A picturesque Colorado mountain stream with king’s crown clinging to its rocky banks.
Medicago sativa
lucerne
EDIBLE leaves, flowers, seeds
Sprouted alfalfa seeds at the store can seem pricey—especially after you discover how easy it is to sprout your own crisp and fresh-tasting wild version at home.
A perennial herb of the pea family, alfalfa has the iconic clover pattern of leaves: each leaf is trifoliate, with three leaflets. The leaflets are oblong with tiny serrations around the apex, only slightly hairy on the underside and smooth on the top. Leaflets of sweet clover, a close look-alike before flowering, are serrated around the entire margin. Flowers grow in a clustered raceme, with many, usually purple flowers, but flower color can vary from white to light blue or a shade of purple. The seedpods are a tight coil shape and hold many tiny yellow-tan seeds.
Find alfalfa growing in any kind of disturbed soil, whether it is pastureland or construction sites. Make sure where you are gathering is a clean spot, free of pollutants or heavy metals, as this plant pulls heavily from the soil. It prefers nutrient-rich soil. Alfalfa can be found in the foothills and mountains, flowering in summer. Gather young leaves in spring and early summer; seeds can be gathered in late summer or early fall.
Leaves are best while they are vibrantly green and young. Gather on a dry, sunny day if you intend to dry the plant for future use. Seeds need to be winnowed before being stored.
Alfalfa may not come with a taste that wows, but it is rich and earthy and chock-full of nutrients vital to our well-being. I like it raw or cooked; either way, it contains the full spectrum of B vitamins, along with A, D, and E. Flowers have a sweet, nutty taste and make a nice addition to salads along with the greens. I mix this fresh or dried herb in with broths, sauces, and soups. It is an easily disguisable nutrient-dense food that can even be chopped up and baked into muffins and egg dishes or scattered in mixed vegetables.
Dry the leaves and flowers to store for tea blending or future culinary use. Seeds are edible only once sprouted and should then be touted as a superfood. The dried seeds can be sprouted for a tempting little green snack that can top sandwiches, salads, or soup in the middle of winter.
No worries for the future when harvesting alfalfa: it is usually an escaped weed from the pasture.
Eat only sprouted seeds. Before consumption, talk to a healthcare practitioner or herbalist if you are pregnant or breastfeeding; if you are on heart medications, immunosuppressants, or photosensitizing drugs; or if you have had lupus or gout.
Be sure you have properly identified alfalfa before it blooms: its leaves resemble the young leaves of golden banner (Thermopsis species), a toxic plant with yellow flowers.
Oxyria digyna
mountain sorrel
EDIBLE leaves
Alpine sorrel is an edible plant for the adventurer’s heart. It grows in mountainous terrain that most people aren’t willing to climb. If you happen to love standing atop mountain peaks, then this tart, lemony-flavored little plant will be worth getting to know.
To distinguish alpine sorrel from other sorrels, look to find the pronounced indent of the kidney-shaped leaves where they meet the long petiole.
Alpine sorrel is a small plant found in the alpine tundra, with a basal rosette of kidney-shaped leaves. Leaves are long-stemmed, thick and fleshy, gaining hints of red with age. The stalk is long and greenish red with clusters of green flowers that will darken as they turn to seed. As the seedpod becomes winged, the outer edges turn a bright red.
Find alpine sorrel high in the mountains, nestled between craggy rocks. It lives where not much other vegetation of the arctic tundra is found. It prefers to be near a water source, whether that is ephemeral spring snow runoff or the constant trickle of a mountain brook. Find alpine sorrel in late spring and summer.
Pluck off a few leaves from several different plants, spreading out your leaf harvest. The stalk, while in flower or seed, can be eaten as well. Gather only in areas where you can see a few dozen other plants.
While winding your way up a mountain path, be on the lookout for this dainty trailside nibble. The leaves are tart, like other sorrels, blending well into roughage or fruit salads. Macerate the leaves in a blender with a little sugar and warm water to make a tart and tangy summer beverage. Add wild mint, rose petals, or the berries of skunkbush or smooth sumac; strain and chill this wild beverage on ice. Leaves can also be cooked. Try them sautéed in garlic butter among other greens with fresh lemon squeezed on top.
I’ve heard of alpine sorrel leaves and stems being pickled but have not tried this myself.
Taking a few leaves here and there from plants will do no harm. Please do not uproot this native perennial. Leave the flowering stalks behind if there are not many other plants nearby.
Alpine sorrel contains oxalic acid. Do not eat large quantities if you are malnourished. When eaten raw, mixed among other foods, it should pose no risk to a healthy person. Boiling removes oxalates. People with kidney problems should avoid all foods that are high in oxalates.
Amaranthus species
pigweed
EDIBLE leaves, seeds
Amaranth seeds are easy to collect and winnow for a backcountry morning porridge. All you need is a little water and some wild berries to sweeten their slightly bland, nutty flavor.
Amaranths can reach 6 feet tall or more, depending on the quality of soil in which they grow; plants of the mountain west tend to be shorter when growing in dry, compact, or rocky soil. Wide-based lanceolate or ovate leaves grow alternately up a green or red stalk. Green flowers are small, lack petals, and grow in a cone-like raceme. Seeds are smooth, shiny, and black, held in place by bristly brown bracts. The most common species in the mountain west are Amaranthus retroflexus and A. powellii.
Head for a sunny spot. Gather young leaves in the spring or early summer, as older leaves are tougher and not always in the best shape later in the season. Seeds can be harvested in late summer, early fall, or even through the winter.
The sharp green bracts of the inflorescence will eventually hold an abundance of seeds. Gather the seeds once the bracts start to turn brown.
Pinch young leaves off the stalks. Make sure not to strip the entire plant of its foliage. Cut or break off the loaded seedheads of amaranth and beat the seeds off into a bucket, using your fingers to work them out. The seeds will then need to be winnowed, which releases the chaff from around the small seeds.
Use seeds whole, or grind them before placing them in a pot with twice the amount of water as seeds. Boil and reduce to a simmer, covered with a lid, for 20 minutes. Check your gruel often to ensure proper cooking, adding more water as needed. Some seeds will be drier than others, depending on when you harvest. The drier the seeds, the more water you will need. Cooked seeds blend well with lamb’s quarters seeds and quinoa. Try combining ground seeds with various baking flours to enhance the nutritional value of breads, muffins, and crackers. Leaves can be used in place of kale or spinach; chop and add them to quiche, lasagna, or saag.
Amaranth seeds are wonderful to have on hand for a gluten-free breakfast gruel. Seeds can be roasted and ground for use in muesli or porridge. Stir in dried serviceberries, blueberries, strawberries, or raspberries stored from your summer forage or use a wild rose–infused honey for a sweetener.
Amaranth is known to pop up just about anywhere the sun is shining and can be counted on to reseed itself year after year.
Angelica species
wild celery
EDIBLE stalks, seeds, roots
Once ground, the spicy-flavored seeds of angelica are ready for use in warming tea blends like chai.
First of all, be 110% certain with your identification of any and all plants in the carrot or parsley family (Apiaceae). This family contains some of the most toxic plants in North America: water hemlock (Cicuta species) and poison hemlock (Conium maculatum) can be fatal if ingested in even minuscule quantities, such as a seed or two (see caution).
Angelica has a showy umbel that resembles a firework, with many rounded clusters of white, light pink, or yellow flowers radiating from one point at the top of the stalk. Leaves are usually bipinnately divided into leaflets. The margins of the ovate leaflets are serrated. Leaf stems (petioles) have sheaths that hug the main stalk. Stems of angelica are a shade of purple or red and are always hollow. The taproot is white or creamy and heavily scented, with a spicy celery aroma; most angelica roots are solid, whereas those of water hemlock and poison hemlock always have air pockets.
Angelica prefers cool, moist mountain soil and can be found lining irrigation ditches or near riverbanks. Gather the leaves and stalks in summer. Seeds can be collected in late summer or fall. Roots can be harvested in spring or fall.
Gather the stalks and foliage of second-year plants, as they are more fragrant. Cut the tall stalk and strip leaves from the stem. Leaves can be dried and stored, while the stalk can be used fresh to make candies. Gather the seeds once they are fully ripened, and make sure to dry them thoroughly before storage. Roots can be dug, given a good washing, chopped, and dried using the lowest temperature in the oven or a dehydrator.
The chopped hollow stems of second-year plants are the most flavorful for being candied. Leaves, seeds, and stems can be infused in alcohol to make cordials and elixirs. Use roots, stems, leaves, or fresh seeds to make a simple syrup that can be used in cocktail blending or flavoring sodas.
Angelica leaflets are ovate and much wider than the thin lanceolate leaflets of water hemlock. Notice too that the primary veins of angelica end at the tips of the serrations of the leaflets.
Dried roots, leaves, and seeds can be stored individually in sealed containers, then used as culinary spices or blended into chai and other warming teas. Mix with herbs like hyssop, beebalm, and elderflowers for a nice warm drink on a cool summer evening.
Angelica grows abundantly throughout our region. If collecting seeds, leave at least one umbel in the stand full of seeds.
It’s critical to differentiate angelica from water hemlock and poison hemlock. Angelica has ovate leaflets; water hemlock has lanceolate leaflets; poison hemlock has fern-shaped leaves (and a purple-spotted stem). Many botanists advise looking at the primary lateral leaf veins, too: if the veins end in between serrations, it is said to be one of the poisonous hemlocks; if the primary lateral veins end at the tip of the serration, “all is hip” (as they saying goes) and the plant is considered safe. I have seen variations to this with Cicuta species, however, so use this as only one of several identification tools.
The seeds of both angelica and water hemlock are ovate, but angelica’s seeds are ribbed and winged (water hemlock seeds are only ribbed). The roots of water hemlock and poison hemlock, if cut longitudinally, will always show air pockets (something certain Angelica species sometimes show as well). Finally, angelica has an aromatic scent; however, if you have been digging the aromatic roots of angelica, any root will smell of it, and poison hemlock too has been noted to have a celery-like scent.
Malus species
wild apple, feral apple
EDIBLE fruit
Stumble upon wild apple trees in the mountain west, and you’ve found a true treasure. The small fruits hold flavors that range from shockingly sweet to sharply bitter.
Wild or feral apples are a real treat, especially if you find a tree that has sweet and not overly astringent fruit.
Wild apple trees can reach heights of 40 feet but are usually much smaller, hosting clusters of fragrant pink or white blooms every spring. Each flower is 1 to 2 inches wide and consists of five petals. The smooth bark is bronze or gray. Oval leaves grow alternately and have small serrations along the edges. Fruits can be big or small, though smaller varieties are usually called crabapples. Feral apples are at least 2 inches in diameter and range in color from yellow-green to orange and red.
Apples linger around old homesteads and turn up around campgrounds and along roadsides and trails. Some could have been planted with intention; others may have sprouted up from tossed apple cores and fallen seeds. Find apple trees in fertile soils and among other trees in partial shade. This is not a tree you will find at high elevation: it grows mostly below 7,000 feet. Fruits begin to ripen in August and continue to produce until October, when the last fallen fruit can be found on the ground.
Many should be within reach—just pluck them from the tree. Sometimes you need a ladder or step stool to get the best-looking apples, but most of the time you can look to the ground and find ones the bugs haven’t yet gotten to.
Wild apples will vary significantly in taste; even fruits from the same tree can taste different. Some are extremely astringent and bitter, while others are sweet, crisp, and juicy. Most wild apples are much better after they have been roasted, baked, or cooked into something sweet like pies. Apple slices also make a flavorful addition to kabobs for grilling.
If you happen to stumble upon an old apple grove, try sampling apples from each tree. Variance of tart, sour, and sweet apples is great for making cider, especially if you like your cider complex, with more notes of flavor.
Wild apples have high amounts of pectin, more than the commercial varieties; this makes them a great addition to jellies or jams.
Apples can be sliced into thin pieces and placed in a dehydrator. Without one, lay slices out to air dry; in the arid west this takes several days. Flip the drying slices daily. Use of a dehydrator or oven set on a low temperature works well, and the slices are ready in hours as opposed to days. To keep them from browning, squeeze lemon or lime wedges over fresh slices before drying.
Use dried apples for tea, but first sprinkle them with spices like cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg for a warming winter beverage. Do this while they are wet with lemon juice.
There are plenty to go around, but just a note, in case you fall in love with a particularly sweet-fruited tree: a sprouted apple seed does not represent the apple it came from. Apples do not come true from seed, meaning, there really is no telling what kind of apple tree will spring up if planted.
Asparagus officinalis
EDIBLE shoots
It’s worth seeking out this fabled wild food of the spring. Discover what all the fuss is about when you take a bite. Enjoy the crispness and a sweet flavor, richer than any store-bought asparagus—you may never go back.
Asparagus is delectable for a short window of only a few weeks before it becomes too tall and woody.
It is best to find asparagus territory in the fall, when the plant looks nothing like the spring shoots. Look for the yellowed, branched plant, standing tall when all the other plants have died back. This perennial plant’s woody stalk will be poking through snow, providing you with a perfect marker to the spot you should revisit once the snow melts in early spring. Shoots look just like their cultivated counterpart, although they may be a lot skinnier or sometimes giant. The tips are dark green when young, before the plant branches out and forms small green flowers. Inedible red berries are produced by the mature female asparagus plant, making the many-branched green asparagus look like an ornate Christmas tree.
Asparagus needs water to thrive, so start by looking there. It also doesn’t grow well above 7,000 feet. Find tall, overgrown asparagus in midsummer when out fishing, or spot it growing in irrigated fields and ditches. Gather fresh young asparagus shoots in the springtime, as the temperatures warm.
You will not see this year’s asparagus right away, but you will spot last year’s tall and branched dried plant stalks.
Break off the stalk about 2 inches from the ground. The tender portions of the stalk should snap easily; if it seems tough, move higher up the stalk.
Wild asparagus is tastiest fresh: nibbling the crisp stalk is a spring delicacy that doesn’t last. If stalks are young, tender, and thin, they need only a quick cooking or can be chopped up raw for salads. Thicker, older stalks may need to be peeled before eaten. I adore sautéed or baked wild asparagus in olive oil, with garlic, fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano, and a squeeze of lemon. It can be tossed on an open flame and charred or grilled as well.
Pickled asparagus is a major hit in bloody marys or garnishing an antipasto plate. Frozen spears will remain fresh for up to a year; blanch them in boiling water for about two minutes, plunge them in an ice bath, dry, and freeze.
Finding a thriving patch of asparagus is a springtime blessing. Keep it that way by picking from the same stalk once or twice in a season, as it will have a hard time growing and going to seed if overharvested. Always leave stalks behind to grow into strong mature plants, which will spread by rhizomes and possibly reseed.
The red berries of the female plant are toxic and should not be consumed.
Populus tremuloides
quaking aspen, trembling aspen
EDIBLE buds, bark, twigs
Create “from the forest” cocktail bitters from an extraction of wintertime buds, bark, and twigs.
The beautiful bark of aspen holds the eyes of the forest. Resist the temptation to scar words into it, please.
The thin, ovate or heart-shaped leaves of aspen tremble in the wind, setting off a round of applause in the woods.
People who move here from eastern North America often mistake aspen for birch, but unlike birch bark, aspen bark does not peel off spontaneously. Aspen trees are in the willow family (Salicaceae). Branches form slightly resinous buds in the winter that will turn into the quaking leaves and fuzzy catkins. Leaves are ovate to heart-shaped with serrated margins and a lighter-colored underside. They sit on a long flattened petiole, which is the reason leaves tremble, with a fluttering sound, in the slightest breeze. Aspen trees are 30 and 70 feet tall and grow in groves, each grove either male or female. The groves are one giant organism that is connected through the underground root system of the trees.
Aspens are found in groves all over the mountain west, at elevations of 3,000 to 10,000 feet. Find them in mixed conifer forests, on sloping hillsides, and in mountain valleys. Gather the buds during the winter months. Bark is best gathered in the spring and fall when the tree is flowing with sap, making the outer bark easy to peel off the inner bark. The inner bark is what holds sweet and bitter properties.
Look to find wind-fallen branches or trees to harvest the buds from. The inner bark can be peeled off the recently fallen timber for making fresh extractions or drying for tea. Young twigs can be trimmed from trees while they host the buds. Strip buds off twigs, and use both twigs and buds in concoctions. Sample the sweet-tasting cambium of spring branches while peeling bark.
I like to nibble the winter buds for their pleasant vanilla, bitter-nutty taste; I will warn you though: it lingers. Infuse the buds along with young twigs and freshly peeled bark in brandy to create a unique bitters extraction. Blend in wild licorice root, rosehips, sweet clover, and cherry bark for a “from the forest” bitters. Use this dashed into rum-, gin-, whisky-, and cognac-inspired cocktails. Add the simple syrups of spruce, pine, or fir for an especially woodsy drink.
Dry peeled bark and store in a sealed container for blending teas in need of a bitter component. The white powder on the outside of the bark consists of a lot of natural yeast; it can be scraped off and has been used as a yeast starter.
Never score around the entire circumference of any tree when gathering bark. It kills the tree and prevents the saps from coursing through the tree. If you must mark up a tree to try the bark or cambium, do so in a very small spot, or better yet, use only bark from the fallen branches you gather.
Balsamorhiza sagittata
arrowleaf balsamroot, Okanagan sunflower
EDIBLE leaves, stems, seeds, roots
The honey made from the roots of balsamroot will add a sweet piney-citrus, balsamic spice to your next cup of tea.
Flowers of balsamroot are bright yellow and form the characteristic Asteraceae formation: ray flowers radiating from the central disk flowers. Balsamroot leaves are a silvery green, and their undersides are even lighter in color. They stand out against the arid landscapes balsamroot likes to inhabit. The arrowhead-shaped leaves grow densely from the large taproot. Roots are thick, resinous, and corky-looking.
Find balsamroot on rocky, dry, exposed hillsides at middle elevations, between 5,000 and 9,000 feet. It is best to gather the taproot before or while the plant is flowering. This is when the roots are most resinous and aromatic. Gathering after the plant dies back tends to yield a dried-up root that lacks many of the aromatics. Young spring leaves and stalks can be gathered when the plant begins to emerge, from spring to early summer. Gather seeds in late summer.
Pick the choice young leaves and stems while they are small, soft, and pliable. To unearth balsamroot, try using a shovel, as a digging trowel may not be sufficient. Loosen the dirt around the root by digging in a circular rotation. Go for smaller plants, as they have more appetizing roots; bigger plants tend to have tough, dry roots.
Leaves and stems can be used in salads or cooked among other greens, imparting a sweet pine-like flavor. Try chewing on stems while hiking. I love making a honey out of the resinous root; it tastes spicy, with pine and balsamic-like flavors, and goes wonderfully in tea. The root can also be cooked and eaten. Cooking breaks down the root’s inulin into sugars, which will render the root sweeter than when it’s raw. The inulin converts slowly, though, so you do have to cook the root for a long time.
The root can be chopped finely, dried, and stored in a sealed container. Seeds can be dried, roasted, and stored in a sealed container. Grind seeds to use in flour or porridge mixtures.
If harvesting the root, you are taking life from the plant; therefore, harvest only when the hills are loaded with balsamroot. When gathering seeds, spread some down into the soil for future growth.
Balsamroot is in the Asteraceae, and some people may have allergic reactions to this plant family. Do not confuse balsamroot with Arnica species, which are inedible and will cause stomach irritation if ingested; arnica has heart-shaped, ovate, or lanceolate leaves.
Monarda species
wild bergamot, oregano de la Sierra, mountain monarda
EDIBLE leaves, flower buds, flowers
The spicy oregano flavor of beebalm peaks in the summer’s heat, while the flowers are vibrant and full of aroma.
The opposite leaves of beebalm smell of lemony-oregano and can be used to bring spice and zest to dishes.
Beebalm is a mint-family plant with a square stem and highly aromatic opposite leaves. Flowers radiate in clusters from the central seedhead and vary in color by species. Blooms of Monarda fistulosa are rose-pink or slightly purple; those of pony beebalm (M. pectinata) are sometimes white. The lanceolate leaves are slightly toothed and have a soft fuzzy feel from tiny hairs.
Beebalm is generally not found higher than 8,500 feet. It dwells in colonies, so you rarely see a single plant. It grows predominantly throughout the eastern foothills of the Rockies in sunny meadows and canyon bottoms, near dry or running creek beds. In early spring the young leaves can be gathered for culinary uses. In midsummer you will find the plants in full blossom and highly aromatic. The heat of the sun makes the aromatic oils more potent, making this the best time to gather.
Gather leaves and flowers from various plants or, if you are in a large enough stand, cut the top portion of the plant, which yields an ample amount of leaves and flowers.
Use the leaves of beebalm as you would fresh or dried oregano. Mexican and Italian dishes are excellent places to start when incorporating this herb. The flowers and buds hold even more spice and can be added to salads and salsas or dried for tea.
Use the flower and leaves to infuse honey, oils, butter, and vinegar. Infused honey can be drizzled over the top of fish before baking and used for a sweet and spicy flavoring in baked goods—or simply dollop some in your morning tea. Olive oil or vinegar infusions of beebalm jazz up a caprese salad with savory aromatics. Try slowly simmering the leaves and flowers in butter. This will leave you with another fabulous cooking ingredient to make modest meals such as scrambled eggs and toast wildly vibrant.
Beebalm is a choice tea when you are in the backcountry, as it doesn’t need to be heated. It can easily be made with cold filtered creek water in a water bottle and sipped on while the herbs float around. Or try a sun tea infusion; simply set your drinking container in full sun for a few hours to infuse the flavor even further.
Use both the dried flowerheads and leaves when blending teas. Try beebalm along with yarrow leaves, wild mint, and elderflowers.
Leaves have a taste similar to oregano with notes of lemon, which makes this a nice herb to add to the spice rack. Dry the leaves and store in an airtight jar to preserve the flavor. The flowers can be dried along with the leaves for teas.
As with any native wildflower, be respectful of beebalm’s habitat and encourage plants to thrive. Beebalm is easily propagated through cuttings, and the roots transplant well in the fall.
Should not be used in pregnancy.
Bistorta bistortoides
American bistort, smartweed, knotweed, smokeweed
EDIBLE leaves, flowers, roots
Roasted roots of bistort can be a nutty-tasting snack on their own or add a wild touch to a larger dish.
Bistort is in the buckwheat family (Polygonaceae). Flowers, mostly white but sometimes light pink, cluster together in a cylindrical spike. Bistort can be so common in alpine meadows that it can look like a soft blanket of snow in midsummer. It grows about a foot taller than most of the other tundra plants, making it easy to spot. Most leaves are basal; only a few are carried on the jointed stalk. Leaves are elliptic, oblong, or lanceolate, and alternate.
Bistort can be found blossoming in high alpine meadows, above treeline or below, in late summer. It prefers the moist climate created by clouds that linger over the mountains. Leaves can be gathered while the plant has enough growth to be identified and while it is in flower.
Gather the leaves by plucking a leaf or two from many different plants in order to spread out the harvest. Dig up the root when the plant nears the end of flowering.
The raw root, when nibbled on, is very astringent; however, cooking the roots brings out an almond-nutty flavor. Roasted roots are best of all. The roasted and chopped roots go well in stir-fries. Use the tender young leaves fresh, in salads; sprinkle flowers on top.
Forage with care, especially when taking roots of bistort. Spread out your harvest through a large area.
Juglans nigra
eastern black walnut
EDIBLE green hulls, nuts
Don’t try to use a nutcracker on the hard exterior shell of black walnuts: it will surely break or be ineffectual. To extract the rich-tasting walnut’s nutmeat, use your primitive skills and smack the shells open with a rock or hammer.
Cracking black walnuts open can be quite the task. Try to strike the shell on a side that is not the seam.
Black walnut trees have fairly straight trunks with deeply furrowed bark. Color of bark varies from light to dark gray. Alternate leaves are composed of 15 to 23 leaflets that are pinnately divided, with a single leaflet at the end. The male flowers are long green catkins that droop from the branches in spring. Female flowers form in clusters of two to five at the end of branches. The female flowers are what turn into the round green fruits. Leaves and the green hulls of the fruit are highly aromatic and smell of citrus with a hint of pine. In autumn, when the fruits ripen, the hull will soften and turn to a yellow-brown, then finally go black.
Although not native to the mountain west, black walnut is definitely a commonly found tree in cities of lower elevation. Find black walnut trees in fertile soils of farmlands, or neighborhood yards below 6,000 feet. Gather the young green hulls in midsummer, while they are soft enough to cut into quarters. Black walnuts can be gathered for nutmeat in fall, when the hulls have started to brown.
Young green hulls can be plucked from trees. It’s usually the case that you’ll need to ask permission, because the tree is in someone’s yard. I have had only positive responses of “What is that tree? It makes a huge mess! Take as much as you’d like.”
Pick up the freshly fallen, browned hulls in the fall. Wear gloves if you want to keep your hands from turning black. Peel away the outer hulls the day you gather, when they are easiest to pry apart. After husking away the hulls, rinse your black walnut shells well. Then allow them to air dry for a few days in a mesh bag, or spread out on a table, rotating them daily.
To crack the nuts, I put the whole walnut into a paper bag and lightly hit it with a hammer. This way shrapnel does not fly at your face and all the walnut is contained in the paper bag. Place the walnut on its side, and strike the nut opposite to any seams, which better exposes the nutmeat. Cracking it open on the seam makes the nutmeat harder to extract.
Young green walnuts make nocino, an Italian bitter cordial with spicy sweet citrusy tones. Start by infusing vodka with the quartered hulls, lemon zest, cloves, vanilla, and cinnamon. Let this infuse for four to six weeks and strain. After straining, sweeten your nocino with simple syrup, honey, or maple syrup.
Nuts can be eaten raw and used anywhere an English walnut would be used. Use nuts to top brownies, toss into salads, or blend into pestos and nut butters. Nuts can also be roasted once out of the shell.
After the hulls are removed, black walnuts can be stored over winter while still in the shell. Store in the freezer or a cool, dry location.
Harvest with impunity (and, if necessary, permission): the decaying nutshells litter sidewalks and turn them black in the fall, making it quite okay to take bucket-loads of nuts.
Mertensia species
mountain bluebells, chiming bells
EDIBLE leaves, flowers
Bluebells lure you in with the iridescent, oceanic shimmer of their blue-pink tubular flowers. Leaves, with the faint richness of an oyster mushroom, take you seaside with their flavor.
Dwarf bluebells (Mertensia brevistyla) has little hairs on the leaves, which are therefore best either finely minced or cooked. Gather leaves and flowers in late spring and early summer.
A variety of bluebells are commonly found throughout the mountain west. Plants can be dwarfed in size and scattered through mountain meadows or quite tall and growing in large bountiful stands. Leaves are ovate to lanceolate, and are either hairy or smooth. They can be noticeably veined and grow alternately up the flowering stalk. Nodding light pink, purple, or blue tubular flowers blossom in branched clusters.
Bluebells adorn the edges of forest floors, mountain meadows, and alpine streams, soaking up the spring moisture from rain showers and snowmelt runoffs. Gather the leaves and flowers from spring to summer when they are young and vibrant.
Many blooming bluebells can be found spread through fields, or in tall stands. This makes it easy to pluck a few leaves and flowers from many plants, not just one.
Enjoy the leaves and flowers in salads or on top of sandwiches raw. Chop up or use sparingly, as some species’ leaves can be hairy and unpalatable in large amounts raw. To me, bluebells either taste like an oyster mushroom or have a full-bodied nutty flavor. The dense leaves have a succulent texture, making them a choice leaf for cooking. Leaves hold up well in stir-fries, soup, and egg scrambles and also add an earthy-green flavor sure to remind you of the mountain meadows.
Although abundant where they grow, graze these native plants with care. There is no need to uproot the plant, or cut down a whole stand. Pick a few leaves and flowers from each plant.
Eating large quantities (a few cups) of Mertensia species can reportedly cause gastric upset; bluebells contain small amounts of alkaloids, but adding leaves to spring salads and eating minimal amounts should have no health implications.
Vaccinium species
huckleberry, whortleberry, bilberry
EDIBLE fruit
Vaccinium fruits travel under different common names as they cross the continent—huckleberry, bilberry, whortleberry, or simply the blueberry—and the size and color of the berries varies by region as well. But all are absolutely worth seeking out for their remarkable flavor, some with hints of vanilla.
Some blueberries, like Vaccinium myrtillus var. oreophilum, are very tiny, but size doesn’t matter when it comes to flavor.
These shrubs can be tiny, standing not more than a few feet from the ground and usually sprawling along a hillside or sparse forest. Leaves grow alternately along a woody stem. The flowers, shaped like a bell, are usually whitish pink, and they have an inferior ovary that swells into purple, red, or blue berries. At the tip of the berries is a star-like mark from the sepal, where the flower once was.
Berries begin to ripen in July, depending on your elevation and location. Harvesting can last until late August. Vacciniums like to grow in acidic soils, so you will find them in or near conifer forests. Blueberries can feel elusive in some parts of the mountain west. Usually this is because you have not visited the right place or you forgot to look low enough. Blueberries can be found in Colorado, Wyoming, western Utah, and (rarely) Nevada. They are primarily found in the Pacific Northwest, Alberta, Idaho, and western Montana. Montana even has a huckleberry industry, with their milkshakes and preserves.
Down on hands and knees may be the easiest way to get acquainted with blueberries. When the shrubs are loaded with ripe berries, you can sweep your hand through the plant and comb out the fruits. The berries may be abundant and you would not even know it.
At first glance you may see no berries at all, until you get down on your hands and knees to scavenge.
It is hard to keep a good quantity, because they are so delicious! Vacciniums have a taste all their own, only slightly comparable to commercial blueberries. Enjoy straight off the plant or with a dusting of sugar. Not only are they the best-tasting blueberries, but a hint of vanilla may even be in there. What can’t this tiny fruit be whipped into? Making a to-do list of all the possibilities would be a daunting proposition. A must-try is either a blueberry crisp or pie.
Freezing blueberries is a great way to enjoy them all year long in smoothies. Mashed berries can be added to vodka for a wild infusion to add to cocktails. Berries can be simmered and transformed into jams, fruit leathers, and simple syrups.
Be conscious of the fact that many critters, big and small, rely on berries for food. I am sure blueberry is a favorite with bears and grouse. Enjoy what you like, but leave some berries behind.
Chorispora tenella
musk mustard, crossflower
EDIBLE leaves, stalks, flowers, seedpods
Blue mustard is one of the first mustard greens to pop up in early spring, providing us with a soft spicy flavor that helps awaken us from our winter-foraging slumber.
A full plate of salad greens is here, just waiting to be picked and drizzled with herb-infused oil and balsamic vinegar.
Some of the first leaves are lobed or toothed, but as the flowering stalk emerges, leaves become lanceolate.
In early spring you can first identify the basal leaves that are oblong-lanceolate and slightly toothed. The leaves are steely blue-green and grow alternately along the branched stalks. Soon the plant blooms, carpeting the ground with soft lavender. The four petals of blue mustard sit atop a long tubular calyx and are arranged in the typical mustard-family cross-shaped pattern. Edges of the pinkish purple petals are wavy and pinched in at the base. The somewhat flattened seeds are contained in a cylindrical silique that curves upward into a slender beak.
Find this adventive small mustard in disturbed soils throughout most of the mountain west. It does very well in poor soils, taking up swaths of real estate where not many plants could grow. Gather from early spring, ending with the seedpods in summer.
Pinch or cut at the base of this plant’s basal leaves. While the plant is young and vibrant, pick fresh green leaves from its base and along the stalk. Save the stalk as well, if it is still tender. Flower racemes and seedpods can be plucked off.
Older leaves and seedpods are spicier than the younger leaves, which are milder with the first notes tasting of sweet mushrooms and the end bite being slightly mustardy. The whole plant has a musky odor that some may find unpleasant, but it blends well when combined with other mustard greens in a wild salad bowl. Use leaves, flowers, chopped young stalks, and seedpods in pestos and salsas as well.
Do not feel bad about harvesting or even uprooting this pesky weed. It is probably better that you do so, as blue mustard spreads like crazy from seed, quickly taking over entire yards, boulevards, or city blocks.
Allium brandegeei
EDIBLE leaves, flowers, bulbs
In spring just after the snow has melted, while walking in the high alpine, I smell this little onion’s potently aromatic flowers long before I find it in my path. The whole plant tastes strongly of onion.
Pinch a leaf of Brandegee’s onion. If it smells like an onion, it probably is one. This particular wild onion is a tiny plant, low to the ground, with thin, flat, chive-like leaves that are not hollow. Its small, white (and sometimes pink-striped) flowers are held in clusters that bloom near the base of the narrow leaves. The bulbs are round; they can be deep for such a little plant but are worth a gentle dig.
Brandegee’s onion usually grows in vast colonies in the sandy and rocky soils of the mountain west. It springs up shortly after the snow has melted, anytime from April through July, and grows at 4,000 to 10,000 feet in elevation. There are many species of wild onion to be found in the Rockies. Brandegee’s onion just happens to be my local favorite.
The flowers are easy to pluck, as are the leaves. If you want to take the whole plant, carefully dig lightly and deep to find the bulb; it is small but so worth it.
The leaves and flowers are delightful in a salad or tossed on top of any dish, really. They not only add beauty but a spiced flavor that can make the blandest greens taste exciting. The bulb can be used just as a traditional onion would be; add it to stir-fries, soups, sauces, and stews. Add the whole plant to salsas and pestos, or blend with sour cream for a wild French onion dip.
The bulbs can be pickled or canned in any way imaginable. The leaves and flowers make fantastic infused vinegar or oil and can be added to homemade salad dressings. Brandegee’s onions are nice to have preserved or dried for future combinations with other wild foods.
Be mindful to leave a few flowers behind, and do not take all the foliage from one plant. This should be easy, because these onions tend to grow close together and in bunches. If you are using the whole plant, be careful not to take too many from one single patch; spread out the harvest to keep the colony hardy.
The young leaves of death camas (Toxicoscordion venenosum) and mountain death camas (Anticlea elegans) could be mistaken for Allium species. Be certain with your identification and do not rely solely on smell, as the onion scent will linger on your fingers and a non-scented root can seem to smell of onion. Roots of the aforementioned toxic plants are oval with black scales.
Shepherdia argentea
silver buffaloberry
EDIBLE fruit
Wait until the weather turns and the first frost occurs to harvest tart-astringent bullberries, with their faint taste of chokecherry.
Gathering bullberries by hand can be tough, as plants come with thorns that can reach to at least an inch long. Laying a blanket down under the tree and shaking the fruit down will help make your experience a little less painful.
Bullberry is a thorn-ridden shrub-like tree with glossy, scaly-looking leaves. Scale spots on both sides of the leaves have a silver or bronze color. The dense, leathery leaves grow opposite and are oblong-lanceolate in shape. Thorns can be over an inch long and very sharp. Bark is silver-gray in color; the old growth bark peels off in long strips. New growth at the ends of branches has a mealy white coating. Berries are spotted with silver scales, similar to that of the leaves. They are orange, turning red when ripe. Canadian buffaloberry (Shepherdia canadensis), a shrub with no thorns, grows in similar regions; its berries are a little more astringently bitter but can be used interchangeably.
Find bullberry thickets close to rivers, among cottonwood trees and willows; also find it growing in alkaline soils and on grassy hillsides. Canadian buffaloberry can be found in arid sagebrush country or basking in the sun on canyon edges. For the finest-tasting fruit, it is best to do the gathering in the late fall or winter, after the berries have endured a few good frosts. The frost helps to sweeten the berries.
Canadian buffaloberries (Shepherdia canadensis) have wider, darker green leaves and grow on a bush that is without thorns.
Mind the thorns! To gather bullberries, lay a blanket or tarp on the ground, under the branches, and find a thornless place to grab and shake the tree. You can also use a stick to gently knock the berries loose from the branches. Collect the fallen fruit.
If you want to use them in jellies, jams, or marmalades, pick bullberries before the first season’s frost. The berries are juicy and more full of pectin then. Berries also make a nice rendition of a cranberry sauce; use them in combination with other fruits if you find them to be too tart. Simply cooking and adding sugar does them just fine, but try adding blood oranges along with some traditional cranberries to smooth out the flavor.
Spiced sauces and glazes for wild game like buffalo, elk, and mule deer can be made by cooking down the berries with cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and other spices, or flavor boosters like vanilla and honey. Thanks to the presence of saponins, berries can also be mixed with equal parts water and plenty of sugar, and whipped into a frothy meringue.
Dry berries and store for later use in trail mixes or baked goods. Fruit leathers can be made by mashing and cooking down the berries with a little water. Or, following Native American tradition, mash the raw berries into formed patties and let them dry in the sun; flip patties daily to prevent molding.
Gathering the berries of Canadian buffaloberry or bullberry will not harm plants; just be careful not to get stuck on the long thorns of bullberry.
Bullberries contain saponins, which give them their bitter flavor and frothiness. Saponins are not harmful to the body and are broken down through cooking. Eat Shepherdia species in small quantities and avoid them if irritation occurs.
Arctium species
gobō
EDIBLE shoots, leaves, stalks, roots
Burdock is a versatile player in the forager’s kitchen: its sweet, subtle flavor and meaty firm consistency lend themselves well to cooking, pickling, and grating raw.
Be careful of your clothes when you walk past burdock, as its seedpods will stick and stay like Velcro.
Big, soft basal leaves mark the first year of this hardy biennial. Leaves are bright green on top, lighter in color on the underside, and are covered in velvety fuzz. The basal rosette of leaves can grow to about 18 inches across. Second-year plants send up large leafy flowering stalks. The thistle-ish flowers are a magenta puff of disc florets surrounded by spiky green bracts. These hooked bracts are what turn into the brown clinging burred seedpods, which host a few hundred seeds each. Burdock roots grow deep, averaging depths of around 2 feet; brown outer flesh, which can hold a lot of dirt, covers the dense creamy white interior.
Burdock can be found throughout the mountain west, mostly growing where humans have settled, near ranches, farms, or old homesteads. Being a lover of disturbed soils, this biennial can also frequent places where soil is not so compacted, such as a tilled garden or worked-over farmland. Roots should be gathered in the fall of the first year or while the plant has only basal leaves the following spring. Shoots and young leaves can be gathered in early spring. Roots and stalks are more tender before the plant flowers; after blooming, both become somewhat woody and not very palatable.
The taproot of burdock can grow enormously deep. I have to admit, I am rarely able to get the entire root out of the ground when harvesting. I like to grow burdock in the garden, which gives me the advantage of prepping the soil, keeping it sort of loose, so the root will be easier to harvest come fall. If the brown outer flesh of the root is caked with too much dirt, simply peel it off after a good rinse. Young leaves and shoots of first-year plants can be eaten as well and should not be tossed aside when harvesting the root.
Burdock root is a staple in my bone broth recipes as well as a “secret” ingredient in my soups, stews, stir-fries, and mashed potatoes. Its sweet flavor and firm, crisp bite hold up well in recipes that require extended cooking. Burdock browns easily when being processed. Keep a bowl of vinegar water on hand; dipping sliced pieces into the vinegar water will help preserve the root’s white color if you are using it raw in salads.
The thick stalks of second-year plants can be peeled and boiled until tender. Shoots and young leaves can be cooked along with other vegetables for an extra boost of iron, magnesium, and calcium.
Burdock root can be chopped up fresh and dehydrated for easy use in the kitchen during the winter months. Increase its richness by roasting the minced root in the oven or an iron skillet. Roasted burdock roots combine nicely with other roasted wild roots, such as dandelion and chicory. Store dried root in a glass jar for use in teas or broths.
Fresh burdock, dandelion, and dock roots can be combined to create a mineral- and nutrient-packed vinegar extraction (see sidebar). Use this as the base for dressings or marinades. Try pureeing the infused vinegar with carrot, ginger, and beebalm for a superb salad dressing.
Decoct the roots in boiling water for 10 to 15 minutes and strain; make sure to add a dollop of acorn butter before sipping. Burdock roots can be sliced into long slender pieces and pickled with wine, rice, or sherry vinegar and salt.
There is little to no concern in harvesting Arctium species in the mountain west. In some places burdock is not so common, but growing it in the garden is quite easy: taking seeds from a plant and spreading them in tilled soil should do the trick.
Steer clear if you have a known allergy to sunflower family (Asteraceae) plants. An allergy may show as itchiness or stomach irritation.
Typha species
EDIBLE shoots, flower spikes, pollen, roots
Cattails are a food of many seasons, for many reasons. Taste the fresh spring shoots with their cucumber flavor, enjoy nibbling cooked flower spikes like corn on the cob, and take home the golden treasure of the pollen, which transforms and enriches any flour blend.
Cattail’s young green flower spikes are best before or just after they emerge from the inner leaves of the stalk. Shuck off the leaves and boil or roast like mini cobs of corn.
The golden pollen of cattail can be shaken into a bucket or paper bag. Attempt this harvest maneuver on a non-windy day, or all the pollen will blow away.
In midsummer look for the long, round, slender stalks of broadleaf cattail (Typha latifolia) or narrowleaf cattail (T. angustifolia) rising up from marshy ground, with a wavery brown flower spike waiting to turn to seed fluff. Cattails have long, flat, lanceolate basal leaves that stand tall along the stalk, which itself can grow as high as 10 feet. Cattail leaves have chambered air pockets. Both male and female flower spikes are carried at the top of the stalk. The topmost, male flower spike produces pollen that fertilizes the lower, female spike, the one that eventually turns to fluffy seed.
Cattails are mostly found at lower elevations in standing water and riparian areas. Find them along irrigation ditches, marshes, and river inlets that receive full sun. Plants can be foraged in three seasons of the year. Young shoots should be gathered in early spring, as soon as the water has thawed and the green leaves are getting long, before the plant flowers. The young flower spikes should be gathered while green; leave some behind so you can come back to harvest the pollen in early summer. Harvesting the inner core can be done until about midsummer. Roots and lateral rhizomes can be gathered in fall or early spring.
Cut off the aerial portions of the plant, stripping the leaves to reveal the white inner core of young shoots. The young flower spikes of the female and male portion of the plant are edible and quite tasty while still green and hidden within the leaves of the stalk. Find the cylindrical protrusion of the spikes and shuck away the leaves, as you would corn, to reveal the edible miniature cobs. They can also be eaten once exposed from the central stalk, but hurry and catch them before they start to brown.
Gather cattail pollen by bending the male spike into a paper bag or into a bucket.
It can be quite the task to locate the roots and cut them free in the water. Digging with your hands around the base of the cattail, you will feel the lateral rhizomes. Younger ones are edible. Mature rhizomes are fibrous and too tough to eat but can be processed for their starch. Once you get them home, give them a good scrubbing to remove debris. Then pound them out in a pail of water, really working them and scrubbing to release the starch. The starch will float to the bottom after a rest of several hours. Decant off the water and store the liquid starch in a jar that can be frozen for later use or dehydrated. After drying the starch out, grind it into a fine powder and store for use as a thickening agent.
Young shoots have a bite comparable to hearts of palm with a bamboo shoot–like flavor. Use them in Asian stir-fries, steam alone for a side dish, or eat them raw, tossed decoratively onto salads. For a quick, raw dish of a cattail’s inner core, which has a mild cucumber flavor, simply slice the shoot, dust with wild chive–spiced salt, and drizzle with beebalm-infused olive oil.
The green flower spikes can be boiled or roasted until tender then slathered in salted butter and eaten down to the stalk, like a mini corn on the cob.
Young rhizomes can be chopped and eaten raw or cooked. The starch from mature rhizomes can be utilized in either its liquid or dried form to thicken soups, stews, or gravies.
Store pollen in the freezer for maximum freshness. Add pollen to smoothies or mashed potatoes to enrich them with protein. Pollen can also be substituted for some portion of other flour(s) to make any recipe more hearty; start by switching in a quarter-cup of pollen, until you figure out the consistency that works best.
Gather cattails only at lower elevations, where they grow most abundantly. Finding them above 9,000 feet is rare in most parts of the mountain west. Scatter the seedy fluff of the female flower throughout the marshland to help establish a better population.
Cattails will grow happily in contaminated waters, so be very careful about where you are harvesting them. Also, in spring before the cattails have flowered, their leaves resemble those of irises, which should not be consumed. Iris leaves are veined, and iris stalks have a flattened oval shape. Cattail leaves are not veined, and stalks are round.
Stellaria media
EDIBLE leaves, stems, flowers
Chickweed is easy to pull or pinch from the ground by the handful and can be used in place of sprouts on sandwiches or pho.
Chickweed is a voracious little weed chock-full of nutrients. It has small white flowers and opposite succulent leaves, but the line of fine hairs along the central stem is what distinguishes chickweed from other similar-looking plants. Plants trail low, their stems forming branched mats and rooting back to the ground. Flowers, singly or in a small cluster, adorn the tip of each stem. At first glance, flowers may look like they have 10 petals, but there are only five—each petal just has a very deep indentation.
Chickweed prefers a cool climate, particularly flourishing in spring and sometimes fall, which keeps it vibrant and crisp for harvesting. Find it growing in the shaded corner of yards, disturbed soils, and sheltered semi-moist areas. Come the heat of the summer, it can wither or become dry and stout. This little weed is harvestable almost all year long. It seems to just keep growing, providing new shoots in late fall and possibly in the winter under conifers or if the snow on a south-facing aspect is melted. Chickweed is best gathered just before or right as it flowers, as the plant dies back after flowering.
This plant will rarely be found alone. It grows in patches, making it easy to harvest. The whole plant is edible. Try to snap off only the top few inches. It is okay if you accidentally pull up the whole plant; it’s easy to do. Rinse your harvest well, removing any dirt, and lay it on a towel. Roll the damp chickweed up in the towel and place it in the refrigerator for a few days to a week.
Raw chickweed is ideal for many purposes. Stems, leaves, and flowers are a package deal that can be juiced into a green slurry like wheatgrass, using a masticating juicer. Gather a handful for a sandwich garnish or as an excellent green addition to your smoothie. Add to pesto and other spreads or use in place of bean sprouts in fresh Vietnamese spring rolls.
The whole plant can be infused into vinegars for the extraction of its minerals and vitamins. Chickweed can be kept in the fridge for up to a week or so, depending on the juiciness of the stems. The whole stem can also be thrown in the freezer for months and pulled out, bright green and tasting fresh. Juiced or pureed chickweed can be poured into ice cube trays and frozen for later use in smoothies.
Overharvesting chickweed can be hard to do since it sows itself so well. Do be careful if you fall in love and want to nurture it in your garden; it can drastically take over.
Cichorium intybus
succory
EDIBLE leaves, flowers, roots
Chicory is a popular root that is roasted and ground for its coffee-like flavor—it’s even made it into commercial coffee blends out of New Orleans.
The blue flowers of chicory can be seen dotting the shoulders of dirt roads and highways all over the mountain west. Each flower blooms for only one day. When any part of the plant is broken, it exudes milky sap. Young basal leaves look similar to dandelion leaves; however, the jagged leaf edges of chicory point both outward and upward, not toward the leaf base like those of dandelions do. Young leaves could also be confused with another edible plant, wild lettuce; however, chicory lacks the prickles on the underside of the central leaf vein. Chicory can reach heights of 5 feet and has a scraggly look with its somewhat woody, jointed stem. Leaves and flowers grow sporadically along the branched stems.
Chicory grows abundantly in some places and is rarely seen in other areas of the west. It likes to grow below 7,500 feet and is usually found in the lowlands between mountain ranges, along roadsides or in sunny pastures. In springtime, chicory provides a crop of bitter young greens that rival escarole or endive (Cichorium endivia), its cultivated cousins.
Gather spring leaves while they are young and growing as a rosette. Roots are impressively large and take some digging to uncover; they are best harvested after the plant turns brown. Root crowns can be saved and used as miniature endive. Gather flowers for their petals only, as the green bract can be too bitter.
Chicory leaves, while young and tender, are the perfect bitter green to enliven any salad. The root crowns are fantastic sautéed in garlic and oil, tasting like mini escarole. Blue flower petals can be picked off the bract and used to decorate salads or entrees.
Dried and roasted roots of chicory have a long shelf life if stored in a sealed container. Chop roots finely before roasting to ensure the longevity of your coffee grinder blades. Grind roasted roots as you would coffee beans, and brew your tea using a French press for best results.
Chicory reseeds itself quite well, which is why you can find this nonnative plant on noxious weed lists. Feel free to harvest roots at your will.
Chicory is in the Asteraceae, and some people may have allergic reactions to this plant family.
Prunus virginiana
bird cherry
EDIBLE bark, twigs, flowers, fruit, nuts
One of the most abundant fruit trees of the mountain west happens to bear the smallest fruit, each packed with an intense sour-cherry bite.
Chokecherry trees are very abundant in the mountain west along rivers and highways and in subalpine forests. If it is late spring, identifying can be easy. Look for shrubby trees with long white clustered racemes of flowers that hang from the sides of the branches. Find a good group of trees in flower, and return to this prime spot to harvest cherries later in the summer. Thin-trunked trees grow from a few feet to 10 feet tall; they tend to be heartier in the foothills and smaller and more shrub-like the higher in elevation they grow. Leaves are shiny green with a lighter hue on the underside; they are oval with little jagged edges and arranged alternately along the stem. Bark ranges from gray to reddish brown, with horizontal lighter-colored air pores called lenticels. Fruit is a drupe, a berry with only one seed—the nut or pit, in chokecherry’s case. Berries ripen to an almost black color late in the summer.
Trees are found near streams, along ditches, in canyons and conifer forests. Gather the flowers in spring when they are highly aromatic. Beat the birds to the fruits when they are about a quarter-inch in size and darkened to black, in late summer or early fall.
Handpicking cherries can be time-consuming. Snipping off the twig that the drupes hang on is a faster method of removing them from the tree; for use in larger batches, freeze the whole stem of cherries to make picking the cherries off the stems easier. Trim the flower spikes off branches with pruners.
Flowers can be harvested for infusing into honey or making liquor cordials. The tips of the chokecherry twigs give a bitter flavor, while the blossoms hold nice almond-cherry aromatics, making this a great herb for cocktail bitters as well.
The fruits will vary in flavor from tree to tree. Taste a few cherries before you take a whole bunch from one tree. Some are very tart and astringent—the flavor that makes your mouth pucker and muscles twinge. Others have more of a sweet-and-sour taste. It can be best to pick cherries from several different shrubs for a superb taste combination. Use cherries to make dessert fillings and ice cream. Add sugar or a sweetener to cut the tartness.
The nuts of chokecherry are high in prussic acid, a form of cyanide, but crushing them and exposing them to oxygen or cooking them renders the nuts safe to eat.
Use a food mill to remove the pits and make fruit leathers. Or use the whole fruit and mash into a pulp. The crushed nut has an almond flavor that pairs nicely with the tart cherries. Do be careful of the shells; they have been known to crack teeth. Fruit leathers can be made this way raw or cooked.
Fragrant white flowers light up riverbanks and streets in spring. Use flowers to infuse alcohol or to make a simple syrup.
Try freezing whole cherries or cherry mash for future use. Liquors, syrups, wine, and jam or jellies can be made to preserve the cherries into winter. Berries can be dehydrated or dried whole and then stored. Chew the fruit off the nut, or if you wait long enough, it seems the nut gets soft enough to crunch up along with the skin. Twigs and the bark of the branches can be peeled and dried for use in teas.
Forage away—the next generation of this common tree is assured.
Galium species
goosegrass, bedstraw
EDIBLE leaves, stems, seeds
Cleavers have a subtle sweet flavor and are loaded with vitamin C, lending themselves well to springtime smoothies and pestos.
Cleavers are most recognized by the whorled leaf pattern that runs up the square stem. The leaves grow in whorls of six to eight and are oblanceolate in shape. Stems are leggy and branched; they sprawl across the ground rather than standing straight up. Both leaves and stems have tiny hooked hairs, by which means the plant is able to creep over other plants. Flowers are tiny, white, yellow, or green in color, with four petals, and blossom in late spring. Cleavers has fuzzy, sticky burrs or seedpods that easily stick to socks and shoelaces.
The tender young leaves of cleavers can be gathered from spring until midsummer. Find vibrant green cleavers on montane forest floors beneath the tall cow parsnips and sweet root. Or locate it in lower-elevation shady places, near chickweed or miner’s lettuce. The higher you are in elevation, the later you will be able to gather fresh leaves. Lower-elevation plants will go to seed first. Collect seeds in late summer or fall.
Almost all parts of cleavers will stick to you. The plant and the seeds have fine hooked hairs that grab hold of fabric. Cleavers also pulls easily from the ground, which makes you take more than you really need. With a pair of scissors, or pincer fingers, take only the top young whorls from the plant. If you happen to uproot the entire plant, it’s okay: utilize it all.
Cleavers is not the best plant to eat raw, as it has a rough, semi-unpleasant texture that can make your throat itchy. I prefer to use it in smoothies and green drinks, or macerated into pestos and dips. Cleavers has a sweet vanilla-like flavor while it is still young. Chop up the whole plant and use it in cooking for its nourishing components of chlorophyll and vitamin C.
Toss a handful of fresh cleavers greens into your next smoothie, or roast the dried seeds for a coffee-flavored tea.
Dry the plant immediately in a dehydrator or low-temperature oven to prevent it from going to seed. This will allow the plant to harbor its delicate aromatics for use as a nutrient-rich tea. Store in a sealed container after the drying process.
Dry and roast the seeds in a cast-iron skillet to create a coffee-like tea. Store the dried and roasted seeds in a sealed container; grind them just before use and brew in a French press. Galium is in the same family as coffee, and the seeds hold a small amount of caffeine.
Cleavers are usually found growing in thick stretches, making it easy to harvest an ample amount of tops without causing a shortage of growth. The clinging burrs are spread easily by passing animals or hikers.
Thelesperma species
greenthread, Navajo tea, Hopi tea
EDIBLE leaves, stems, flowers
Cota is highly regarded as a tea by Native Americans for its lovely taste and medicinal value. It is sold commercially but, as it is one of my favorite wild teas, I would rather find it for free.
Slender green stems arise from a small beige taproot. The entire plant has a glaucous coating, which makes it look somewhat blue-green. Thin, thread-like leaves grow from the base and sporadically along the stem. There may be a dozen stems or a single stem growing from the root, but only one flower sits atop each stalk. Flowers are yellow; some species (e.g., Thelesperma filifolium) have both ray and disc flowers, while others (e.g., T. megapotamicum) have only disc flowers.
Cota is found in Colorado (primarily in the Navajo Nation and Four Corners area), in Wyoming, and in parts of Montana. Plants inhabit dry soils or open meadows at elevations between 3,500 and 8,000 feet. Flower stems, complete with leaves, are best gathered as the flower buds are beginning to blossom, and when the plant is most fragrant.
The stems and flowers make a beautiful bundle of herb tea. Cut stems about 3 inches above the ground. Then make a simple bundle by folding three to five flowering stems over again and again, until the bundle is about palm size. Fasten the bundle with string, or carefully use another piece of cota stem to wrap it all up.
A refreshing herb tea can be made from the flowers and green portions of cota. It has a mild taste comparable to green tea or chamomile. This tea is divine served iced on a hot summer’s day or hot for a soothing day-ender.
Dried bundles remain flavorful for years but are better if used within one year. A single bundle can make about a quart to two quarts of tea.
First, make sure not to pull this plant out by its roots. Second, be sure there is adequate foliage left behind when cutting above the ground. This keeps it healthy for the following year.
Cota is in the Asteraceae, and some people may have allergic reactions to this plant family.
Populus species
poplar
EDIBLE buds, bark, twigs, catkins, cambium
Just when you think winter’s grip will never loosen, mighty cottonwoods offer a small treasure. Infuse their buds in honey for a spice and aroma that will pull you through to spring.
Cottonwood trees have scaly or rough, gray-brown bark with deep furrows and an average height of 50 to 100 feet. Branches may look bare in the winter, but they hold aromatic buds that exude a sweet balsam-scented resin. Leaves are alternate and ovate, lanceolate, or heart-shaped with toothed edges. All Populus species are dioecious, meaning the tree is either male or female. The main difference between catkins is the male catkins shed pollen while the female catkins produce the seeds. The cottonwood is cursed by people in the spring for the cotton fluff of its seeds.
Cottonwood trees dominate the riverbanks, irrigated fields, and floodplains of the west. Gather their riches in winter and spring. Collect the sweet-tasting catkins while the tiny flower buds are still closed. Once the whole catkin flowers, it soon becomes just fluff and loses taste, and if you gather them too early, when they are tightly closed, they are likely to be too bitter.
Wind, beavers, and tree trimmers are my three favorite allies when it comes to gathering cottonwood limbs and buds. Find a beaver-fallen tree or a nice spot where many branches have freshly fallen. Sit there and pick through the twigs to collect just the buds. Stay long enough to garble, quietly in nature, if you have the time to surrender yourself. You can also take the branches home for a more thorough collection and for utilizing the twigs, bark, or cambium. The cambium of the bark is essentially a survival food; it’s hard to gather enough for calories.
Catkins are a nice nibble on a spring walk, with their complex, sweet and spicy taste. If you find a loaded, low-hanging branch, pick a few handfuls to try out in the kitchen.
Male catkins dangle from the limbs of cottonwoods, looking something like long caterpillars. They are edible at this stage.
An infused honey of cottonwood buds is a must-try, and it doesn’t take too many buds to make such a concoction. Fill any glass jar halfway with the buds. Including small pieces of attached branches is fine. Cover with honey and set in a warm spot to infuse for a week. The spicy-balsam flavor is outrageously good in teas or as a culinary ingredient. Chew on a honeyed bud for a real mouth tantalizer. Bark can be used in teas or extracts for its bitter components.
Please do not go chopping limbs off of trees for any reason, unless you are pruning your own. Cottonwood branches come down very easily and unexpectedly; there are plenty of fresh downed branches to be found.
Heracleum maximum
wild celery
EDIBLE leaves, stalks, flower buds, seeds
Young unfurled leaves and budding flowers of cow parsnip are firm and tender when steamed or boiled. They have a flavor reminiscent of parsnip.
The unfurled leaves are at the perfect stage for harvesting, and they make a pleasing steamed or sautéed vegetable.
The stalks and leafstalks are flavored somewhat like celery. Peel first before eating raw or cooking.
Big palmate leaflets, a thick stalk, and showy umbels of white flowers make this carrot-family plant easy to distinguish from all the others. Cow parsnip can grow upward of 9 feet tall, supported by thick, hollow, grooved stems. Both leafstalks and stems are coarse and hairy. The leafstalks too are hollow and grow alternately up the stem. Flowers are carried in an umbel, an umbrella-shaped inflorescence. They are creamy in color with five deeply notched petals; some petals are larger than the others. When the flowers are budding, they form a dense sheathed ball. Flat, widely ovate seeds are highly aromatic. You will rarely find cow parsnip growing alone.
Cow parsnip inhabits damp forests from the foothills to the subalpine regions. A springtime walk in the woods provides the forager with unfurling leaves, flower buds, and tender young stalks. In late spring or early summer the plant sends up a young flowering stalk; the best time to harvest it is before the flower buds blossom.
Wear gloves and cover limbs while harvesting this plant (see caution). Young unfurled leaves can be picked individually by hand. Spread out your harvesting over a generous walk through the timbers, and never strip a plant of all its leaves.
The young leaves and closed flower buds of cow parsnip can be steamed or boiled and used as a side vegetable. For stalks to be deemed delicious raw, they should first be peeled. The bare stems taste most similar to celery and can be used as such. Raw stems can be stuffed with nut butters and dried berries, or try cream cheese, minced wild chives, and pickled dandelion buds for an hors d’oeuvre.
The young unfurled leaves, flower buds, and seeds can be dried and used for their interesting spicy parsnip-like flavors.
Cow parsnip is readily found throughout the west. Harvest with care, taking a little from each plant.
Always take extra caution when keying out or identifying a plant with white umbel flowers, because most belong in the Apiaceae, which family contains poison hemlock (Conium maculatum) and water hemlock (Cicuta species), two of the most toxic plants in North America.
Furocoumarins are found in the sap of the skin and hairs of cow parsnip. An unpleasant dermatitis reaction occurs when the sap is left on skin and can be made worse by exposure to sunlight. For some people this can cause a nasty burn, so it is best to handle the stalks with care or use gloves. Make sure to wash hands or limbs as soon as possible after collecting and processing.
Malus species
EDIBLE flowers, fruit
The sweet-and-sour bite of crabapples makes them a nice flavorful addition to jellies or fruit leathers.
Crabapple flowers come in a variety of colors from white to magenta. You will find most in neighborhoods or town squares; it’s very rare to find a feral crabapple tree.
There is no greater scent than when all the crabapple trees go into bloom each spring. The scent is sweeter than rose, a floral fragrance that lingers through neighborhood streets. Crabapples look very similar to an apple tree, with rough brown bark and white to fuchsia blossoms. The trees are stout with dense branches bearing leaves that are ovate and lightly serrated or scalloped. Fruits are smaller than 2 inches in diameter, varying in color from yellow-green to pink-red and magenta-orange.
Crabapples are drought-tolerant trees that handle extremely cold temperatures quite well. They can be found in backyards and old town sites, near old buildings and farmhouses. I’ve noticed some trees take a year off and produce fruit only every other year. More rain during the summer makes for juicier apples; drought years usually mean mealy fruit. Apples are ready for picking in September and into October. Frost sweetens them, making them soft and more suitable for harvesting.
Get a bushel or basket and start picking. My favorites to gather are the deep red ones that are larger in size or the miniature Braeburn-looking crabapples; these two are slightly sweet, juicy, and sour, making them perfect for cooking or ciders.
Most people find crabapples a little tart straight off the tree, but it definitely depends on the tree as much as the person. Smaller crabapples tend to be the most bitter; larger fruits approach domesticated apples for taste. Crabapples pair nicely with wild plums, wild grapes, and other ripe fruits of the season. Crabapple buds and blossoms make a heavenly tea; try them fresh or dried.
Crabapples are high in pectin, so fruit leathers and jellies are a cinch to make. Cook crabapples with a little water until they break up and turn to mush; take the hot apple pulp and strain out the seeds for fruit leathers, jellies, butters, and sauces. A food mill also works well to remove the tiny seeds, which are very tedious to remove by hand.
Crabapples also make one heck of a good cider. A friend and I joked that with all the crabapples I gather every year, we could open a cidery. Try pressing the crabapples and fermenting the juice so that you can make hard cider or raw apple cider vinegar. The flowers can be dried for brewing tea. Save dried flowers and, once the fruits are ripe, make a delicious elixir or cordial from both parts of the plant. This can be used as a bitter digestif, before or after meals.
Most trees have more fruit than their branches can hold or the birds can eat.
Taraxacum species
EDIBLE leaves, flower buds, flowers, roots
The dandelion is well recognized around the world. Learn to love its bitter leaves: they are better for you than you know!
Before the dandelion blossoms, pick the closed buds and use them for tart bites in salad or pickle them for later.
Bright yellow flowerheads crop up all over in the springtime, and most of them belong to the beloved dandelion. It looks as though only a single flowerhead, held by a green bract, sits atop the scape, but in fact the bloom consists of hundreds of tiny ray flowers. When broken, the wide and hollow stem (or scape) flows white latex. The leaves are always basal and lobed, having uneven edges like that of a key (or the teeth of a lion—hence the common name, a corruption of the French, dent de lion). All leaves form a thick rosette around a taproot that is usually a pale cream color. Several flower stems will arise out of a single rosette. Pappus is the white fluff we see once dandelions have gone to seed.
Finding a clean place to gather dandelions is important; most gardeners will gladly have you come weed their beds. Just make sure they are not using chemicals or hosting dogs. In the mountains, however, dandelions abound! There is always an abundance of dandelions to be found in pristine conditions where foot traffic is minimal. The first offering the dandelion puts forth each spring are the leaves; next, the tender flower buds and flowers. The root is best in the spring or fall, after the leaves are dying back.
Gather a few leaves from each plant or dig up the whole plant to use the root as well. Flower buds can be pinched off in the center of the rosette. Once the flowers bloom, either take just the head or pluck down at the base of the stem to get the entire scape as well.
Leaves can be munched on fresh, as a salad; if they are too bitter, mix in some more mild field greens. Cooking the leaves takes out some of the bitterness; dandelion leaves accompany stinging nettles or mustard greens nicely in a sauté of butter with garlic. Flowerheads are excellent dipped and fried in tempura batter or chickpea batter for dandelion pakoras. I find the roots can be a little too bitter to cook with; however, they make a fabulous tea.
Leaves can be blanched and frozen for future use. The leaves can also be dried and stored for tea or an addition to smoothies. Roots can be dried or pickled. Roasted roots make a nice full-bodied tea. Dry finely chopped roots and then roast them before storing in a glass jar. I like to grind my dried roasted roots just before steeping them in a French press for at least 15 minutes. Add a dollop of acorn-infused butter for a real tasty treat. The flower buds can be pickled to replicate capers and used in classic Italian recipes like puttanesca sauce or chicken marsala.
Forever and always, dandelions will be considered weeds. They come and go, and we should take better advantage of harvesting them with the seasons. No worries on overharvesting these abundant plants.
Dandelions are in the Asteraceae, and some people may have allergic reactions to this plant family.
Rumex species
curly dock, yellow dock, cañaigre
EDIBLE leaves, seeds, roots
The tart leaves and crunchy protein-packed seeds of dock can both be cherished ingredients in a summer’s salad.
Docks can be spotted from afar by the tall, unbranched, dark brown stalks and seedheads of the previous year. Plants can grow quite large, reaching about 3 feet tall. Leaves are long, thick, and lanceolate; they form a basal rosette in spring. The stalk is jointed, and smaller leaves grow alternately along it. The small flowers are green, red, or brown, and turn into winged seeds. Roots can be quite large and are cream or yellow in color.
Crispy dock (Rumex crispus) has curly or wavy edges and is one of the more palatable of the dock species. Western dock (R. occidentalis) is abundant throughout the west and has large leaves that have a minimal astringency. The leaves of wild rhubarb (R. hymenosepalus) are toxic and should not be eaten.
Find dock growing in sunny fields, canyons, vacant lots, on hillsides, close to ditches, or at the edges of forests. Gather the young leaves in the spring; they toughen up and turn more tart come summer. Seeds and roots can be gathered in the fall.
Gather the young spring leaves by snapping or trimming the leaves from the base. The younger growing leaves along the stalk can be harvested as well. Gather seeds on a dry day. Strip the seedheads from the stalk into a paper bag. Dry seeds by spreading them on a flat surface for a few days or use a dehydrator. Dig roots after the plant has gone to seed; clean well and chop into small pieces for drying.
Dock leaves are full of sour, tart, and astringent flavors that marry well minced on pizzas, torn into salads, or blended with other cooked greens. Dock greens can be boiled in one or two changes of water if the bitterness or astringency is too much. Use these cooked greens in lasagna or blend into quiches or frittatas. Greens are high in vitamin A, calcium, potassium, and iron.
Seeds can be roasted or ground into flour for creating crackers and granolas or added whole to dishes for a protein-rich crunch. Use a 1:1 ratio of ground dock seeds to your flour of choice and a hefty pinch of salt. Add enough water to create a thick pliable, non-sticky paste. Roll out dough and cut to shape before laying the precooked crackers on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 to 15 minutes to create a wild gourmet cracker. Try adding amaranth and other wild seeds and the pollen of pine or cattail.
Roots are high in iron and can be boiled along with dandelion roots to create a strong decoction. After this brew is strained, add molasses for even more iron fortification.
Dock leaves can be blanched and frozen. Once the seeds are totally dry, they can be stored in a sealed container. The roots will store in the refrigerator for a few weeks while fresh; chop finely and dry thoroughly before storing in an airtight container.
Gathering the seeds or leaves from the docks is fine. Most docks are invasive.
Docks are high in oxalic acid, which, if consumed in large quantities, can cause gastric upset or greatly affect people who suffer from kidney disease and stones.
Pseudotsuga menziesii
EDIBLE young tips, needles, resin
The young tips of Douglas fir have a fresh lemony flavor that’s perfect for smoking fish or blending into teas.
Douglas firs are great evergreen conifers averaging 100 feet when mature. The bark is gray, becoming thicker and darker with age. Smooth bark of young trees will eventually turn rough and crack as the tree gets older. Soft, flat, blue-green needles grow in an alternating spiral along the branch. Douglas firs are different from “true” fir trees in that their cones hang from branches; these cones can also be found on the ground. Abies species, which are the true firs, have cones that sit erect on branches and disintegrate while there. Cones of a Douglas fir are 2 to 3 inches long and light brown. Distinctive upward-bent, three-pronged bracts are situated between the scales of the cone.
Find Douglas fir on mountain slopes from Colorado north, and west all the way to the Pacific Coast of northern California, Oregon, and Washington. The needles of any conifer can be gathered year-round, though I find the young, spring tips of Douglas fir and spruces to be the best. The resins are best gathered when they are flowing up or down the tree in spring and fall, while soft and gooey.
Find a forest full of Douglas fir and meander among trees, plucking only a few tips from each. The tips are the new growth at the ends of branches. Needles can be stripped from fallen branches.
Use needles in tea blends or to enhance the flavor of smoked sea salt (see sidebar). Place small branch trimmings on top of wild-caught trout before baking or smoking; this will cook in an essence of Douglas fir. Create an infused butter with the minced young tips and use this for baking cookies or slathering on toast.
A simple syrup can be made of the spring tips by simmering them in water and sugar. After straining them out, add a handful or two of fresh tips to the syrup. Heat to a simmer again for a few minutes, and then strain them out. Dust the tips with sugar and place them on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper. Turn your oven to the lowest heat setting and place the tray of candied tips inside for a few hours, until crispy. This candied treat is a beautiful garnish to desserts.
An infused olive oil of fir tips is divine. It can be drizzled over just about anything.
Harvesting fir tips, when spread out through many trees, will not impede the growth of a particular tree.
Sambucus species
EDIBLE flowers, fruit
There is nothing more intoxicating than the smell of a room full of elderflowers drying in the spring.
The white flower clusters of elderberry are not only highly aromatic but also make a delicious fritter.
The leaves of elder are pinnate with an odd number of leaflets, commonly three to nine, resulting in a leaflet at the tip of the leaf. Leaflets are paired opposite one another along a pithy stem. They are serrated and are mostly lanceolate in shape but can be ovate. The leaves have a musky, unpleasant odor when rubbed; the leaves of the only look-alike, mountain ash, do not. Flowers are white with five petals and five stamens. The inflorescence can be branched with flat-topped clusters, or flowers can form a pyramidal shape. Black or blue elderberry species bear the berries worth harvesting. They are found throughout this mountainous region, just not as densely or commonly as red elderberry (Sambucus racemosa).
Find elders growing throughout the Front Range of the Rockies, north to Alberta and Saskatchewan, and westward, in mixed forests, along hillsides, and in meadows. They prefer partial shade and damp soils. Many ornamental elder trees grace neighborhoods, parks, or other landscaped areas that are free from being sprayed. Gather the flowers in late spring or early summer.
Flowers of all Sambucus species can be used interchangeably. Clip the flower stem under the first branch of the inflorescence. The fresh stems of elderberry are toxic, and all parts should be removed before processing the flowers or berries. Dry the flowers while they are on the stem. Once dried, garble through the stems, removing the individual flowers. The fruits of red, black, and blue elderberries contain seeds that are also toxic if they are not cooked or dried, so don’t be tempted in the field (or spit them out if you want to taste).
Red elderberries can be eaten cooked. The raw red berries are said to make people nauseous and cause stomach discomfort.
The flowers can be turned into champagne, cordials, and simple syrup; infused into vodka; or battered and cooked into fritters. Make a hydrosol or infused honey from the fresh flowers picked off the stems.
Caution with the red berries—sample them only after being cooked. I am not a fan of the flavor, so I only use the flowers of red elder. People do use cooked red elders in jellies and sauces.
If using fresh berries, whatever their color, run them through a food mill first to remove all the seeds. Use fresh berries in fruit salads or to top desserts. Bake berries into pies, crepes, and muffins. The berries can be infused into alcohols, for cocktail concoctions or blending into cordials, and elixirs. Mash and cook berries into juice for wines, simple syrups, jellies, and sorbet. Infuse berries into honey or vinegar for use in a multitude of cooking endeavors.
Flowers and berries can be dried or dehydrated and used in teas, which are perfect wintertime tonics.
Before you get overly excited about gathering elderflowers from the new stand you found, remember that removing all the flowers and buds means no berries will be produced.
Leaves, seeds, and stems are toxic and should not be ingested while fresh. Red elderberries should only be eaten after being cooked.
Erodium cicutarium
stork’s bill, alfilaria, redstem filaree
EDIBLE leaves, roots
Use the tart leaves of filaree in salsas and pesto, or as a minced garnish atop soups and salads.
Another common name for filaree is stork’s bill, a reference to the long pointed seedpod, which resembles the beak of a stork or heron. Erodios actually means “heron” in Greek, hence Erodium.
Leaves are a rich green, reaching at most 6 inches long; they are pinnate and highly dissected, with a soft sticky fuzz. The first leaves spread out in a flattened basal rosette. Leaves will grow taller in more fertile, longer-seasoned growing conditions. In the mountain west, the plant usually remains under a foot tall. Stems are hairy, and flowers are bright pink with five petals. Seeds can be a nuisance, especially when they burrow into the thick fur of my Alaskan malamute. They have a sharp seedhead with a long corkscrewed tail. This is for the seed’s survival: once a seed has landed on the ground, the wind gently turns its corkscrewed tail, forcing the seed into the earth.
Find filaree well established in the mountain west as a nonnative plant. It does extremely well in harsh climates with intense sun, arid land, and even extreme cold. Filaree also thrives in partial sun, grasslands, and moist climates. Gather the leaves in spring or the roots all year long.
Pick young leaves or pull up the whole plant to have access to the sweet root.
The young leaves are best, having a somewhat sweet and tart taste. They do well in salads, in spring pesto spreads, or garnishing sandwiches and wraps. The root can be chewed on to release its sweet flavors. It has been called Hopi candy as the children of that tribe used it like gum. Older leaves, though more bitter, can still be used and are suitable for soups, sauces, or stews.
Filaree is considered a noxious weed, and its seeds spread very easily, usually by sticking to your clothes or dog companions. Feel free to dig up the whole plant and experiment with the sweet-tasting root. Just be sure you are harvesting in an area that is not being sprayed for the removal of this plant.
The species epithet is a reference to Cicuta (water hemlock), for the similarity of their leaves, and the two plants can grow close together. I find the leaves to be very different, however, and the stem of filaree is hairy (in Cicuta species, it is not).
Abies species
EDIBLE young tips, needles, resin
Firs have complex fragrances and flavors—deliciously subtle hints of balsam or lemon—that are readily captured in teas or honey.
Firs are best identified by their cones, which grow in the upper branches, so you will have to look high up in the tree to notice them. They sit on top of the branches, like so many baby owls, and point toward the sky. Cones disintegrate while on the tree; if you happen to find one on the ground, it is probably from an animal knocking it down. All firs have flat needles, and you can notice this when you try to roll the needle between your fingers. Mountain alpine fir (Abies bifolia) has a single white line on the dorsal side of the needle and two beneath, while white fir (A. concolor) has two white lines only on the underside of the needle. The cones differ in color as well: mountain alpine fir cones are a dark purple-gray, while white fir cones vary from a golden green to purple.
Find firs growing in subalpine mountain forests or up at treeline. Gather the young tips of the branches in late spring or the needles all year long.
Pick the bright green soft tips off various branches, tasting each tree to find the flavors you like best. White fir has a lemony scent and flavor, while mountain alpine fir has more of a strong balsam aroma.
Fir tips can be used to infuse a host of culinary ingredients. Start with a fir-tip-and-resin-infused oil or vinegar. For a pleasing simple syrup, simmer the tips in water and sugar. Fir tips can also be candied. After straining out the tips from your warm simple syrup, reheat the syrup and simmer another few handfuls of fresh fir tips for few minutes. Strain the fir tips and dust in sugar; let them sit out on parchment paper to dry, or speed up the process by placing them in the oven, on the lowest setting. A few hours should crisp them up. Do be careful not to let them burn!
Candied fir tips can be stored in the freezer for future use in decorating cakes and pies. Get creative and blend the young tips with sea salt to make an infused salt that can be sprinkled atop eggs or fillets of fish or steak.
Taking needles and tips should not damage the tree. Spread out your harvest of young tips between many trees, simply pruning the forest.
Chamerion species
willowherb
EDIBLE shoots, leaves, stalks, flower buds, flowers
After a devastating wildfire, fireweed springs up to cover the ashes. It reestablishes the flora and helps increase food supply for bees, humans, and other animals, offering nutrient-rich shoots and leaves and delightfully aromatic flowers.
Fireweed is a testimonial of endurance and the dwindling days of summer. Quick, before the first snowflakes fall—clip the top 3 inches of the unbloomed flower raceme and eat raw or cooked.
Fireweed is a staple wildflower of the west, growing erect with four-petaled fuchsia flowers blossoming from the bottom up to the tip of the raceme. They say that once the last of the flowers blossom, the first snow is days aways. Young shoots of fireweed can be noticed in the spring, poking through old leaves, next to the first yarrow and dandelion leaves. The young stalks have a reddish coloring that disperses into the green leaves. Stem and leaves are both smooth and hairless. The leaves are long and lanceolate; some have slightly toothed margins and look similar to willow leaves. Each leaf has a pronounced white midvein and spirals alternately up the thick stem.
Obviously, old burn sites are a common place to find fireweed thriving. It likes the cool, moist mountain air and is usually found at the edges of woods, in pasturelands, near waterways, high on rocky slopes, or along roadsides. Start gathering in late spring.
Spring shoots of fireweed may best be identified if previously marked with a rock while the plant is in bloom the previous year. Snap or snip off the reddish shoots at least an inch from the ground. Before all the flowers bloom, clip off the top portion of the budding raceme.
Shoots of fireweed can be eaten raw or cooked lightly by steaming or sautéing. They are somewhat crunchy and just a touch mucilaginous. Young leaves can be eaten raw. The older vibrant leaves can be used as a cooked green or dried for tea consumption. Flower bud racemes can be boiled or steamed for a slightly sweet side vegetable. The delicate sweet citrusy aroma of the flowers is a nice touch strewn upon salads. Any segment of the stalk can be peeled or sliced long ways in half for easy access to the sweet pith. The flowers are great suppliers of nectar for our honeybees so if you ever stumble upon fireweed honey, then you are in luck. Its pungency is impeccable.
Young shoots can be blanched and keep well frozen for up to six months. Flowers can be used to make florally sweet jelly or candies; the color they produce is absolutely stunning. When making the jelly, be sure to add a touch of lemon juice; the acidity really brings out the color, as does the addition of pectin.
Clipping the shoots back in early spring helps to stimulate growth, so no need to worry about overharvesting the shoots. Be mindful of the other early growth around you in the spring by walking with care.
Erythronium grandiflorum
avalanche lily
EDIBLE leaves, flowers, bulbs
Soon after the snow melts in spring, yellow glacier lilies flood mountain meadows with their sweet honey-tasting flowers.
The yellow flowers of glacier lilies, so worth seeing and foraging, will be missed if you do not travel to the alpine in spring.
Glacier lilies are one of the first flowers to spring up after the long winter’s snow cover finally melts, their yellow six-tepaled blossoms nodding to the ground below. The stem can vary in length, supporting one or two bent-over flowers. A single pair of narrowly oblong or elliptic leaves arises from the bulb (technically, a corm). Leaves are glossy, smooth, and vibrantly green. The higher the plant grows in elevation, the more dwarf it becomes.
Walk through a high mountain meadow in late spring, and with any luck, glacier lilies will delight you. Find them growing in the partial shade of forests, in sunny high alpine meadows, and in avalanche slide paths.
Pluck off budding and bloomed flowers. Glacier lilies are usually found growing closely together in large stands, making it easy to dig up a few corms at a time. The corms can be fairly deep in the earth, so dig gently, using a digging stick or tool to loosen the soil.
Glacier lilies are among the most beautiful edible spring flowers. Use them to garnish fruit cocktails or any other dish, for that matter: their curved petals help latch the flower onto the sides of any glass or bowl, and the fragrant honey-scented flowers make the best floating accompaniment to awe-inspiring martinis. The leaves can be eaten as well but are not my favorite in texture; they are best used sparingly, minced up and spread throughout a salad. Corms of the glacier lily can be eaten raw or cooked; they have a somewhat sweet and pleasantly crisp bite.
The corms can be dried and reconstituted in soups.
Glacier lilies take upward of seven years to reach full maturity; digging up roots in quantity may be unsustainable in areas of the Rocky Mountains. Only if the plant vastly surrounds you is it okay to dig a few corms to taste, or enough for a small meal. Take only small harvests of the entire plant, and again, only where it is growing very abundantly.
Ribes aureum
EDIBLE fruit
The sweet and sour flavors of golden currants are a pleasure worth seeking on a hot, late summer’s day.
Yellow tubular flowers give golden currant its name, not the immature yellow berries. Golden currant berries are shiny, smooth, and can be black, golden orange, or red when ripe. Like most Ribes berries, the dried flower will be left on the base of the berry, giving each berry a little tail. This woody shrub grows to 6 feet and generally has entirely spineless branches. The leaves have deep clefts (they look like small maple leaves) and turn deep red in autumn. Clove currant (R. aureum var. villosum) has more aromatic flowers; they smell like clove and vanilla in the spring.
Gather the berries in late summer or early fall. Find them used abundantly in landscaping, or growing wild in damp soils, forest floors, riparian areas, and canyon bottoms throughout the mountain west.
Clip the hanging fruit cluster to make gathering easy. You can either process the berries while they are fresh, or freeze them first to make popping them off the stem a breeze. Don’t bother taking off the flower remnants; it is tedious work that goes unnoticed.
Enjoy golden currants fresh or dried over muesli with strawberries, raspberries, amaranth seeds, and other wild ingredients. Berries can be mashed and simmered in a little water to be spread out and dried as fruit leathers. Add more water to your mash and strain, and then add some sweetener to make juice or syrup. Ice cream, sorbet, pie filling, and wine can all be made from these delicious little berries.
Freeze, dehydrate, or preserve golden currant’s scrumptious flavor in a jelly or jam. Use dried golden currants in place of raisins in rice pilaf or among cooked wild greens and pine nuts.
Other than snatching berries from birds, I do not see any issues with harvesting golden currants.
Solidago species
EDIBLE leaves, flower buds, flowers
Seek out the unbloomed flowerheads of goldenrod for a tender, wild, broccolini-like vegetable.
The tightly closed flowerheads of goldenrod are perfect for pinching off under the inflorescence and steaming or boiling like little broccolinis.
Goldenrod’s yellow flowers are a beacon, carried high, from mid- to late summer. The color reminds us all that fall is coming and that the matching color of school buses will be cruising the streets again soon.
When in full bloom, goldenrod’s flowers light up the fence lines with their crescent-shaped heads of clustered yellow flowers. Plants range in height (some grow just shy of a foot, while others grow over 7 feet tall), and they form large stands: where there is one, there are usually many. The stalk is unbranched, and in some species it can be hairy, along with the leaves. Long, lanceolate leaves grow up the stalk alternately. Some leaves have smooth edges, while others are jagged. Many people blame hay fever on goldenrod, but it is a completely innocent bystander, as it is not wind-pollinated.
Goldenrod inhabits disturbed soils, in partial to full sun, and can be located in fields, along riverbanks, and high up mountain roads. Several species occur throughout the mountain west; all are usually fully bloomed by August in most elevations, so prime harvesting season begins in July or early summer.
Goldenrod is entirely edible: gather the leaves, florets, and flowers. Young florets can be harvested by pinching off the top few inches of the plant before the flowers bloom, while the buds are still closed. Harvest leaves by taking a few from each plant, not stripping the stalk.
Enjoy as a broccolini substitute; the tender unbloomed flowerheads can be steamed, sautéed, or boiled. Leaves can be added to any dish raw or cooked. The leaves and flowers make a slightly bitter, astringent, and aromatic tea.
Flowers and leaves can be infused into honey. The leaves dry up well for future soothing teas, but the flowers do not, as they poof out and go to seed.
This plant spreads by its roots, so there are no implications with harvesting the flowering tops. The plant will stay happy as long as it has most of its leaves left intact.
Ribes species
EDIBLE fruit
High summer is usually the start of gooseberry season, and my favorite way to enjoy their tart juiciness is straight from their thorny thickets.
Green gooseberries are full of pectin and can be picked before turning ripe to use for setting jellies and jams.
Plants are shrubs, with tall arching branches thickly set. Leaves are intricately lobed, varying slightly from plant to plant, sometimes looking like a small maple leaf. Flowers are trumpet-shaped, blossoming downward toward the ground. As with all Ribes species, gooseberries hold onto the remnants of each flower’s sepals at the tip of the berry. Both currants and gooseberries can have thorny stems; one way to tell them apart is that gooseberry stems come off attached to the berry and currants don’t. Gooseberry fruit also tends to have a bit more of a sour-grape flavor than currants.
The skin of plump gooseberries can appear translucent. When immature, the berries are green, yellow, or red, with light vertical lines, making them look like a striped marble. All the gooseberries in this region—white-stem gooseberry (Ribes inerme), trumpet gooseberry (R. leptanthum), and Canadian gooseberry (R. oxyacanthoides)—turn dark blue or blackish purple at maturity.
Gooseberries begin to ripen in July, and you can find fruit through early fall if you go up into the mountains. Look for the shrubby thickets at the border of a forest or tucked near waterways.
Individually pluck each berry and put it directly in your mouth or come up with a more strategic plan, such as laying a tarp under the bush and shaking the branches or hitting them with a stick. Do be mindful of the thorns; they can snag both your clothes and your skin.
Fresh off the bush is best. If you can bring some home, toss them into salads for a crisp tart bite or into curried rice dishes for an added sweetness.
Gooseberries make a delicious grapey juice. Cook the berries with some water on a low temperature while mashing them up. Strain out the pulp, and enjoy the juice, sweetened with sugar or honey. This is also the first step to creating simple syrup or jelly that can be simmered down after the sweetener is added. Let the simple syrup be the base for sorbets and specialty drinks. Green gooseberries, though much more tart than ripe berries, are loaded with pectin and can be used to make jams or fruit fillings without the use of commercial pectin.
Berries can be canned into jams and jellies, or the berries can be frozen for later consumption. Gooseberry simple syrup is a lovely condiment to add to margaritas or martinis. Fruit leathers are another great way to preserve this puckery berry, although you may want to add honey or sugar to the pulp before drying. Whole berries can be dried or dehydrated and stored for a raisin-like treat.
Picking berries will not affect future harvests, but wildlife may depend on them for food, so always leave some berries behind. Gooseberries transplant well from cuttings, if you want to try growing some in your own garden.
Physalis species
tomatillo, husk tomato
EDIBLE fruit
Keep your eyes peeled for the lantern-like husks of ground cherries, tucked under fall foliage. You may be surprised by the sweet juiciness of this little fruit.
Harvest the dried papery husks of ground cherry in the fall, and find the pleasant ripe orange-yellow fruit that waits inside.
The bright green foliage of ground cherry can be found sprawling on the ground or standing almost 3 feet erect. Some Physalis species have fine hairs on the alternate leaves. Flowers are yellow bells, nodding toward the earth. The inner center of the flower can have purple splotches. Fruits develop in a bladder-like husk that looks like a lantern. The cherry-shaped fruits are green when immature and turn a golden yellow when ripe.
Ground cherries are found throughout the mountain west, usually at lower elevations but occasionally as high as 8,000 feet. They do extremely well in sunny, poor, sandy soils or fields, but don’t be surprised to find them in forests and on hillsides with partial shade. Begin gathering the fruits in the fall.
If you happen to pick some unripe fruits in late summer, it’s okay. If you leave them in the husk, they will ripen off the plant. Ground cherries are notorious for falling to the ground before ripe. Pick these up first. If they are still green-yellow, wait a few days to a week for them to ripen into a deep golden orange-yellow before consuming. Make sure the berries are a little tart and sweet, not bitter. Do not eat green, unripe ground cherries.
Ground cherries can be eaten raw or cooked. Try them in salads of any sort, or add to roasted root dishes to perk them up. Fruits have a sweetness that lends itself well to pies, fruit leathers, syrups, and tarts. Ground cherries can be made into sweet and spicy salsas when prepared with fresh mango, cilantro, and habanero peppers.
If fruits are left in the husk, ground cherries can be stored over winter in the refrigerator. Sliced fruits can be dehydrated and stored for later use in baked goods. Blend ground cherries together with crabapples, wild plums, and other fall fruits to make marmalades, chutneys, and jams.
This perennial plant reproduces easily from the seeds of fallen fruit and is usually found in abundance. Your foraging will not affect its continuance.
Eat the inner golden yellow fruit only when it is ripe and not bitter. The husk of the fruit is toxic, as is the immature green fruit. As the plant is a member of the nightshade family, all the foliage of ground cherries is toxic as well.
Celtis species
sugarberry
EDIBLE fruit
Hackberries have a taste and texture that mirror this arid-loving tree’s habitat—a little bit of dry, sweet flesh and a bunch of crunch.
Small berries can be hard to see unless you take a closer look at the tree. They are ripe once they have turned red.
Hackberry trees are known for their knobby, corky, layered bark. Trees are on the small side, reaching a peak height of 30 feet. The leaves are ovate to lanceolate, with one side longer than the other, and an uneven base, making them look slightly crescent-shaped. Leaves are alternately arranged and are serrate or entire around the margins. The fruit of a hackberry isn’t considered a berry but rather a drupe. They hang singly from a stem and have a hard-shelled nut that is rather large for the size of berry, yielding a small amount of flesh. The ripe berries of netleaf hackberry (Celtis reticulata) turn from green to red; common hackberry (C. occidentalis) ends with a darker-colored berry.
Hackberry is found in the lower elevations and foothills of the mountain west, preferring the long summers and a dry climate. It does best when it is close to rivers or streams. Find it planted as a landscape ornamental, at a park, or in someone’s yard. Gather the berries after the first frost, which sweetens them somewhat.
Spread a sheet under the tree, stretching it wide enough to catch the small fruits that will fall from the ends of the branches. This is the best way to gather quantity, if you have the patience to let the fruit fall on its own throughout autumn. If you are merely looking for a snack or want them fast, pick them individually by the handful.
Using a mortar and pestle, smash up the ripe berries. They’ll turn into a dough-like substance that is thick, sweet, and crunchy, from the nutshells. If you don’t mind the crunch, the hackberry dough is completely edible this way. Mix this into cookies or roll into cinnamon rolls for a sweet inner layer. Another way to enjoy the dry-sweetness of hackberries is to make a “milk” out of it. Use about a 1:2 or 1:3 ratio of hackberries to boiling water, and pour into a blender. Blend until pureed, and add a pinch of sea salt and linden-flower-infused honey or other flavoring. Blend once more before straining through a muslin cloth bag. Enjoy hot or cold.
Hackberries hold very little moisture. To dry, lay them flat on a tray for a few weeks. They may be frozen fresh for future use.
Harvesting the hackberries will do no harm to the tree, and plenty will be left high in the trees for squirrels.
Crataegus species
haw, maythorne
EDIBLE fruit
Hawthorn berries vary greatly in size, color, and taste throughout the mountain west. Most hold large amounts of pectin, making them a perfect addition to thicken jellies or jams made from assorted wild fruits.
You will know Crataegus rivularis, an abundant hawthorn of the mountain west, by its red ripe berries and unlobed leaves.
Hawthorns grow in thickets; fortunately for foragers, it is rare to see just one shrub growing alone.
Approximately six species of Crataegus inhabit the mountain west. A deciduous tree or shrub, hawthorn produces either red or black berries with large, hard seeds. Some berries are large enough that they resemble crabapples, but you’ll know they’re not by the large 1- to 2-inch thorns that embellish most branches of hawthorn. Leaves are ovate, with either subtle jagged edges or lobes or definably larger serrations around the tip. Small white flowers bloom in clusters; each has five petals, resembling a miniature apple blossom.
Hawthorns are found near riverbanks, on the forested hills of the mountains, and in thickets through canyons. Rarely is a single tree found growing alone, which makes it easy to collect an abundance of berries. The red or black berries begin to ripen in late August or September, depending on your location and elevation.
Pick clusters of berries from the trees being sure to mind the long thorns that adorn most branches. If you find most berries are too high to reach, spread a blanket or sheet around the base of the tree and shake the ripe berries down.
The easiest way to process hawthorns is to cook the berries down in water, creating a pulpy mass, which can then be screened to remove the hard seeds. Otherwise, remove the seeds while berries are fresh by hand or with a food mill. The berries are full of pectin, which comes in very handy when making fruit leathers, sauces, and jellies. They are also high in flavonoids and antioxidants, making them a nutritious choice for pies and strudels.
The berries can be dried whole before storing in the tea cupboard or ground into a powder after drying. Combine the berry powder with other baking flours such as wheat, coconut, or almond for its pink hue and sweet flavor; it’s a sure way to get nutritional benefits in a variety of baked goods. Fruits can also be brewed along with wild apples and crabapples to produce a well-balanced dry hard cider.
Harvesting berries has no impact on the survival of hawthorn trees, but remember to leave some for the birds and other animals.
Agastache species
EDIBLE leaves, flowers, seeds
Coming upon a sun-warmed stand of hyssop, alive with buzzing insects and the sweet smell of anise, is a real treat. Chew on a leaf for more of nature’s bounty, the subtle taste of licorice.
When you encounter hyssop in your wanderings, you may think it is mint or possibly catnip on steroids, with its square stems. Giant hyssops can grow to 3 feet or more. When you smell a crushed leaf, you will notice it isn’t mint-like but mustier—like catnip with a hint of licorice. Leaves are wider at the base, ovate, and toothed all the way to the tip. Flowers become whiter as they are exposed to the hot sun, whereas the newly bloomed spikes are light pink or lavender. The flowering spike never seems to bloom entirely at once. Upon closer inspection, you will notice the trumpet shape of the flowers and the extra long stamens and stigmas peeking out. The most common hyssop in the Rocky Mountains is nettleleaf giant hyssop (Agastache urticifolia), which has leaves that look like stinging nettle without the stingers. Foliage and seeds of anise hyssop (A. foeniculum) have a more pungent flavor of anise, but this plant is scarce throughout the Rockies; it is more common in gardens.
Hyssop begins to blossom in late spring at lower elevations or early summer higher up in the mountains. Look for it in lush mountain meadows and in the partial shade of woodlands. I like to gather the plant when it is in full bloom, putting forth its aromatic budding flowers. Leaves start to lose their flavor from the heat of summer; they are best gathered early in that season.
Pinch or cut off some of the flowering stalk and some leaves. Take only a little from each plant in a large stand. When the flowers are fading in the summer heat and the plant has mostly turned to seed, gather the tops and shake out the seeds.
I like to chew on the leaves and flowers while hiking, for their anise flavor. Fresh leaves can be chopped up and added to salsa and salads, or as a garnish to soups. Fresh seeds can be simmered into simple syrup for soda and cocktail creations. Use seeds as a substitute flavoring where fennel or anise is required; blend them into meatballs or homemade sausage. Tisanes can be made from fresh or dried leaves and flowers. Hyssop is a great wintertime tea; it can also be infused into honey.
Bundle hyssop stalks with a rubber band and hang upside down to let the herb dry. After drying, crumble leaves and flowers off the stalks. Store the crushed hyssop in a sealed jar, and its aromatics will be preserved for future tisanes.
The reason you never see only one hyssop plant is because it spreads through underground rhizomes. Since the plant is not spreading strictly by seed, it’s okay to gather flowering heads. Be respectful of the pollinating insects, and leave plenty of flowers behind.
Juniperus species
EDIBLE leaves, fruit
Juniper berries provide the forager chef with a pungent woodsy flavor that pairs nicely with wild meats, tempering their gamey flavor.
The best time to harvest is when the berries are still somewhat chalky but have turned royal to dark blue. This is the sprawling, shrub-like Juniperus communis.
Juniper grows in two ways, as a ground-dwelling shrub or as a trunked tree. Branches have scaly evergreen leaves that are rough or needle-like. The berries are really soft, flesh-covered cones. All species of juniper have green immature berries that ripen to a chalky deep royal blue. Common species of the mountain west are Utah juniper (Juniperus osteosperma), common juniper (J. communis), and Rocky Mountain juniper (J. scopulorum).
Junipers can be found all over the mountain west and southwestern Canada. Find them growing in landscaped yards or clinging to canyon walls. Juniper likes a dry climate, growing alongside piñon or sagebrush. The best time to gather is when juniper berries reach a royal blue color in late fall or early spring. Branch tips and leaves can be collected all year.
I gather juniper berries by raking my fingers through the leaves, releasing the berries into a basket I hold below. Clip the branch tips and take some leaves when gathering the berries.
Junipers add welcome, rosemary-y flavor to poultry, elk, antelope, venison, and other wild game meats. Fresh or dried berries can be crushed with pepperweed seeds and sea salt for a rub to coat the meat with prior to cooking. Try also adding different wild ingredients that are native to your surroundings—beebalm, wild onions, the berries of skunkbush, smooth sumac, or mountain ash—to make a region-specific rub, marinade, or brine. These flavors complement wild meats well, as some of the ingredients may have been a part of the animal’s usual diet. Small amounts of juniper berries can be combined with other berries like mountain ash, currants, or chokecherry to zest up jellies, jams, or chutneys.
Juniper-berry-infused vinegars and honeys preserve the distinct pine-rosemary aroma well. Juniper-infused honey goes well over wild salmon before baking or grilling the fillet.
Dry juniper berries whole to use in marinades and brines. Juniper, beebalm, and Douglas fir needles combine well and make a great trio of wild ingredients to have on hand for your Thanksgiving turkey or Christmas goose brine. These same three ingredients can be used to create an herb-flavored salt. Combine the fresh herbs with coarse salt and blend well with a food processor, coffee grinder, or mortar and pestle. Let the salt blend sit in a bowl or shallow pan for a few days; mix daily, until the salt and herbs are dry. Enhance the salt mix in a smoker, burning some juniper twigs as the salt cures even further. This salt can be used to flavor foods before, during, or after cooking as a finishing salt.
Junipers provide a lot of food for animals during the winter months. Be mindful of where you are foraging and harvest only where trees are plentiful.
Pregnant women or people with known kidney disease should not consume juniper berries or foods that include it.
Rhodiola integrifolia
EDIBLE shoots, leaves, flowers
King’s crown is a foragable food for the mountain climber sleeping above treeline; its juicy, tart young leaves are a refreshing snack, midday or -night.
King’s crown is a succulent in the stonecrop family. Its juicy, flattened, cauline leaves are oblong with a pointed tip. The thick leaves attach alternately to the stalk without a petiole. Flowers are small with four or five petals of a deep red-orange. They form a rounded cluster at the top of the unbranched stem. Roseroot (Rhodiola rosea) looks similar and is likewise foragable; it has a light pink spike of flowers, and its rootstalk has a slight rosy floral fragrance.
Discover king’s crown growing abundantly in rocky outcroppings where not many other plants would have success. This succulent prefers the rocky, moist, and well-draining soils of the mountains and can be found above treeline and below, in the shade of the forest edge. Gather the young shoots before the plant has flowered in late spring. Gather the leaves and flowers throughout the summer.
Young shoots can be cut near the base. Cut or break off the stalk of older plants about 4 inches down, giving you some leaves and flowers.
King’s crown can be eaten raw or cooked. Sometimes leaves gain bitterness and lose tartness after the plant has flowered, but cooking them ameliorates the bitterness. Steam the leaves, clipped tops, or young shoots, and toss them in melted beebalm-and-onion-infused butter. When car camping with the proper cooking utensils and a dozen eggs, use king’s crown in frittatas or omelets. Pick apart the flowers and toss them into salads or place atop cooked dishes.
In lush places below treeline, king’s crown can be found growing in large stands. Above treeline it may be a different story: in places where it is not growing in large colonies, harvest only small amounts.
Chenopodium album
goosefoot
EDIBLE leaves, stems, seeds
My friend Steve made a passing remark to a visiting farmer—the bugs seemed to be feasting on the lamb’s quarters that had cropped up in his garden, not the spinach. The farmer’s response? “Which one do you think has more nutrients?”
Find lamb’s quarters growing in thick stands, invading your vegetable garden and other disturbed soils.
Another common name for this plant, goosefoot, is a loose translation of the genus name, which itself derives from the Greek, chenos (“goose”) and podion (“little foot”), in reference to the shape of the leaf.
Spotting lamb’s quarters from a distance can be easy: plants can grow over 6 feet high (but average 4 to 5 feet) and the waxy coating on the green leaves, particularly on their undersides, makes them appear slightly gray. Leaves have the shape of a goose foot: a rounded triangle with irregular, shallow lobes or teeth. The first true leaves are opposite and covered in a gray-white, waxy coating that can be rubbed off on one’s fingers. The rest of the leaves are arranged alternately along a stem that is gently grooved and sometimes tinged with red. Flowers are inconspicuous green balls; they grow in branching clusters, putting forth tiny black seeds.
Lamb’s quarters is found all over the world, predominantly in disturbed areas and inhabiting all soil types. It may be found in your garden as a nutritious invader, growing abundantly in vacant city lots, or on the side of a mountain road at 10,000 feet. The first sprouts of lamb’s quarters are seen in spring, and if the garden is erupting with them, weed them out for eating. Gathering can be done until about midsummer. Then, as the ground dries up, so does the plant; however, because lamb’s quarters reseeds itself so well, some young plants may reappear in the fall. Seeds can be collected from late summer through fall.
The abundance of this plant can make a bountiful gather easy. When the plant is young, pluck off leaves or pinch off the top of the plant. Plucking about 2 to 6 inches off the top is ideal for a tender stem. The tender stem is edible as well, and can be chopped up to go with the greens.
When gathering the seeds, first shake the tops to see if any of the seeds pop out. If some do, then they are ripe. Break off the stalk and beat the seed clusters into a bucket to get the seeds loose. Use your fingers to free any remainders on the stalk. The gathered seeds will then need to be sifted and winnowed. Don’t worry about any remaining chaff; it’s just extra fiber.
The leaves and stems (and even the small flowers) are edible raw or cooked. The leaves have a texture similar to spinach when boiled, steamed, or sautéed. The raw leaves are good but better cooked into meals. Treat lamb’s quarters as wild spinach and go to town. Be creative and add it into lasagna, frittatas, or spanakopita. Seeds are edible sprouted or cooked, a bitter-tasting cousin to quinoa; they can be ground and added to baked goods and cereals, or boiled like quinoa.
Make a nutrient-rich infused vinegar from the leaves, stems, and young seedheads. Leaves and tender stems can be blanched and frozen for future meals. Drying lamb’s quarters and grinding it to powder makes it easy to add to future smoothies or green drinks. The seeds will keep for months if dried.
Lamb’s quarters is on invasive weed lists across the continent; there are no sustainability issues when it comes to harvesting it.
Syringa species
EDIBLE flowers
One of my favorite springtime activities is riding bikes through town with my family and deeply inhaling the aromatics of fragrant and—surprise!—edible lilac flowers.
Lilac’s aromatic blossoms won’t last long, so be sure to make use of the flowers while they are in full bloom.
Lilacs are not usually found in the wild, but they grow well in the Rocky Mountains as an ornamental. Most are growing on landscaped property—maybe even in your own backyard. These deciduous shrubs can grow tall if you let them, but most people keep them pruned. Lilacs host flowers ranging in color from purest white to classic shades of purple and magenta; they grow in panicles and are highly aromatic. Leaves are ovate or heart-shaped and have entire margins. The grayish brown bark is smooth in younger years and with age begins to peel and flake in longitudinal stripes.
Find lilacs escaping from yards or abundantly planted in a neighbor’s landscape. Gather the flower clusters in spring until about the start of summer, when they start to dry and fade.
Clip the flower clusters first thing in the morning, while they are super fragrant. Try to harvest before the sun heats up and zaps away the delicate aromatics. Rinse off any cobwebs or bugs in a strainer.
While the flowers are blossoming, I make sure to have a batch of lilac water with me for every farmers’ market we vend. People are shocked at what a lovely flavor the infused water is and that those are lilac blossoms floating in the water. Depending on the vessel you are infusing your lilac water in, you may want to pick apart the clusters, so they fit better. If it is a big glass container with a pour-dispensing spout, leave the lilacs in their whole clustered shape; it looks marvelous. More importantly, leaving the cluster whole prevents the flowers from separating and clogging the spout. If it is a smaller pitcher separate the small clusters from the main stalk. This will allow flowers to float in each person’s drink. Use cold water and about five clusters per gallon of water—more, if you want it stronger-tasting. Infuse lilac blossoms in honey for a fragrant sweetener to add to teas and baked goods or lick straight off a spoon.
Lilac cordials can be made, or simple syrups. Try infusing vodka with the sweet scent. Lilac syrup can be frozen in ice cube trays for easier use in individual drinks.
Always make sure to ask before you start trimming someone’s lilac bush. The flowers bloom only in spring and are highly regarded for their fragrance as well as their gorgeous look.
Tilia species
basswood
EDIBLE leaves, flowers, nuts
Although linden is not native to the mountain west, it grows well as a landscape tree and is commonly planted throughout cities, the jasmine-magnolia scent of its flowers wafting through streets and neighborhoods on hot summer days. Be sure to capture it in infused honey or a simple syrup.
Linden trees can be smelled long before you turn the corner and realize the entire street is lined with this beauty. Their dense, hardy flowers are filled with sweet, soft notes of jasmine and magnolia.
Tilias are tall (30 to 100 feet), full-looking trees, often with low branches and short trunks. Trees are densely branched and often multitrunked; trunks are straight. The bark is gray or brown in color and can be furrowed, fissured, or even have flat ridges, depending on the species. Leaves are heart-shaped and serrated around the margins, often smooth on top with soft hair on the underside. Flowers are a pale yellow with five petals and hang in clusters on a stem, from a leaf-like bract. Bracts are long and narrow and pale in color compared to the vibrant green leaves. The flower stem attaches to the center vein of the bract. Nuts are round and hard, containing two seeds.
Linden trees are generally not found growing in the wild in the mountain west. Be leery of gathering near heavily trafficked roads, landscaped buildings, and municipal areas. Find a happy tree in the yard of someone who does not use chemicals on their lawn, and ask permission to gather there. Gather leaves in spring. Flowers begin blooming in late spring and continue into midsummer. Nuts can be gathered in late summer.
In spring, while the leaves are tender and small, they can be plucked from the tree; they have a slightly sweet taste. Find a tree that is loaded with highly aromatic flowers in the summer. It is very easy to pick a lot of flowers quickly from a large, old tree. Crack nuts open with your teeth to get to the small seeds inside.
Leaves make a nice addition to spring salads, as they have a subtle sweetness to them with a tender bite. Linden flowers have the fragrance of honeyed jasmine with a touch of magnolia. Capture their scent in simple syrup for softening summer drinks with its sweet floral taste.
Linden blossoms in honey are one of my favorite ways to preserve the delicate aroma of the flowers. Drying the flowers for tea is nice, but it does not harbor all the notes. This is why I like to double up for my linden tea with dried flowers and infused honey. Make sure to store the dried herb in a sealed container.
Linden flowers provide a lot of nectar for bees; watch out for these buzzing friends while you are foraging, and try not to take too much from them.
Malva neglecta
cheeseweed
EDIBLE leaves, stems, flowers, seedpods, roots
Seedpods of Malva neglecta look like sliced cheese wheels but taste like sweet peas.
Mallow will be flowering at the same time it has gone to seed. The cheese-wheel-shaped seedpods are a crisp and tasty snack.
Mallow has palmate leaves with a texture of soft velvet from the tiny hairs that can be found on most of the plant. Leaf margins are scalloped, which makes each leaf look ridged. Leaves have long petioles; they are all basal at first, with stem leaves occurring alternately up the flowering stalk. Flowers are white to soft pink, usually with darker pink or purple striping radiating from the flower’s center to the heart-shaped tips of its petals. Seedpods are disc-shaped and look like a sliced cheese wheel.
This introduced weed grows all over the mountain west, primarily below 8,000 feet. Mallow is a drought-resistant plant that does well in rocky or dry, disturbed soils. It is mostly found near places that have been frequented by people, not so common in the wilderness. Mallow leaves and stems are full of minerals, which show the efficiency of the root system for pulling them out of the soil; this also means you should not harvest near contaminated soils or old mines. Gather the basal leaves in spring, the flowers in summer, and then toward summer’s end, the seedpods.
The whole fresh plant can be uprooted from spring through summer and is entirely edible. The seedpods are a favorite forage and can easily be gathered by plucking.
Make bundles of fresh herb for a simple way to dry and crumble the leaves. Simply clip the plant about 3 to 4 inches down along the main stalk. Always look for stems with abundant foliage. Tie the clipped ends tightly together and hang the herb bundle upside down, in a dry spot that is out of direct sunlight. In about a week, the leaves will be dry enough to crush off the stems and store in a clean jar.
The nutrient-rich leaves and roots of mallow are great to use as thickening agents and can be added, fresh or dried, to stews, soups, gravies, and sauces. Replace commonly cooked greens with mallow leaves, or decorate the tops of salads with the delicate flowers just before serving. Seedpods of mallow have a taste similar to peas and the slimy texture of okra; they are perfect in curries or vegetable dishes in need of more consistency. Find recipes online for making marshmallows from scratch using the boiled goo of the seedpods.
Dried mallow roots and leaves are a great addition to the tea cabinet in arid climates. To take advantage of their moistening and soothing effects, always prepare the tea as a cold-water infusion, especially if you are a person who constantly battles the dryness. This could be a nice drink to have on a regular basis. Young green seedpods can be pickled and used as a caper substitute.
Mallow is a hardy nonnative. There is no need to worry about harvesting the whole plant. The plant grows annually, so gathering all the seedpods for consumption will limit next year’s growth. If you would like to propagate mallow, let the plant self-seed, replant seeds, or use cuttings.
Calochortus species
EDIBLE flowers, bulbs
Mariposa is “butterfly” in Spanish, and a field of mariposa lilies in bloom, waving in the wind, does indeed look something like a field of hovering butterflies. Flowers are an unrivaled final touch to spring and summer dishes.
Mariposa lilies are one of my favorite wildflowers to admire. For this reason, I will pick only a few at a time and dish out one per person.
Mariposa lilies vary greatly in color, depending on the species or variety. Most petals of our most abundantly common species throughout the mountain west, Calochortus gunnisonii and C. nuttallii (sego lily), are primarily white or pink. Each bears a darkened band or splotches of purple or burgundy toward the flower’s hairy yellow center. The three petals surround six stamens and a three-way lobed stigma; below the petals are three sepals. A single basal leaf blade extends up from the bulb in spring; later leaves are grass-like, held alternately along and clasping the slender stem.
Mariposa lilies are found throughout mountain meadows, foothills, and aspen groves, either scarcely scattered or in widespread colonies. Flowers bloom from late spring to midsummer. Roots are best gathered during the summer monsoon season, when it is easier to dig them out of the softened ground.
Be thoughtful when plucking flowers. Check to make sure none of the mariposa lilies you may be encountering are on a threatened species list, and spread your harvest out through the patch. The bulbs grow deep; carefully follow the slender stems down into the earth (see caution) to be certain you are digging up the bulb of a mariposa lily. Bulbs will need to be washed and peeled of their darker outer skin to reveal the creamy white beneath.
Flowers can be picked and eaten raw. They are best added to salads after they have been tossed, so the gorgeous flower does not get decimated. They make the loveliest garnish to the sides of any dish. Bulbs should be enjoyed roasted with other roots, or added to soups where they can be cooked for a while. They have a rich smooth texture and a minimal flavor that blends well with most things, but they definitely become a little sweeter the longer they cook.
Be gentle to this plant. Mariposa lily bulbs and flowers should be harvested only in places of abundance and in a manner that will help the plant spread: if 100 plants are within sight, take only five to 10 roots and 10 to 20 flowers. The untouched plants will have more space to grow in the now-tilled soil.
Always make a positive identification with mariposa lilies when harvesting the bulb. It is easy to snap off the slender stalk and lose the bulb in the soil, where it could be growing next to mountain death camas (Anticlea elegans) or meadow death camas (Toxicoscordion venenosum), both highly poisonous.
Claytonia perfoliata
winter purslane
EDIBLE leaves, stems, flowers
Miner’s lettuce is one of the few native North American wild greens carried from this continent to Europe, where it was introduced as a tasty edible, valued for its high content of vitamin C.
It’s always a treat to travel north and find patches of miner’s lettuce in the woods of Montana or Idaho. A disc-like leaf encloses the upper stem, giving miner’s lettuce a very distinctive appearance. The round leaf is actually a pair of leaves that has united around the stem, but it looks as though the stem has pierced the center of the circular leaves. Many long stems arise from the root, forming a rosette. The first true leaves are basal, long, and narrow. This plant is in the same family as purslane, with the same succulent leaves and stems. Flowers are pink or white with five petals. Each petal has a little notch at the top. The flowers look similar to those of redstem spring beauty (Claytonia rubra).
Miner’s lettuce thrives in areas of cool shade and dampness. It is rare to find it growing wild in Colorado or Wyoming because the land is too dry and the sun is too intense. It grows more abundantly in the woods of the Pacific Northwest, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, and southern Montana. Harvest in midsummer when leaves are biggest.
Pinch the stem below the biggest leaf. Leave behind a few flowering stems so they can produce seeds and renew the population. I soak the stems in a bowl of water and jostle the plant matter around to clean off any soil.
This crisp green is coveted in salads for its firm crunch and abundance of vitamin C. Add in chickweed, violet, and dandelion greens to give yourself the perfect spring salad to rejuvenate your sluggish winter body. Whole sprigs augment sandwiches, wraps, and spring rolls in place of bean sprouts or lettuce.
Clipped miner’s lettuce will stay fresh in the refrigerator rolled in a damp towel for about three to five days. This plant shrinks up considerably after blanching, so freezing it, though possible, isn’t worth your precious harvest.
Miner’s lettuce is a rarity in the mountain west; stands are small, or few and far between. Harvest with care and always leave flowers behind to reproduce. This plant is very easy to grow and will take over an entire yard if presented the right conditions. Favoring cooler temperatures, it can do well in high mountain gardens when provided enough shade.
Ephedra species
jointfir
EDIBLE stems
Mormon tea unveils a sweet, earthy flavor that is extra special when sun-brewed in a jar nestled into the desert sand.
Unique desert-residing shrubs, Mormon tea can be distinguished by jointed and apparently leafless green stems. These prehistoric-looking plants do in fact have leaves; however, they are small and scale-like, fused closely to the stem, and it is the junction of these leaves that gives the stems their jointed look. Mormon tea is a gymnosperm, meaning it produces spores that look more like a cone than a flower. The male and female cones of Mormon tea make the plant more similar to a pine or juniper tree than a flowering plant.
Mormon tea can be harvested throughout the year within the desert lowlands of western Colorado, Utah, and Nevada. Even with snow covering the ground, Mormon tea should still be visible, its green antenna stems branching toward the sky.
Clip sections of the jointed stems from many different shrubs, trying not to impact one area or a single plant too much.
A tea can be made from the jointed stems. This tea is mineral-rich and energizing, making it a great brew for the weary slot-canyon hiker. It is best infused as a sun tea. To make this, shred or cut up the jointed twigs and place them in a container or bowl full of water. Let this stand in a sunny spot for a few hours or an entire day. For an energizing tea first thing in the morning, try a moon brew, letting the herb steep in the light of a radiant moon instead. Use either hot or cold water for making tea. Mormon tea infusions can be used to replace water in baking, to add iron and other minerals to baked goods.
Keep Mormon tea as whole as possible to preserve the delicate flavor. Cut the plant into small segments and store in a sealed jar. Grind or crush the herb just prior to making tea.
Mormon tea should be harvested with care; trim only a few inches from each plant, spreading your harvest throughout many stands.
Sorbus scopulina
rowan, western mountain ash
EDIBLE fruit
Fiery reddish orange berries droop from the mountain ash tree in late summer and hang on through autumn and winter, providing a shockingly sour snack for the backcountry splitboarder on a several-hour-long hike up a valley.
Mountain ash is a shrub-like deciduous tree, capable of reaching moderate heights of 20 feet. Leaves are made up of nine to 12 pinnately compound leaflets. The entire leaf grows alternately along the branches. Each leaflet is lanceolate with serrated margins. The tree resembles an elder (Sambucus), with its cluster of white flowers and compound leaves; however, mountain ash has more leaflets than elders, and if you rub the leaves of mountain ash, they do not give off the unpleasant odor that elder leaflets do. Being a member of the rose family, the berries look like miniature apples, growing in clusters, turning from fiery orange to red when ripe.
Find these trees at the openings of conifer forests in the foothills and mountain valleys. Berries are best gathered after the first few frosts; cold snaps set the sugars in the fruit, which softens the berries and renders them less sour. A common ornamental, European mountain ash (Sorbus aucuparia), can be used similarly.
Mountain ash berries grow in clusters, making them easy to gather quickly. Snip the clusters into a basket and pick the berries off the stems at home. When processing your harvest, discard any hard or discolored berries, along with the stems.
Mountain ash berries are bitter before they have been frosted over by the first winter chill, but sugar can make anything sweet, right? Wild game chutneys can be made with orange, ginger, and a blend of hawthorn, mountain ash, and juniper berries. This makes a tasty glaze for wild birds such as grouse, duck, and goose. The berries can be cooked down into a juice, for jelly or syrup. Try using in combination with crabapples, rosehips, skunkbush berries, and other wild fall fruits.
Berries freeze well and can be dealt with later for processing. Mountain ash berries can be used to infuse liquors, or made into wine.
Mountain ash trees grow plentifully where found, and harvesting berries should not pose a threat to this favorite food of the birds.
Noccaea fendleri
prairie pennycress
EDIBLE leaves, stalks, flowers, seedpods
I love picking the sweet, mustardy-flavored flowering stalks of mountain candytuft in spring. It is even better with the crispness imparted by a rainy or snowy day.
Mountain candytuft stands no taller than 6 inches, approximately. It has a rounded cluster of small white flowers. Each flower has four petals and the tetradynamous formation of stamens (four tall and two short) that mark all mustard-family plants. An unbranched stem arises from small, ovate basal leaves. The leaves along the stem are small, ovate to lanceolate with entire margins, and hug the stem closely. Seedpods are heart-shaped.
Find mountain candytuft growing alongside dwarf bluebells, spring beauties, and violets in mountain meadows. The time to gather is spring when the plant has flowered, making it a little more of a substantial harvest.
Pick mountain candytuft at the base of the stalk. The whole plant can be utilized. Leaves and flowers are usually too small to separate from the stalk.
Mountain candytuft is such a small plant, I do not find it worth cooking; I have always just enjoyed it raw. I take the flowering or seeded stalk and chop it up a little, adding it to salads, or add the flowering stalks to sandwiches and wraps as a sort of sprout substitute.
Mountain candytuft grows abundantly throughout the sloping hills of the mountain west. It would be hard to overharvest it, but—as always—take only as much as you need.
Ribes montigenum
gooseberry currant, alpine prickly currant
EDIBLE fruit
The fruit of mountain gooseberry may look a little intimidating, covered as it is in soft bristles, but don’t hesitate to try the sweet red berries.
Mountain gooseberry is a small shrub of the alpine. It has prickly stems and branches, along with fine bristles on the outer skin of the berries. Leaves are sticky and fuzzy. The berries are red and smaller than other gooseberries. Flowers are pinkish orange and saucer-shaped, not as tubular as other Ribes flowers. A similar-looking plant is prickly currant (R. lacustre); its leaves are smooth, and its deep purple or black berries are also very good.
Mountain gooseberries are found throughout the Rocky Mountains, mostly above 6,000 feet, preferring dry to moist mountain soil. Find the low-spreading bush under the canopy of spruce forests. Berries start to ripen in summer and can be gathered into early fall.
The small fruits are easiest to collect if you simply snip branches that are dangling a constellation of berries and process when you get home.
Enjoy the tart berries fresh while hiking in the mountains. When cooked down, the pulpy juice can be used for syrups, jellies, or sorbets. Use whole berries for pies, compotes, and puddings.
Like other gooseberries they can be mashed and made into fruit leathers. The fruits can be dehydrated and combined into trail mixes and granolas. Clusters of berries can be frozen whole.
Picking the berries has no bearing on the future harvest of this plant, but the wildlife may depend on it for food, so always leave some berries behind. Seeds, seedlings, and cuttings propagate well when planted in rich soils.
Cymopterus lemmonii
Indian parsnip, spring parsley
EDIBLE leaves, roots
These parsley-flavored leaves are one of the first wild culinary herbs of spring in mountain meadows.
Mountain parsley can be found blooming in early summer with tender leaves. Use the leaves as a garnish, just as you would traditional parsley.
Leaves are finely dissected, fern-like, often with a reddish tint to the petiole, and grow from the base of the stem. Flowers are bright yellow or sometimes reddish purple umbels. They grow on stalks that can reach up to 2 feet in height. Mountain parsley is the most abundant yellow-flowering umbel in the Colorado and Utah mountains. Look to the seeds for the indicating difference between this species, which has a poorly developed winged seed and noticeable dorsal ribs, and Lomatium species, which have flattened and winged seeds.
Find mountain parsley in mountain valleys and on rocky slopesides and sunny forest floors. Leaves will start showing up in early spring in cool subalpine meadows. It is easy to spot the small yellow umbels against the rocky soil and under the pines and aspens. Gather the leaves through the summer. Roots are best harvested in spring and fall.
Some plants do not produce a lot of leaves; for this reason, take only one leaf per plant. Gather roots only if you are in a place where plants are truly numerous, and even then take only one or two to sample their parsnip-like flavor.
The taproot is edible as well as the leaves. Use the leaves as a spice and flavoring. Mince them to bring a little zest to a salad or salsa, or to garnish a culinary work of art. The root can be added to soups and stews.
Dry leaves, crumble them, and store them in a spice jar. Add a pinch here and there to sauces, soups, or roasts. Make infused butters and oils with fresh leaves, or add to vinegars.
Stick to taking just a few leaves here and there, and only if the plants are abundant.
These plants are in the family Apiaceae and should be identified with 110% certainty. Be clear on what both water hemlock (Cicuta species) and poison hemlock (Conium maculatum) look like, starting with their white-flowered umbels.
Morus species
EDIBLE leaves, fruit
I am always thrilled to find a mulberry tree in city limits or, even better, in an abandoned lot, where I can keep returning all summer long for more of the sweet and juicy berries.
Wait for red mulberries (Morus rubra) to turn deep purple before picking, as that is when they are fully ripe and taste best.
Mulberry trees have low, long wavering branches that radiate out in all directions from the central trunk, making it a rather easy tree from which to access fruit. The trees stand between 30 and 60 feet tall, though they are often much smaller. The bark is gray-brown and can have a copper hue; it is smooth while young and becomes rough with vertical furrows as it ages.
Leaves vary greatly on a single tree. Some are heart-shaped with serrations; others can be lobed, looking like a mitten, or have multiple notches. The leaves are arranged alternately along the branches. White mulberry (Morus alba) leaves are glossy; those of red mulberries (M. rubra) are not. This difference in appearance is the distinguishing factor.
Berries start out white or green, turning red and staying light in color (Morus alba) or turning a deep purple-black (M. rubra). The tree will be full of many different-colored berries, as they don’t all ripen at the same time.
Morus alba is an introduced species from Asia, and M. rubra is native to the eastern part of North America. Mulberry trees are often found with true wild abandon. I usually spot them in alleyways, parks, or at the edges of old pasturelands. Gather the young spring leaves for tea. Find the berries ripening in late spring and through to the height of the summer.
Gather individual leaves, taking only a few per branch. Plucking berries is time-consuming but fun if you are out only for a feral snack. If you really want to get the berries down, lay a sheet or blanket below the tree and shake the branches. The ripe berries will drop.
Fruits from mulberry trees have a taste unlike any cultivated berry. They are dense, with a mild tart sweetness all their own. Mulberries are the perfect not-too-sweet-fruit and as one of the first of the summer, why not try making ice cream?
Berries can be made into jam or jelly for future toast slathering; try mixing in wild apples, serviceberries, or hawthorn berries to add natural pectin to help set up the consistency. They freeze well if laid flat on a tray first. Mulberries also dehydrate well and can then be blended into granolas and trail mixes or placed atop yogurt. The dehydrated berries are better to add into baked goods; sometimes fresh mulberries hold too much juice.
White mulberry is considered invasive in the eastern United States. Gathering the berries from either white or red mulberry trees will not affect either’s survival.
Robinia neomexicana
EDIBLE flowers
The pink flowers of New Mexico locust, the only locust native to the mountain west, taste like a sweet pea with an added soft floral fragrance.
The clustered pink flowers of our native New Mexico locust appear in high summer. Note the tiny bristle on the tip of each leaflet.
New Mexico locust is a deciduous tree or shrub. Trees are thin-trunked and are usually found growing in thickets. Light pink or magenta flowers grow in clusters among the pinnately compound leaves. Leaves are long and have many rounded leaflets, each tipped with a tiny bristle. Each leaf node has a set of ½-inch or smaller spines. The long seedpod is flattened and covered in glandular hairs.
Find New Mexico locust growing wild in southern Colorado and Utah. It can be found along riverbanks and in canyons and mixed conifer forests, growing among scrub oak and juniper. Find it planted as a landscape tree in towns above 7,000 feet, as it withstands extreme temperatures very well. Clusters of rosy pink flowers hang from New Mexico locust in the summer months. Gather on a dry day while they are highly fragrant.
Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) is not native to the mountain west; however, it can be found at lower elevations (3,000 to 5,000 feet) and is often planted in yards and along street boulevards. It has white flowers that can be used the same way as New Mexico locust.
Flowers can be plucked from the hanging clusters or you can snip down the whole bunch. Pick the flowers off of the green stem to eat. All other parts of New Mexico locust are said to be toxic if ingested.
Pluck just the flower without the stem straight from the tree and eat. Garnish dishes with this beautiful edible flower. Add the flowers to salads or use them to top sandwiches and tacos. Dip in egg and flour to create a battered flower that fries up well in oil. Try making simple syrup, but do so on very low heat as the heat can destroy most of the aromas. The sweet aromatic flavors can be captured and frozen in ice cream by infusing the cream with the flowers first.
Try freezing whole clusters of flowers to use later. Flowers can be infused into alcohol for creating a floral-tasting cocktail.
Picking the flowers will do no harm to New Mexico locust.
These trees are in the pea family (Fabaceae), which has many toxic members. Be cautious with both trees, eating only small quantities raw at a time. Avoid leaves, stems, bark, roots, and seeds, which are said to be toxic.
Allium cernuum
EDIBLE leaves, stalks, flowers, bulbs
Nodding onion is easy to find through most of the summer, when it is in bloom, and will instantly make any camping trip cuisine ten times better.
Onions always smell like onions. If you crush any part of this plant, you will notice the familiar scent. This allium puts forth a delicate, tall, smooth, rounded stalk that dangles a mass of lightly scented whitish pink flowers. The clusters look as though all flowers are nodding to you while passing them by. The flower stem (peduncle) falls over with the blossoms, so there is always a bend at the top of the stalk. Bulbs are teardrop-shaped with small rootlets growing out of the rounded base. Flat grass-like leaves come up from the single pink-skinned bulb. No leaves are found along the flower stem. Allium textile, A. geyeri, and many other species of wild onion can also be used.
Nodding onion can be found all over the mountain west, from the lowlands to the highlands, and in the land between; it is primarily found in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and north into Canada, and the eastern sides of Idaho and Utah, as it favors high open meadows, rocky terrain, and sagebrush country, where it gets adequate sunlight. Nodding onions are easiest to find when in bloom and best to gather while the root is still delicious, in midsummer. If you wait until fall to harvest, all the sugar is concentrated back in the root, and it is much more savory. Since the leaves and flowers are most likely gone at this point, you could find a suitable place to harvest in the summer, and mark it with a rock cairn, if you’d prefer your bulbs savory.
Nodding onion can grow heavily in an area or be very sparse. Gathering the root unfortunately kills the whole plant when harvesting, so tread lightly and take only a small amount from substantial stands. If you are in a questionable place, take only a few leaves and flowers. Bulbs grow fairly shallow and can be dug up with a sturdy stick.
I like to use the entire plant when I am making chili. First, chop up the stalk and bulb to use in place of a domestic onion. Mince the leaves and flowers to sprinkle on after you have ladled the chili into bowls. Nodding onion can be used in any dish as an onion substitute, raw or cooked. It always amazes me how long the taste of onion lingers in my mouth after eating a few flowers or leaves, so take this into consideration before sharing a tent.
Onion can be pickled, infused in butter or oils, or incorporated into vinegar infusions. Do try wild-spiced salts with nodding onions.
Never take all the leaves or flowers from one plant, as this compromises its growth and reproduction. If it is the bulb you are after, please be very conscious of where you are harvesting; this native plant is abundant in some parts of the Rocky Mountains and not seen much in others. Take only a few bulbs at a time; they go a long way.
Be careful not to confuse this plant with meadow death camas (Toxicoscordion venenosum) and mountain death camas (Anticlea elegans), both extremely toxic and inedible plants that could be mistaken for the shoots and leaves of nodding onion. Once these poisonous plants have bloomed, there is no problem distinguishing them from nodding onion: the flowering stalks of both grow upward in a raceme. In addition, both will lack the onion scent when their leaves are bruised, and their roots have black scales on them and are oval-shaped.
Western blue flag (Iris missouriensis) is another look-alike plant you should not consume; it too has grass-like leaves that can be mistaken for young allium leaves. Once again, they will lack the onion scent, and the flowers are blue irises.
The scent of onion can linger on your fingertips from one plant to the next, so do be very careful in your identifications.
