When it involves survival, every part is about necessities. One of an important necessities is food. You can go a protracted time before you starve, but diminishing energy levels will seriously hamper your efforts to survive. Accordingly, making use of wild-caught and foraged food is high on the priority list for preppers.
There’s lots to eat out on this planet, and far of it’s plentiful in the event you know what’s secure and what’s not. One of essentially the most common sorts of vegetation out there’s moss. But is moss edible or poisonous?
Moss, as a rule, is edible though there are just a few toxic varieties on the market. And while moss could be very plentiful, it offers little or no in the best way of calories or other nutrients. In all cases, it’s best to properly cook it to reduce the probabilities of food poisoning or digestive trouble.
Moss is certainly one of those things that probably isn’t your first selection out within the wild, and even whether it is you need to search for something higher. It doesn’t have much for you when it comes to nutrients that your body has to have for optimum function and calories for energy.
That said, you’ll be able to definitely use moss to get just a little bit in the best way of food, or to bulk up other items that you just may need. There’s an entire lot more you’ll need to know before you begin harvesting, and I’ll let you know about it below…
Most Mosses are Indeed Edible
The excellent news, so far as survival food is anxious, is it the overwhelming majority of mosses you’ll find across the United States and indeed much of the world are edible.
This is to say they aren’t overtly toxic or poisonous, and also you shouldn’t expect terrible outcomes from eating them so long as you prepare them appropriately.
Considering how plentiful most varieties of moss are in numerous biomes, that is something of a comfort since you’ll give you the option to search out at the least something to eat in the event you know where to look and the right way to harvest it. Definitely excellent news in a survival situation.
Even higher news is that there’s a precedent for people eating moss, and there was for a really very long time. A couple of forms of moss have actually been necessary cultural foods, survival staples, or emergency rations within the United States and elsewhere on this planet for hundreds of years.
I’m not saying they’re particularly good- they aren’t- however it’s nice to know that you just won’t be blazing a trail relating to eating moss!
Moss Has Very Little to Offer, Nutritionally
But it’s not all excellent news concerning moss as survival food. Moss, whatever kind it’s, has only little or no to give you when it comes to nutrients, each macronutrients like protein, fat, and carbohydrates and likewise micronutrients in the shape of vitamins and minerals.
Basically, you’ll must eat a ton of the stuff if you must have a meaningful meal and even get a correct fraction of your every day requirements.
It’s so much more likely that you just’ll use moss as a type of “filler food” to bulk up your food plan just a little bit and maybe profit from other foraged or hunted foods that you just’ve managed to put your hands on.
That is actually how moss has most frequently been used for food historically: added to dough and porridge, used as a thickener for soups, etc.
Plus, even in the event you are gathering a variety of moss that’s particularly abundant like Spanish moss, you aren’t necessarily best served by eating a ton of it…
Many forms of moss are either intensely acidic or produce other compounds that could cause stomach problems and other digestive distress in the event you overeat.
In short, moss can’t be a primary food item even in the event you’re desperate.
A Few Kinds of Mosses are Dangerously Toxic
Now, most kinds of moss are fit for human consumption, or at the least not particularly harmful, but there are a pair types on the market which might really mess you up.
Some of them contain dangerous toxins that they use as protection against predators that might eat them, and others are known to be incidentally dangerous to humans due to high amounts of certain harmful compounds.
We’ll talk just a little bit more about these intimately later, but for now, all you must know is that you have to treat moss like you’ll some other edible, foraged plant: it’s critical that you already know exactly what you might be coping with.
Playing the chances might make a nasty situation even worse in the event you’re in a survival situation, and it’s not out of the query you may wind up dead.
If you’re really in a jam, remember to perform the universal field edibility test before you dig in. It could save your life!
Lichens are Also Edible
Something else you need to take note whilst you’re with reference to moss is that many sorts of lichen are edible too.
Though often confused, lichens are completely distinct, taxonomically, from moss, however the two are sometimes found growing in the identical environments and even right alongside one another.
Lichens are different from moss because they’re principally colonies of symbiotic organisms, typically fungi and certain sorts of bacteria or algae. One provides shelter for the opposite, and the 2 may even trade forms of food for the mutual good thing about each. They really are fascinating!
I don’t bring this as much as derail our necessary conversation about moss, proper, but to make you aware of what resources you’re likely to search out while in search of moss. And there’s one other very necessary reason why that we’ll discuss in the following section…
Many Kinds of Lichen are Called “Moss”!
To make this subject much more confusing than it must be, you need to know that there are many sorts of lichen which might be called mosses, and I don’t mean colloquially by folks who don’t know higher. “Moss” is definitely in the common name of those organisms!
That’s right: this may make tracking down and categorizing actual mosses confusing in the event you don’t have a guidebook or expert help.
But I would like to clear this up: it doesn’t matter what the vegetation known as as long as you already know exactly what it’s and whether or not it’s secure. You don’t must dig into the taxonomy and differences of moss and lichens to utilize either.
Can You Eat Raw Moss?
Yes, you’ll be able to, but there are some risk aspects. Namely, raw moss is so much more more likely to harbor germs that could make you sick. Cooking your food, as all the time, eliminates or reduces these germs and makes it safer to eat.
That said, in the event you don’t have the resources or don’t have the time, or you simply desperately need something to fill your stomach with, you’ll be able to eat most varieties of secure moss without an excessive amount of worry.
Is it Best to Cook Moss?
Often, yes, but there are still more trade-offs to think about. Cooking moss will kill any germs, parasites, and other nasty things that you just don’t need to eat, but it should also significantly reduce the already meager nutrition that moss has to give you. Specifically, it’ll lose out on vitamins and minerals which it will probably’t afford to present up.
That said, in case your food situation isn’t in total crisis, you could have the resources to cook, and the time to do it, I like to recommend that you just at the least cook it gently to enhance its safety.
What Does Moss Taste Like, Anyway?
Moss doesn’t taste excellent. At its very best, it tastes very grassy, vegetative, and sometimes earthy. And at its worst, it has a slimy and ashy taste that’s downright repulsive, and it takes an entire lot of seasoning and expert preparation to make it even passingly palatable.
Doesn’t mean you’ll be able to’t eat it safely, however it does mean you might be unlikely to benefit from the experience!
What’s the Best Way to Prepare Moss for Eating?
The best option to prepare any moss for consumption without completely spoiling its dietary content is to soak it in fresh, clean water.
Soaking it for just 10 minutes before shaking it off and giving it one final rinse can remove many of the contaminants which might be on the surface and significantly increase safety.
Safe and Edible Moss Varieties
And finally, we get to a listing of known edible and nominally nutritious moss varieties that you need to all the time be looking out for.
Willa
Willa has a spot of honor on our list of edible masses each since it is a lichen, not a moss, and since it has a protracted history of being eaten within the United States.
Used as a staple and native delicacy, and likewise harvested en masse during times of food shortage, it looks like long, stringy tumbleweeds and is commonly found growing high up in dead trees.
Reindeer Moss
Another noteworthy “moss,” and one other lichen in point of fact. Often grows in northern latitudes where it is incredibly cold. Named each due to its appearance (which has similarities to caribou antlers) and likewise since it is a crucial food for them after they are migrating.
This one continues to be eaten today in various Scandinavian countries. It’s intensely astringent and acidic and must be prepared properly prior to eating to avoid major stomach trouble.
Oakmoss
You guessed it. Oakmoss isn’t really a moss. It’s a lichen. This is one other one which grows in colder regions and is often found on evergreen plants. Easily spotted by its light gray or mint green color and tangled growth habit.
Iceland Moss
Yes, Iceland moss is definitely… a lichen. Ha, got ya! But jokes aside, it’s one lichen that appears very very like its namesake since it has a low-growing, spreading, and almost furry appearance. Look for it on rocks and fallen trunks.
Spanish Moss
Sometimes called “old man’s beard,” that is neither a moss nor a lichen but is as an alternative a variety of flowering plant that’s invasive but naturalized to the United States.
It’s a quite common sight within the Deep South and Tidewater region of the US. Only very small, selection bits of the plant are safely edible and palatable, however it’s possible to boil it and blend in sugar or other ingredients to make a variety of tea or syrup that has some calories and nutrients.
Kalpasi
This lichen is native to many parts of Asia, and has a distinguished culinary history as an ingredient in various spice mixes for Indian cuisine, and others. It is well recognized by its fern-like growth habit, and striking pale green-gray to black “leaf” coloration.
Toxic Mosses You Must Avoid
Before we get to the list of edible mosses that you need to keep your eye out for, we want to discuss two really nasty ones that you have to avoid in any respect costs. Truly poisonous mosses are rare, but they do exist!
Powdered Sunshine
This unusual moss is definitely a lichen, and one which is well identifiable when it’s found growing on birch trees throughout Europe and far of the United States and Canada.
It has a definite and sunny but vaguely ominous yellow color which is an obvious warning sign, and the rationale for its name.
It has a specific toxin that could cause severe abdominal pain and eventually damage and failure within the liver in the event you eat it. Learn what it looks like and avoid it, and be very cautious when collecting moss from birch trees!
Wolf Lichen
Another notorious “moss,” and clearly from the name a lichen, these things is found all around the Western half of North America and a few parts of Europe. It has a ragged, almost ruffled appearance and resembles a shrub that has had all of its leaves and greenery knocked off.
Historically, it has been employed as a poison against dogs and wolves, hence the name. This is on account of high concentrations of vulpinic acid which is kind of toxic to mammals. Learn to acknowledge it by sight and steer clear!
