Identification Guides

Dandelion Botanical Name Taraxacum officinale Known Hazards Dandelion root tea is sometimes taken to increase people’s appetite, what it also does is release sugar into the blood, so as a diabetic it is worth keeping this in mind if you’re planning to drink dandelion root tea. Those with very sensitive…

 Sea Kale / Edible / Spring / Summer / Autumn Scientific Name: Crambe Maritima Family: BrassicaceaeAlso known as: Crambe.Habitat: Some coastal regions of the Black and Baltic Seas and North western Europe, but absent in the Mediteranean.  It grows above the tide line, preferring sandy or shingle beaches Description: Crambe maritima…

How to Identify Wild Garlic Edible Botanical Name Allium Ursinum Known Hazards Reports of toxicity if eating sacks full, but such outcomes no doubt apply to many foods eaten to excess. Could be confused with The leaves could potentially be confused with both the poisonous leaves of Lilly of the…

Foraging doesn’t only take place in the wildest places you can imagine – there’s a wilderness in everyone’s gardens, balconies or even on your lunch break walk.  Go out into your garden and have a look around, even if you’ve got a concrete heaven for a garden, I can guarantee…

How to Identify Blackberries and Brambles 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 rip clothing when around brambles. Range and Distribution A type or hybrid of blackberry can be found…

Clovers / Edible / Spring / Summer   Common Name:Clover Latin Name:trefoil spp Season:March – August (Spring/Summer) Could be Confused with:Could be confused with Wood Sorrel or other Clovers, i.e. white confused for red clover when not in flower, the only thing to be mainly wary of that grows in…

HOW TO IDENTIFY FIR, SPRUCE, AND PINE TREES Fir, Spruce, and Pine make fine wild edibles if you know how to identify them. Edible parts include the spring growth of green tips and young cones as well as the tree pollen. From pine you can also get pine nuts but…

Alexanders (Smyrnium Olusatrum ) How to Identify Alexanders Edible 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 the Latin ater, atrum, adjective atro, meaning…

COMMON NAMESAsh, Common Ash, European Ash. BOTANICAL NAMEFraxinus excelsior. PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS               Stems – Light grey bark, that fissures with age, the stems are smooth with distinctive black buds, which are arranged in opposite pairs.    Leaves -Large compound leaves, up to 40 cm long,…

BEECH / SPRING / SUMMER / AUTUMN / EDIBLE COMMON NAMES Common Beech, European Beech BOTANICAL NAME Fagus sylvatica PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS Root –  Unknown. Stems/Bark – They have smooth silver/grey bark.     Leaves – The leaves are lime green, with wavy edges. They are around 5-10 cm long, grow…

Foraging doesn’t only take place in the wildest places you can imagine – there’s a wilderness in everyone’s gardens, balconies or even on your lunch break walk.  Go out into your garden and have a look around, even if you’ve got a concrete heaven for a garden, I can guarantee…

Giant / Blackening Polypore / Summer/ Autumn / Edible   Botanical NameMeripilus giganteus Also Known asBlackening Polypore, Black-staining Polypore Range and DistributionThis fungus is common across Europe, Scandinavia and Russia and is also recorded in Turkey and Iran. A similar species, Meripilus Sumstinei, grows in North America.  HabitatThis fungus grows…

Amethyst Deceiver/Summer/Autumn/Edible Scientific NameLaccaria amethystina FamilyHydnangiaceae HabitatThis mushroom, common in temperate areas of Europe, Asia and the Americas’ grows in deciduous as well as coniferous forests. I find them mostly with beech or oak. It appears in late summer through to early winter. DescriptionThis is quite a changeable mushroom and can appear different depending…

Bay Bolete/Mushroom/Autumn/Edible Scientific NameImleria badia  FamilyBoletaceae HabitatFairly common in the UK and Europe, also found in the USA. We find this mushroom mostly growing with spruce and pine but it also sometimes grows with beech and oak. DescriptionThe common name refers to the colour of the cap which is a…

Beef Steak Fungus/ Autumn/ Winter/ Edible Common namesBeef Steak, Ox Tongue Botanical nameFistulina Hepatica Meaning of botanical nameFistulina, refers to the underside of this mushroom and its separate small tubes or pores. Hepatica means it’s liver like.  Known hazardsNone know  Could be confused with..Inonotus hispidus, the Shaggy Bracket ( which…

 Birch Polypore /All Year/ Medicinal/ Edible     Scientific NameFomitopsis betulina FamilyFomitopsidaceae Also known asRazor Strop Fungus. HabitatBirch polypore grows primarily on birch trees, and has no look-alikes.  DescriptionA large bracket develops from a small white spherical swelling on the side of dead or living birch trees. Very common in…

Black Morels/Spring/ Edible   Scientific NameMorchella elata FamilyMorchellaceae HabitatEurope, including Britain, temperate regions of Asia, North Africa, North America. They grow in varied habitat –  Fields, hedgerows, open woodland, clearings and waste ground and burnt ground. They often turn up in fresh wood chippings put down as mulch in gardens,…

Chicken Of The Woods/Summer/Autumn/Edible Common NamesChicken of the woods, sulphur polypore, giant canary fan Botanical NameLaetiporus sulphureus Meaning of Botanical NameLatiporus is derived from the Latin words Laet, meaning bright or pleasing and Por meaning pores. Sulphureus relates to the bright sulphur colour. Translating to bright and pleasing pores of…

Death cap / Summer/ Winter/ Deadly Common Name Death Cap None Edible Deadly Toxic!! Botanical Name Amanita Phalloides Meaning of Botanical Name Phalloides referes to the shape of the young mushroom emerging from its egg sack. Family Amanitaceae Known Hazards DEADLY, this mushroom contains amotoxin, which in the first 6-12…

Destroying Angel/ Summer/ Autumn/ Deadly poisonous Common NameDestroying Angel Botanical NameAmanita virosa Meaning of Botanical NameVirosa referring to its strongly sweet sickly unpleasant smell FamilyAmanitaceae Known HazardsDEADLY, this mushroom contains amotoxin, which in the first 6-12 hours after eating cause severe gastric upsets, those symptoms pass and the consumer is…