Obtaining some water from plants

We can use the water stored in some plants as a mean of hydration. But take into account that as a basic safety rule, always avoid all plants that segregate milky white tree sap, because there are too many that are toxic of those.

Anyway, Water in plants can accumulate in different places depending on the species. In the jungle, bromeliads, which grow on branches of trees, store a reserve of water between their leaves. It may have some debris and bugs, but it is drinkable.

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Cactus species also are a great source of water, but some of them are quite poisonous. You have to be very careful when handling them, because their spines, especially the finest, can be very difficult to remove and may lead to infections. The best way to get the liquid, is cutting it from the upper tip ,crush the pulp within the plant and then collect the liquid in a container.

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The North American sereus giganteus hoard a lot of liquid within, but is poisonous . Therefore, the only way to safely drink it, is by distilling with a makesifht alambic or something. Most cactus are safe to drink its water such as Ferocactus, Echinocactus grusonii and Cacto Opuntia.

Some palm trees like the coconut one, the Biri and nipa, contain a sweet liquid safe to drink. Careful with milk from mature coconuts though, as it is a fairly strong laxative, and can cause us to lose liquids. On the other palm trees, flowering stems should be folded down and then cut to let the fluid flows. We must cut a thin slice from the stem every 12 hours for to allow liquid renewal, and then can be picked up 1/4 of liter every day.

Also, the roots of some plants store water. In Australia for example, there are many plants that store water in their roots. Aboriginal people are experts in taking advantage from them, but many of them will go completely unnoticed for us if they have not previously taught us to identify them. The water tree, oak Desert and Romasa have roots rich in liquid that grow near the surface. We can tear them off, cut into pieces of about 30cm, remove the cortex and suck all the moisture or just crushing them to turn them into a pulp and squeeze over to drink.
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There are also some plants with glands which secrete water on the surfaces of their leaves through glands called hydathodes which belong to the tomato family and its good to be on the lookout for these. A person can also collect dew by placing tins on tree canopies and branches or open areas overnight for condensation to take place and then collect the water in the morning and combine it into one can. Another method is tying black polythene bags on some succulent branches during the day. During respiration, the plant will respire and droplets of water will form on the inside in hot weather to be collected at dusk. A little here and there will definitely add up for a parched throat.

 

This is a great post. I learned something knew about mature coconuts and their milk today. Never knew it had a laxative effect. I might have to keep that in mind for an April Fool's joke down the line, haha.

I kind of feel SOL when it comes to obtaining water for survival, though. If something did go down and I'm in the city, there's really no means of receiving hydration from plants. Tokyo doesn't really have a lot of plant life,
and the places that do aren't necessary the desert or the rainforest. I might have to take Remnant's advice and plant hydathodes.

 

One way that you can get water from nearly any plant that is not toxic and healthy is you can try the transpiration process. All you will need is a plastic bag and a string.

 

You can obtain water from almost any plant with nothing more than a clear plastic bag, a clean pebble, and either tape, string, or some other cordage.

A transpiration still is set up by putting the pebble in the bag, placing the bag over a leafy branch of the plant, and securing the opening by tying it up against the stem (tight, but not too tight. We want to keep air from circulating into the bag, but plants have circulation of water in their bark and stems, and this must not be cut off).

This must be in sunlight, and the plant need not be edible, but shouldn't be poisonous.

So, don't use Machineel tree (in Florida), or poison sumac, or anything like it.

Distilled water will accumulate in the bag as it evaporates from the leaves.

I've found it pure enough to use for my contact lenses.

I haven't figured out how to post images yet, so look up "transpiration still" in a Google search.