How to Forage for Wild Edible Plants
There are probably wild plants growing in your own backyard—or at least in a nearby public park—just waiting to become a free, tasty meal. Just make sure they’re actually edible.
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You Will Need
- Patience
- A plant reference book
- Daring
Steps
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Ingesting unknown vegetation is always dangerous. If you have any doubt about something, don’t eat it.
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Step 1
Educate yourself
Learn about the plants that grow wild in your area and are edible. Your local Horticultural Society or librarian can help you.
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Step 2
Locate foraging areas
Locate areas with natural plant life. Even large cities often have parks where edible wild plants can be foraged.
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To avoid pesticides, don’t forage near railroad tracks or power line rights-of-way.
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Step 3
Bring a book
Bring an illustrated plant reference book with you to help identify plants and determine whether they are safe to eat.
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Step 4
Know the edible parts
Make sure you know which part of a plant is edible. Sometimes the roots are edible but the leaves are not, and vice versa.
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Step 5
Know what to avoid
Do not eat unknown plants that have a milky sap or a sap that turns black when exposed to air; are mushroom-like; resemble onions, garlic, parsley, parsnip, or dill; or have carrot-like leaves, roots, or tubers.
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Follow this rule when foraging for mushrooms: If it ain’t hollow, don’t swallow; if it’s wavy, don’t make gravy; if it’s reddish, you could be deadish.
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Step 6
Wash before eating
Wash foraged food before eating it, especially anything picked lower than waist high.
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Step 7
Don’t be greedy
Don’t be greedy: Don’t pick every single berry, nut, or plant from an area--leave some for your fellow foragers!
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Out of 85,556 questionable mushroom ingestions reported to the American Association of Poison Control Centers in an 11-year period, only 14 resulted in fatalities.
