With vast open mountains, raised peat bogs, pristine coastlines, ancient woodlands and temperate rainforest there’s plenty of habitats to choose from if we want to foraging in Scotland Then there’s our beautiful city parks, which also contain the additional bonus of some truly amazing introduced species with complex, interesting and…
Category: coastal

The Salty Agaric / Summer / Autumn / Edible Scientific Name Agaricus Bernardii Common Names The Salty Agaric, The Salt-loving mushroom. Family Agaricaceae Habitat As their common name suggests they love salty environments so are most often found near to the coast, although they are becoming more common on inland…

Wild Fennel / Spring / Summer / Autumn / Edible Latin Name: Foeniculum vulgare Physical Characteristics:Â A tall umbellifer that can grow to 1.5-2m tall in favourable conditions. Leaves The leaves, which begin sheathed, are very finely branched and appear feathery. Flowers The flowering stalks are round in the cross…

Sea Plantain / Spring / Summer / Autumn / Edible Other Common Names: Coastal Plantain, Plantain by the Sea, Goose tongue Latin Name: Plantago maritima subsp. maritima (there are several subspecies, differentiated by their geographical distributions). Physical Characteristics: Looking a bit like a wider, more succulent grass stem with a…

Buck’s Horn Plantain / Spring / Summer / Autumn / Edible Common Names Stagshorn plantain, Minutina Botanical Name Plantago coronopus Scientific Classification Kingdom – Plantae Order –Lamiales Family – Plantaginaceae Physical Characteristics The whole plant rarely grows more than 10cm tall. Leaves Hairy leaves growing in a basal rosette. Each…

Nori / Spring / Summer / Autumn / Winter / Edible Other Common Names: sometimes called Laver (not strictly correct, but they are very similar) Latin Name: Pyropia yezoensis, californica, tenera and other species. Note that Laver is in the Porphyria genus, but the seaweeds in each are often reclassified.…

Irish Moss Seaweed /Autumn / Winter / Spring / Edible Irish Moss (the source of carrageenan) Note: You may have heard more about Carrageenan than about Irish Moss, and you may be surprised to find controversial material after googling carrageenan! Irish Moss is the seaweed from which the fibre/carbohydrate carrageenan…

Sea Aster / Spring / Summer / Autumn / Edible Common Name Sea Aster Botanical Name Aster tripolium Scientific Classification Kingdom – Plantae Order –Asterales Family – Asteraceae Physical Characteristics of Sea Aster Perennial (although often not for many years) herb that usually grows to about 50cm tall Leaves With…