Euell Gibbons' Handbook of Edible Wild Plants

Euell Theophilus Gibbons (September 14, 1911 - December 29, 1975) was an outdoorsman and proponent of natural diets during the 1960s.He was born in Clarksville, Texas, on September 14, 1911, and spent much of his youth in the hilly terrain of New Mexico during the dust bowl era. His mother taught him about foods available in the wild. As an adult he spent time in several states working a variety of jobs. Throughout his travels his interest in wild foods continued and he experimented with new recipes and consulted experts.Often mistaken for a survivalist, Gibbons was simply an advocate of nutritious but neglected plants. He typically prepared these not in the wild, but in the kitchen with abundant use of spices, butter and garnishes. Several of his books discuss what he called "wild parties": dinner parties where guests were served dishes prepared from plants gathered in the wild. His favorite recommendations included lamb's quarters, rose hips, young dandelion shoots, stinging nettle and cattails. He often pointed out that gardeners threw away the more tasty and nutrient-rich crop when they pulled such weeds as purslane and amaranth out from among their spinach plants.