List of forageable plants

This article lists edible plants and mushrooms that are commonly found in the wild, which makes it possible for people to forage them.

Before assuming that any wild plant is edible, it should be identified. Accurate determination and proper identification of a species is the only safe way to ensure edibility, and the only safeguard against possible accident. Some plants that are edible for most people can cause allergic reactions in some individuals, and old or improperly stored specimens can cause food poisoning.

There are also separate lists of edible seeds, mushrooms, flowers, nuts, vegetable oils and leaves, which may partially overlap with this list.

List

The lists are ordered by the plants' binomial name.

Trees and shrubs

Plant imagePart imageCommon nameBinomial nameDistributionEdible parts and usesRef.
JuneberryAmelanchier lamarckiiNaturalized in Western Europe.Berries (in June). Edible raw.[1]
Sea purslane Atriplex portulacoides Seashores and salt marshes of western and southern Europe, and from the Mediterranean to western Asia. Leaves, raw as a salad, or stir-fried. [2]
BarberryBerberis vulgarisEurope, North America, northwest Africa, western Asia.Berries (from July). Edible raw, dried as a spice or cooked as a jelly.[3]
Sweet chestnutCastanea sativaThroughout Europe and parts of Asia. Common in woods and parks.Nuts (October to November). Chestnuts are edible raw or in any other preparation, such as roasted, boiled, stewed or baked.[4]
HazelCorylus avellanaIn many European woodlands, at the edges of woods or in mature hedges.Hazelnuts (from late August to October). Edible raw or processed.[5]
Hawthorn, may-treeCrataegus monogynaNative to Europe, northwest Africa and western Asia; naturalized elsewhere.Leaves (when young, in April). Edible raw as a salad vegetable.

Berries (in autumn). Edible raw, or made into jellies, jams and syrups, or used as a flavoring.

[6]
BeechFagus sylvaticaEurope down to central Italy, and in mountain forests around the Mediterranean.Nuts (in September or October). Edible raw or roasted and salted, or can be pressed for oil.[7]
WalnutJuglans regiaNative to Central Asia, but naturalized in temperate zones worldwide.Nuts (ripening in September).[8]
JuniperJuniperus communisThroughout the northern hemisphere in North America, Europe and Asia.Berries, both immature (green) and mature (dark). Inedibly bitter when raw, but used as a spice, for beverages, as a jam or roasted and ground as a coffee substitute.[9]
HopHumulus lupulusNative to the temperate Northern Hemisphere: Europe, North America, Asia.Young shoots and leaves (until May). Edible cooked as a vegetable.[10]
Oregon-grapeMahonia aquifoliumNorth America, occasionally naturalized in Europe.Berries. Edible raw (though acidic) or made into a jelly.[11]
CrabapplesMalus sylvestris and other Malus speciesMalus is native to the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere, in Europe, Asia and North America.Fruit (from July). Edible raw or, if too bitter, cooked as a jelly (crabapples contain much pectin).[12]
MedlarMespilus germanicaSouth-east Europe to West Asia, occasionally naturalized in Britain.Fruit (in November). Edible after being bletted for a few weeks.[13]
Bog-myrtle, sweet willow, Dutch myrtle, sweetgale Myrica gale Parts of the northern hemisphere, including Japan, North Korea, Russia, Europe and North America. Leaves, dried as tea, or raw as roast chicken stuffing.

Nutlets and dried leaves, as a seasoning, including for beer (gruit).

[14] [15]
Scots pinePinus sylvestrisNative to Europe and Asia.Needles (when young, April to August). Can be boiled for tea or soaked in olive oil to yield an aromatic oil.

Nuts. The tiny nuts are difficult to extract from the cones, but are edible raw.

[16]
Wild cherryPrunus aviumNative to Europe, western Turkey, northwestern Africa, and western Asia. Found in hedgerows and woods, especially beech.Cherries, edible raw.[17]
Bullace, damson, other wild plumsPrunus domestica subsp. insititiaPrunus species are spread throughout the northern temperate regions of the globe.Fruit (ripe from early October). Edible raw.[18]
Sloe, blackthornPrunus spinosaNative to Europe, western Asia, and locally in northwest Africa. Also locally naturalised in New Zealand and eastern North America.Berries. Edible raw, but very acidic, unless picked after the first few days of autumn frost.[19]
English / French oakQuercus roburNative to most of Europe, and from Anatolia to the Caucasus, and also to parts of North Africa.Acorns (ripening in September to October). Too bitter when raw, but used chopped and roasted as a substitute for almonds, or then ground as a substitute for coffee. After leaching out the bitter tannins in water, acorn meal can be used as grain flour.[20]
ElderSambucus nigraEurope, North Africa, Central Asia and Anatolia.Flowers (June to July). Edible raw, as a salad green, or pickled, or to make tea, or alcoholic beverages.

Berries (August to October). Edible when ripe (turning upside down) and cooked; raw berries are mildly poisonous.

[21]
Rowan, Mountain-ashSorbus aucupariaNative to most of Europe except for the far south, and northern Asia.Berries (August to November). Bitter, but can be cooked to form a jelly, or used as a flavouring.[22]
WhitebeamSorbus ariaCentral and southern Europe.Berries. Edible raw once overripe (bletted).[23]
Wild service-treeSorbus torminalisNative to Europe, south to northwest Africa, and southeast to southwest Asia.Berries (from September). Edible raw, but hard and bitter unless bletted.[24]
LimeTilia × europaeaOccasionally in the wild in Europe, or commonly grown in parks, on roadsides or in ornamental woods.Flowers (in full bloom, June or early July). A tea (popular in France as tilleul) can be made from the dried flowers.

Leaves. Without the stalks, edible raw as a salad vegetable.

[25]

Herbaceous plants

Plant imagePart imageCommon nameBinomial nameDistributionEdible parts and usesRef.
Amaranth, pigweed, tumbleweed Amaranthus retroflexus Native to the tropical Americas, but widespread worldwide. Leaves, boiled as a vegetable, or raw with the shoots if young.

Seeds, raw or toasted, or ground to flour.

[26]
Spear saltbush, common orache Atriplex patula Semi-arid deserts and coastal areas in Asia, North America, Europe, and Africa. Young leaves and shoots, raw or cooked as a substitute for spinach. [2]
Ice plant, sour figCarpobrotus edulisSouth Africa and many zones with a similar climate, including Australia, California and the Mediterranean.Figs (May to July). Edible raw.[27]
Fat-hen, wild spinachChenopodium albumWorldwide in soils rich in nitrogen, especially on wasteland.Leaves and young shoots. Edible raw or prepared as a green vegetable.[28]
Good-King-HenryChenopodium bonus-henricusMost of Europe, West Asia and eastern North America.Young shoots (until early Summer) and leaves (until August). The shoots can be cooked like asparagus, and the leaves like spinach.[29]
PoppyPapaver rhoeasWorldwide, principally in the northern temperate zones.Seeds (from September, when the seed heads are dry, gray-brown and holed). Edible raw as a spice or flavoring.[30]
Samphire, glasswort, pickleweed, sea beans, sea asparagus Salicornia species Seashores and other salty habitats in the northern hemisphere and southern Africa. Young shoots (June or July). Edible raw or cooked, also pickled. [31]
Bladder campion, maidenstears Silene vulgaris As a wildflower in the temperate zones of Europe, Western Asia, North Africa and North America, on dry, sunny, calcareous grassland. Young shoots and leaves, raw, older leaves also cooked. A local specialty in parts of the Mediterranean region. [32]
Chickweed Stellaria media Worldwide, as an annual in colder climates, and a perennial evergreen elsewhere. Stems and leaves, raw or cooked. [33]
Stinging nettleUrtica dioicaVery common in Europe and Asia, less common in North America.Young shoots and leaves (until May). Edible after soaking or boiling as a vegetable, or as a soup or purée.[34]

See also

Bibliography

  • Fleischhauer, Steffen Guido (2005). Enzyklopädie der essbaren Wildpflanzen: 1500 Pflanzen Mitteleuropas mit 400 Farbfotos (3. ed.). Aarau/München: AT-Verlag. ISBN 978-3855028894.
  • Kallas, John (2010). Edible wild plants: wild foods from dirt to plate (1. ed.). Layton, Utah: Gibbs Smith. ISBN 978-1423601500.
  • Lim, T.K. Medicinal and non-medicinal edible plants. Springer.
  • Vol. 1, Fruits: Actinidiaceae–Cycadaceae (2012): ISBN 978-90-481-8660-0
  • Vol. 2, Fruits: Clusiaceae–Fabaceae (2012): ISBN 978-94-007-1763-3
  • Vol. 3, Fruits: Ginkgoaceae–Myrtaceae (2012): ISBN 978-94-007-2533-1
  • Mabey, Richard. Food for free (2012 ed.). London: Collins. ISBN 978-000-743847-1.
  • Thayer, Samuel (2006). The Forager's Harvest: a guide to identifying, harvesting, and preparing edible wild plants. Ogema, WI: Forager's Harvest. ISBN 978-0976626602.

Footnotes

  1. Mabey (2012), 73
  2. Mabey (2012), 104
  3. Mabey (2012), 34
  4. Mabey (2012), 44
  5. Mabey (2012), 52
  6. Mabey (2012), 77
  7. Mabey (2012), 41
  8. Mabey (2012), 38
  9. Mabey (2012), 33
  10. Mabey (2012), 37
  11. Mabey (2012), 85
  12. Mabey (2012), 64
  13. Mabey (2012), 74
  14. Mabey (2012), 97
  15. Elias, Thomas S.; Dykeman, Peter A. (2009) [1982]. Edible Wild Plants: A North American Field Guide to Over 200 Natural Foods. New York: Sterling. p. 176. ISBN 978-1-4027-6715-9. OCLC 244766414.
  16. Mabey (2012), 30
  17. Mabey (2012), 61
  18. Mabey (2012), 62
  19. Mabey (2012), 58
  20. Mabey (2012), 51
  21. Mabey (2012), 78
  22. Mabey (2012), 68
  23. Mabey (2012), 72
  24. Mabey (2012), 71
  25. Mabey (2012), 57
  26. Mabey (2012), 112
  27. Mabey (2012), 98
  28. Mabey (2012), 100; Kallas (2010), 67
  29. Mabey (2012), 103
  30. Mabey (2012), 88
  31. Mabey (2012), 108–111
  32. Mabey (2012), 116
  33. Mabey (2012), 112–115
  34. Mabey (2012), xx
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.