Free Food: Staffer shares experience identifying and collecting edible plants using PictureThis app

“Don’t eat that, it’s probably poisonous!”

As kids, we were told this time and time again. When approaching different plants in nature, you definitely shouldn’t blindly pop berries and leaves into your mouth, but you’d be surprised how many edible plants can be found in your backyard.

To test this I decided to go on an adventure around my neighborhood. It turns out that a lot of those “poisonous plants” are not poisonous at all — in fact, they are delicious.

In only 30 minutes, I found: delicious berries, various medicinal flowers and herbs — all within a half mile radius of my house

Of course, I was extremely careful when identifying edible plants, wielding my trusty plant identifier app: PictureThis, which uses photo recognition to identify plants. It shows plants’ complete profiles, with everything from identification and care information to symbolism. You’re even able to cross reference plants you find in nature with those pictured on the app.

As I was maniacally taking pictures and identifying every single weed, bush and tree I saw, I made a thrilling discovery. I identified a Hackberry tree across the street from my house. Since I always thought the little nuts were hard and inedible, I never paid much mind. But, surprisingly, they taste just like raisins. But with a hard pit in the middle, they are slightly difficult to eat. But nevertheless, they are delicious!

Thanks to my helpful Picture This app, I was able to steer clear of poisonous plants and knew that what I was eating was safe. I made sure to wear jeans and never touch anything before identifying it — just in case I brushed up against some poison ivy or stinging nettle.

After I successfully found so many edible plants, I decided to try again in a different part of town. I headed south to explore fields around Town Center. I wandered into an empty field overgrown with sunflowers and prairie grasses, immediately whipped out my phone and started identifying. I found tons of native plants — all of which were edible. I collected vervain, aster, and goldenrod for some herbal tea at home, which was delicious with lemon and cinnamon.

On my way home, I saw these little trees filled to the brim with bright red berries planted in a parking lot. I had to stop, and I identified them to be crabapples — which according to the app, were edible. I was always told not to eat them, so I was hesitant to try one, but at first bite they were very tart and sweet. I bought a sack of them home to stick in my freezer and after a few days, they tasted much sweeter, and would be even better dipped in caramel.

Overall, PictureThis is amazing. I can’t fathom trying to identify plants using a book or websites, when I can just take a picture and immediately know everything about a plant.