Foraging
Wild foods connect us to the world we inhabit, helping us to honor and value the living systems on which we depend. Foraging offers safe, economical, and nutritious food. Our world is inhabited by many plants with a long history of human use.
We Evolved to Forage
As young children we spend years crawling on the ground with a tendency to taste everything within reach. This human characteristic prepares us to have the literacy to recognize plants as food and medicine as we mature. We can rediscover this capacity in our modern environment.
Wild edible foods are readily distributed by people in our ordinary movements through the landscape. While some foraged fare can be found in the deep woods, most wild foods can be found in close proximity to human activity. Food grows in the faded shadows of our footsteps.
Wild Food Benefits
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Industrial Food Concerns
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Cool-season Foraging
Look for leafy greens and shoots of the following wild plants when they are vibrant and stretchable during the cool seasons. If the greens are tough or coarse, or the plant has shifted its energy into the flowers, the greens are often no longer palatable and sometimes unsafe. The following leaves and shoots are easy to identify.
- asparagus
- basswood
- beebalm
- beech
- chickweed
- chicory*
- clover
- dandelion*
- dock*
- garlic mustard
- ground ivy
- hairy bittercress
- henbit
- mallow
- mugwort
- plantain
- purple deadnettle
- redbud
- sassafras
- sheep sorrel
- shepherd's purse
- stinging nettle
- violet
- wild bergamot
- wild lettuce
- wild onion
- wood sorrel*
* High oxalates
Flowers make a bright garnish, bulking agent in salads, or flavorful appetizers. Gather at the height of bloom.
- basswood
- beebalm
- black locust
- chickweed
- chicory*
- clover
- dandelion*
- daylily
- evening primrose
- garlic mustard
- ground ivy
- hairy bittercress
- henbit
- mallow
- purple deadnettle
- redbud
- violet
- wild lettuce
- wild bergamot
- wild onion
- wood sorrel*
* High oxalates
High in energy, winter foods help humans store fat to get through winter.
- acorns
- black walnuts
- chestnuts
- chinquapins
- hazelnuts
- Jerusalem artichokes
- hickory nuts
- maple syrup
- pawpaws
- pecans
- persimmons
- rose hips
- spicebush
Warm-Season Foraging
After the spring equinox, late season annual plants emerge and bask in the lengthening days.
- amaranth*
- clover
- evening primrose
- goldenrod
- hibiscus
- lambsquarters*
- milkweed
- pepperweed
- pineappleweed
- purslane*
- sassafras
- yarrow
* High oxalates
Enjoy fresh fruits in season.
- aronia
- beach plum
- blackberry
- black cherry
- black raspberry*
- blueberry
- elderberry
- grape
- mulberry
- red raspberry
- passionflower
- strawberry
- sumac*
- wineberry
* High oxalates
** Avoid if allergic to cashews
Best Practices in Foraging and Wildcrafting
Meet the Family
Plants can be easily recognized by learning similar growth characteristics shared by their botanical relatives. Check out the books Botany in a Day or Shanleya's Quest by wild foods instructor Thomas Elpel for examples of this method.
Family Patterns
Plants in the mint, mallow, and mustard families are generally safe to consume, and a great starting place for beginners.
Plants in the carrot family can have highly poisonous lookalikes.
The amaranth, buckwheat, purslane, and wood sorrel families tend to have plants that are high in oxalates, and ought to be consumed in moderation.
Use Scientific Names
Plants have a variety of common names, which can cause confusion when it comes to identification. Learn the family, genus, and species of each plant you decide to eat.