Drawing: Cobra helicopter Drawing: Cobra helicopter
APPENDIX B

Image: Wild crab apple or wild apple

Wild crab apple or wild apple
Malus species

Description: Most wild apples look enough like domestic apples that the survivor can easily recognize them. Wild apple varieties are much smaller than cultivated kinds; the largest kinds usually do not exceed 5 to 7.5 centimeters in diameter, and most often less. They have small, alternate, simple leaves and often have thorns. Their flowers are white or pink and their fruits reddish or yellowish.

Habitat and Distribution: They are found in the savanna regions of the tropics. In temperate areas, wild apple varieties are found mainly in forested areas. Most frequently, they are found on the edge of woods or in fields. They are found throughout the Northern Hemisphere.

Edible Parts: Prepare wild apples for eating in the same manner as cultivated kinds. Eat them fresh, when ripe, or cooked. Should you need to store food, cut the apples into thin slices and dry them. They are a good source of vitamins.

CAUTION
Apple seeds contain cyanide compounds. Do not eat.


Image: Wild desert gourd or colocynth

Wild desert gourd or colocynth
Citrullus colocynthis

Description: The wild desert gourd, a member of the watermelon family, produces an 2.4- to 3-meter-long ground-trailing vine. The perfectly round gourds are as large as an orange. They are yellow when ripe.

Habitat and Distribution: This creeping plant can be found in any climatic zone, generally in desert scrub and waste areas. It grows abundantly in the Sahara, in many Arab countries, on the southeastern coast of India, and on some of the islands of the Aegean Sea. The wild desert gourd will grow in the hottest localities.

Edible Parts: The seeds inside the ripe gourd are edible after they are completely separated from the very bitter pulp. Roast or boil the seeds —their kernels are rich in oil. The flowers are edible. The succulent stem tips can be chewed to obtain water.


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Updated: 12 January 2008
Born on 09 January 2000