Global Regional Plant Guides

Cerrado & Chaco Savanna Woodland Plant Survival Guide

A comprehensive survival plant guide for Cerrado & Chaco Savanna Woodland, covering useful woody materials, land foods, aquatic foods, traditional-use plants and poisonous look-alikes.

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Cover of Cerrado & Chaco Savanna Woodland Plant Survival Guide

Continent: South America
USDA-equivalent zones: 8-12
Köppen climate: Aw / BSh
Profiles: 20
Regional biome: Fire-shaped savanna, thorn woodland, palm marsh and gallery forest

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Useful plants · 5 Land edibles · 5 Aquatic edibles · 3 Traditional-use · 3 Poisonous look-alikes · 4

Useful plants

Wood, fibre, shelter and craft

Arid acacias

Vachellia / Senegalia spp.

Useful plants

Identify: Feathery compound leaves; paired or hooked thorns; yellow or white puffball flowers; pods.
Habitat: African, Arabian and Australian savannas, dry rivers and deserts.
Season: Wood year-round; gum and pods seasonal.
Field use: Dense wood for bows, handles, stakes and hot coals; gums of selected species have documented food or adhesive use.
Caution: Species vary in cyanogenic chemistry and pod edibility. Thorns cause deep punctures.
Look-alikes: Prosopis/mesquite and other mimosoid legumes require pod and thorn comparison.

bow woodhandlesfueladhesive

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Wild raisins / Grewia

Grewia spp.

Useful plants

Stylized form diagram for Wild raisins / Grewia

Identify: Rough toothed leaves; small star-like flowers; lobed orange, red or brown drupes.
Habitat: African savanna, dry woodland and scrub.
Season: Fruit seasonal; stems year-round.
Field use: Ripe fruits of selected species are documented food; straight stems provide arrow shafts, bows, cordage bark and tool handles.
Caution: Species vary. Confirm fruit and leaf traits; thorny thickets can conceal snakes.
Look-alikes: Ziziphus has paired thorns and three-veined leaves.

food fruitarrow shaftbow woodcordage

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Mesquites

Neltuma / Prosopis spp.

Useful plants

Identify: Feathery compound leaves, stout thorns, yellow-green flower spikes and long bean pods.
Habitat: Desert washes, floodplains and thorn scrub of the Americas.
Season: Pods summer; wood year-round.
Field use: Dry pods of selected species can be milled into sweet meal; dense wood makes durable bows, tools and hot coals.
Caution: Pods mold easily and some populations have unpalatable or harmful chemistry. Thorns cause deep punctures.
Look-alikes: Acacias have different pod and flower forms; confirm local species.

food podbow woodfueltools

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Yuccas

Yucca spp.

Useful plants

Identify: Stiff sword leaves in a rosette, often with fibrous margins; tall stalk of cream bell flowers.
Habitat: Deserts, prairies and dry rocky slopes of the Americas.
Season: Flowers and young stalks seasonal; leaves year-round.
Field use: Leaf fibers make strong cordage; dry flower stalks are classic bow-drill spindles and tinder; flowers or fruit of some species are documented foods.
Caution: Edibility varies by species and plant part. Roots called “soaproot” are not the cassava food. Sharp leaf tips injure eyes.
Look-alikes: Agaves have thicker succulent leaves and usually a single massive flowering event.

cordagebow drill spindletinderfood flower

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Buriti / moriche palm

Mauritia flexuosa

Useful plants

Stylized form diagram for Buriti / moriche palm

Identify: Large fan palm; brown scaly oval fruits; commonly forms swamp groves.
Habitat: Amazon, Orinoco and Guiana savanna wetlands.
Season: Fruit seasonal; leaves year-round.
Field use: Fruit pulp is documented food; leaves provide thatch, cordage, baskets and floats.
Caution: Wet palm groves can conceal deep mud, caimans and contaminated water.
Look-alikes: Carnauba has fan leaves but drier habitat and different fruit.

food fruitthatchcordagebasketry

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Land edibles

Terrestrial food species

Prickly pears

Opuntia spp.

Land-based edible plants

Identify: Flattened pads with clusters of fine glochids and often spines; showy flowers; fleshy fruits.
Habitat: Dry Americas, disturbed warm regions and some Mediterranean/African landscapes.
Season: Fruit summer-fall; young pads seasonal.
Field use: Ripe fruit and properly de-spined young pads of confirmed species are documented foods; dry woody joints can support fuel.
Caution: Invisible glochids embed in skin, eyes and mouth. Some fruits are insipid or seedy; avoid sprayed invasive stands.
Look-alikes: Chollas have cylindrical joints.

food fruitfood padfuel

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Guava

Psidium guajava

Land-based edible plants

Identify: Opposite oval leaves with strong parallel side veins; smooth peeling bark; white brush flowers; aromatic fruit.
Habitat: Tropical and subtropical disturbed ground, forest edge and river terraces.
Season: Fruit varies by climate; wood year-round.
Field use: Ripe fruit is documented food; hard close-grained wood makes pegs, handles and friction-fire spindles.
Caution: Fruit can host insects and feral plants may be sprayed. Leaves are not a substitute for medical care.
Look-alikes: Other Myrtaceae share opposite leaves; fruit odor and flower structure help confirm.

food fruithandlesbow drill spindle

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Common purslane

Portulaca oleracea

Land-based edible plants

Stylized form diagram for Common purslane

Identify: Low reddish succulent stems; smooth fleshy leaves; tiny yellow flowers; clear sap.
Habitat: Disturbed warm ground, gardens, river deposits and camp edges worldwide.
Season: Warm growing season.
Field use: Young leaves and stems are documented food and water-rich greens.
Caution: High oxalate content; avoid large amounts with kidney disease and avoid contaminated ground.
Look-alikes: Spurges often exude milky sap and are unsafe.

food green

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Saltbushes

Atriplex spp.

Land-based edible plants

Identify: Gray or mealy alternate leaves; inconspicuous flowers; often salt-tolerant and sprawling.
Habitat: Deserts, salt flats, coasts and disturbed dry ground.
Season: Leaves most of year.
Field use: Leaves of selected species are documented cooked greens; stems can fuel small fires and brush shelters.
Caution: High salt and oxalate content makes this a small-portion food, especially when dehydrated or kidney-impaired.
Look-alikes: Many gray desert shrubs resemble saltbush; fruiting bracts help confirm.

food greenfuelbrush

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Jerusalem artichoke

Helianthus tuberosus

Land-based edible plants

Stylized form diagram for Jerusalem artichoke

Identify: Tall sunflower relative with rough opposite lower leaves, yellow heads and knobby underground tubers.
Habitat: Moist prairie, riverbanks and disturbed temperate ground.
Season: Tubers fall through spring.
Field use: Cooked tubers are documented food; stalks dry into light kindling.
Caution: Tubers are rich in inulin and can cause severe gas. Confirm before flowering or dig only from known colonies.
Look-alikes: Other sunflowers lack the same tuber clusters.

food tuberkindling

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Aquatic edibles

Water-margin food species

Cattails

Typha spp.

Water and wetland edible plants

Identify: Tall flat strap leaves; dense brown cylindrical female flower spike below a narrower male section.
Habitat: Marshes, pond edges, slow channels and wet ditches.
Season: Shoots spring; pollen early summer; rhizomes year-round where lawful.
Field use: Documented food parts include young inner shoots, pollen and processed rhizome starch. Leaves make mats, baskets and thatch; seed down can bulk tinder.
Caution: Water can concentrate sewage, metals and parasites. Raw rhizome requires correct processing; avoid contaminated marshes.
Look-alikes: Yellow flag iris has sword leaves and showy flowers but no brown cattail head.

food shootfood starchbasketrythatchtinder

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Totora rush

Schoenoplectus californicus subsp. tatora

Water and wetland edible plants

Identify: Tall round green stems with small brown flower clusters near the tip; forms dense lake and marsh beds.
Habitat: Andean and South American lakes, marshes and slow water.
Season: Young shoots and rhizomes seasonal; stems year-round.
Field use: Rhizomes and tender shoots have documented food use; stems make mats, boats, baskets and thatch.
Caution: Water quality and harvest rights matter. Sedges are difficult to identify when not flowering.
Look-alikes: Cattails have broad flat leaves and brown cylinders.

food shootfood starchbasketrythatchfloat

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Tropical arrowheads

Sagittaria guayanensis and related spp.

Water and wetland edible plants

Stylized form diagram for Tropical arrowheads

Identify: Arrow to oval leaves rising from shallow water; three-petaled white flowers; some produce tubers.
Habitat: Floodplains, marshes and slow tropical water.
Season: Tubers seasonal.
Field use: Tubers of confirmed edible species are documented food after cooking.
Caution: Species vary in tuber production; wetlands may contain parasites and toxic aroids.
Look-alikes: Arrow arum and other aroids have spadix-and-spathe flowers.

food tuber

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Traditional-use

Documented traditional medicine

Yarrow

Achillea millefolium

Medicinal and traditional-use plants

Identify: Aromatic finely divided leaves; flat clusters of small white to pink flower heads.
Habitat: Dry openings, trails, grassland, shore gravel and disturbed soil.
Season: Summer through fall.
Field use: Documented traditional external uses include washes and aromatic preparations; dry flower heads make light tinder.
Caution: Possible allergy, pregnancy and anticoagulant concerns. Not a substitute for wound cleaning or medical care.
Look-alikes: Poison hemlock is much taller with hollow purple-spotted stems and true umbels.

medicinetinder

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Broadleaf and ribwort plantains

Plantago major / P. lanceolata

Medicinal and traditional-use plants

Stylized form diagram for Broadleaf and ribwort plantains

Identify: Basal rosette with strong parallel ribs; leafless spikes of tiny flowers and seeds.
Habitat: Trails, camps, meadows and disturbed soil.
Season: Spring through fall.
Field use: Young leaves and seeds are documented food; clean leaves have traditional external use on minor irritation.
Caution: Do not put dirty leaves on open wounds. Seeds swell with water and can obstruct if taken dry in quantity.
Look-alikes: Docks have netted veins; plantain ribs run from the base.

food greenmedicine

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Muña

Minthostachys mollis

Medicinal and traditional-use plants

Identify: Mint-family shrub with opposite aromatic leaves and small white-lilac flowers.
Habitat: Andean dry slopes, field edges and highland scrub.
Season: Leaves growing season.
Field use: Documented Andean seasoning and traditional digestive use; dry stems aid tinder.
Caution: Essential oils and concentrated teas are not safe field dosing, especially in pregnancy.
Look-alikes: Other mint-family shrubs require flower and scent confirmation.

seasoningmedicinetinder

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Poisonous look-alikes

Do not eat — verify before harvest

Daturas / thorn apples

Datura spp.

Poisonous plants

Stylized form diagram for Daturas / thorn apples

Identify: Large foul-smelling leaves; upright trumpet flowers; spiny egg-shaped capsules.
Habitat: Disturbed warm ground, dry riverbeds and fields worldwide.
Season: Summer-fall.
Field use: No use.
Caution: All parts contain dangerous tropane alkaloids causing delirium, overheating, seizures and death.
Look-alikes: Brugmansia has hanging trumpets on woody shrubs and is also toxic.

poison

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Castor bean

Ricinus communis

Poisonous plants

Identify: Large star-shaped palmately lobed leaves; spiny capsules; glossy mottled seeds.
Habitat: Warm disturbed ground, riverbanks and tropical/subtropical waste areas.
Season: Growing season; seeds seasonal.
Field use: No survival food or medicine use. Oil extraction is industrial, not a field process.
Caution: Chewed seeds can release ricin and cause severe or fatal poisoning.
Look-alikes: Jatropha has similar lobed leaves but different fruit; it is also toxic.

poison

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Toxic Strychnos vines and trees

Strychnos spp.

Poisonous plants

Stylized form diagram for Toxic Strychnos vines and trees

Identify: Opposite leaves with strong curved veins; tendrils or woody stems; round fruits vary by species.
Habitat: Tropical forest and savanna.
Season: Year-round.
Field use: No food use unless a local expert identifies a known edible species.
Caution: The genus includes plants with strychnine-type toxins. Fruit appearance is not enough to judge safety.
Look-alikes: Edible monkey oranges are region-specific Strychnos and still require expert confirmation.

poison

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Water hemlocks

Cicuta spp.

Poisonous plants

Stylized form diagram for Water hemlocks

Identify: Wetland perennial with divided leaves, white umbrella flower clusters and thick chambered rootstocks.
Habitat: Marshes, wet meadows, stream edges and ditches across the northern hemisphere.
Season: Spring through fall.
Field use: No survival use. Make wetland root gathering a prohibited activity unless a qualified botanist is present.
Caution: Extremely poisonous; small amounts, especially roots, can cause violent seizures and death.
Look-alikes: Angelica, cow parsnip and other Apiaceae can look similar. Never taste to decide.

poison

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