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So a little backstory:  

Once upon a time, I was a wild man.  My influencers as a youth were hunters and trappers, servicemen and survivalists, and later I filled those very roles myself. Eventually I traded my hunting rifle for a Nikon camera, studied what the animals ate, and added this knowledge to that which I'd learned in various survival schools.

The images at right were captured just for this

Sassafras!  This almost-forgotten tree was a staple of early American settlers, as the sweet-smelling, uniquely scented root was steeped in boiling water to make sassafras tea, or to make the predecessor of modern root beer called 'sarsaparilla', which was sometimes mildly alcoholic due to fermentation in the fashion of old time ginger beer.  Its commercial use was discontinued after discovery tha

Wild Ginger (Asarum) - This plant, which has a few look-alikes, is instantly recognizeable by the smell of its roots / rhizomes.  Found in cooler and temperatezones across North America.  As an edible, though not directly related to ginger, the rhizomes offer many benefits similar to ginger and it may be used similarly in cooking as a spice.  Also used to alleviate upset stomachs, indigestion, and

Redbay (Persea borbonia) is an evergreen tree found in the US southeast which can grow to 65 feet tall.  Use the leaves as a gentle spice in all ways that you would traditionally use commercially distibuted bay leaves in cooking.

The droopy Mayapple plant (Podophyllum) produces a single fruit on its second year, which is sweet, edible, and non-toxic once it turns yellow.  The entire plant--highly toxic including the green fruit--may otherwise be mashed into a pulp and added to hot water, then used to soak a cloth wrap to treat a variety of skin conditions.  The raw pulp may be placed directly on warts to aid in removal, an

"Fiddleheads" refer to the curled tips of a young fern, which for most varieties of ferns may be raw in moderation, and which for all varieties may be cooked and consumed in unlimited quantity as a green.  When harvesting, look for young ferns with tender fronds--to be safe, collect only 2-inch segments from the tip of the plant.  Great additive to stews.