Summer '09 Northeast Wild Edibles Thread

Hey all,

Every summer, I love to observe the abundance of wild edibles along the trails. Maybe it's the Swede in me but I always find myself nibbling on all sorts of berries while hiking.

This year I've found so far: blueberries, huckleberries, wineberries, red raspberries, black raspberries, blackberries, wild leek, and some small nubs of chicken of the woods.

How about you?

So you're walking right by the strawberries, wood-sorrel (oxalis), chives and other wild alliums, and wild roses? Cucumber-root is also easy to find, if you like roots that taste like cucumber.

Edit to add: 1)You can also make salads and teas from dandelion and chickory leaves, but I think both taste pretty bitter. 2) Partial self-promotion: there's an album on Summitpost devoted to wild edibles.

I measure my year phenologically, not by some artificial device imposed on me by Imperial Rome. One of the critical timeposts is blueberry picking time, which is just about here. For me, it's the dividing mark that portends the seasonal transformation from I-can't-wait-for-summer-to-end to Hurra-for-fall!.

Does anyone like Bunchberries? They are flavorless grit...I like em.


In CT the sassafrass is good right now. It starts to get tough in the fall. The root is always good for tea.

I love bunchberries - taste like baked apples. Haven't seen any ripe ones yet.

Oh, and I've been seeing lots of deer and turkeys lately. Now that's edible!

Haven't had them this year but the mountain cranberries are edible ... small and tart. Wonder how they'd go with chicken of the woods?

Wintergreen berry is edible also but they seem to beg for a shot of gin.

I picked (and ate) high and low bush blueberries before and after my swim today at Kilburn Pond at Pisgah State Park.

I was quite pleased with the taste of cucumber root when I tried it for the first time earlier this summer. I wasn't aware that oxalis is edible...which parts?

My husband always gets a kick out of the joy I find in edible things along the trail. I'll identify something for him and then pause for a second and say..."it's also edible!" With a huge satisfied grin on my face.

Good thread!


of course....CWEAYOR....consume wild edibles at your own risk....

nartreb this root's for you



Got to love the Indian Cucumber Root

Maybe we should have a pot luck gathering consisting only of wild edibles ... or, should we preserve them and wait 'til hunting season?

To repeat natreb and sweeper, we enjoyed Indian cucumber in prolific bunches growing off trail when we hiked up to Salmacis Falls early July.

Toe Cozy said:

I wasn't aware that oxalis is edible...which parts?

Click to expand...

I assume the whole thing is edible, but I just pluck the leaves. Sort of a citrusy taste, quite refreshing while hiking. Some folks make a lemonade/tea out of it.

Oh, I forgot, I waded through a field of mint about a week ago while trying to sneak up on a family of turkeys (armed only with a camera). Lovely smell with every step, and we picked some to have later with ice cream.
---DAve

Anyone like chewing spruce gum(hardened sap)? It's an acquired taste when taken right off the tree, but lasts a long time!

Gaultheria hispidula. Too bad the berries are so small and so uncommon, they're rather tasty.

Quietman said:

Anyone like chewing spruce gum(hardened sap)? It's an acquired taste when taken right off the tree, but lasts a long time!

Click to expand...

I do like Spruce Gum my mother taught me to chew it in the early '60s. I love to collect SG and "SHARE" it with 1st timers.

nartreb said:

So you're walking right by the strawberries, wood-sorrel (oxalis), chives and other wild alliums, and wild roses? Cucumber-root is also easy to find, if you like roots that taste like cucumber.

Edit to add: 1)You can also make salads and teas from dandelion and chickory leaves, but I think both taste pretty bitter. 2) Partial self-promotion: there's an album on Summitpost devoted to wild edibles.

Click to expand...

Here in NJ we don't really have wild strawberries or wood sorrel.

Just got back from New Hampshire last night and I picked my first Indian cucumber root on my way down the Tripyramids. Very crispy. I've tried sorrel in the Catskills but they just taste like the clovers that grow on my front lawn.

Also, on the Wildcat ski trails there are wild strawberries and raspberries. De-licious!

I'll have to keep my eyes out for wild rose. Probably makes for a good rose hip soup.

By the way, does anyone know if the prickly pear that grows in the Hudson Highlands produce edible fruit?

Oh yeah?

sweeper said:

I do like Spruce Gum my mother taught me to chew it in the early '60s. I love to collect SG and "SHARE" it with 1st timers.

Click to expand...

You must be an evil person!

I have started doing some of this foraging or as som prefer to call it, "wild crafting". It is fun and I have had some really good stuff. Fiddleheads, milkweed, summer fruit, burdock (leaves and root), on and on. I am a real beginner so there is a lot to learn.

One real simple one is white pine tea. Take a palm sized bunch of white pine needles (fresh) and boil them. Remove the needles and you have a nice soothing tea.

Everyone asks about mushrooms. I have not gone there yet.

wait a sec. Milkweed? The stuff that kills cattle? The reason monarch butterflies are poisonous?

Early spring young leaves. Boil and eat like any other cooked greens. The youn stalks,sans leaves, tast very close to asparagus, The new bloosoms taste like very soft brocolli. The pods which I have not had are supposed to be like ocra.

Unfortunately milkweed is a lot like lettuce, not much nutritional value. I actually prefer the tast of the leaves to that of cooked spinach.

Many wild plants need to be cooked properly. I cooked some burdock leaves wrong and they were awful. Here is how to do it right. Boil a pot of water along with a kettle of water. Once boiling add the leaves for about a minute. Drain add boiling water and boil for another minute or so. Drain and add boiling water and a spoon of baking soda and boil for 5-7 minutes. Serve as you would spinach.

There a number of books to learn from. I started with "Stalking the Wild Asparagus".

Happy eating!!

Bigfoot said:

Everyone asks about mushrooms. I have not gone there yet.

Click to expand...

The only mushrooms I trust myself identifying is chicken of the woods. There's no mistaking it for anything else, really.

Puffballs seem like they'd be easy to identify but I haven't seen any around here.