@RabbitsAreDelicious Here is a bit more information...
If you’re interested in learning plants around you here is a few basics… First you need to find a website for plant identification. Most state university systems will have a botany website(s). They are basically databases of plants you can search. At these sites you can enter some basic information about a plant.
Use this site as an example of the information you can enter… if you don’t know, leave the selection “Any”.
http://www.southeasternflora.com/SearchForm.php
1) flower color
2) plant form
3) leave type
4) leaf arrangement
Etc…
Select Search… you might get 2 pages of results or 20. You then look through the photo’s for a photo of a flower you have in your yard etc. Data bases like these get you in the ball park.
Here is another site…
Missouri flora web page... Southeastern flora and Missouri plants are privately owned/maintained data bases.
Search for data bases in Wisconsin or upper mid-west either private or a university website. I prefer private data bases because they are easier to use but they aren’t as expansive as state school sites. State school sites usually want you to enter the plants scientific “Family” name… Which is silly… “if I knew its family name I wouldn’t need to search their database”. Duh! Sometimes there is an option to search by a plants description or other parameters.
If you know the flower color.. plant form and leaf arrangement, you can get very close to finding a plants identity. Leaf type is also helpful.
Again, below are sites that’ll give you an idea of what you need to know about a plant to find it’s identity… If you find a website that lets you post a photo of a plant so other people can help you find its identity… Take a photo that shows the same information…. From the side so leaf arrangement can be seen… and leaf type… a photo of the bloom that shows as much detail as possible, number of petals, general shape… The more information the better.
Missouri flora web page
NameThatPlant.net: Native Plants of the Carolinas & Georgia
NameThatPlant.net: Mobile Safari
Southeastern Flora Search
I just searched the net… there are several books on Wisconsin wild plants and foraging. I didn’t recognize any of the authors, that’s not unusual. Field guides tend to be regional as well as the people who write them.
As far as foraging books for north america there are a few excellent books. My favorite is “Edible Wild Plants by John Kallas Phd”… It’s in a class by itself you might say. I own 2 books by Samuel Thayer, also excellent books.