Ethnobotanical Uses
Including Cooking, Eating, Medicinal Use, and More
Native Plants
Food Plants of the Sonoran Desert, by Wendy Hodgson. University of Arizona Press, 2001. An amazing resource!
Medicinal Plants of the Desert and Canyon West, by Michael Moore. Museum of New Mexico Press, 1989. One of the best for identification and use of our native medicinal plants.
American Indian Cooking: Recipes From the Southwest, by Carolyn J. Niethammer. University of Nebraska Press, 1999.
The Tumbleweed Gourmet – Cooking with Wild Southwestern Plants, by Carolyn J. Niethammer. University of Arizona Press, 1987. How to do it all in your kitchen.
Handbook of Indian Foods and Fibers of Arid America, by Walter Ebeling. University of California Press, 1986. Great out-of-print resource.
Wild Plants and Native Peoples of the Four Corners, by William Dunmire and Gail Tierney. Museum of New Mexico Press, 1997.
Guide to Wild Foods and Useful Plants, by Christopher Nyerges. Chicago Review Press, 1999.
The Prickly Pear Cookbook, by Carolyn Niethammer. Rio Nuevo Publishers, 2004.
Ethnobotanical Uses of Native Exotic Plants
with a bent on cooking and eating
Cornucopia II – A Source Book of Edible Plants, by Stephen Facciola. Kampong Publications, 1998. Very comprehensive guide telling you what parts of 1,000s of wild plants and rare cultivars are edible and where you can find nurseries that grow and sell them.
You Can Have Your Permaculture and Eat it Too, by Robin Clayfield. Earthcare Education, 1996. A permaculture book for gardeners and cooks.
The Neighborhood Forager – A Guide for the Wild Food Gourmet, by Robert Henderson. Chelsea Green Publishing, 2000. The art of foraging in your neighborhood is beautifully described.
The Permaculture Book of Ferment and Human Nutrition, by Bill Mollison. Tagari Publications, 1993. An eclectic book teaching you to process and store your own food and how to make your own ingredients.
Fruits of the Desert, by Sandal English. Arizona Daily Star, 1981. Many recipes for native plants and exotic edibles commonly found in and around Tucson, AZ.
