Oregon Birds & Wild Edibles

In the summer of 2021, a family of quails took residence in the field behind the cottage I was working in. One day, while procrastinating fiercely, I decided to draw the male perched on the fence post. I had been wanting to experiment with colored line work and he was as suitable of a subject as any. As all goofily regal quails do, he needed background adornments. I scribbled in a few nondescript flora and immediately scolded myself for not taking the time to do something better. I take my procrastination very seriously.

So, I took to the internet in search of flora found here, in Oregon. Then to make my investigation a bit more challenging, and in turn, more time consuming, I decided they must also be edible. I’ve always been fascinated by wild edibles yet have never made the effort to properly research and memorize them. My thought process was this: if I take the time to draw it, I should be able to recognize it when I stumble upon one.

And I did.

I found oxeye daisies in a field not too long after completing the illustration. Two months later at a pumpkin patch, I spotted a tall weed across the dirt road: the red-root amaranth.

You, most likely, arrived at these illustrations as I did, attracted to the flamboyant birds. Yet I hope you stay to absorb the wild edibles that you too may stumble upon one day.

Warning: these are merely abstractions of wild edibles to assist with remembering what they look like. Do not attempt to consume anything you find without a positive identification. Then properly research the safest way to prepare them.