Bitter Herbs in the Wilderness

Imagine this. You and your family are stranded in the wilderness. No food. No water. Not that you weren’t prepared, you did have a bug-out bag in your closet for the past two years, but those freeze-dried snacks seemed like the perfect midnight snack during your sleepover last week! Oops.

Though caught off guard in the food department, you definitely have a pocket knife, flint, waterproof matches, hand shovel, fishing kit with hooks of various sizes, and a flashlight with more lumens than the most recent infomercial is currently selling to the general public.

Given this scenario, would you be okay with eating grubs and crickets to survive? Of course, you would—you need to live! Although I am not sure your mom or sister will join you on day one—maybe day three.

Animals survive in the wilderness on the bare minimum, so we can too, right? Or does God provide more for us? Unlike the animals in the wilderness, depending on their God-given instincts to lead them to food, God has created mankind in His image, giving us the ability to think and reason.

This means that if we are stuck in the wilderness with our family, we wouldn’t need to spend the whole time huddled around a campfire, rubbing our hands together vigorously, hoping for the best. Instead, we could use the knowledge of the wilderness and what God has provided within it to make the best of the situation!

Let’s get started!

First, we need to find water. Have you ever made it to dinnertime and realized, “Wait, a minute. I have not had a single sip of water today?” You then rush to grab an ice-cold glass of water, feeling refreshed from head to toe. Well, your body can survive without a glass of water for most of the day without too many problems because you technically can absorb water in other ways. If you drank any juice, soda, or even milk, you would be hydrated from the water content. If you ate any fruit (watermelon, anyone?), then your body would probably have received at least the bare minimum. When in survival mode, you will not have all of these extras, so water will be the first resource to seek.. 

A river, brook, or bubbling freshwater spring would be ideal. Look for these. If in extremely dry country and no running water can be found, here are various plants that could tell you that water is nearby. Search these plants out, but also be ready to work to dig deep for some of them!

Cattails: Reveal that marshland or water is near the surface.

Mesquite: Lets you know that water can be found 10 to 50 feet below ground. Get out your shovel!

Reeds: Shows us that good, quality water is close to the surface.

Black Greasewood: Usually means mineralized water is 10 to 40 feet down.

Elderberry Shrubs: A strong sign that water is about 10 feet below. 

Now for food. Did you know many of the weeds and plants we generally kill off in our yards have edible shoots and leaves? It’s true! It is just knowing which ones are safe and beneficial to eat.

Dandelion: Bitter when eaten raw, but when boiled twice, the bitterness is removed,,and it tastes like spinach!

Milkweed: Boil the young shoots and seed pods for a tasty treat in the spring. (Older stems will be too acidic.)

Mustard: Young leaves, when cooked, are a great addition to other edible greens that you may have on hand. Seasoned mountaineers claim this helps with digestion. 

Clover: The Native Americans used to eat these young plants before they flowered. It helps to dip into salt water before eating. 

Ferns: Boiling the brackens in salt water until tender makes these a great meal similar to asparagus.

Lamb’s Quarters: To help remove the bitterness, boil in two waters. 

Evening Primrose: Shoots may be eaten raw and have a pleasant flavor. 

Violet: Can be boiled and eaten in a soup or stew.

Mesquite: When ripe, these are a bright lemon-yellow color. The desert Native Americans used to pound this into a meal to use as flour. The raw beans are also pleasantly sweet. 

Screw Bean: These have a sugary taste. It can be ground into a powder and used to sweeten your water! 

Yucca: Both the beautiful flower buds and stalks can be boiled to make a delicious dish. 

Sego Lily: This plant has sweet corms that can be roasted or steamed.

Camas: A beautiful blue flower with edible bulbs. The early pioneers often cooked the bulbs and made them into a pie. Best when cooked in a hole in the ground with hot rocks and wet grass covered over with earth. 

Depending on where you are, your options might even be more limited than the weeds and plants mentioned here, but some explorers have survived on even less, including moss and lichen. Rock tripe, reindeer moss, and Iceland moss are all edible but must be washed thoroughly and carefully cooked. Survivalists have been known to live on this for months when in dire situations. 

Experts believe that over 300,000 plants grow on the Earth, with 120,000 of these varieties being edible. If you learn how to identify some of these edible plants, you will be well on your way to survival. If stuck in the wilderness for an extended period of time, you will want to try your hand at hunting, trapping, and fishing, but for the days when the catch is few and far between, knowing how to identify edible plants will help give you the strength to keep on going!

Many of the plants listed above are slightly more bitter than what many of us are used to. The bitterness can be removed from some, but not all. Did you know that to this day, the Jewish people eat bitter herbs as part of their annual Passover meal? During this celebration, they remember the bitter challenges that the Israelites faced while Moses led them through the wilderness. They eat the bitter herbs to remember these hard times.

Even though they had hard times, they did not starve. God gave them manna. Manna probably did not taste great, but it was what God provided the Israelites, and it sustained them. While Jesus was on the cross, water would have been ideal, but instead, He was given vinegar. Do you ever feel like you are given the raw end of the deal? Manna instead of steak? Vinegar instead of water? It’s all in our perspective. In how we look at the situation. If ever stranded in the wilderness, naturally or spiritually, let’s make the best of it. Rather than surviving on mere coals, let’s make a blazing fire to keep the whole family warm. Instead of taking a guess on what is edible or not and hoping we survive, let’s store up some basic knowledge so we know what is edible in the wilderness, both bitter and sweet!   

About Heather Vogler

Heather Vogler, her husband, and five children call the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia home where they homeschool and homestead. Heather has homeschooled her children from the beginning and enjoys an eclectic style of teaching. As a freelance writer she has been published in Focus on the Family Magazine, War Cry Magazine, and Brio Magazine. Heather holds a BA in Christian Ministries and currently writes at ThriftSchooling.com.  

Please note: This article is for educational purposes only. 

Sources Used for Research:

Back to Basics: A Complete Guide to Traditional Skills by Abigail R. Gehring

Survival Handbook: The Official U.S Army Guide by The Department of the Army

Wildwood Wisdom by Ellsworth Jaeger