Henbane / Spring / Summer / Autumn / Toxic Henbane is a poisonous plant in the nightshade family (Solanaceae) it is native to temperate Europe, and naturalised in Great Britain and Ireland. It’s a shrubby biennial that grows up to 1m tall. The whole plant is very hairy, very sticky…
Tag: toxic
Forsythia / Spring / Summer / Edible / Toxic  Forsythia is a beautiful plant that produces a beautiful vibrant yellow flower which is the only part I would advise for eating, it adds a vibrant pop of colour to salads and on top of dishes that you want to…
Monkshood / Spring / Summer / Autumn / Toxic Monkshood is an absolute delight to see through Spring and it’s worth learning from a foraging perspective, not to enjoy in dinner but to be completely careful not to pick it for food when out foraging for other plants and species.…
Laburnum / Spring / Summer / Autumn / Toxic Laburnum is a fairly common sight in parks and gardens especially in spring when they are in flower. Although it looks absolutely beautiful when it comes into flower all parts of this plant are toxic so it’s an important species for…
True Chanterelles or False Chanterelles – it’s a question we might find asking ourselves when we’re out foraging for Chanterelles, to help you forage for the right thing we’ve put together a full piece outlining the key differences between the two. At first glance, it’s easy enough to see how…
Woolly Milkcap / Summer / Autumn / Toxic Through this guide we’re going to look at the key feature’s to help identify the woolly milkcap mushroom. Scientific Name Lactarius torminosus Family Russulaceae Habitat Woods and heaths, usually with Birch General Description It has a cap 4-12cm across which is convex…
Giant Hogweed was Introduced in the 19th century by the Victorians as an ornamental plant and it’s been on the march ever since, working its way across the UK and fraternizing with our Common Hogweed, (Heracleum sphondylium) along the way to produce Hybrids of Hogweed. The main thing we’ll be…
Ragwort / Spring / Summer / Autumn / Toxic Ragworts (Senecio species) are very common throughout the UK, the most common variety in the UK is Jacobaea vulgaris but they are all toxic. Common Names Ragwort, Common ragwort, Stinking Willy, Tansy ragwort, St. James-wort, Stinking nanny, Staggerwort, Cankerwort, Stammerwort. Botanical…
Toxic plants and fungi When we think about poisonous plants and fungi what do we mean? A toxic plant is often defined as ‘a plant that when touched or ingested in sufficient quantity can be harmful or fatal to an organism or any plant capable of evoking a toxic and/or…
Through this piece we’re going to be taking a look at the 5 of the most toxic berries found in the UK (or at least from our experience foraging over the years). In summer and autumn time the hedgerows and woods of the UK really come alive with colour, and…