FM 3-05.70 Field Manual Survival (17 May 2002)

• Lime. You can get lime from commercial sources and in

agricultural areas that use large quantities of it. You may

produce your own by burning coral or seashells. Throw the

lime into the water.

• Nut husks. Crush green husks from butternuts or black

walnuts. Throw the husks into the water.

COOKING AND STORAGE OF FISH AND GAME

8-70. You must know how to prepare fish and game for cooking

and storage in a survival situation. Improper cleaning or storage

can result in inedible fish or game.

FISH

8-71. Do not eat fish that appears spoiled. Cooking does not

ensure that spoiled fish will be edible. Signs of spoilage are—

• Sunken eyes.

• Peculiar odor.

• Suspicious color. (Gills should be red to pink. Scales should

be a pronounced shade of gray, not faded.)

• Dents that stay in the fish’s flesh after pressed with your

thumb.

• Slimy, rather than moist or wet, body.

• Sharp or peppery taste.

8-72. Eating spoiled or rotten fish may cause diarrhea, nausea,

cramps, vomiting, itching, paralysis, or a metallic taste in the

mouth. These symptoms appear suddenly, 1 to 6 hours after

eating. Induce vomiting if symptoms appear.

8-73. Fish spoils quickly after death, especially on a hot day.

Prepare fish for eating as soon as possible after catching it. Cut

out the gills and the large blood vessels that lie near the spine.

Gut fish that are more than 10 centimeters (4 inches) long. Scale

or skin the fish.

8-74. You can impale a whole fish on a stick and cook it over an

open fire. However, boiling the fish with the skin on is the best

way to get the most food value. The fats and oil are under the

skin and, by boiling, you can save the juices for broth. You can

use any of the methods used to cook plant food to cook fish. Pack

8-35

fish into a ball of clay and bury it in the coals of a fire until the

clay hardens. Break open the clay ball to get to the cooked fish.

Fish is done when the meat flakes off. If you plan to keep the fish

for later, smoke or fry it. To prepare fish for smoking, cut off the

head and remove the backbone.

SNAKES

8-75. To skin a snake, first cut off its head, to include 10 to 15

centimeters (4 to 6 inches) behind the head. This will ensure you

remove the venom sac, which is located at the base of the head.

Bury the sac to prevent further contact. Then cut the skin down

the body 2 to 4 centimeters (1 to 1 1/2 inches). Peel the skin back,

then grasp the skin in one hand and the body in the other and

pull apart

(Figure

8-25). On large, bulky snakes it may be

necessary to slit the belly skin. Cook snakes in the same manner

as small game. Remove the entrails and discard. Cut the snake

into small sections and boil or roast it.

Figure 8-25. Cleaning a Snake

8-36

BIRDS

8-76. After killing the bird, remove its feathers by either plucking

or skinning. Remember, skinning removes some of the food value.

Open up the body cavity and remove the entrails, saving the craw

(in seed-eating birds), heart, and liver. Cut off the feet. Cook by

boiling or roasting over a spit. Before cooking scavenger birds,

boil them at least 20 minutes to kill parasites.

SKINNING AND BUTCHERING GAME

8-77. Bleed the animal by cutting its throat. If possible, clean the

carcass near a stream. Place the carcass belly up and split the

hide from throat to tail, cutting around all sexual organs (Figure

8-26). Remove the musk glands at points A and B to avoid

tainting the meat. For smaller mammals, cut the hide around the

body and insert two fingers under the hide on both sides of the

cut and pull both pieces off (Figure 8-27, page 8-38).

NOTE: When cutting the hide, insert the knife blade under the

skin and turn the blade up so that only the hide gets cut. This

will also prevent cutting hair and getting it on the meat.

Figure 8-26. Skinning and Butchering Large Game

8-37

Figure 8-27. Skinning Small Game

8-78. Remove the entrails from smaller game by splitting the body

open and pulling them out with the fingers. Do not forget the chest

cavity. For larger game, cut the gullet away from the diaphragm.

Roll the entrails out of the body. Cut around the anus, then reach

into the lower abdominal cavity, grasp the lower intestine, and pull

to remove. Remove the urine bladder by pinching it off and cutting

it below the fingers. If you spill urine on the meat, wash it to avoid

tainting the meat. Save the heart and liver. Cut these open and

inspect for signs of worms or other parasites. Also inspect the

liver’s color; it could indicate a diseased animal. The liver’s surface

should be smooth and wet and its color deep red or purple. If the

liver appears diseased, discard it. However, a diseased liver does

not indicate you cannot eat the muscle tissue.

8-79. Cut along each leg from above the foot to the previously

made body cut. Remove the hide by pulling it away from the

carcass, cutting the connective tissue where necessary. Cut off the

head and feet.

8-80. Cut larger game into manageable pieces. First, slice the

muscle tissue connecting the front legs to the body. There are no

bones or joints connecting the front legs to the body on four-

legged animals. Cut the hindquarters off where they join the

body. You must cut around a large bone at the top of the leg and

cut to the ball-and-socket hip joint. Cut the ligaments around the

8-38

joint and bend it back to separate it. Remove the large muscles

(the tenderloin or “backstrap”) that lie on either side of the spine.

Separate the ribs from the backbone. There is less work and less

wear on your knife if you break the ribs first, then cut through

the breaks.

8-81. Boil large meat pieces or cook them over a spit. You can

stew or boil smaller pieces, particularly those that remain

attached to bone after the initial butchering, as soup or broth.

You can cook body organs such as the heart, liver, pancreas,

spleen, and kidneys using the same methods as for muscle meat.

You can also cook and eat the brain. Cut the tongue out, skin it,

boil it until tender, and eat it.

SMOKING MEAT

8-82. To smoke meat, prepare an enclosure around a fire

Figure 8-28, page 8-40). Two ponchos snapped together will work.

The fire does not need to be big or hot. The intent is to produce

smoke and heat, not flame. Do not use resinous wood because its

smoke will ruin the meat. Use hardwoods to produce good smoke.

The wood should be somewhat green. If it is too dry, soak it. Cut

the meat into thin slices, no more than 6 millimeters (about 1/4

inch) thick, and drape them over a framework. Make sure none of

the meat touches another piece. Keep the poncho enclosure

around the meat to hold the smoke and keep a close watch on the

fire. Do not let the fire get too hot. Meat smoked overnight in this

manner will last about 1 week. Two days of continuous smoking

will preserve the meat for 2 to 4 weeks. Properly smoked meat

will look like a dark, curled, brittle stick and you can eat it

without further cooking. You can also use a pit to smoke meat

(Figure 8-29, page 8-40).

8-39

DRYING MEAT

8-83. To preserve meat by drying, cut it into

6-millimeter

(1/4-inch) strips with the grain. Hang the meat strips on a rack in

a sunny location with good airflow. Keep the strips out of the

reach of animals. Cover the strips to keep off blowflies. Allow the

meat to dry thoroughly before eating. Properly dried meat will

have a dry, crisp texture and will not feel cool to the touch.

OTHER PRESERVATION METHODS

8-84. You can also preserve meats using the freezing or brine and

salt methods. In cold climates, you can freeze and keep meat

indefinitely. Freezing is not a means of preparing meat. You must

still cook it before eating. You can also preserve meat by soaking

it thoroughly in a saltwater solution. The solution must cover the

meat. You can use salt by itself but make sure you wash off the

salt before cooking.

8-41

Chapter 9

Survival Use of Plants

After having solved the problems of finding

water, shelter, and animal food, you will have to

consider the use of plants you can eat. In a

survival situation you should always be on the

lookout for familiar wild foods and live off the

land whenever possible.

You must not count on being able to go for days

without food as some sources would suggest.

Even in the most static survival situation,

maintaining health through a complete and

nutritious diet is essential to maintaining

strength and peace of mind.

Nature can provide you with food that will let

you survive almost any ordeal, if you don’t eat

the wrong plant. You must therefore learn as

much as possible beforehand about the flora of

the region where you will be operating. Plants

can provide you with medicines in a survival

situation. Plants can supply you with weapons

and raw materials to construct shelters and build

fires. Plants can even provide you with chemicals

for poisoning fish, preserving animal hides, and

for camouflaging yourself and your equipment.

NOTE: You will find illustrations of the plants described in this

chapter in Appendixes B and C.

EDIBILITY OF PLANTS

9-1. Plants are valuable sources of food because they are widely

available, easily procured, and, in the proper combinations, can

meet all your nutritional needs.

9-1

WARNING

The critical factor in using plants for food is to avoid

accidental poisoning. Eat only those plants you can

positively identify and you know are safe to eat.

9-2. Absolutely identify plants before using them as food. Poison

hemlock has killed people who mistook it for its relatives, wild

carrots and wild parsnips.

9-3. You may find yourself in a situation where you have had

the chance to learn the plant life of the region in which you must

survive. In this case you can use the Universal Edibility Test to

determine which plants you can eat and which to avoid.

9-4. It is important to be able to recognize both cultivated and

wild edible plants in a survival situation. Most of the information

in this chapter is directed toward identifying wild plants because

information relating to cultivated plants is more readily available.

9-5. Consider the following when collecting wild plants for food:

• Plants growing near homes and occupied buildings or

along roadsides may have been sprayed with pesticides.

Wash these plants thoroughly. In more highly developed

countries with many automobiles, avoid roadside plants, if

possible, due to contamination from exhaust emissions.

• Plants growing in contaminated water or in water

containing Giardia lamblia and other parasites are

contaminated themselves. Boil or disinfect them.

• Some plants develop extremely dangerous fungal toxins.

To lessen the chance of accidental poisoning, do not eat any

fruit that is starting to spoil or is showing signs of mildew

or fungus.

• Plants of the same species may differ in their toxic or

subtoxic compounds content because of genetic or

environmental factors. One example of this is the foliage of

the common chokecherry. Some chokecherry plants have

high concentrations of deadly cyanide compounds but

others have low concentrations or none. Horses have died

from eating wilted wild cherry leaves. Avoid any weed,

9-2

leaves, or seeds with an almondlike scent, a characteristic

of the cyanide compounds.

• Some people are more susceptible to gastric distress (from

plants) than others. If you are sensitive in this way, avoid

unknown wild plants. If you are extremely sensitive to

poison ivy, avoid products from this family, including any

parts from sumacs, mangoes, and cashews.

• Some edible wild plants, such as acorns and water lily

rhizomes, are bitter. These bitter substances, usually

tannin compounds, make them unpalatable. Boiling them

in several changes of water will usually remove these

bitter properties.

• Many valuable wild plants have high concentrations of

oxalate compounds, also known as oxalic acid. Oxalates

produce a sharp burning sensation in your mouth and

throat and damage the kidneys. Baking, roasting, or

drying usually destroys these oxalate crystals. The corm

(bulb) of the jack-in-the-pulpit is known as the “Indian

turnip,” but you can eat it only after removing these

crystals by slow baking or by drying.

WARNING

Do not eat mushrooms in a survival situation! The

only way to tell if a mushroom is edible is by positive

identification. There is no room for experimentation.

Symptoms caused by the most dangerous

mushrooms affecting the central nervous system may

not show up until several days after ingestion. By that

time, it is too late to reverse their effects.

PLANT IDENTIFICATION

9-6. You identify plants, other than by memorizing particular

varieties through familiarity, by using such factors as leaf shape

and margin, leaf arrangements, and root structure.

9-7. The basic leaf margins (Figure 9-1, page 9-4) are toothed,

lobed, and toothless or smooth.

9-3

9-9. The basic types of leaf arrangements

(Figure

9-3) are

opposite, alternate, compound, simple, and basal rosette.

Figure 9-3. Leaf Arrangements

9-10. The basic types of root structures are the taproot, tuber, bulb,

rhizome, clove, corm, and crown (Figure 9-4, page 9-6). Bulbs are

familiar to us as onions and, when sliced in half, will show

concentric rings. Cloves are those bulblike structures that remind

us of garlic and will separate into small pieces when broken apart.

This characteristic separates wild onions from wild garlic. Taproots

resemble carrots and may be single-rooted or branched, but usually

only one plant stalk arises from each root. Tubers are like potatoes

and daylilies. You will find these structures either on strings or in

clusters underneath the parent plants. Rhizomes are large

creeping rootstock or underground stems. Many plants arise from

the “eyes” of these roots. Corms are similar to bulbs but are solid

when cut rather than possessing rings. A crown is the type of root

structure found on plants such as asparagus. Crowns look much

like a mophead under the soil’s surface.

9-5

Figure 9-4. Root Structures

9-11. Learn as much as possible about the unique characteristics

of plants you intend to use for food. Some plants have both edible

and poisonous parts. Many are edible only at certain times of the

year. Others may have poisonous relatives that look very similar

to the varieties you can eat or use for medicine.

UNIVERSAL EDIBILITY TEST

9-12. There are many plants throughout the world. Tasting or

swallowing even a small portion of some can cause severe

discomfort, extreme internal disorders, and even death.

Therefore, if you have the slightest doubt about a plant’s edibility,

apply the Universal Edibility Test (Figure 9-5, page 9-7) before

eating any portion of it.

9-6

Test only one part of a potential food plant at a time.

Separate the plant into its basic components—leaves, stems, roots,

buds, and flowers.

Smell the food for strong or acid odors. Remember, smell alone does

not indicate a plant is edible or inedible.

Do not eat for 8 hours before starting the test.

During the 8 hours you abstain from eating, test for contact poisoning

by placing a piece of the plant part you are testing on the inside of

your elbow or wrist. Usually 15 minutes is enough time to allow for a

reaction.

During the test period, take nothing by mouth except purified water

and the plant part you are testing.

Select a small portion of a single part and prepare it the way you plan

to eat it.

Before placing the prepared plant part in your mouth, touch a small

portion (a pinch) to the outer surface of your lip to test for burning or

itching.

If after 3 minutes there is no reaction on your lip, place the plant part

on your tongue, holding it there for 15 minutes.

10.

If there is no reaction, thoroughly chew a pinch and hold it in your

mouth for 15 minutes. Do not swallow.

11.

If no burning, itching, numbing, stinging, or other irritation occurs

during the 15 minutes, swallow the food.

12.

Wait 8 hours. If any ill effects occur during this period, induce vomiting

and drink a lot of water.

13.

If no ill effects occur, eat 0.25 cup of the same plant part prepared the

same way. Wait another 8 hours. If no ill effects occur, the plant part

as prepared is safe for eating.

CAUTION

Test all parts of the plant for edibility, as some plants have both

edible and inedible parts. Do not assume that a part that proved

edible when cooked is also edible when raw. Test the part raw to

ensure edibility before eating raw. The same part or plant may

produce varying reactions in different individuals.

Figure 9-5. Universal Edibility Test

9-7

9-13. Before testing a plant for edibility, make sure there are

enough plants to make the testing worth your time and effort.

Each part of a plant (roots, leaves, flowers, and so on) requires

more than 24 hours to test. Do not waste time testing a plant that

is not relatively abundant in the area.

9-14. Remember, eating large portions of plant food on an empty

stomach may cause diarrhea, nausea, or cramps. Two good

examples of this are such familiar foods as green apples and wild

onions. Even after testing plant food and finding it safe, eat it in

moderation.

9-15. You can see from the steps and time involved in testing for

edibility just how important it is to be able to identify edible

plants.

9-16. To avoid potentially poisonous plants, stay away from any

wild or unknown plants that have—

• Milky or discolored sap.

• Beans, bulbs, or seeds inside pods.

• A bitter or soapy taste.

• Spines, fine hairs, or thorns.

• Foliage that resembles dill, carrot, parsnip, or parsley.

• An almond scent in woody parts and leaves.

• Grain heads with pink, purplish, or black spurs.

• A three-leafed growth pattern.

9-17. Using the above criteria as eliminators when choosing

plants for the Universal Edibility Test will cause you to avoid

some edible plants. More important, these criteria will often help

you avoid plants that are potentially toxic to eat or touch.

9-18. An entire encyclopedia of edible wild plants could be

written, but space limits the number of plants presented here.

Learn as much as possible about the plant life of the areas where

you train regularly and where you expect to be traveling or

working. Figure 9-6, pages 9-9 and 9-10, list some of the most

common edible and medicinal plants. Detailed descriptions and

photographs of these and other common plants are in Appendix B.

9-8

Temperate Zone

•

Amaranth (Amaranths retroflex and other species)

•

Arrowroot (Sagittarius species)

•

Asparagus (Asparagus officials)

•

Beechnut (Fags species)

•

Blackberries (Rubes species)

•

Blueberries (Vaccinium species)

•

Burdock (Arctium lappa)

•

Cattail (Typha species)

•

Chestnut (Castanea species)

•

Chicory (Cichorium intybus)

•

Chufa (Cyperus esculentus)

•

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)

•

Daylily (Hemerocallis fulva)

•

Nettle (Urtica species)

•

Oaks (Quercus species)

•

Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana)

•

Plantain (Plantago species)

•

Pokeweed (Phytolacca americana)

•

Prickly pear cactus (Opuntia species)

•

Purslane (Portulaca oleracea)

•

Sassafras (Sassafras albidum)

•

Sheep sorrel (Rumex acetosella)

•

Strawberries (Fragaria species)

•

Thistle (Cirsium species)

•

Water lily and lotus (Nuphar, Nelumbo, and other species)

•

Wild onion and garlic (Allium species)

•

Wild rose (Rosa species)

•

Wood sorrel (Oxalis species)

Figure 9-6. Food Plants

9-9

Tropical Zone

•

Bamboo (Bambusa and other species)

•

Bananas (Musa species)

•

Breadfruit (Artocarpus incisa)

•

Cashew nut (Anacardium occidental)

•

Coconut (Cocoa nucifera)

•

Mango (Mangifera indica)

•

Palms (various species)

•

Papaya (Carica species)

•

Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum)

•

Taro (Colocasia species)

Desert Zone

•

Acacia (Acacia farnesiana)

•

Agave (Agave species)

•

Cactus (various species)

•

Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera)

•

Desert amaranth (Amaranths palmer)

Figure 9-6. Food Plants (Continued)

SEAWEEDS

9-19. One plant you should never overlook is seaweed. It is a form

of marine algae found on or near ocean shores. There are also some

edible freshwater varieties. Seaweed is a valuable source of iodine,

other minerals, and vitamin C. Large quantities of seaweed in an

unaccustomed stomach can produce a severe laxative effect.

Figure 9-7, page 9-11, lists various types of edible seaweed.

9-20. When gathering seaweed for food, find living plants

attached to rocks or floating free. Seaweed washed onshore any

length of time may be spoiled or decayed. You can dry freshly

harvested seaweed for later use.

9-10

9-21. Different types of seaweed should be prepared in different

ways. You can dry thin and tender varieties in the sun or over a

fire until crisp. Crush and add these to soups or broths. Boil

thick, leathery seaweeds for a short time to soften them. Eat

them as a vegetable or with other foods. You can eat some

varieties raw after testing for edibility.

• Dulse (Rhodymenia palmata)

• Green seaweed (Ulva lactuca)

• Irish moss (Chondrus crispus)

• Kelp (Alaria esculenta)

• Laver (Porphyra species)

• Mojaban (Sargassum fulvellum)

• Sugar wrack (Laminaria saccharina)

Figure 9-7. Types of Edible Seaweed

PREPARATION OF PLANT FOOD

9-22. Although some plants or plant parts are edible raw, you

must cook others for them to be edible or palatable. Edible means

that a plant or food will provide you with necessary nutrients;

palatable means that it is pleasing to eat. Many wild plants are

edible but barely palatable. It is a good idea to learn to identify,

prepare, and eat wild foods.

9-23. Methods used to improve the taste of plant food include

soaking, boiling, cooking, or leaching. Leaching is done by

crushing the food (for example, acorns), placing it in a strainer,

and pouring boiling water through it or immersing it in running

water.

9-24. Boil leaves, stems, and buds until tender, changing the

water, if necessary, to remove any bitterness.

9-25. Boil, bake, or roast tubers and roots. Drying helps to

remove caustic oxalates from some roots like those in the Arum

family.

9-11

9-26. Leach acorns in water, if necessary, to remove the

bitterness. Some nuts, such as chestnuts, are good raw, but taste

better roasted.

9-27. You can eat many grains and seeds raw until they mature.

When they are hard or dry, you may have to boil or grind them

into meal or flour.

9-28. The sap from many trees, such as maples, birches, walnuts,

and sycamores, contains sugar. You may boil these saps down to a

syrup for sweetening. It takes about 35 liters of maple sap to

make 1 liter of maple syrup!

PLANTS FOR MEDICINE

9-29. In using plants for medical treatment, positive

identification of the plants involved is as critical as when using

them for food. Proper use of these plants is equally important.

TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

9-30. The following terms and their definitions are associated

with medicinal plant use:

• Poultice. This is crushed leaves or other plant parts,

possibly heated, that are applied to a wound or sore either

directly or wrapped in cloth or paper. Poultices, when hot,

increase the circulation in the affected area and help

healing through the chemicals present in the plants. As

the poultice dries out, it draws the toxins out of a wound. A

poultice should be prepared to a “mashed potatoes-like”

consistency and applied as warm as the patient can stand.

• Infusion or tisane or tea. This blend is the preparation of

medicinal herbs for internal or external application. You

place a small quantity of a herb in a container, pour hot

water over it, and let it steep (covered or uncovered) before

use. Care must always be taken to not drink too much of a

tea in the beginning of treatment as it may have adverse

reactions on an empty stomach.

• Decoction. This is the extract of a boiled-down or simmered

herb leaf or root. You add herb leaf or root to water. You

bring them to a sustained boil or simmer them to draw

9-12

their chemicals into the water. The average ratio is about

28 to 56 grams (1 to 2 ounces) of herb to 0.5 liter of water.

• Expressed juice. These are liquids or saps squeezed from

plant material and either applied to the wound or made

into another medicine.

9-31. Many natural remedies work slower than the medicines you

know. Therefore, start with smaller doses and allow more time for

them to take effect. Naturally, some will act more rapidly than

others. Many of these treatments are addressed in more detail in

Chapter 4.

SPECIFIC REMEDIES

9-32. The following remedies are for use only in a survival

situation. Do not use them routinely as some can be potentially

toxic and have serious long- term effects (for example, cancer).

•

Antidiarrheals for diarrhea. This can be one of the most

debilitating illnesses for a survivor or prisoner of war.

Drink tea made from the roots of blackberries and their

relatives to stop diarrhea. White oak bark and other barks

containing tannin are also effective when made into a

strong tea. However, because of possible negative effects on

the kidneys, use them with caution and only when nothing

else is available. Clay, ashes, charcoal, powdered chalk,

powdered bones, and pectin can be consumed or mixed in a

tannic acid tea with good results. These powdered

mixtures should be taken in a dose of two tablespoons

every 2 hours. Clay and pectin can be mixed together to

give a crude form of Kaopectate. Pectin is obtainable from

the inner part of citrus fruit rinds or from apple pomace.

Tea made from cowberry, cranberry, or hazel leaves works,

too. Because of its inherent danger to an already under-

nourished survivor, several of these methods may need to

be tried simultaneously to stop debilitating diarrhea,

which can quickly dehydrate even a healthy individual.

•

Antihemorrhagics for bleeding. Make medications to stop

bleeding from plantain leaves, or, most effectively, from

the leaves of the common yarrow or woundwort (Achillea

millefolium). These mostly give a physical barrier to the

bleeding. Prickly pear (the raw, peeled part) or witch hazel

can be applied to wounds. Both are good for their

9-13

astringent properties

(they shrink blood vessels). For

bleeding gums or mouth sores, sweet gum can be chewed

or used as a toothpick. This provides some chemical and

antiseptic properties as well.

•

Antiseptics to clean infections. Use antiseptics to cleanse

wounds, snake bites, sores, or rashes. You can make

antiseptics from the expressed juice of wild onion or garlic,

the expressed juice from chickweed leaves, or the crushed

leaves of dock. You can also make antiseptics from a

decoction of burdock root, mallow leaves or roots, or white

oak bark (tannic acid). Prickly pear, slippery elm, yarrow,

and sweet gum are all good antiseptics as well. All these

medications are for external use only. Two of the best

antiseptics are sugar and honey. Sugar should be applied

to the wound until it becomes syrupy, then washed off and

reapplied. Honey should be applied three times daily (see

Chapter 4). Honey is by far the best of the antiseptics for

open wounds and burns, with sugar being second.

•

Antipyretics for fevers. Treat a fever with a tea made from

willow bark, an infusion of elder flowers or fruit, linden

flower tea, and aspen or slippery elm bark decoction.

Yarrow tea is also good. Peppermint tea is reportedly good

for fevers.

•

Colds and sore throats. Treat these illnesses with a

decoction made from either plantain leaves or willow bark.

You can also use a tea made from burdock roots, mallow or

mullein flowers or roots, and yarrow or mint leaves.

•

Analgesics for aches, pains, and sprains. Treat these

conditions with externally applied poultices of dock,

plantain, chickweed, willow bark, garlic, or sorrel. Sweet

gum has some analgesic (pain relief) properties. Chewing

the willow bark or making a tea from it is the best for pain

relief as it contains the raw component of aspirin. You can

also use salves made by mixing the expressed juices of

these plants in animal fat or vegetable oils.

•

Antihistamines and astringents for itching or contact

dermatitis. Relieve the itch from insect bites, sunburn, or

plant poisoning rashes by applying a poultice of jewelweed

(Impatiens biflora) or witch hazel, which give a cooling

relief and dry out the weeping (Hamamelis virginiana)

9-14

leaves. The jewelweed juice will help when applied to

poison ivy, rashes, or insect stings. Jewelweed and aloe

vera help relieve sunburn. In addition, dandelion sap,

crushed cloves of garlic, and sweet gum have been used.

Crushed leaves of burdock have received only so-so reports

of success, but crushed, green plantain leaves show relief

over a few days. Jewelweed is probably the best of these

plants. Tobacco will deaden the nerve endings and can also

be used to treat toothaches.

•

Sedatives. Get help in falling asleep by brewing a tea made

from mint leaves or passionflower leaves.

•

Hemorrhoids. Treat them with external washes from elm

bark or oak bark tea, from the expressed juice of plantain

leaves, or from a Solomon’s seal root decoction. Tannic acid

or witch hazel will provide soothing relief because of their

astringent properties.

•

Heat rash. Tannic acid or witch hazel will provide soothing

relief because of their astringent properties but cornstarch

or any crushed and powdered, nonpoisonous plant should

help to dry out the rash after a thorough cleansing.

•

Constipation. Relieve constipation by drinking decoctions

from dandelion leaves, rose hips, or walnut bark. Eating

raw daylily flowers will also help. Large amounts of water

in any form are critical to relieving constipation.

•

Antihelminthics for worms or intestinal parasites. Most

treatment for worms or parasites are toxic—just more so

for the worms or parasites than for humans. Therefore, all

treatments should be used in moderation. Treatments

include tea made from tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) or from

wild carrot (poisonous) leaves. Very strong tannic acid can

also be used with caution as it is very hard on the liver.

See Chapter 4 for more deworming techniques.

•

Antiflatulents for gas and cramps. Use a tea made from

carrot seeds; use tea made from mint leaves to settle the

stomach.

•

Antifungal washes. Make a decoction of walnut leaves, oak

bark, or acorns to treat ringworm and athlete’s foot. Apply it

frequently to the site, alternating with exposure to direct

sunlight. Broad-leaf plantain has also been used with

9-15

success but any treatment should be used in addition to

sunlight if possible. Jewelweed and vinegar make excellent

washes but are sometimes difficult to find.

•

Burns. Tannic acid, sugar, and honey can be used as

explained in Chapter 4.

•

Dentifrices for teeth. See Chapter 4 for other techniques in

addition to using twigs of sweet gum for its anti-

inflammatory, analgesic, and antiseptic properties.

•

Insect repellents. Garlic and onions can be eaten and the

raw plant juice rubbed on the skin to repel some insects.

Sassafras leaves can be rubbed on the skin. Cedar chips

may help repel insects around your shelter.

•

Tannic acid. Because tannic acid is used for so many

treatments

(burns, antihemorrhagics, antihelminthics,

antiseptics, antidiarrheals, antifungals, bronchitis, skin

inflammation, lice), a note as to its preparation is in order.

All thready plants, especially trees, contain tannic acid.

Hardwood trees generally contain more than softwood

trees. Of the hardwoods, oak—especially red and

chestnut—contain the highest amount. The warty looking

knots in oak trees can contain as much as 28 percent

tannic acid. This knot, the inner bark of trees, and pine

needles (cut into 2-centimeter [1-inch] strips), can all be

boiled down to extract tannic acid. Boiling can be done in

as little as 15 minutes (very weak), to 2 hours (moderate),

through 12 hours to 3 days (very strong). The stronger

concoctions will have a dark color that will vary depending

on the type of tree. All will have an increasingly vile taste

in relation to their concentration.

MISCELLANEOUS USES OF PLANTS

9-33. Plants can be your ally as long as you use them cautiously.

Be sure that you know the plant and how to use it. Some

additional uses of plants are as follows:

• Make dyes from various plants to color clothing or to

camouflage your skin. Usually, you will have to boil the

plants to get the best results. Onionskins produce yellow,

walnut hulls produce brown, and pokeberries provide

purple dye.

9-16

• Make fibers and cordage from plant fibers. Most commonly

used are the stems from nettles and milkweeds, yucca

plants, and the inner bark of trees like the linden.

• Make tinder for starting fires from cattail fluff, cedar bark,

lighter knot wood from pine trees, or hardened sap from

resinous wood trees.

• Make insulation by fluffing up female cattail heads or

milkweed down.

• Make insect repellents by placing sassafras leaves in your

shelter or by burning or smudging cattail seed hair fibers.

9-34. Whether you use plants for food, medicine, or the

construction of shelters or equipment, the key to their safe use is

positive identification.

9-17

Chapter 10

Poisonous Plants

Successful use of plants in a survival situation

depends on positive identification. Knowing

poisonous plants is as important to you as

knowing edible plants. Knowing the poisonous

plants will help you avoid sustaining injuries

from them.

HOW PLANTS POISON

10-1. Plants generally poison by—

• Contact. This contact with a poisonous plant causes any

type of skin irritation or dermatitis.

• Ingestion. This occurs when a person eats a part of a

poisonous plant.

• Absorption or inhalation. This happens when a person

either absorbs the poison through the skin or inhales it

into the respiratory system.

10-2. Plant poisoning ranges from minor irritation to death. A

common question asked is, “How poisonous is this plant?” It is

difficult to say how poisonous plants are because—

• Some plants require a large amount of contact before you

notice any adverse reaction although others will cause

death with only a small amount.

• Every plant will vary in the amount of toxins it contains

due to different growing conditions and slight variations in

subspecies.

• Every person has a different level of resistance to toxic

substances.

• Some persons may be more sensitive to a particular plant.

10-3. Some common misconceptions about poisonous plants

are—

• Watch the animals and eat what they eat. Most of the time

this statement is true, but some animals can eat plants

that are poisonous to humans.

10-1

• Boil the plant in water and any poisons will be removed.

Boiling removes many poisons, but not all.

• Plants with a red color are poisonous. Some plants that are

red are poisonous, but not all.

10-4. The point is there is no one rule to aid in identifying

poisonous plants. You must make an effort to learn as much

about them as possible.

ALL ABOUT PLANTS

10-5. Many poisonous plants look like their edible relatives or

like other edible plants. For example, poison hemlock appears

very similar to wild carrot. Certain plants are safe to eat in

certain seasons or stages of growth but poisonous in other stages.

For example, the leaves of the pokeweed are edible when it first

starts to grow, but they soon become poisonous. You can eat some

plants and their fruits only when they are ripe. For example, the

ripe fruit of May apple is edible, but all other parts and the green

fruit are poisonous. Some plants contain both edible and

poisonous parts; potatoes and tomatoes are common plant foods,

but their green parts are poisonous.

10-6. Some plants become toxic after wilting. For example, when

the black cherry starts to wilt, hydrocyanic acid develops. Specific

preparation methods make some plants edible that are poisonous

raw. You can eat the thinly sliced and thoroughly dried (drying

may take a year) corms of the jack-in-the-pulpit, but they are

poisonous if not thoroughly dried.

10-7. Learn to identify and use plants before a survival situation.

Some sources of information about plants are pamphlets, books,

films, nature trails, botanical gardens, local markets, and local

natives. Gather and cross-reference information from as many

sources as possible, because many sources will not contain all the

information needed.

RULES FOR AVOIDING POISONOUS PLANTS

10-8. Your best policy is to be able to positively identify plants by

sight and to know their uses or dangers. Many times absolute

certainty is not possible. If you have little or no knowledge of the

10-2

local vegetation, use the rules to select plants for the Universal

Edibility Test. Remember, avoid—

• All mushrooms. Mushroom identification is very difficult

and must be precise—even more so than with other plants.

Some mushrooms cause death very quickly. Some

mushrooms have no known antidote. Two general types of

mushroom poisoning are gastrointestinal and central

nervous system.

• Contact with or touching plants unnecessarily.

CONTACT DERMATITIS

10-9. Contact dermatitis from plants will usually cause the most

trouble in the field. The effects may be persistent, spread by

scratching, and particularly dangerous if there is contact in or

around the eyes.

10-10. The principal toxin of these plants is usually an oil that

gets on the skin upon contact with the plant. The oil can also get

on equipment and then infect whoever touches the equipment.

Never burn a contact poisonous plant because the smoke may be

as harmful as the plant. You have a greater danger of being

affected when you are overheated and sweating. The infection

may be local or it may spread over the body.

10-11. Symptoms may take from a few hours to several days to

appear. Symptoms can include burning, reddening, itching,

swelling, and blisters.

10-12. When you first contact the poisonous plants or when the

first symptoms appear, try to remove the oil by washing with soap

and cold water. If water is not available, wipe your skin

repeatedly with dirt or sand. Do not use dirt if you have blisters.

The dirt may break open the blisters and leave the body open to

infection. After you have removed the oil, dry the area. You can

wash with a tannic acid solution and crush and rub jewelweed on

the affected area to treat plant-caused rashes. You can make

tannic acid from oak bark.

10-13. Poisonous plants that cause contact dermatitis are—

• Cowhage.

• Poison ivy.

10-3

• Poison oak.

• Poison sumac.

• Rengas tree.

• Trumpet vine.

INGESTION POISONING

10-14. Ingestion poisoning can be very serious and could lead to

death very quickly. Do not eat any plant unless you have

positively identified it first. Keep a log of all plants eaten.

10-15. Symptoms of ingestion poisoning can include nausea,

vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, depressed heartbeat

and respiration, headaches, hallucinations, dry mouth,

unconsciousness, coma, and death.

10-16. If you suspect plant poisoning, try to remove the poisonous

material from the victim’s mouth and stomach as soon as

possible. If the victim is conscious, induce vomiting by tickling the

back of his throat or by giving him warm saltwater. If the victim

is conscious, dilute the poison by administering large quantities of

water or milk.

10-17. The following plants can cause ingestion poisoning if eaten:

• Castor bean.

• Chinaberry.

• Death camas.

• Lantana.

• Manchineel.

• Oleander.

• Pangi.

• Physic nut.

• Poison and water hemlocks.

• Rosary pea.

• Strychnine tree.

10-18. Appendix C provides photographs and descriptions of these

plants.

10-4

Chapter 11

Dangerous Animals

The threat from animals is less than from other

parts of the environment. However, common

sense tells you to avoid encounters with lions,

bears, and other large or dangerous animals. You

should also avoid large grazing animals with

horns, hooves, and great weight. Move carefully

through their environment. Caution may prevent

unexpected meetings. Do not attract large

predators by leaving food lying around your

camp. Carefully survey the scene before entering

water or forests.

Smaller animals actually present more of a

threat to you than large animals. To compensate

for their size, nature has given many small

animals weapons such as fangs and stingers to

defend themselves. Each year, a few people are

bitten by sharks, mauled by alligators, and

attacked by bears. Most of these incidents were

in some way the victim’s fault. However, each

year more victims die from bites by relatively

small venomous snakes than by large dangerous

animals. Even more victims die from allergic

reactions to bee stings. These smaller animals

are the ones you are more likely to meet as you

unwittingly move into their habitat, or they slip

into your environment unnoticed.

Keeping a level head and an awareness of your

surroundings will keep you alive if you use a few

simple safety procedures. Do not let curiosity and

carelessness kill or injure you.

11-1

FM 3-05.70 Field Manual Survival (17 May 2002) - page 6