Reddit mentions: The best wild plant gardening books

In addition to identifying edible plants, make sure you can identify poisonous plants as well.

http://www.amazon.com/Field-Venomous-Animals-Poisonous-Plants/dp/039593608X/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346615211&sr=1-4.

I prefer field guides with color photographs over drawings; they are generally much easier to ID from a good photo, though a diagram of branching structures of leaf veination is helpful as well. The Peterson Field Guide series is great and usually includes both, but they only have an Eastern and Central US edible plant guide. The Tilford book mentioned by eto_samoe is good, as is Edible Wild Plants by Elias and Dykeman, though that one covers all of North America and isn't as thorough about any one area.


Some edible plants in N. Az area to get you started, both native and introduced species. Anything that may have come into contact with surface water should be boiled to prevent microbial infection:

Squawbush: http://www.laspilitas.com/nature-of-california/plants/rhus-trilobata (possibility for those very allergic to poison ivy/sumac to have an allergic reaction. Avoid if you get rashes from contact with the poisonous variety. Otherwise, the fruit is edible and you can make a lemonade from it) dangerous look alike: poison ivy and poison oak.

Prickly pear cactus: not bad, just avoid the spines. http://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/how-to-eat-cactus-zmaz84zloeck.aspx

Barrel cactus: The flesh of the cactus does not taste very good, and should be a survival food only. Some varieties can cause digestion problems and should be avoided in large amounts. The fruits aren't too bad, and generally don't have spines. http://tucsoncitizen.com/wryheat/2009/08/01/edible-desert-plants-barrel-cactus-fruit/

Asparagus: you likely won't find this in the wild much, but along roadsides where there's a bit of water it can be pretty common. Was just in Southern CO and southern Utah, and it was surprisingly common along highways along with fennel. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RZTo8vhyfE

Cattail: not the tastiest, but a good starch. ditches, pond edges, etc. root sprouts are not bad, inner white core near the root base is pretty good. Green flower spikes can be cooked and eaten like corn. dangerous look alike: all iris species like yellow and blue flag. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typha

Lamb's Quarters (aka pigweed/amaranth): common in disturbed areas, more and more common in farm fields as it is the 'Superweed' from the news. good green vegetable high in vit A and C. the grain is an excellent food. http://www.sacredearth.com/ethnobotany/foraging/lambsquarters.php http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chenopodium_berlandieri dangerous look alikes: some species with a strong odor or bad taste can be slightly toxic. look for this specific variety.

Poverty weed: found in dry, high alkaline soil. seeds can be used for flour, leaves can be eaten as a boiled green. http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=IVAX

Plantains: not the banana like fruit, but the broadleafed ground plant. Common in disturbed areas with at least a little water (like my yard on the east coast). young leaves and seeds are edible and fairly good boiled. http://botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/p/placom43.html

Feildcress: super bitter green. young shoots edible. seeds make a good pepper seasoning http://biology.missouristate.edu/Herbarium/Plants%20of%20the%20Interior%20Highlands/Flowers/Lepidium%20campestre.jpg

European goat's beard: very young leaves are a good green, root can be cooked like you would a potato. Only harvest when flower is present, as it's very easy to identify only then. http://herbs-treatandtaste.blogspot.com/2011/11/yellow-goats-beard-edible-root-with.html

Currants other than sticky currant (wax currant for example is yummy). Berries are tart and wonderful. Sticky currant has a sticky coating on stems, leaves and fruit, and will make you hurl. http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=RICE

Pinyon pine: in JP forest areas, the pine nuts from the cones are a personal favorite. Have find them at the right time, though http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinyon_pine

Wild Onion: bulbs can be eaten summer and fall. I mention this only because you shouldn't have death camus in N. Az. That said, do not eat something you think is a wild onion if it doesn't smell like onion (or you're gonna have a bad time). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xVzk5FOhpg



Some poisonous plants to avoid:
Southwestern coralbean. Bright red beans, looks like it could be edible, will kill you very effectively. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erythrina_herbacea

Coyote Melon: Looks like a potentially edible melon, but it isn't. makes a nice soap in a pinch, though. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cucurbita_palmata

You shouldn't have Death Camus in your area, but it's possible. don't eat wild onions or wild garlic if you're not 110% sure you've identified them correctly. http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/kids/coloring/pages/mtndeathcamas.html

*Dogbane: Good fiber, toxic. http://www.primitiveways.com/hemp_dogbane.html

If you are interested in Botanical Terminology (in terms of identification) I would recommend Plant Identification Terminology An Illustrated Glossary which you can get for fairly cheap off of Amazon. Any Peterson Field Guide in regards to plants would also be good as they have good descriptions and pictures. I'd say that learning to identify plants is just as important as learning about how they work. I'll edit this post later, however, to post a few plant biology
books I've read that you might be interested in.

EDIT:

• Economic Botany is an interesting textbook. It deals with the more cultural aspects of botany as it describes how different cultures use plants. The first chapter is a brief primer on the basics of botany which is enough to understand the terminology, naming conventions, and inner workings of the plants mentioned. It's not an easy read but it isn't too dry either.
  
  
• Botany is a good botany textbook. It, again, isn't an easy read while still being interesting. The only thing I would note about this book was that it was published in 1995 so it while not contain any of the newer theories that u/Shilo788 talked about. Other than that I'd say the material within it is fairly up to date and is a good introduction to botany.

This is a pretty good one for edible wild plants in North America. This is a good one for general survival that includes trapping and fishing, and this is also a good one for general survival, but knowing Dave, I'm sure there's very detailed instructions for traps. If you want some video of traps and trap making, or just general survival, go to his youtube page. The Ray Mears book has instructions for processing animals, and I'm sure Daves book will too.

I don't know about any Midwest ones, BUT, http://www.amazon.com/Edible-Wild-Plants-North-American/dp/0806974885 is an awesome one that covers the entire continent, a bit more east then west but still a great book.

One of the most interesting courses I ever took was on economic botany. We discussed the relationships between many of the fruits and vegetables that we normally eat.

Did you know, for example, that broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale, collard greens, and kohlrabi are all the same species?

The professor who taught the course also wrote the book, if you're interested in learning more. Otherwise, I'd go on Wikipedia (or their taxonomy site) and notice the taxonomy of the fruits you're curious about. That way you can get an idea of how closely they're related.

Here's the book:
http://www.amazon.com/Economic-Botany-Plants-our-World/dp/0072909382