying wool, cotton, and other materials.
• Instructions for preparing fibers for use in making baskets, textiles, and paper.
• Information on wild plants used for making rubber, wax, oil, and soap.
• Information on medicinal uses of plants.
• An identification guide to hay fever plants and plants that cause rashes.
• Instructions for distinguishing edible from poisonous berries.
• Detailed information on poisonous plants, including poison ivy, oak, and sumac, as well as herbal treatments for their rashes.

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction, Science

558 pages, Paperback

First published November 30, 1998

Reviews

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book, just not quite what I needed to do my homework for my herbalism course. Overall I recommend it; just wish it had more pictures, drawings, or links to the web where you could find pictures that they like so that you’re looking at the Texas species and not a closely related

This book is great for filling in gaps or confirming knowledge as one delves deep into the Internet.

It’s also got a decent listing of poisonous plants. (There are brave herbalists, and there are old herbalists, but there are no brave, old herbalists.)

Checked out this book from the public library.

[Cari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great resource for creating Permaculture gardens, or any edible landscape. Good information for foragers, wilderness survival and even crafters. Unique section on dye plants and industrial uses for plants, too.

[Blast · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was very disappointed in this book. It is a giant book with very little information. In my opinion it spends too much time taking about how to use assorted plants as dyes and not enough time on edible plants. It's far to heavy to take out into the wilds and to dull to read at home.

[Katlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely a book worth having around for reference. Lots of interesting trivia about the plants and I liked the tie-in to agriculture and native growing. Wish there were a bit more information about the growing seasons.