Foraging Plants Guide

Plants & Trees provide us with some many foraging possibilities it really makes the mind boggle. From utilising roots for making coffee or flowers for making herbal medicine, the list is endless.

We want to make sure you’re safe when out foraging and as such we’ve put together this range of plant and tree foraging identification guides.

These guides can be used to help you develop and are best used alongside some hands-on learning which we can help you with on one of our wild food and foraging courses.

The information provided below is made to act as a guide, when foraging for yourself you are ultimately in control of what you do and eat. Remember to only eat what you’re 100% certain of.

If there are any extra guides you’d like to see made or updated then please let us know by getting in touch here.

If you'd like to learn more why not join us on a Foraging Course

We Cover Plants, Trees, Mushrooms and Seaweeds and run throughout the UK

Use the search bar below to search for something very specific you’re looking for and it will display everything we have linked to that. For example I’m looking for information of Douglas Fir – if I type it in below I’ll get identification guides, recipes and any other posts linked to it.

Or you can use the tabs below to see our entire catalogue of just identification guides. They are separated into: Plants & Trees, Mushrooms & Seaweeds. These are arranged in Alphabetical order and there are quick links at the top of the guides to look for something specific a bit more clearly. We truly hope that they’re useful to you 🙂

All
Alexanders
Arctium lappa
ash
Asteraceae
autumn
Beech
Black Mustard
blackberry
bluebell
borage
Boraginaceae
Borago Officinalis
Brassica nigra
Brassicaceae
Broad Leaved Plantain
burdock
Charlock Mustard
edible
edible flowers
Fagus sylvatica
Fraxinus excelsior
fruit
Hyacinthoides Nonscripta
Plantaginaceae
Plantago major
plantain
Plants
Rubus Fruticosus
Sinapis arvensis
Smyrnium Olusatrum
spring
summer
toxic
tree
winter

Alexanders (Smyrnium Olusatrum) Identification

Alexanders / spring / summer / autumn / winter / edible How to Identify Alexanders Common Names: Alexanders, horse parsley, alisanders and smyrnium. Botanical Name: Smyrnium Olusatrum Meaning of Botanical Name: Smyrnuim indicates the plants distinct myrrh-like aromatics. While Olusatrum comes from Olus meaning garden herb and Atrum from…

Ash (Fraxinus excelsior) Identification

Common Names Ash, Common Ash, European Ash. Botanical Name Fraxinus excelsior Scientific Classification Kingdom – Plantae Order – Lamiales Family – OleaceaeGenus – Fraxinus Known Hazards None known. Could be Confused with… Rowan or elder but elder has fewer leaflets and rowan’s leaves are serrated. Habitat One of the most…

Beech (Fagus sylvatica) Identification

BEECH / SPRING / SUMMER / AUTUMN / EDIBLE COMMON NAMES Common Beech, European Beech BOTANICAL NAME Fagus sylvatica SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION Kingdom – Plantae Order – Fagales Family – Fagaceae Genus – Fagus KNOWN HAZARDS There is some evidence to suggest that they shouldn’t be eaten in large quantities as…

Black Mustard (Brassica nigra) Identification

Black Mustard / Spring / Summer / Autumn / Edible Common and Latin Names: Black Mustard (Brassica nigra) Harvest Season: Late Spring to Summer these plants will be out in flower, leaf and seed, sometimes with a small revival in early Autumn. Habitat: They have been cultivated widely, and therefore…

Blackberry (Rubus Fruticosus) Identification

Blackberry / Spring / Summer / Autumn / Edible How to Identify Blackberries and Brambles Common Names Blackberry, Brambles Latin Name Rubus Fruticosus Known Hazards The stem of this plant contains many thorns and spikes, it’s almost impossible to walk through brambles and it’s fairly common to catch or even…

Bluebells (Hyacinthoides Nonscripta) Identification

Bluebells / Spring / Poisonous Common names Bluebell Botanical Name Hyacinthoides Nonscripta Known Hazards The whole plant is toxic Could be confused with Three cornered leek, Snow drops when young shoots are emerging Range and Distribution Fairly common throughout UK and Western Europe. Habitat Woodland garden in dappled shade, shady…

Borage (Borago Officinalis) Identification

Borage / Spring / Summer / Edible Borage (Borago Officinalis) Identification A common annual, flowering plant. The leaves, stems and flowers are all edible. Common Names Borage, Star Flower, Herb of Courage. Botanical Name Borago Officinalis Scientific Classification Kingdom – Plantae Order – Boraginales Family – Boraginaceae Physical Characteristics for…

Broad Leaved Plantain (Plantago major) Identification

Broadleaf Plantain / Spring / Summer / Autumn / Edible Scientific Name Plantago major Family Plantaginaceae Also known as White man’s footprint Habitat Found in Europe, including Britain, from Iceland south and east to Spain, northern and central Asia. Grassland, roadsides etc, a common weed of lawns and cultivated ground,…

Burdock (Arctium lappa) Identification

Burdock / Autumn / Winter / Edible Scientific Name Arctium lappa Family Asteraceae Also known as Gobo root, Beggar’s Buttons, Thorny Burr, Happy Major. Habitat Native to the temperate regions, from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean, and from the British Isles through Russia, and the Middle East to India, China, Taiwan…

Charlock Mustard (Sinapis arvensis) Identification

Charlock Mustard/ Spring / Summer / Autumn / Edible Common and Latin Names: Charlock Mustard (Sinapis arvensis) Harvest Season: Late Spring to Summer these plants will be out in flower, leaf and seed, sometimes with a small revival in early Autumn. Habitat: They have been cultivated widely, and therefore have…