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Stalking The Wild Asparagus (Paperback)
by Euell Gibbons (Author)

But didn't Euell Gibbons die a few years back - of food poisoning?

(possibly an urban rumor, but that report went around pretty widely at the time.)

A warning not widely known, from US Military handbooks:

Eating wild things like nuts and berries on the assumption that "birds eat them so they must be okay" can be fatal. Most birds can metabolize strychnine, which is a common "ingredient" in a number of plants and plant products. You cannot.


Even some common human food products can cause problems if ingested without customary processing, of which you might not be aware if you haven't studdied the usual methods of preparation. Rhubarb comes to mind (if local lore is believed) and the common tropical taro - used both for food and in more primitive times for a hunting poison - might be worth looking up. Although you're unlikely to find taro in your back lot, knowing the kinds of hazards it typifies might be helpful.

Euell Gibbons, in particular, often "glossed over" some things that caused concern for more conventional dietitians.

John