Global Regional Plant Guides

Mediterranean Woodland, Garrigue & Coast Plant Survival Guide

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

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Cover of Mediterranean Woodland, Garrigue & Coast Plant Survival Guide

Continent: Europe
USDA-equivalent zones: 8-11
Köppen climate: Csa / Csb
Profiles: 20
Regional biome: Evergreen woodland, scrub, dry slope, salt marsh and coast

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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

Holm oak

Quercus ilex

Useful plants

Identify: Evergreen leathery leaves, often pale beneath and variably toothed; acorns in cups.
Habitat: Mediterranean woodland and rocky hills.
Season: Acorns autumn; wood year-round.
Field use: Dense bow and handle wood, durable coals and acorns after repeated leaching.
Caution: Raw acorns are high in tannins; mold and species variation matter.
Look-alikes: Kermes oak is shrubbier and usually more spiny-leaved.

bow woodhandlesfuelfood nut

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Cork oak

Quercus suber

Useful plants

Identify: Thick deeply fissured corky bark; leathery evergreen leaves; acorns.
Habitat: Western Mediterranean acidic soils and open woodland.
Season: Acorns autumn; wood year-round.
Field use: Fallen cork insulates containers and floats; wood and acorns serve the same uses as other oaks after processing.
Caution: Commercial bark harvest is skilled and regulated; do not cut living cork.
Look-alikes: Holm oak lacks the massively corky bark.

insulationfloatfuelfood nut

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Wild olive

Olea europaea subsp. europaea var. sylvestris

Useful plants

Identify: Opposite narrow leathery leaves, silvery beneath; small white flowers; purple-black drupes.
Habitat: Mediterranean scrub, rocky slopes and dry woodland.
Season: Fruit autumn; wood year-round.
Field use: Dense hard wood for pegs, handles and friction-fire spindles; fruit becomes food only after controlled curing.
Caution: Raw fruit is intensely bitter; curing requires salt/water and hygiene. Do not improvise medicinal leaf extracts.
Look-alikes: Privet has broader leaves and clustered black berries.

handlesbow drill spindlefood fruit

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Aleppo pine

Pinus halepensis

Useful plants

Identify: Two slender needles per bundle; open irregular crown; cones often persist for years.
Habitat: Mediterranean dry slopes, coast and fire-prone scrub.
Season: Year-round.
Field use: Resinous kindling, poles, fuel and pitch-rich shavings; inner cone seeds are edible but small.
Caution: High fire risk and resinous smoke; do not damage living trees for pitch.
Look-alikes: Stone pine has larger umbrella crown and much larger edible seeds.

polesfueltinderfood seed

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Common reed

Phragmites australis

Useful plants

Identify: Tall jointed canes; broad leaves with rough margins; large feathery purple-tan panicles.
Habitat: Marshes, riverbanks, lake edges and brackish wetlands worldwide.
Season: Canes year-round; young shoots spring.
Field use: Dry canes make arrow shafts, fish spears, mats, thatch, containers and friction-fire spindles; young shoots have limited documented food use.
Caution: Invasive populations may be chemically treated. Cut cane edges are sharp; food use is excluded where water quality is uncertain.
Look-alikes: Giant reed is stouter; reed canary grass has a smaller seed head.

arrow shaftbow drill spindlethatchbasketrycontainer

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Land edibles

Terrestrial food species

Carob

Ceratonia siliqua

Land-based edible plants

Identify: Leathery paired leaflets; thick dark brown flattened pods with hard seeds.
Habitat: Mediterranean woodland, rocky slopes and dry farms.
Season: Pods late summer-fall; wood year-round.
Field use: Mature pods are documented sweet food after removing hard seeds; dense wood makes handles and fuel.
Caution: Moldy pods are unsafe; seeds are hard enough to damage teeth.
Look-alikes: Honey locust pods are longer and the tree has large branched thorns.

food podhandlesfuel

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Stone pine

Pinus pinea

Land-based edible plants

Identify: Umbrella-shaped mature crown; two long needles per bundle; large rounded cones with large seeds.
Habitat: Mediterranean sandy soils and open woodland.
Season: Pine nuts autumn-winter; wood year-round.
Field use: Pine nuts are high-energy food; wood and resin serve fuel and repair uses.
Caution: Cones are heavy and may fall; collection can be regulated.
Look-alikes: Aleppo pine has smaller cones and a less regular crown.

food seedfuelresin

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Common mallows

Malva spp.

Land-based edible plants

Stylized form diagram for Common mallows

Identify: Round palmately veined leaves; five-petaled pink to lavender flowers; wheel-shaped segmented fruits.
Habitat: Disturbed ground, field edges and Mediterranean-type regions.
Season: Cool to warm growing season.
Field use: Young leaves and immature fruits are documented cooked foods; mucilage thickens soups.
Caution: Avoid roadside contamination and rust-infected leaves.
Look-alikes: Hollyhock and hibiscus relatives share similar flowers; some are not equally palatable.

food greenthickener

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Wild fennel

Foeniculum vulgare

Land-based edible plants

Identify: Tall aromatic hollow stems; threadlike leaves; yellow umbrella flower clusters; anise odor.
Habitat: Mediterranean scrub, roadsides and disturbed warm regions.
Season: Leaves spring; seeds summer-fall.
Field use: Leaves and seeds are documented seasoning and food.
Caution: Do not use smell alone: poisonous Apiaceae may grow nearby. Concentrated fennel oil is not field medicine.
Look-alikes: Poison hemlock has broader divided leaves and often purple-spotted stems.

food greenseasoning

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Rock samphire / sea fennel

Crithmum maritimum

Land-based edible plants

Stylized form diagram for Rock samphire / sea fennel

Identify: Fleshy divided blue-green leaves; yellow-green umbels; aromatic salty taste.
Habitat: Rocky Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts above the spray line.
Season: Spring through fall.
Field use: Young leaves are a documented cooked or pickled food.
Caution: Avoid polluted coasts and never identify an Apiaceae solely by habitat or odor.
Look-alikes: Poison hemlock is taller and grows inland or in damp disturbed ground.

food green

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Aquatic edibles

Water-margin food species

Glassworts

Salicornia spp.

Water and wetland edible plants

Identify: Leafless-looking jointed succulent stems; green turning red; tiny flowers embedded in segments.
Habitat: Salt marshes, saline lake margins and tidal flats worldwide.
Season: Young shoots spring-summer.
Field use: Tender tips are documented cooked greens and salt seasoning.
Caution: Very salty; use small portions and avoid sewage-contaminated marshes.
Look-alikes: Other succulent chenopods differ in branching and fruit; none should be eaten from polluted sites.

food green

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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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Bulrushes

Schoenoplectus spp.

Water and wetland edible plants

Identify: Round or triangular mostly leafless stems; small brown flower clusters near stem tips.
Habitat: Freshwater and brackish marshes, pond edges and slow rivers.
Season: Young shoots spring; rhizomes and stems longer.
Field use: Rhizomes and young shoots have documented food use after correct species identification; stems make mats, cordage and basket frames.
Caution: Wetland contamination is a major risk. Several sedges are difficult to separate.
Look-alikes: Cattails have broad flat leaves and a brown cylinder.

food shootfood starchbasketrycordage

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Traditional-use

Documented traditional medicine

Rosemary

Salvia rosmarinus

Medicinal and traditional-use plants

Identify: Narrow aromatic opposite leaves rolled under, pale beneath; blue two-lipped flowers.
Habitat: Mediterranean scrub, rocky slopes and cultivated escapes.
Season: Year-round leaves; flowers winter-spring.
Field use: Documented seasoning and traditional aromatic use; dry stems make fragrant kindling.
Caution: Essential oil is concentrated and unsafe to ingest in survival dosing; avoid confusion with toxic ornamental shrubs.
Look-alikes: Lavenders have softer gray leaves and flower spikes.

seasoningmedicinekindling

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Thymes

Thymus spp.

Medicinal and traditional-use plants

Identify: Low aromatic opposite-leaved shrub; tiny leaves; pink-purple two-lipped flower clusters.
Habitat: Dry Mediterranean, steppe and mountain grassland.
Season: Leaves and flowers growing season.
Field use: Documented seasoning and traditional aromatic use; dry stems aid tinder bundles.
Caution: Species vary and essential oils can irritate. Use modest food amounts only.
Look-alikes: Savory and other mint relatives have similar small leaves.

seasoningmedicinetinder

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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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Poisonous look-alikes

Do not eat — verify before harvest

Oleander

Nerium oleander

Poisonous plants

Identify: Evergreen shrub with narrow leathery leaves in pairs or whorls and pink, white or red five-petaled flowers.
Habitat: Mediterranean and arid-region waterways, wadis and planted settlements.
Season: Year-round foliage.
Field use: No use.
Caution: All parts contain potent cardiac glycosides; smoke, skewers and contaminated water can be dangerous.
Look-alikes: Yellow oleander has different fruit but similar cardiac toxicity.

poison

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Mandrake

Mandragora officinarum

Poisonous plants

Identify: Low rosette of broad wrinkled leaves; violet flowers; yellow-orange berry; thick forked root.
Habitat: Mediterranean rocky ground and old fields.
Season: Cool season to spring.
Field use: No field medicinal or food use.
Caution: Contains tropane alkaloids; root and fruit can cause severe anticholinergic poisoning.
Look-alikes: Edible nightshades have different flowers and cultivated forms.

poison

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Sea squill

Drimia maritima

Poisonous plants

Identify: Huge above-ground bulb; broad leaves in winter-spring; tall flower spike after leaves die back.
Habitat: Mediterranean rocky coast and dry slopes.
Season: Leaves cool season; flowers late summer.
Field use: No food use.
Caution: Bulb contains cardiac glycosides and remains toxic after drying.
Look-alikes: Edible onions have onion odor and smaller bulbs.

poison

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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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