Books on Identifying and Foraging For Wild Plants
- Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide by Lawrence Newcomb, Little, Brown and Company
- A Field Guide to Wildflowers of Northeastern and North-Central North America (Peterson Field Guides) by Margaret McKenny and Roger Tory Peterson
- The Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers: Eastern Region by National Audobon Society
- A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants: Eastern and Central North America (Peterson Field Guides) by Lee Allen Peterson and Roger Tory Peterson
- Edible Wild Plants by Elias and Dykeman, Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.
- Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild (and Not So Wild) Places by “Wildman” Steve Brill with Evelyn Dean, Hearst Books
- A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs of Eastern and Central North America (Peterson Field Guides) by Steven Foster, James A. Dukeand Roger Tory Peterson
- The Forager’s Harvest: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants by Samuel Thayer. He has written several excellent books on foraging.
- Edible Wild Plants: Wild Foods from Dirt to Plate, by Dr. John Kallas. He has written several excellent books on foraging.
- Northeast Foraging: 120 wild and flavorful edibles from beach plums to wineberries by Leda Meredith
- Wild Plants I Have Known…and Eatenby Russ Cohen and Stephanie Letendre, 2004
Websites, Blogs
- yahoo.com/groups/PlantForagers/ Foraging group on Yahoo
- eattheweeds.com
- ediblewildfood.com/edible-weeds.aspx
- wildfoodadventures.com/ John Kallas
- wildmanstevebrill.com/ Wildman Steve Brill’s site, includes apps for foraging and plant i.d.
- https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/ Identification tools for New England plants
Points of safety:
- Know where you are picking and harvesting. Make sure it is not polluted or contaminated, and that you have permission to be harvesting there.
- Identify correctly the plant you are harvesting; know the botanical name (Genus, species) which is unique to the plant. Know the parts you are using, and the time of year at which to be using those parts. Make sure that it is edible and/or medicinal or for whatever use you are planning on.
- Proceed with caution! Don’t assume that just because it’s natural it cannot poison or otherwise harm you. Also don’t assume that just because it’s natural you can ingest a lot of it. With a new plant, start with a little bit, see how you react, and then if you are fine, go ahead and use it.
- And don’t overharvest. Even when there is an abundant stand of plants, make sure to leave enough to reproduce and keep the population going. Know if a plant is endangered or rare, and leave it if it is. Respect the environment and all it offers, and leave enough for others, including the insects and other animals.
Remember: When in doubt, don’t!
COMMON NAME |
BOTANICAL NAME |
PARTS USED For Food (F) and/or Medicine (M) |
| Bee Balm | Monarda spp. | F, M: Flowers, leaves |
| Blue Spruce | Picea spp. | F: Tea–needles M: Needles, resin or pitch, inner bark |
| Burdock | Arctium lappa | F: First year: roots, leaves; second year: bloom stalks; M: late fall 1st-yr. roots, seeds |
| Cleavers | Galium aparine | F: Young greens, seeds. M: Flowering aerial parts |
| Clover—Red Clover, White Clover | Trifolium pratense, Trifolium repens | F, M:Flowers, leaves.
|
| Dandelion | Taraxacum officinale | Flowers, leaves, roots |
| Dock—Curly Dock, Broad-leaf | Rumex crispus, R. obtusifolia | Very young leaves, seeds |
| Goosefoot or Lamb’s Quarters | Chenopodium alba | Leaves |
| Ground Ivy | Glechoma hederacea | E: leaves M: Flowering stems |
| Horse Radish | Armoracia rusticana | F: Flowers, leaves, roots M: roots |
| Juniper, Red Cedar | Juniperus spp. | F: Tea–needles M: Needles, resin or pitch, inner bark |
| Lady’s Thumb, Smartweeds | Polygonum persicaria, Polygonum spp. | F: Flowers, leaves |
| Lavender–Hidcote, Munstead | Lavandula angustifolia or L. officinalis | F, M: Flowers, leaves |
| Lemon Balm | Melissa officinalis | F, M: Leaves, flowers |
| Milkweed | Aesclepias syriaca | F: Young shoots, flower buds, young pods |
| Mints—Peppermint, Spearmint, other mints | Mentha spp | F: Leaves, flowers |
| Mugwort | Artemisia vulgaris | F: Very young leaves, M: Leaves |
| Mullein | Thapsus verbascum | M: Leaves, flowers, roots |
| Peppergrasses | Lepidium spp | Leaves , young seed-pods |
| Plantain—Greater Plantain, Rib-Leaf Plantain | Plantago major, Plantago lanceolata | Very young leaves, seeds |
| Pokeweed | Phytolacca americana | F: only early spring–young shoots, M: Roots All parts Poisonous, except early spring shoots |
| Queen Anne’s Lace | Daucus carota | F: First year: Leaves, roots. Second year: Leaves, flowers, seeds M: Seeds |
| Raspberries, Blackberries | Rubus spp | F: Leaves, fruit–leaves in groups of 3 or 5, prickly, not shiny, safe to touch M: Leaves |
| Rose | Rosa spp. | F, M: Flowers, leaves, fruit (hips) |
| Valerian | Valeriana officinalis | M: Roots, flowers; wonderful cut flower! |
| Violets | Viola spp | F, M:Leaves and flowers |
| Virginia creeper, or false Vir. creeper | Parthenocissus quinqufolia or
P. inserta |
Five (5) leaflets, vining, but holds on with tendrils, not roots. It is not poison ivy, but leaves and stem can cause dermatitis; blue berries in fall are not edible |
| Wild Lettuce, Prickly Lettuce | Lactuca spp | F, M:Leaves |
| Wood Sorrel | Oxalis stricta | F: Leaves, flowers, seed pods |
| Yarrow | Achillea millefolium | F (tea only), M: Flowers, leaves |