>>1819827Check local bookstores. There isn't a single guide to foraging that is universally applicable because foraging is different depending on where you are. Some general advice would include:
Start with the easy things. If there's a delicious berry that grows in your region and you want to try it, but it has 20 deadly poisonous look-alikes that you can only tell apart by examining a cross-section of the seeds under a microscope, go look for something else. This is less of a problem with plants and more with mushrooms (see Amanita caesaria for an example)
The first time you try something, nibble a little bit and spit it out. Wait a few hour or a few days. If nothing bad happens to you, try a bit more and swallow it. Even if you haven't gotten a poisonous look-alike, you might still be allergic or otherwise have an adverse reaction to it. You don't want to find out that a particular plant makes you shit your guts out after you've eaten a pound of it.
When you're trying to identify something, you usually want the entire organism, not just a part of it. Some people say pokeweed berries (very poisonous) and blueberries can look similar, but pokeweed has a thick, fleshy stalk with leaves as long as your forearm, while blueberries have thinner, woody stems and leaves maybe the size of the first digit on your thumb.
