So, Can You Eat Caterpillars to Survive?

One of the most pressing survival considerations, no matter the setting or the situation, is food. Yeah, everyone knows that you can go for weeks without food before you starve, but you must consider that you’ll be mentally and physically debilitated from a lack of energy long before then!

a caterpillar

Accordingly, smart preppers plan on sourcing wild-caught edibles to keep up their nutritional requirements. Insects are some of the very best survival foods around, and tend to be highly nutritious, but not all insects are good eating or safe. How about caterpillars, for instance? Can you eat caterpillars to survive?

Yes, most caterpillars are safe to eat in a survival situation. They tend to be packed with good protein and fats along with plenty of minerals and decent calories. However, some caterpillars are dangerous, either being highly venomous, toxic, or possessing defensive spines and stingers.

I know a fat, juicy caterpillar is the last thing on Earth you probably want to eat given a choice, but that’s kind of the point after all: you probably won’t have a choice given the circumstances. And under these circumstances, you can do a whole lot worse than caterpillars…

They’ll definitely keep you alive and they can even fill you up. Keep reading, and I’ll tell you everything else you need to know about eating these little creepy crawlies.

Is There a Precedent for Eating Caterpillars?

Yes, there sure is! Caterpillars as a survival food are nothing new, at all, and anyone who’s been through in-depth, hardcore survival training in the military or any other organization where getting lost all alone out in the wilderness is a legitimate on-the-job hazard will tell you as much.

So, let that comfort you: you won’t be the first person who’s been forced to eat caterpillars in extremis.

But, something else you should know is it caterpillars happen to be something of a dietary staple in various countries and cultures around the world, from Africa to South America, Asia to Australia, and elsewhere.

In fact, it’s no exaggeration to say that about 75% of cultures and nations on the planet eat caterpillars as an ingredient, snack, or mainstay food.

And there’s a good reason for this: Caterpillars are highly nutritious and very easy to prepare in a variety of ways. They are also easy to catch once you know a few tricks which we will learn later.

Where Can You Find Them?

Because most countries around the world do eat caterpillars in one form or another, you can depend on finding them nearly anywhere.

Note that you won’t find them in the coldest regions on Earth, but pretty much everywhere else they are present, at least seasonally. In the US, you’ll find them in every single state in various environments (if you know where to look).

You’ll find them in grasslands, forests, savannahs marshes, mountains, and everywhere else. Everywhere you’ll find moths or butterflies, you can find caterpillars. The trick is learning what types of plants make for typical caterpillar food, because that’s where they hang out.

As a rule of thumb, most caterpillar species prefer to eat new, tender plants and other vegetative growth instead of mature, tougher ones.

What plants they eat exactly depends on the species, so it is worth learning which ones are in your area or in the area where you will be working or traveling so you know what to look for.

Often their distinctive bite marks are easier to spot than they are! Find the food, and you’ll find the caterpillars.

Something else to keep in mind is that where you find one caterpillar you’ll likely find more.

Some are actually communal, or semi-gregarious, and intend to stay together in a sort of herd. Others will just naturally flock to choice food as a matter of course, meaning you can probably make a great meal of caterpillars alone.

Warning: Not All Caterpillars are Safe to Eat

Now, there is an obvious downside to caterpillars as with many other insects. Some, though not most, are venomous and possess stingers or spines capable of delivering that venom. Others are toxic or else covered in defensive spines, barbs, bristly hairs, and other defensive adaptations.

A few caterpillar species, like the Southern Flannel Moth caterpillar and Saddleback caterpillar, are actually capable of delivering stings or packing toxic poison that can absolutely debilitate you, make you gravely sick, or even kill you outright.

The rule of thumb is that you want to avoid any of them that are covered with a plush coat of hair, obvious prickly spines or guard hairs, or bright, vivid colors and patterns which are a universal warning sign to all predators that are either dangerous or terrible to eat.

How Can You Tell Which Are Okay to Eat?

A thorough, in-depth review of safe caterpillar species is beyond the confines of this article, but there is a trusty rule of thumb that will rarely steer you wrong.

If your working knowledge of a caterpillar taxonomy is a little lacking, you should always look for ones that have smooth skin without any hair, spine, or barbs and are colored light green, dark green, tan, or brown. As long as they meet these criteria they probably won’t hurt you.

To be clear, there are some dangerous types that will still fall under this description also, and likewise, there are some safe varieties that are brightly colored or have loud patterns. But those are exceptions!

Obviously, if you want to make caterpillars a part of your survival food plan, it pays to brush up your knowledge on different species.

And as always, you are very wise to employ the field edibility safety test prior to tucking in. A little patience and some cautious inspection might save your life.

Always Cook Caterpillars for Safety

Now, let’s assume that you’ve caught caterpillars and they are absolutely, 100% safe to eat. Should you just chow down on them raw? You can, if you have no other choice, but it’s in your best interest to cook them in any way that you can.

That’s because caterpillars are frequent hosts of germs and parasites that could still hurt you or make you terribly sick. Even if it’s a fresh and relatively healthy caterpillar, there’s no telling what it’s been crawling over, so at the very least you want to give them a rinse in clean water.

If you have any way to cook them, they can be gently boiled, pan-fried, roasted, or prepared in any number of other ways. You can even dry them out, grind them into power, and then add them to a soup or stew if you want to.

However you do it, just make sure they are cooked thoroughly. That will kill the germs and parasites alike and keep you safe. Plus, take it from me; they taste a hell of a lot better when cooked!

Learn How to Harvest Caterpillars in a Survival Situation

Getting your hands on enough caterpillars to make a proper meal might be easier than you think.

Of course, you can go around picking them off of leaves and branches wherever you spot them but this can be quite a task: many caterpillars employ highly effective camouflage!

If you are hunting for them in anything but ideal lighting conditions (hardly guaranteed in a survival situation) you’ll probably waste more time than you need to.

A better bet for catching them en masse it’s the place a drop cloth or net made out of mosquito mesh beneath a plant that you know they will frequent for food, and then vigorously shake or tap the branches or the whole plant in an up-and-down motion to flick the caterpillars down onto your catcher.

Although they are great climbers and can go almost anywhere, most caterpillars don’t have a great grip like beetles and will easily be knocked free. Once you suspect that you’ve cleaned out a bush, move on to the next one and soon you’ll be rolling in caterpillars ready for the frying pan.

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Does Bleach Keep Raccoons Away?

Some of the most persistent pests that you’ll have to deal with in the suburbs or out in the country are raccoons. Yeah, I get it: They are definitely cute and charming, but you won’t think they are quite so appealing when you have to pick up shredded bags of trash off your driveway at 3:00AM in the morning. Raccoons are smart, and they adapt quickly, and so scaring them off isn’t a sure thing.

two raccoons on wooden fence

You need something that’s actually going to drive them away. Some folks say that bleach is actually a good raccoon repellent. Is that true? Does bleach keep raccoons away?

Yes, bleach can keep raccoons away but it is generally a short-lived solution. The odor of bleach degrades quickly and some raccoons can become resistant to it.

To be perfectly clear, bleach is a strong chemical that can be hazardous to people and wildlife alike, so we’ve got to be smart here.

That being said, if you need a quick and sure solution to prowling raccoons, bleach can do the trick or at least buy you some time to implement a more permanent fix. Keep reading, and you’ll learn a lot more about using bleach to repel raccoons.

How Does Bleach Work Against Raccoons?

Bleach works to repel raccoons by exploiting these animals’ incredibly sensitive noses against them. Raccoons have a genuinely amazing sense of smell, but the trade-off is that they themselves are easily disturbed by harsh chemicals and fumes. Bleach happens to be just such a chemical, and a caustic one to boot.

When raccoons get a whiff of this stuff it is overwhelming to them, maybe even a little bit painful, and if they are already used to coming and going without any problems such a sudden change, and apparent threat, in their environment is likely to make them retreat.

It might only be for a short time, but they might decide to take their chances elsewhere in a place that doesn’t have such an awful nuisance around.

Is it OK to Use Bleach as a Raccoon Repellent?

It’s reasonably safe to use bleach as a raccoon repellent, though this is definitely not a use you’ll find on the factory packaging. Bleach is highly caustic and highly reactive, and that presents some real dangers that you need to be aware of.

For starters, when you are using it yourself, it will ruin any clothing that it gets on, obviously, but more importantly, it can hurt your eyes and skin on contact. You must be cautious to avoid spills and inhaling those fumes yourself.

Another, bigger problem is that bleach will combine and react furiously with many other chemicals, and some of them can produce extremely dangerous toxic gases or liquids.

Ammonia is probably the most well-known and dangerous, producing a variant of mustard gas. And that ammonia can come from a source that you might not expect, like urine! Ask anyone who has ever used bleach unknowingly to try and clean up a pet accident and they will tell you.

This means you must be very careful when deploying bleach around your home especially in or around trash cans as raccoon repellent.

The good news is that the chemical compound that makes bleach what it is breaks down in time with exposure to air and becomes harmless salt water. Just know that it will remain a risk factor the entire time until then.

Is Bleach Harmful to Them?

It can be, yes. Chances are you can count on raccoons running the other way when they encounter bleach, especially a close range, but if the animal were to get some on their eyes, directly on their nose, or in their mouth it is going to injure it, maybe even kill it.

As mentioned above, bleach will readily burn eyes, sensitive skin, mucous membranes, and the tissue of the lungs. Any raccoon that blunders into a container of bleach or, whatever reason, it’s trapped in an enclosed space with it is in for a bad time and might die horribly.

This can be more likely than you think if you try to rely on bleach as a long-term repellent, because raccoons are prone to overcoming their initial aversion and soldiering on in spite of it in quest of food or shelter.

Think this through before you use bleach as raccoon repellent!

How Do You Use It to Repel Raccoons?

You can use bleach in containers or repellent “stations” around your home or other areas that you want to protect from raccoons, or as a spray that you can use to form a kind of perimeter.

If you want to use bleach in stations to form a sort of network of protection or to repel raccoons from specific areas, simply fill up small containers with it, put a lid on them, and then poke large holes in the lid to let the aroma out. This will hopefully help protect it from spilling and contamination.

Your other alternative is to mix bleach with water, using equal parts of each, and then load it up in a sprayer or spray bottle to leave a perimeter around your home or property to hopefully repel the raccoons.

Obviously, take great care of that anything you are spraying the bleach on either it won’t be harmed by it, damaged by it, or that you just don’t care what harm comes to it before going this route.

Remember that bleach breaks down in time with exposure to air, and once you can no longer smell that bleachy smell it isn’t doing anything to repel raccoons.

Check your containers or reapply your spray as needed to maintain protection, and remember what I said about raccoons getting used to it in time.

What Should You Do if Bleach Does Not Work?

You should expect your temporary bleach deterrent to start failing if raccoons remain in the area. When that happens, you need a good plan B. Ideally, if it’s legal or if you can pay for a trapper, you can trap and relocate the raccoon somewhere far away from your property.

Otherwise, you should look into more persistent and effective deterrents that can irritate and repel raccoons with greater effectiveness and also a higher degree of safety. Natural ones like spicy pepper powder or cinnamon can work, as can commercial deterrents.

Lastly, consider that raccoons are classified as pest animals in many areas, and you might be able to dispatch them using lethal traps or other means legally.

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Raccoons on the Roof? How to Scare Them

Raccoons are definitely some of the coolest and most interesting animals out there, but only if they aren’t causing problems on your property.

two raccoons on wooden fence

They are relentless break-in artists when it comes to garbage cans, pet food, chicken coops, and more and if you get a large troop of them hanging around you’re bound to have issues. Those issues will turn into a legitimate nightmare if they get inside your attic or elsewhere in your home.

And when it comes to home invasion, raccoons typically find their way in off of the roof, sneaking in through soffits, attic vents, chimneys, and more. Accordingly, if you have one on your roof you need to get it down from there and scare it away, and hopefully not break your neck in the process.

To help you do that I’m bringing you a list of tips that will help you scare raccoons off of your roof easily, in addition to using baits and traps which I’ve already covered. Keep reading and we will get right to it…

Motion Lighting

It’s not unheard of to see a raccoon in the daytime, but they’re predominantly nocturnal. Being prey animals, being illuminated and exposed raises their levels of anxiety, and might cause them to retreat to cover wherever they are.

You can use this quirk of psychology against them by employing motion lighting around your home and, if necessary, up on your roof that will activate when raccoons come near. Lacking that, spotlight them with a powerful flashlight if you are out on “patrol.”

Loud, Sharp Sounds

Even though raccoons are often urbanized, a term meaning that they have learned to live near and alongside human habitation and activity, they’re still startled and unnerved by loud noises. Raise enough ruckus, and a raccoon might decide that discretion is the better part of valor and hit the trail.

To do this, you can yell, bang sticks or boards together, rattle a trash can lid, or use a pail full of gravel. Anything that will create a sharp, loud sound might be enough to spook them away.

Just pay attention, because if they duck inside your house, you’ll have to try a new tactic to get them out!

Garden Twirlers

Garden twirlers are those wind-powered decorations that take the form of pinwheels, spirals, or concentric rings of reflective discs.

Whatever they are and whatever they look like, if you get some that are a bright, shiny reflective metal you might be able to rely on them to keep raccoons and other mammals away.

There’s something about the glint and movement of these things that just unsettles most animals.

Being so unsure of what they are, most raccoons will choose to take their chances elsewhere. Hang these up strategically around your home and especially near the known approaches that raccoons use to scamper up to your roof. Hopefully it will deter them!

Mothballs

One of the oldest and best-known methods for deterring raccoons, mice, rats and other varmints is the use of mothballs. Chances are this is what your great-granddad did to keep pesky critters at bay, and if it’s good enough for him it’s good enough for us…

Mothballs have that strong, nose-stinging odor because of a compound called naphthalene. It’s deadly to moths, but merely a strong deterrent to animals with sensitive noses. Animals like raccoons!

All you need to do is place mothballs at strategic points around the foundation of your property, especially near spots where raccoons like to climb up to the roof.

Placing a few up at the roof line by tucking them under shingles is also a good idea, as is putting them inside the attic near vents and other potential entrances. They don’t last forever, and you’ll have to replace them occasionally (and sooner after it rains), but this is one of the cheapest and best options.

Epsom Salt

This is another one of my favorite and time-tested raccoon repellents, and one that I didn’t know about until just recently.

To us humans, Epsom salt doesn’t really have any odor at all, but for whatever reason the chemical composition of the stuff is intolerable to many mammals. I can guarantee you that raccoons positively hate it!

Even better, the smell seems to drift for quite a long distance, so putting rings of Epsom salt around your home and elsewhere on your property might keep raccoons off of your land entirely.

The best part is Epsom salt is cheap, freely available, and pretty friendly, environmentally speaking- though you don’t want it to get into the soil where you plan on growing anything!

Remember to refresh it periodically as it degrades and washes away.

Black or White Pepper

Raccoons, as mentioned, have incredibly sensitive noses. They are sensitive both in terms of overall efficiency at sniffing out food, mates, and threats, but also in their vulnerability to irritants.

Pepper is delicious on our own food, but if you’ve ever gotten a nose full of the stuff you know how unpleasant it can be! Imagine how much worse it’ll be for a raccoon.

Grind this stuff up fresh and then sprinkle it literally wherever you know raccoons go and move around.

Once they get a good snoutful of stuff it is going to send them into a coughing and sneezing fit, and after one or two close encounters they will probably associate your home and roof with pain, and leave you alone.

Red Pepper Flakes or Powder

Red pepper flakes work very much like black pepper and white pepper when it comes to repelling raccoons from your roof. Any raccoon that runs into the stuff and either tries a taste or gets a good whiff of it is going to be in for a searing surprise.

Even though the compound contained in red pepper flakes, and all other spicy peppers, causes mammals significant pain when it comes into contact with skin, mucous membranes, taste buds, or eyes, it isn’t overtly harmful.

This is really going to knock any trespassing raccoon for a loop, but it will leave them no worse for the wear after the effects subside in half an hour or so.

Best of all, this is another extremely cheap and environmentally friendly option: you won’t have to worry about this hurting the environment, your land, or any materials on your home. Just don’t get it in your own eyes!

Cinnamon

Another raccoon repellent that you’ve probably got in your own pantry right now. Sure, it makes our desserts taste wonderful, but this stuff is ferociously irritating to many mammals. Indeed, that flavor we love so much is actually a defense mechanism developed by the plant to prevent it from being eaten!

You probably don’t need me to tell you how to use cinnamon at this point: scatter it liberally anywhere that you know the raccoons will go and be sure to coat all of their approaches and climbing points that they use to get up on your roof.

Grab yourself a big economy jug if you want to, and don’t hesitate to lay a thick perimeter around the edge of your roof so the raccoons will run into it nose-first as they climb.

Predator Scent

Raccoons might be notorious predators of chicken and duck coops, but they themselves are prey for larger and more capable animals like wolves, coyotes, bobcats, and more.

Accordingly, they are always alert to any indication that a predator might be nearby, and the number one tool they use to figure that out is their nose.

If a raccoon can physically smell the predator, or even evidence of their passage in the form of urine or droppings, they will be a lot more fearful and more prone to head the other way.

Exploit this predator nervousness by acquiring predator scent from a hunting supply retailer or a pest control outlet.

Note that this stuff can be pretty stinky, obviously, and you probably don’t want to smell it yourself but it works wonderfully for repelling raccoons especially if they are already setting up a nest inside your home.

Boar Raccoon Scent

Most mommy raccoons that are looking for a safe place to nest, like inside your attic for instance, will avoid male, or boar, raccoons because they have a tendency to kill little babies.

Just like we used predator scent above, you can acquire specialty male raccoon scent and use it to scare off any adventurous, exploring females and younger, nervous males from your property and roof.

As usual, spray liberally and reapply often as it wears out. Once you know the raccoons are long gone, you can stop.

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Is Moss Edible or Poisonous? 6 Types of Moss You Can Eat

When it comes to survival, everything is about necessities. One of the most important necessities is food. You can go a long 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.

moss

There’s lots to eat out in the world, and much of it is plentiful if you know what’s safe and what’s not. One of the most common kinds of plant life out there is moss. But is moss edible or poisonous?

Moss, as a rule, is edible though there are a few toxic varieties out there. And while moss is very plentiful, it offers very little in the way of calories or other nutrients. In all cases, it’s best to properly cook it to minimize the chances of food poisoning or digestive trouble.

Moss is one of those things that probably isn’t your first choice out in the wild, and even if it is you should look for something better. It doesn’t have much for you in terms of nutrients that your body has to have for optimum function and calories for energy.

That said, you can definitely use moss to get a little bit in the way of food, or to bulk up other items that you might have. There’s a whole lot more you’ll want to know before you start harvesting, and I’ll tell you about it below…

Most Mosses are Indeed Edible

The good news, as far as survival food is concerned, is it the vast majority of mosses you’ll find around the United States and indeed much of the world are edible.

This is to say they aren’t overtly toxic or poisonous, and you shouldn’t expect terrible outcomes from eating them as long as you prepare them correctly.

Considering how plentiful most varieties of moss are in different biomes, this is something of a comfort because you’ll be able to find at least something to eat if you know where to look and how to harvest it. Definitely good news in a survival situation.

Even better news is that there is a precedent for people eating moss, and there has been for a very long time. A few types of moss have actually been important cultural foods, survival staples, or emergency rations in the United States and elsewhere in the world for centuries.

I’m not saying they are particularly good- they aren’t- but it’s nice to know that you won’t be blazing a trail when it comes to eating moss!

Moss Has Very Little to Offer, Nutritionally

But it’s not all good news concerning moss as survival food. Moss, whatever kind it is, has only very little to offer you in terms of nutrients, both macronutrients like protein, fat, and carbohydrates and also micronutrients in the form of vitamins and minerals.

Basically, you’ll have to eat a ton of the stuff if you want to have a meaningful meal or even get a proper fraction of your daily requirements.

It’s a lot more likely that you’ll use moss as a sort of “filler food” to bulk up your diet a little bit and perhaps make the most of other foraged or hunted foods that you’ve managed to lay your hands on.

That is in fact how moss has most often been used for food historically: added to dough and porridge, used as a thickener for soups, etc.

Plus, even if you are gathering a type of moss that’s particularly abundant like Spanish moss, you aren’t necessarily best served by eating a ton of it…

Many types of moss are either intensely acidic or have other compounds that can cause stomach problems and other digestive distress if you overeat.

In short, moss can’t be a primary food item even if you’re desperate.

A Few Kinds of Mosses are Dangerously Toxic

Now, most kinds of moss are safe to eat, or at least not particularly harmful, but there are a couple types out there which can really mess you up.

Some of them contain dangerous toxins that they use as protection against predators that would eat them, and others are known to be incidentally dangerous to humans because of high amounts of certain harmful compounds.

We’ll talk a little bit more about these in detail later, but for now, all you need to know is that you must treat moss like you would any other edible, foraged plant: it’s critical that you know exactly what you are dealing with.

Playing the odds might make a bad situation even worse if you’re in a survival situation, and it’s not out of the question you could 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 should keep in mind while you’re on the subject of moss is that many kinds of lichen are edible too.

Though often confused, lichens are completely distinct, taxonomically, from moss, but the two are often found growing in the same environments or even right alongside each other.

Lichens are different from moss because they are basically colonies of symbiotic organisms, typically fungi and certain kinds of bacteria or algae. One provides shelter for the other, and the two can even trade types of food for the mutual benefit of both. They really are fascinating!

I don’t bring this up to derail our important conversation about moss, proper, but to make you aware of what resources you’re likely to find while looking for moss. And there’s another very important reason why that we’ll talk about in the next section…

Many Kinds of Lichen are Called “Moss”!

To make this subject even more confusing than it has to be, you should know that there are many kinds of lichen that are called mosses, and I don’t mean colloquially by folks who don’t know better. “Moss” is actually in the common name of these organisms!

That’s right: this can make tracking down and categorizing actual mosses confusing if you don’t have a guidebook or expert help.

But I want to clear this up: it doesn’t matter what the vegetation is called so long as you know exactly what it is and whether or not it is safe. You don’t need to dig into the taxonomy and differences of moss and lichens to make use of either.

Can You Eat Raw Moss?

Yes, you can, but there are some risk factors. Namely, raw moss is a lot more likely to harbor germs that can make you sick. Cooking your food, as always, eliminates or reduces these germs and makes it safer to eat.

That said, if you don’t have the resources or don’t have the time, or you just desperately need something to fill your stomach with, you can eat most varieties of safe moss without too much worry.

Is it Best to Cook Moss?

Often, yes, but there are still more trade-offs to consider. Cooking moss will kill any germs, parasites, and other nasty things that you don’t want to eat, but it will also significantly reduce the already meager nutrition that moss has to offer you. Specifically, it’ll lose out on vitamins and minerals which it can’t afford to give up.

That said, if your food situation isn’t in total crisis, you have the resources to cook, and the time to do it, I recommend that you at least cook it gently to improve its safety.

What Does Moss Taste Like, Anyway?

Moss does not taste very good. At its absolute best, it tastes very grassy, vegetative, and often earthy. And at its worst, it has a slimy and ashy taste that is downright repulsive, and it takes a whole lot of seasoning and expert preparation to make it even passingly palatable.

Doesn’t mean you can’t eat it safely, but it does mean you are unlikely to enjoy the experience!

What’s the Best Way to Prepare Moss for Eating?

The best way to prepare any moss for consumption without completely spoiling its nutritional 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 most of the contaminants that are on the outside and significantly increase safety.

Safe and Edible Moss Varieties

And finally, we get to a list of known edible and nominally nutritious moss varieties that you should always be on the lookout for.

Willa

Willa has a place of honor on our list of edible masses both because it is a lichen, not a moss, and because it has a long history of being eaten in the United States.

Used as a staple and local delicacy, and also harvested en masse during times of food shortage, it looks like long, stringy tumbleweeds and is often found growing high up in dead trees.

Reindeer Moss

Another noteworthy “moss,” and another lichen in reality. Often grows in northern latitudes where it is extremely cold. Named both because of its appearance (which is similar to caribou antlers) and also because it is an important food for them when they are migrating.

This one is still eaten today in various Scandinavian countries. It’s intensely astringent and acidic and should 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 another one that grows in colder regions and is commonly found on evergreen plants. Easily spotted by its light gray or mint green color and tangled growth habit.

Iceland Moss

Yes, Iceland moss is actually… a lichen. Ha, got ya! But jokes aside, it is one lichen that looks very much like its namesake because 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,” this is neither a moss nor a lichen but is instead a type of flowering plant that is invasive but naturalized to the United States.

It’s a very common sight in the Deep South and Tidewater region of the US. Only very small, choice bits of the plant are safely edible and palatable, but it’s possible to boil it and mix in sugar or other ingredients to make a type 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 easily 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 should keep your eye out for, we need to talk about two really nasty ones that you must avoid at all costs. Truly poisonous mosses are rare, but they do exist!

Powdered Sunshine

This uncommon moss is actually a lichen, and one that is easily identifiable when it is found growing on birch trees throughout Europe and much of the United States and Canada.

It has a distinct and sunny but vaguely ominous yellow color which is an obvious warning sign, and the reason for its name.

It has a particular toxin that can cause severe abdominal pain and eventually damage and failure in the liver if 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 obviously from the name a lichen, this stuff is found all over the Western half of North America and some 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 due to high concentrations of vulpinic acid which is quite toxic to mammals. Learn to recognize it by sight and steer clear!

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