The seeds of many umbellifers will be ripening ready to gather. Hogweed seed (Heracleum sphondylium) is a particular favourite, known as golpar in Persian cuisine (from H. persicum).

Like many of its Apiaceae family relatives (that include parsley, cumin, and dill), it has a pronounced flavour all of its own — as if a mixture of coriander and cardamom has been infused in sweet orange peel oil.

I toast it and use it in marinades, as coatings for meat, in sauces and as an indispensable part of a wild curry blend.

Other Apiaceae seeds to add to the spice cupboard are wild fennel (Foeniculum vulgare), wild carrot (Daucus carota), wild angelica (Angelica sylvestris), spignel (Meum athamanticum), rock samphire (Crithmum maritimum) and Scots lovage (Ligusticum scoticum), to name but a few.

Humans have been collecting cereal grains from grasses for thousands of years before farming was introduced. They are now ripening and can be harvested on a dry, sunny day. Many grass, sedge and rush seeds can be milled into flour or used whole. Many will be gluten free.

One of the most abundant and easiest grains to gather — although not a grass — is pendulous sedge (Carex pendula) with its distinctive drooping catkins bursting with seeds. A small patch of three or four pendulous sedge plants can yield a small bucket of grain. Once gathered, it needs to be dried and winnowed to remove as much of the chaff as possible. I use sedge seed as a wholegrain to add crunch to breads and biscuits, or grind it into a flour.

When collecting any grass grain you must be vigilant and look out for signs of the black ergot fungus (Claviceps purpurea). This grows on the individual grains and replaces them with its long purple black sclerotia. The sclerotia will grow over five times the length of the grain and protrude from the ear of grain. Even a few can cause severe illness as ergotamine constricts your blood vessels and gangrene was a common side effect of infected grain in the Middle Ages.

Pharmaceutically, ergot was developed into ergometrine to prevent bleeding after childbirth, but it is rarely used nowadays. Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is a strong hallucinogenic drug synthesised from ergot alkaloids using toxic chemicals. Luckily ergot doesn’t grow on sedges. If you’re not sure of the difference remember the rhyme about stems:

Sedges have edges
Rushes are round
Grasses have nodes from their tips to the ground

Other grass seeds will also be ripe for harvesting. Each species needs its own method to harvest. With Yorkshire fog (Holcus lanatus), you simply run your hand up the stem collecting the tiny seeds in your hand as you go. Although small, Yorkshire fog grains have a delicious nutty flavour and the chaff is easy to winnow from the grain. With crested dog’s tail (Cynosurus cristatus), I cut the stems with a sickle and then hang them upside down in a paper sack to let the grain fall out. Other species may need threshing to separate the grains from the stems, before winnowing.

Another abundant seed to collect is dock seed (Rumex sp.). Docks produce their seed as nutlets surrounded by reddish brown bracts. The shape of the bracts can be used to identify the exact species but all are equally good to use. Many species, like broad-leaved dock (Rumex obtusifolius) are very prolific.

A mature plant will yield several handfuls of seeds. It’s not so good as a flour but increases the roughage in oatcakes. A less common sight these days are fields full of poppies. However, if you are lucky enough to have a field near you, the seeds can easily be shaken out of their pepper pot capsules. 

Following quickly on the heels of July’s raspberries (Rubus idaeus), are blackberries or brambles (Rubus spp.). There are nearly 500 species in the UK so one can be found in almost every habitat. It’s not important to identify each species as all are equally edible but it does explain why some bushes have distinctly sweeter or tastier berries than others.

Blaeberries, bilberries or whinberries (Vaccinium myrtilis) will still be going strong this month too. You might also catch some of their less common relatives the crowberry (Empetrum nigrum), the lingonberry or cowberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea) and the cranberry (Vaccinium oxycoccus). 

Tree fruits will be starting to ripen too — early in the south and later in the north. Look out for cherry plums (Prunus cerasifera), you’ll often see these carpeting the ground under the tree in red or gold where they have been knocked down by wind and rain.

These are the first of the plums to ripen, each fruit the size of a cherry. They will be followed by the other plums, both domestic and wild, such as damsons and bullace (both are called Prunus domestica var insititia). There are also wild cherries (Prunus avium) and small, black bird cherries (Prunus padus).

Lime or linden (Tilia sp.) fruits will also be ripe. Once roasted in the oven for about 30 minutes and ground into a powder they make a delicious cocoa powder but must be mixed with a fat, like a creamy milk, to show off the best flavours. Lime trees are in the same family as cocoa (Theobroma cacao) and kola nuts (Cola nitida) which is also in the same family as marshmallow (Althaea officinalis).

Rosehips will soon be ready to harvest. The Japanese rose (Rosa rugosa) is common on the coast and is often planted in hedges and gardens elsewhere. In my county of West Lothian, the council planted many long stretches of it beside some roads.

I pick from the back of the bushes away from traffic pollution on minor roads — always mindful to find clean environments to pick from. The Japanese rose has large round hips, sometimes as big as golf balls. Cut them in half, scoop out the seeds and wash off the irritating hairs, and they can be used like a red pepper.

I like to drizzle olive oil over them and roast them in the oven with shallots. They easily adapt to both savoury and sweet dishes. The smaller hips of our native roses such as the dog rose (Rosa canina) I collect for rosehip puree and rosehip reduction.

Cover the hips in a saucepan with water and boil until soft, then put them through a mouli mill to separate the seeds and hairs from the fruit pulp. Use the puree in place of tomato passata in sauces, stews and marinades.

Chanterelles (Cantherellus cibarius) continue to form waves of golden nuggets while penny buns (Boletus edulis) are often out in their first major flush. An interesting relative of the penny bun is the extraordinary scarletina (Neoboletus luridiformis). It has a chestnut to dark brown cap that feels like moleskin, a yellow stem covered so heavily in tiny red spots that it looks red and bright red pores hiding under the cap. When you cut it in half — if you’re quick — you’ll see it has yellow flesh and tubes but it will rapidly change to a bright navy blue before your eyes!

Thankfully, once cooked the colour will change back to a greyish yellow. Another colour changing mushroom out in August is the blusher (Amanita rubescens). Blushers blush rusty pink where bruised or nibbled by forest animals. This separates it out from its poisonous relatives, the panther cap (Amanita pantherina) and the probably toxic grey spotted amanita (Amanita excelsa var. spissa). Blushers and scarletinas will cause digestive upset if eaten raw so must always be well cooked. I would also emphasise that you must learn about edible mushrooms from a professional. Apps and novices often make mistakes and some mushrooms can be fatal, so never eat anything that you’re not 100% sure is correctly identified and edible.

Another group of mushrooms to look out for are the brittlegills, in particular the charcoal burner (Russula cyanoxantha) and the flirt (Russula vesca). Brittlegills are a large genus of fungi distinguished by their inflexible gills which shatter or crumble into flakes when gently rubbed and by their crumbly flesh which is never fibrous. (Of course there is always someone who breaks the rules and the tasty charcoal burner has flexible gills). Brittlegills have white or cream stems, gills and flesh with a coloured skin covering the cap which can be peeled off, at least around the edge.

The flirt has a brownish pink skin, described as the colour of old ham, that doesn’t quite reach to the edges of the cap, exposing the gills at the very edge like the frills on a petticoat. The charcoal burner comes in a variety of colour forms, pink, green, blue or purple but always with yellow or tan mixed in giving the impression it has been scorched in the charcoal burners fire. These two brittlegills have a sweet nutty flavour. Other species in the genus can be hot and fiery like chillies or bitter making them less desirable to eat. 

As always, when foraging, don’t be greedy and take just a little, being sensitive to other humans and species that share the land and resources. 

Sturtevants quotes Johnson: “This plant is found in every garden as a weed. It forms when boiled, says Johnson, an excellent green vegetable, much resembling spinach in flavour and is very wholesome.”

Withering also noted the tastiness of chickweed as an edible wild vegetable in his A Botanical Arrangement of the Vegetables naturally growing in Great Britain (1776) (2).

In the past, it was known as a “small annual of arable fields” and used as a potherb by farming communities in Europe and Asia. (3)

Henriette’s Practical Herbs notes chickweed’s most vital nutrient is vitamin C. It packs quite a punch at 350mg of vitamin C per 100g of dried herb. Its rich content of vitamins and minerals makes the herb a valuable ingredient, whether stored frozen or dried (4).

Nipplewort leaves have a mild radish flavour. Traditionally eaten raw in a salad or boiled as a vegetable. However, the plant is often overlooked.

Creative cooks find the young mild green leaves very versatile. In December, the leaves are prolific. However, as the plant ages, the leaves become bitter and are best cooked.

In France, particularly Burgundy, the leaves are used as a vegetable (5).

In the territory of Gallicano, Italy, nipplewort is gathered along with many other wild greens for use in a traditional soup called Ministrella (6).

Sailors of old would store salted Scurvygrass as a way to prevent scurvy. Hence, the plant’s common name. 100 g of fresh leaves contains 63 mg of vitamin C (7).

In cookbooks from the 17th century, there are often recipes for scurvygrass ale. If you look back to the plantsman’s diaries from the 1600s, scurvygrass was grown as a salad item. Scurvy was a disease not just of sailors but also affected country folk.

In 1597, a group of Dutch mariners tried to find a route from Northern Russia to China. In the Captain’s log book, he mentions that many of his crew suffered from scurvy. They had heard in Holland about Cochlearia but had not tried it. The Captain gets his crew to eat lots of the plant from the shoreline. A few days later, he records that the sick had experienced a remarkable recovery. (8)

In the Faroe Islands, the islanders made porridge from scurvygrass and soup. The root was eaten raw or boiled, and the plant was said to give strength and stamina in times of limited food supply (9).

In Belarus, the fruits are made into juice and jams (10).

In the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, a subspecies, Hippophae rhamnoides subsp. yunnanensis, is used to make wine (11).

In Finland, semi-sweet wine is made that pairs well with fish, crab and crustaceans. I am surprised that no commercial venture in Britain has started considering the proliferation of the plant around our coasts.

The fruits are very high in vitamin C and high levels of sulphur, selenium, zinc and copper (12).

In Transylvania, honey is poured over the whole fruits to preserve them. The mixture eventually turns into a delicious syrup (13).

The taste of stonecrop is reminiscent of green pepper. Therefore, it is best to collect the top 5 cm of the shoots otherwise, the plant becomes woody.

The shoots go well with egg dishes like an omelette and make an exciting filling for spring rolls. Try them in tzatziki, along with chopped cucumber and garlic.

In Tuscany, the leaves are eaten as a snack (14). They would also work well as a pickle, similar to how marsh samphire (glasswort) is pickled. They have a similar succulent texture.

The plant is best served mixed with other greens and ingredients. Be careful where you harvest, and I recommend that you always cook saxifrage these days, as clean wild water sources are hard to find. In the Vosges, North Eastern France, saxifrage salad is a local dish.

The leaves go well in dumplings, pickled with other vegetables in brine, e.g. sauerkraut, or mixed into mashed herb potatoes.

1. Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Accessed September 14, 2022. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1981/69/section/13
2. Withering W. A Botanical Arrangement of All the Vegetables Naturally Growing in Great Britain. Cambridge University Press; 2015.
3. Turner NJ, Łuczaj ŁJ, Migliorini P, et al. Edible and Tended Wild Plants, Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Agroecology. Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences. 2011;30(1-2):198-225. doi:10.1080/07352689.2011.554492
4. Kress H. Practical Herbs Vol. 1.; 2018.
5. Couplan F. Le Régal Végétal: Reconnaître et Cuisiner les Plantes Comestibles. Nouvelle éd. Sang de la terre; 2017.
6. Pieroni A. Gathered Wild Food Plants in the Upper Valley of the Serchio River (garfagnana), Central Italy. Econ Bot. 1999;53(3):327-341. doi:10.1007/BF02866645
7. Kiple KF, Ornelas KC, eds. The Cambridge World History of Food. Illustrated edition. Cambridge University Press; 2000.
8. Harrison M. Wild Food Mentor. Eatweeds Press; 2010.
9. Svanberg I, Egisson S. Edible Wild Plant Use in the Faroe Islands and Iceland. Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae. 2012;81(4). Accessed September 14, 2022. http://agro.icm.edu.pl/agro/element/bwmeta1.element.agro-2e91d08e-6ebe-4178-a3e3-8ea87e9bcc03
10. Luczaj L, Köhler P, Pirożnikow E, Graniszewska M, Pieroni A, Gervasi T. Wild Edible Plants of Belarus: From Rostafiński’s Questionnaire of 1883 to the Present. Journal of ethnobiology and ethnomedicine. 2013;9(1):21.
11. Ju Y, Zhuo J, Liu B, Long C. Eating from the Wild: Diversity of Wild Edible Plants Used by Tibetans in Shangri-La Region, Yunnan, China. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. 2013;9(1):28. doi:10.1186/1746-4269-9-28
12. Chevallier A. Encyclopedia Of Herbal Medicine: 550 Herbs and Remedies for Common Ailments. 1st edition. DK; 2016.
13. Dénes A, Papp N, Babai D, Czúcz B, Molnár Z. Wild Plants Used for Food by Hungarian Ethnic Groups Living in the Carpathian Basin. Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae. 2012;81(4):381-396. doi:10.5586/asbp.2012.040
14. Wright CA. Mediterranean Vegetables: A Cook’s ABC of Vegetables and Their Preparation in Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, the Middle East, and North Africa with More Than 200 Authentic Recipes for the Home Cook. Harvard Common Press; 2001.

There is some evidence at a Neolithic site in northern Italy that the fruits of Blackthorn, commonly known as Sloes, were cooked or roasted (2).

In late autumn, picking sloes, sometimes called slaes or sloans, is a well-kept countryside tradition.

In the 1700s, Robert Bloomfield described roasting sloes over a bonfire in The Farmer’s Boy, and in the 1900s, Victorian writer Anne Pratt recalled collecting sloes as a child and burying the fruit in a bottle until winter to make a preserve (3).

In France, the unripe fruits are pickled like olives. In Azerbaijan, the ripe fruits are pickled with onions and garlic. Dried sloes can also add flavour to herbal teas (4).

Sloe wine has been made for hundreds of years, and the bitter-tasting fruits are still used to make sloe gin, flavour liqueurs, and even added to ice cream.

Sloe gin is recommended as an after-dinner winter drink because of its warming qualities. The dark berries can be made into delicious jellies and jams.

Chicory is a well-known wild edible that has been cultivated since the times of the ancient Egyptians, who used the plant as a coffee substitute, vegetable crop and animal forage (5).

The bitterness of roots can be reduced by cooking, and also by cooking in a couple of water changes (6).

There is considerable interest in chicory root as a substitute for corn syrup. “Part of the benefit in chicory is its ease of processing compared to the complex process required for the production of high fructose syrup (HFS) from corn… chicory yields more than twice the HFS per hectare as corn. In Europe the production of HFS from chicory has been pioneered by the beet sugar industry.” (7).

Chicory roots are used to make an ersatz coffee. First, the roots are slow roasted till dark brown, then ground up and used like coffee.

Britain was unfamiliar with horseradish as a culinary herb in the Middle Ages because its use was largely reserved for medicine. Still, herbalists were aware that it was a popular condiment in Germany and Denmark.

Half a century later, the British had begun to acquire a taste for horseradish, but it was not for the faint of heart.

The herbalist John Parkinson (1567–1650) wrote that it was eaten by “Country people and strong labouring men in some countries of Germany…and in our owne land also, but…it is too strong for tender and gentle stomaches” (10).

The fresh roots are commonly used as a culinary seasoning, either as a sauce, powder or vinegar for flavouring meats, vegetables and pickles (4).

You can also mix it with tomato sauce or tomatoes (as in Russia) to accompany seafood. In Alsace, France, a warm version of horseradish root is prepared with fresh cream (11).

The roots can be sliced and roasted as a vegetable. In Germany, sliced horseradish roots are cooked like parsnips.

Remember to open the kitchen window or door if you’re preparing horseradish roots at home.

Juniper is a small multi-stemmed shrub or tree. The seed cones usually referred to as berries, are the main parts of the plant used in creating food and drink.

Juniper berries are most commonly known for flavouring gin and seasoning game.

The volatile oils in the berries are a good digestive and help minimise the production of gas when eating foods like beans and cabbage. Often they will be included in sauerkraut for flavour.

Juniper berries have a small amount of yeast on the skin and can be used to activate sourdough starters when combined with the initial flour and water. Once activated, the berries are discarded (8).

The needles and berries are commonly used to smoke fish.

The oak covered one-third of Europe during the reign of England’s King Henry VII (1457–1509), but these ancient forests have vanished due to logging (9).

Nutritionally, the nuts of the oak tree provided a precious food source for early people.

Arthur Haines writes: “[The nut] contains starches, oils, some protein, the minerals calcium, phosphorus, and potassium, as well as several B complex vitamins (unfortunately, the B vitamins are water soluble and will largely be lost in the final product). The protein is high quality protein due to its completeness.” (6).

There are numerous ways to leech acorns, and it is best if only cold water is used. Two different cold water methods can be found here: How To Process Acorns.

Most people turn the acorn into flour, although it is possible to pickle the whole nut.

Kept in their shells and stored correctly, acorns can last for 25 years without going rancid, making them a fantastic nutrient-rich survival food.

During the war, citrus fruit imports were halted. As a result, in 1941 the Ministry of Health became concerned about the deficiency of vitamin C in the diet of children and infants.

The government started a massive recruitment campaign, and schools, voluntary groups and the Women’s Institute went out into the countryside to gather rosehips.

Once transported to London, they were turned into nutritious syrup and distributed to children and infants.

In the first year over 600,000 bottles were produced, rising in 1943 to two and half million bottles.

Rosehips are a valuable fruit for jams, jellies, syrups, soups, teas, wine and liqueurs. Dog rose flowers can be eaten in salads or candied or preserved for vinegar, honey and brandy (4).

1. Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Accessed September 14, 2022. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1981/69/section/13
2. Sánchez-Mata M de C, Tardío J, eds. Mediterranean Wild Edible Plants: Ethnobotany and Food Composition Tables. Springer; 2016. doi:10.1007/978-1-49393329-7
3. Hatfield G. Hatfield’s Herbal: The Secret History of British Plants. Penguin; 2008.
4. 1. Facciola S. Cornucopia II: A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications; 1998.
5. Street RA, Sidana J, Prinsloo G. Cichorium intybus : Traditional Uses, Phytochemistry, Pharmacology, and Toxicology. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2013;2013:1-13. doi:10.1155/2013/579319
6. Haines A. Ancestral Plants Volume 2: A Primitive Skills Guide to Important Edible, Medicinal, and Useful Plants of the Northwest. Vol 2. Anaskimin; 2015.
7. Herbalpedia. The Herb Growing & Marketing Network; 2014.
8. Gray B. The Boreal Herbal: Wild Food and Medicine Plants of the North. Aroma Borealis Press; 2011.
9. Cleene M de, Lejeune MC. Compendium of Symbolic and Ritual Plants in Europe. Man & Culture; 2002.
10. Grieve M. A Modern Herbal Vol 1 (A-H): The Medicinal, Culinary, Cosmetic and Economic Properties, Cultivation and Folk-Lore of Herbs, Grasses, Fungi, Shrubs, & Trees with All Their Modern Scientific Uses. Dover Publications; 1971.
11. Small E. Culinary Herbs. 2nd ed. NRC Research Press; 2006.

Burdock has largely fallen out of use as a vegetable in Western cuisine, but the root remains popular in Japan and China.

There are two species found in the UK. Greater Burdock (Arctium lappa) and Lesser Burdock (Arctium minus).

You can use both in the same way as the Japanese varieties, which are called, Gobo.

The roots are thinly sliced and tossed like radishes in salads and stir-fried, sautéed or roasted for soups, stews and tofu meals.

Burdock is one of the ingredients of tekka, a miso-based condiment. The roots of the plant can be pickled for storage and later used in cooking. The roots are also roasted to make burdock coffee or pounded to make pancakes.

It’s often sold for a hefty price, but it is a common weed you can pick for free.

At this time of year, people walk past delicious wild apple trees laden with delicious fruit.

From the traditional Crab Apple with its pectin-rich sharpness to ultra sweet varieties whose specific names have long been forgotten.

Despite its sour taste, Crab Apple has made a surprising contribution to apple cookery. Many find Crab Apple jelly or Crab Apple wine pleasing, and a couple of crab apples in an apple tart can improve its flavour.

The fruit, which is relatively high in pectin, is also added to ensure jams and jellies set. It is particularly helpful for jams made with low pectin fruit.

Crab Apple makes pleasant fruit cheeses mixed with blackberries or other fruits. Fruit cheeses are like stiff jelly that can be cut into slices and eaten with roast duck, goose or game.

It is recommended to pickle crab apples in spiced vinegar and serve with pork. Other uses for these sour fruit are for making syrup, apple butter, spiced apples and wine.

While the idea of walking past a tree in a park or woodland and stopping to snack on its young shoots, twigs, fruits or flowers may seem too strange to us today, such behaviour was once perfectly acceptable.

In Estonia, between the 18th–21st centuries, pine provided snacks for foragers (2).

Pine seeds are rich in lipids and sugars and make a nutritious, energetic snack (3). The tiny nuts, which are actually seeds, can be twisted off the cone, the winged casing removed and eaten on the go.

Wild food plants provided a valuable source of famine food in times of scarcity, such as in Poland, where pine needles were dried and ground for flour until around the 19th–20th centuries (4).

In Lapland, Norway and Scandinavia, the inner bark has been used to make bark bread (5). In Sweden, pine bark was collected from forests, kiln-dried and ground into flour. Then, people mixed it with oatmeal to make thin, dry cakes. The Laplanders were said to be fond of the inner bark when boiled as a broth (6).

Note: In some countries, Guelder Rose fruits were frozen and then defrosted before eating. However, it is not advisable to eat Guelder Rose fruits raw and for safety, please only use cooked fruits.

In northern Europe, such as Norway and Sweden, the Guelder Rose is used to flavour a paste of honey and flour (7).

In Estonia, the fruits have been eaten as a snack and used in baking bread, added to porridge, soup and pies, made into jams, syrups, desserts or juices, and used as an additive in vodka.

Guelder Rose fruits were also used as a filling for root cake (kaapekakk), a traditional bread made from the bread pan of the previous bread and kept, which was used in the new bread dough to make it leaven better (2).  

In Russia, the fruits were eaten fresh after freezing and again used cooked in porridge, for baking, making jams, jellies and marmalade, as well as for pastes, vinegar, mousse, pie fillings and as a condiment to meat.

The fruits were also used as a substitute for tea or roasted as a substitute for coffee. However, the traditional food use of guelder berries has declined in Russia, write Shikov and team (2017), partly because of the bitter, astringent taste of the berries (8). Viburnum opulus is also known as Cramp Bark as the bark is used to support menstrual cramps.

The roots are small, up to 3 cm in length, and are a good source of starch.

The starchy bulbous roots are small, up to 3 cm in length, and are best collected once the leaves have died back and turned brown. This is usually from September and until the beginning of Spring. Harvest too early and they might be tough and fibrous.

The roots are good grated raw into salads, baked, pureed and pickled. Traditionally they have been dried and ground into a gluten-free flour (9).

People grew Silverweed roots in pre-industrial days in Scotland as a famine crop (10).

Garlic Mustard roots are long and thin. They look like little carrots or daikon radish, and have a spicy sweetness. They can be used raw or cooked.

New leaf growth also appears at this time of year. And can be used chopped into a salad or cooked as a vegetable. The Autumn growth is a bit more fibrous than its Spring counterpart.

1. Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Accessed September 14, 2022. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1981/69/section/13
2. Sõukand R, Kalle R. Changes in the Use of Wild Food Plants in Estonia: 18th-21st Century. 1st ed. 2016. Springer; 2016. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-33949-8
3. Lentini F, Venza F. Wild Food Plants of Popular Use in Sicily. J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2007;3:15. doi:10.1186/1746-4269-3-15
4. Luczaj L, Szymanski WM. Wild Vascular Plants Gathered for Consumption in the Polish Countryside: A Review. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. 2007;3(1):17. doi:10.1186/1746-4269-3-17
5. Couplan F. The Encyclopedia of Edible Plants of North America. Keats Pub; 1998.
6. Sturtevant AH. Sturtevant’s Edible Plants of the World. (Hedrick UP, ed.). Dover Publications; 1972.
7. Facciola S. Cornucopia II: A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications; 1998.
8. Shikov AN, Tsitsilin AN, Pozharitskaya ON, Makarov VG, Heinrich M. Traditional and Current Food Use of Wild Plants Listed in the Russian Pharmacopoeia. Front Pharmacol. 2017;8:841. doi:10.3389/fphar.2017.00841
9. Fleischhauer SG, Spiegelberger R, Guthmann J. Enzyklopädie Essbare Wildpflanzen: 2000 Pflanzen Mitteleuropas ; Bestimmung, Sammeltipps, Inhaltsstoffe, Heilwirkung, Verwendung in Der Küche. AT-Verl; 2014.
10. Harrison M. Wild Food Mentor. Eatweeds Press; 2010.

In September, the hidden spice chest of the hedgerow begins to reveal itself.

Alexanders, a carrot family member, is a mainly coastal plant. However, it is slowly making its way inland.

Some authorities suggest Alexanders arrived in Britain as a result of the Romans. Records show they did use it as a vegetable and medicinal herb (1).

Caprioli and team tell us it was a popular wild edible during the time of Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC (2).

As Autumn makes its way towards us, the tiny ridged seeds are ripe for gathering once they turn black.

Known as a spice plant, Alexanders was called black potherb because of its black seeds. Bite into one, and you will experience the delicious flavour of black pepper but without the heat.

The coarsely ground seeds make a great addition to tomato-based pasta sauces.

The ancient Greeks believed that beechnuts were the first food eaten by humans.

Beechnuts (called mast) can be eaten raw or roasted and salted.

The kernels contain around 40% oil (3).

The kernels contain a toxic alkaloid called fagine, so it is best not to overeat them raw. Heat destroys fagine.

People once used roasted beech nuts as a coffee substitute.

People in Norway and Sweden bake the sawdust and mix it with wheat flour to make bread (4).

The plant belongs to the Amaranthaceae family. However, taxonomic authorities still quibble about whether it should be in the Goosefoot Family or not.

Seeds have also been found in the stomach of the Tollund Man. His body was found in a bog in Jutland, Denmark and is dated around 2000 years.

The seeds of Fat Hen are rich in starch and can be ground and added to flour to bake breads, cakes, biscuits, pancakes or muffins (5).

Alternatively, add the seeds to salads, stir-fries or use for sprouted grains. Fat Hen may produce up to seventy thousand seeds on a single plant.

These are similar to poppy seeds in shape and size and are suitable for seasoning, grain or coffee substitutes.

Napoleon was said to rely on Fat Hen seeds to make black bread to feed his troops (6).

Hawthorn berries, or haws, were a source of food in ancient Ireland.

The seeds have been found in Viking Dublin excavations dating back over 1,000 years.

Hawthorn trees are often heavy with berries in late Autumn when other native fruits have faded.

It is best to pick the berries later in the season when they become tastier and sweeter.

It is best to pick them after Halloween (31st October) in traditional folklore once the witches have flown over them (7).

Hawthorn berries have an acquired taste. They are mildly sweet and not particularly juicy. Traditionally they are made into jam, jelly, marmalade and wine.

My spicy lacto-fermented Dragon’s Breath Hawthorn Relish (8) is a unique way to work with the berries. A break from the usual sweet recipes.

A curious food, Rowan berries can be very bitter unless processed correctly.

It would be best if you froze them first, then defrost them and soak them in vinegar for 12 hours.

At first, you might be forgiven for giving Rowan a miss in the kitchen, but I encourage you to experiment.

As a pointer for you, the berries have traditionally been made into jams, jellies, conserves, marmalades, vinegar, wines, spirits, confectionary, ketchup, pies and soups.

In Europe, during times of scarcity, hungry people would grind dried Rowan berries into a meal they made into bread (9).

The berries have also been used to flavour alcoholic beverages, particularly mead.

The sap of Staghorn Sumac can cause a skin rash in some people.

If you stroke the red flowering drupes with your fingers and then lick them, it is like licking lemon sherbet. The malic acid in the plant gives them this sour taste.

The red-flame-like drupes can be used in drinks. For example, do this to make a delicious thirst-quenching Staghorn Sumac lemonade called sumacade.

Put five red drupes into a glass jar, then pour a litre of water over them. Place the jug on a window in sunlight for six hours: strain and drink. You can also make this liquid infusion into jelly.

The drupes make an acceptable substitute for the Middle Eastern spice known as Sumac.

Gather the drupes, and dry them on paper or in a dehydrator—Fork the seeds and fur off the drupes, which can be pretty time-consuming.

Blitz in a smoothie maker or food processor, then sieve to get Staghorn Sumac spice dust.

1. Maggi F, Barboni L, Papa F et al. A forgotten vegetable (Smyrnium olusatrum L., Apiaceae) as a rich source of isofuranodiene. Food Chem. 2012;135(4):2852-2862. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2012.07.027
2. Caprioli G, Fiorini D, Maggi F et al. Ascorbic acid content, fatty acid composition and nutritional value of the neglected vegetable Alexanders (Smyrnium olusatrum L., Apiaceae). Journal of Food Composition and Analysis. 2014;35(1):30-36. doi:10.1016/j.jfca.2014.05.001
3. sylvatica) B. Wild Plant Foods of Britain. Foragerplants.blogspot.com. https://foragerplants.blogspot.com/2018/06/. Published 2022. Accessed September 13, 2022.
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5. Facciola S. Cornucopia II. Vista, CA: Kampong Publications; 1998.
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7. Hatfield G. Hatfield’s Herbal. London: Penguin; 2008.
8. Harford R. Fermented Hawthorn Relish Recipe. Eatweeds. https://www.eatweeds.co.uk/fermented-hawthorn-relish-recipe. Published 2016. Accessed September 13, 2022.
9. Sturtevant E. Sturtevant’s Edible Plants Of The World. New York: Dover Publications; 1972.

Over the last two years we have seen a rise in popularity in foraging for food and medicine as people were spending more time outdoors and walking in nature during the pandemic. Whilst the country was forced to change from its normal routines in both work and life we witnessed a unanimous reawakening of the natural instinct to reconnect with our natural spaces.

This reawakened interest has so many benefits for us as individuals, foremost, reconnecting our relationship with the natural world. With this reconnection, comes a restored value, a sense of importance and appreciation for the offerings of nature.

With this surge of new interest however, it is important that we consider how we can learn most effectively considering our personal safety, sustainability and harvesting issues. So, let’s explore foraging through the eyes of professional foragers for some top tips on how to learn about the incredible world of foraging, creating a foundation of knowledge that can be confidently explored.

You can find all our foraging articles in our Foraging category.

Many will have already become familiar with their local wild spaces and will have a good idea of the types of plants that grow in them and some will be looking to learn the about their local habitats.

Whether you live near coastal paths and beaches, woodlands or forests, hedgerows or meadows or urban parks, it is important to form a connection to the land. Of course foremost for the purpose of observing the plants that one intends to forage as they change throughout the seasons, the habitats and species that interact with them, but also for understanding the land use so to avoid harvesting contaminated material.

The beginning of a foragers journey should always start with a period of observation, ideally over a year to observe how the plants change with the seasons. Plants can change dramatically as they leaf, flower and fruit throughout the seasons for example, leaf size and shape can change in a period of weeks, younger leaves sometime even comparatively different in shape and texture compared to the more mature leaves of the same plant.

Knowing your plant is also very important if you’re planning on harvesting roots, because the aerial parts are often dying or have died off completely by the time root harvesting season comes around (very early spring or autumn).

It is also important to learn about land use to identify if there are any potential contaminants that may effect ones harvest, for example from mining, farming or use of pesticides and herbicides etc.

Observing an area of land or a footpath in which one intends to gather from is an essential part of foraging safety. Coming to understand the way the land is being used will enable one to avoid any potentially toxic contamination of the plants being harvested.

Through spending time in these places, looking into the use of land through investigating types of farming that are taking place, any industrial history. This will sometimes be obvious with industrial buildings or ruins in sight. Sometimes unusual mounds of earth may indicate mining waste or landfill. The best way to be sure about this would be to contact the local council or landowner (if foraging from a public right of way).

With this surge of new interest it is important that we consider how we can learn most effectively considering our personal safety. Whilst there are many easily identifiable edible and medicinal plants, there are also a number of easily mistakable poisonous plants that anyone who is embarking on a foraging journey should be aware of.

Among the British and European flora grows some of the most deadly plants in the world, and they’re more common than many realize. So one must always begin their foraging journey learning safe practice in identification before anything is harvested or ingested.

Please note: Namely there are plants in the Carrot family (Apiaciae) that many professional foragers will warn about, therefore it is advised to avoid plants from this family if you are a beginner, taking good time to learn about them or seeking experienced guidance with regard to plants from this family.

Plant identification

Foragers and herbalists know the importance of learning basic botany and using a proper guide to identify plants correctly. So the first thing anyone who is interested in learning about foraging should do is get their hands on a comprehensive plant identification guide, such as a Collins guide to British and European Flora (if in UK), or any good flower guide.

These books contain a ‘key’ under which the individual botanical characteristics, such as leaf shape, flower colour, fragrance etc can be checked. Sometimes the difference between two plants can be discreet features such as having a solid or a hollow stem, number or shape of petals or sepals, presence or absence of fragrance and so on. Use of a proper key is the most accurate and effective way to confidently identify a plant.

A plant guide will contain detailed images and descriptions of all the plants found to grow in a specific region, country or continent. So after using the key one will at least know which plant family a plant specimen belongs to. Which can then be compared against a small number of similar plants in this genus to find what accurately fits the details shown in the book.

Plant identification apps

There are now a number of plant identification apps available, many are turning to these apps to help identify plants for foraging. However, can we rely on this as a way to safely advise on the edibility of a plant? If you ask any professional botanist, forager or herbalist, the answer will be no.

Unfortunately the inaccuracy of using these apps has been demonstrated time and time again, which has indeed led to serious cases of poisoning. These apps work by matching botanical characteristics of uploaded images. However, as you can see from above, often the differences between two plants are more discreet or sometimes invisible, such as fragrance, hollow stems, presence of fine hairs etc, these can not be translated through a digital image.

Plant identification apps can possibly be useful for guiding one towards a plant genus or species, just that they should never be used alone. Truthfully, the only foolproof way of identifying a plant is through proper use of a plant guide key. This invaluable knowledge is arguably the most sustainable and also the most rewarding, ultimately forging a deeper and more permanent understanding of the plant world.

You can also check out wildflowerfinder.org.uk

Many of the most popular edible and medicinal plants are common or well known as ‘weeds’, also plants that grow fairly abundantly in their natural habitats such as dandelion, nettle, plantain etc. However there are occasionally plants and fungi that are endangered or rare which will most likely be illegal to harvest in the UK, such as Lions Mane Mushroom, Centaury, Oak polypore etc.

Sometimes a plant is only locally endangered or uncommon i.e. not classified as rare or endangered but that it is not well established in the habitat or region. This is also something one must observe as they come to form a connection to any foraging territories.

Of course these plants should be left untouched. Alternatively, one may source through a trusted medicinal plant supplier or herbalist. It is also worth noting that there are usually other medicinal plants or combinations of, that could work effectively for the same condition or desired outcome. Again, a good herbalist would be able to offer advice or guidance here.

Even with the more common plants, we have to consider sustainability in harvesting, being mindful of the habitats and other species that are supported by them.

How much should I take?

As a rule of thumb foragers advise never to take more than one third of what is growing in a patch or area. This is because when one has harvested the required quantities for the intended purpose, it is essential that enough is left for the plant to regenerate itself in that patch.

If you need to harvest more, walk further and take smaller amounts from a number of different locations along the route, rather than all from the same place. This also ensures that there is enough left for the other species that interact with these plants.

We have a responsibility to consider all the complex processes happening in our natural spaces when we interact with them, especially where we plan to take something away, we want to ensure that we at least avoid having a negative impact, better still, we could even consider ways to benefit the environment.

Another rule of foraging is to always bring the book to the plant (as oppose to returning with cut specimens to identify at home). This is firstly because there are often factors about the habitat that are key for identification i.e. if the plant grows near a stream or a water source or a plant that grows in the shade as oppose to in a sunny position etc; all defining factors for identification.

Bringing a book to the plant is also important because one may take a plant and later find it to be a rare or endangered specimen.

One must also pay close attention whilst harvesting, always tracing the flower to the leaf, the leaf to the stem and the stem to the ground, taking care to ensure all plant parts are observed and that they match up.

It is possible otherwise to end up with the incorrect plants accidentally mixed in with a harvest i.e. harvesting elderflowers (an often shrubby tree, whose umbel like flowers can grow fairly low) among clumps of poisonous hemlock whose tall umbel flowers are up in amongst the low lying elderflowers, a mistake one would likely only make once (because hemlock is deadly!).

Therefore it is always advised to cut individual plant parts as opposed to grabbing clumps of leaves/ flowers. When taking a large harvest real attention must be taken so that everything that lands in your basket is what you had intended to forage.