Poisonous plants

FOOD

Water From Condensation

Palm Trees

Roots

Vines

Water From Plants

Plants such as vines, roots, and palm trees are good sources of water.

Vines with rough bark and shoots about 5 centimeters thick can be a useful source of water. You must learn by experience which are the water-bearing vines, because not all have drinkable water. Some may even have a poisonous sap. The poisonous ones yield a sticky, milky sap when cut. Nonpoisonous vines will give a clear fluid. Some vines cause a skin irritation on contact; therefore let the liquid drip into your mouth, rather than put your mouth to the vine. Preferably, use some type of container. Use the procedure described in Chapter 6 to obtain water from a vine.

In Australia, the water tree, desert oak, and bloodwood have roots near the surface. Pry these roots out of the ground and cut them into 30-centimeter lengths. Remove the bark and suck out the moisture, or shave the root to a pulp and squeeze it over your mouth.

The buri, coconut, and nipa palms all contain a sugary fluid that is very good to drink. To obtain the liquid, bend a flowering stalk of one of these palms downward, and cut off its tip. If you cut a thin slice off the stalk every 12 hours, the flow will renew, making it possible to collect up to a liter per day. Nipa palm shoots grow from the base, so that you can work at ground level. On grown trees of other species, you may have to climb them to reach a flowering stalk. Milk from coconuts has a large water content, but may contain a strong laxative in ripe nuts. Drinking too much of this milk may cause you to lose more fluid than you drink.

Often it requires too much effort to dig for roots containing water. It may be easier to let a plant produce water for you in the form of condensation. Tying a clear plastic bag around a green leafy branch will cause water in the leaves to evaporate and condense in the bag. Placing cut vegetation in a plastic bag will also produce condensation. This is a solar still (see Chapter 6).

Food is usually abundant in a tropical survival situation. To obtain animal food, use the procedures outlined in Chapter 8.

In addition to animal food, you will have to supplement your diet with edible plants. The best places to forage are the banks of streams and rivers. Wherever the sun penetrates the jungle, there will be a mass of vegetation, but river banks may be the most accessible areas.

If you are weak, do not expend energy climbing or felling a tree for food. There are more easily obtained sources of food nearer the ground. Do not pick more food than you need. Food spoils rapidly in tropical conditions. Leave food on the growing plant until you need it, and eat it fresh.

There are an almost unlimited number of edible plants from which to choose. Unless you can positively identify these plants, it may be safer at first to begin with palms, bamboos, and common fruits. The list below identifies some of the most common foods. Detailed descriptions and photographs are at Appendix B.

TROPICAL ZONE FOOD PLANTS

• Bael fruit (Aegle marmelos)
• Bamboo (various species)
• Banana or plantain (Musa species)
• Bignay (Antidesma bunius)
• Breadfruit (Artrocarpus incisa)
• Coconut palm (Cocos nucifera)
• Fishtail palm (Caryota urens)
• Horseradish tree (Moringa pterygosperma)
• Lotus (Nelumbo species)
• Mango (Mangifera indica)
• Manioc (Manihot utillissima)
• Nipa palm (Nipa fruticans)
• Papaya (Carica papaya)
• Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana)
• Rattan palm (Calamus species)
• Sago palm (Metroxylon sagu)
• Sterculia (Sterculia foetida)
• Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum)
• Sugar palm (Arenga pinnata)
• Sweetsop (Annona squamosa)
• Taro (Colocasia and Alocasia species)
• Water lily (Nymphaea odorata)
• Wild fig (Ficus species)
• Wild rice (Zizania aquatica)
• Yam (Dioscorea species)

The proportion of poisonous plants in tropical regions is no greater than in any other area of the world. However, it may appear that most plants in the tropics are poisonous because of the great density of plant growth in some tropical areas. See Appendix C.

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