And so inspired by reading your book, digging into your book, I sort of tried to take a mental tour around my garden of the native plants and filter which ones were edible or medicinal, or that I thought were, and I bet many more are that I don’t even know. Baudar also has a book on fermenting wildcrafted ingredients and one on wildcrafted brewing. Forage, Harvest, Feast by Marie Viljoen Below are the best foraging books I’ve found among the dozens I’ve consulted over the years. Note that they focus on edible and medicinal plants of North America, but you can also find some books on foraging specific to your region or other parts of the world. Many plants described in foraging books grow on several continents. I have turned to Thayer’s books over and over again through the years, but this one will keep me busy for the rest of my life. Plus if you don’t find straight up plant information enough entertainment, Thayer’s irrepressible humor shines through often. You will especially enjoy “The Best Index,” different from the *Regular Old Boring Index* (his words) which includes helpful categories about which are the best greens to fry versus eat in a salad, which make the best survival foods, and my favorites, the best things to feed a first date and the best things to avoid feeding a first date. Orchid-lover Richard @thenewgalaxy has put together some orchid ID/ info sheets - there's an example below right and more available from @wildflower_hour.

If you have an idea of the plant name (common or scientific), enter this in the search box (top-right). Unknown plants can be identified by floral features, using selectors for colour, shape or petal number. Plant features See the horticultural classification of genera with large numbers of cultivars (for example, which tulips are Fringed, Lily-flowered, Triumph or Parrot cultivars)

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This compact foraging guide is more portable than the books above, and includes 200 useful plants with descriptions and photos. Also organized by seasons, Edible Wild Plants includes hundreds of color photos to help with identification. The authors jam a lot of information into each brief entry, including complete identification details, how to harvest and prepare, and the all important poisonous look-alikes. For medicinal uses of these plants, though, you’ll need to consult a book like Brill’s or one of the medicinal plant guides listed below. Try the 'Wildflower of the Month' series on the BSBI News & Views blog: ID tips, fascinating facts and info for snake's-head fritillary, purple saxifrage, sweet violets, bluebells, buttercups, and bird's-foot trefoil.

One of the best ways to learn about foraging in your area is to go with a veteran forager who can show you where to find different edible plants and how to correctly identify them. One of my favorite foraging experts, “Wildman” Steve Brill, gives tours in the New York City area from March to December. I’d love to take one someday!Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild (and Not So Wild) Places by Steve Brill and Evelyn Dean Sam Thayer's Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants of Eastern and Central North America by Samuel Thayer Even after you’ve taken classes, you’ll want some good books on foraging to consult from time to time, either to remind yourself of a plant you haven’t seen in awhile, or to help you explore new plants or identify those you don’t already know. I love flipping through the larger books to learn about plants I don’t yet have in my foraging repertoire. Likes slightly damp soil in woods, fields and churchyards. Yellow flowers on long stalks and glossy heart-shaped leaves. Extremely common during May on roadside verges and in woodland rides and clearings. White flowers radiate out from the stem on spokes. Fern-like leaves.

ID sheets for buttercups, small white brassicas, speedwells, strawberries and violets have been produced by #dinkymoira" - see box on right. The Field Studies Council have some really useful and inexpensive fold-out sheets - there's one describing the various parts of a flower, one of common ferns, others on the plants found in a particular habitat, eg moorlands. Access them here. Likes damp ground such as roadside ditches and wet woodland. Long stems with clusters of cream, fuzzy flowers which smell of honey or almonds. For garden designers, RHS Plant Finder offers an indispensable list of ingredients, while horticultural writers use it for reference.” Commonly found in gardens as well as arable fields, dunes, cliffs and heathland. Low growing and sprawling. Flowers are red with a purplish base.And what we’re discovering is just because there’s not a lot of ramps around, doesn’t mean that there couldn’t be a lot of ramps. Arora has a more compact foraging guide to a smaller number of mushroom species called All That the Rain Promises and More for taking along on foraging expeditions. COOKBOOKS FOCUSING ON FORAGED FOODS