Considerations for wildcrafting
One of my favorite anticapitalist activities is wildcrafting.
This word “wildcrafting” has different associations, but broken down it refers to remembered and practiced skills of tending the wilds. When we wildcraft, we release the colonial mindsets of independence and human dominance. Rather than simply extracting from the land, we can practice an Honorable Harvest that can contribute to a future of many species. Wildcrafting includes foraging for food, as well as gathering other materials for daily life.
Image above: hand holding fresh seeds of milk thistle - a weedy plant friend
Here are 5 guidelines that set a strong foundation for wildcrafting:
Do your research. There are many resources on foraging, plant identification, local ecology, and ethnobotany out there! I’ve linked some below, but if you find yourself inevitably doing a quick online search, please at least make sure what you’re reading is not AI-generated. Research also includes learning about sites for foraging. For example, many parks and parkways are subject to a seasonal spray of pesticides and herbicides.
Learn lookalikes. Before harvesting (or even touching, if you can help it) a plant, fungus, or alga, be sure to learn about potential lookalikes growing in the same area. It helps to have a friend or a foraging group to confirm your finds in community - and as you grow confident in your skills, be that friend for others! In some cases misidentification can lead to toxicity or death, and on a larger scale can cause the improper or over-harvesting of multiple species, like in the case of black cohosh.
Start with 1 plant, or start with the “weeds”. Weeds are not a scientific classification - overall they refer to plants who are common, grow quickly, and aren’t wanted - but they tend to have interesting stories to share with us. Many foragers start off in the garden with edible weeds, getting curious about the plants who grow between the seeds they sow. So you might start with the plant you always see around - and who knows - the number of things you can do with a wild grape vine might occupy you for a while!
Consider saving seeds. Saving a few seeds of native plants at the end of the growing season can be a way to harvest for the future by supporting biodiversity and sustain cultural foodways in an increasing unstable climate. Look into practices for saving seeds, support native seed savers, and connect with seed libraries in your area. Never take all the seeds however - many birds use native plant seeds as a winter food source.
When in doubt, leave it out. It can be tempting to harvest when the plants are right in front of you! But if you still feel unsure about your ID or the location you’re harvesting from, my rule of thumb is to leave the plants be and take some reference photos for later. If they are perennial and abundant, it’s likely they’ll be back around this time and place next year! Learning the landscape takes time.
There are many more things to consider, but this is a place to start. Whether you harvest fibrous stems for weaving, fallen nuts for making ink, or berries for your morning oatmeal, wildcrafting can be a way to live more seasonally and connect with your area in a deep and dynamic way.
Image above: muscadine vines crawling across the forest floor
Seasonal foraging
Early summer food foraging tends to focus on leaves and flowers, with the later summer focused on flowers and fruit! Here’s a non-exhaustive list of common plants who grow in a variety of areas including backyards, gardens, and parking lots - depending on your ecoregion, you might find any number of these plants growing nearby right now.
Leaves and/or flowers: Mints, purslane, linden, motherwort, wild roses, yarrow, plantain, st. john’s wort/hypericum, mugwort, comfrey, feverfew, pineappleweed, self-heal, ground ivy, dandelion, conifer needles, goldenrod (into the fall)
Flowers only: Elderflowers, mullein (leaves can be harvested too, but once in bloom I prefer to just harvest flowers), queen anne’s lace, honeysuckle, mimosa (and bark!), calendula (some also harvest leaf for iodine content), daylily
Berries: Strawberry, juneberry, blueberry, mulberry, raspberry, blackberry, bilberry
Resources:
Botany in a Day: The Patterns Method of Plant Identification by Thomas J. Elpel
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
The Forager’s Harvest by Samuel Thayer
Regional Foraging book series
Local foraging groups on social media