The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants

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When I think about plant communities on this continent, and I think about their story, I also think of a deeper story, which is the relationship for thousands of years that indigenous people had with these plant communities. And these were relationships that involved harvest, and they involved tending also. And I think we have a much different idea now of the kind of ecological relationship that indigenous people had with wild plant communities throughout the Americas. First published in 1987, and providing a snapshot of British garden plants and trends for more than 30 years, the RHS Plant Finder is a horticultural bible. One word of warning: All that info means the book has to weigh quite a bit (3.4 pounds), so if you’re looking for something lightweight to take on your next foraging outing, you’ll want to get a less comprehensive but also less heavy book like The Peterson Field Guide (11 ounces) or Edible Wild Plants 1.1 pounds to take with you, then consult Thayer’s book when you return.

Margaret: One of the things about the… I hate to use a word like useful, because that’s obviously not what I mean, because they’re useful in such deeper ways, but the plants that we could utilize as foodstuffs or medicines or whatever, or, as you say, in crafting, that… Jared:… a raw potato is not French fries, but we know how to make French fries and they’re so good. And that’s so often the case with these wild edibles too, is that they have a cultural tradition of preparation around them that makes them not only safe to eat, but also delicious. And we have to, in some cases, innovate or relearn those things about all these species. And that’s also part of the excitement. Common in hedges and verges as well as in woodland. White flowers with five petals, split halfway to the base. Sprawling with narrow leaves. Arora has a more compact foraging guide to a smaller number of mushroom species called All That the Rain Promises and More for taking along on foraging expeditions. COOKBOOKS FOCUSING ON FORAGED FOODSLikes damp ground such as roadside ditches and wet woodland. Long stems with clusters of cream, fuzzy flowers which smell of honey or almonds. Fairly common in moist, shady woodland (deciduous). Low growing/sprawling with yellow star-shaped flowers. If the thought of foraging mushrooms makes you a little nervous, David Arora’s Mushrooms Demystified can help. Highly regarded among mushroom foragers, Arora’s book covers over 1000 types of mushrooms. Mushrooms Demystified doesn’t have color photographs, so you will likely want to consult a book that does. Toward the bottom of this post you’ll find recommendations for excellent books on foraging that can teach you how to find and use the medicinal plants growing all around us. Commonly found in gardens as well as arable fields, dunes, cliffs and heathland. Low growing and sprawling. Flowers are red with a purplish base.

This leaflet produced by Phoebe O'Brien has photos and ID tips for 20 wild flowers commonly found in Ireland and in Britain: https://bsbi.org/wp-content/uploads/dlm_uploads/20-common-urban-plants-in-Ireland.pdf Extremely common during May on roadside verges and in woodland rides and clearings. White flowers radiate out from the stem on spokes. Fern-like leaves. Baudar’s inventive approach to foraged foods makes great reading and will surely inspire anyone interested in learning to make the most of their foraging finds.One of the best ways to learn about foraging in your area is to go with a veteran forager who can show you where to find different edible plants and how to correctly identify them. One of my favorite foraging experts, “Wildman” Steve Brill, gives tours in the New York City area from March to December. I’d love to take one someday! Baudar also has a book on fermenting wildcrafted ingredients and one on wildcrafted brewing. Forage, Harvest, Feast by Marie Viljoen I have turned to Thayer’s books over and over again through the years, but this one will keep me busy for the rest of my life. Plus if you don’t find straight up plant information enough entertainment, Thayer’s irrepressible humor shines through often. You will especially enjoy “The Best Index,” different from the *Regular Old Boring Index* (his words) which includes helpful categories about which are the best greens to fry versus eat in a salad, which make the best survival foods, and my favorites, the best things to feed a first date and the best things to avoid feeding a first date.

While some of the books above include a smattering of mushrooms, if you’re planning to delve into mushroom hunting, it’s best to study up on them carefully. Below are a couple highly-regarded books for would-be mushroom foragers. National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American MushroomsThese seven foraging books cover different regions of North America: Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Pacific Northwest, California, Southwest, and Mountain states. I’ve consulted the midwest edition often. But like goldenseal, for instance, one of my favorite woodland plants in the garden for a million years here that I have been growing, Hydrastis canadensis [above, at Margaret’s]. So, that’s one, for instance. And I used to grow Jerusalem artichoke, and I have a lot of Aralia racemosa, the spikenard, the native spikenard, and on and on and on. So I thought maybe we could talk about some of the plants that maybe surprisingly to people—aronias, elderberries, blueberries. Yeah. If you have an idea of the plant name (common or scientific), enter this in the search box (top-right). Unknown plants can be identified by floral features, using selectors for colour, shape or petal number. Plant features