Over the years, the definition of survival plants has evolved, and today, almost all edible plants are referred to as survival plants. But if you go deeper into the history of them, or from a survival enthusiast’s perspective, survival plants have a definite meaning, and characteristics.
In our context, a survival plant is any one that can grow by itself. However, you can also put them in your survival garden, and once they sprout, they grow continuously with minimal care. There are a set of rules that define a survival plant as listed below.
Edibility
The first threshold is edibility, and this is self-explanatory. A survival plant, just like all other food plants, should be edible. You need to make sure that whatever you are considering as a survival plant is edible and doesn’t have any side effects. Find out how to differentiate poisonous wild plants from the non-poisonous species. Avoid plants with milky sap and first, try with a small portion if you are not sure whether they are edible or not.
Perenniality
One of the features that sets survival plants apart from the rest is perenniality. According to Wikipedia, a survival plant should be perennial, or self-seed such that it grows every other season without requiring planting. In addition to perenniality, a survival plant has a long and repeated harvest, unlike, for example, tomatoes, kales and the rest of the ordinary plants that offer just a few yields. Survival plants such as sweet potatoes can provide a long term source of food.
Minimal Care
Another unique feature of survival plants is the minimal care they require compared to the other types. While the initial planting may be a little bit hectic, they don’t require further maintenance and care after sprouting. There are no pesticides or chemicals required. Most will also survive with minimal water and are resistant to pests, bugs, diseases and other harsh conditions which ordinary plants may not put up with. Interestingly, some may die during winter and sprout back in spring.
Indeed, survival plants have unique characteristics that differentiate them from ordinary plants. Examples of survival plants include dandelion, sweet potatoes, thistles, balsam roots, taro, burdock, garlic chives, Kang kong, junipers and mint, to mention a few.