As always do your research and never consume anything you are not 100% comfortable with eating. When in doubt don’t put it in your mouth!
Pine needles- Pine tree species like the Ponderosa, Eastern White, Sugar Pine, Jeffery, and Lodgepole have been used medicinally for internal ailments or for external use on the skin. Pine needles are high in vitamin A and Cm, as well as high in antioxidants! Some people boil down the pine needles and drink the tea, as it can prevent respiratory infections and has been shown to help relieve chest congestion. They can be made into a salve for a homemade Vicks-style decongestant!
Rose hips- wild roses bloom in the spring and summer months, while the fruit begins to appear in the fall and stays through the winter! If you keep your own rose bushes it is important to remember that the rose hips will form where the flower was, so don’t cut all of the flowers off if you want to get rose hips out of the same plant. The longer the rose hips grow on the plant the sweeter they will be. Avoid any with green still on them that easily detach. If you have to pull that much it is not ready and you don’t want to forage that one. They can be kept fresh, be frozen, or dehydrated. There are no look-alikes which make rose hips a great beginner plant to forage! Rose hips have a high vitamin C content, make sure you do your research and remove the hairs and seeds. Rose hips have many uses like tea, jelly, being baked into cookies, eaten as is, and even medicinal uses!
Persimmon – this winter-hardy fruit is quite sour if consumed before ripe with an unpleasant texture. Once the fruit looks like it is gooey and rotting that is when it is the sweetest and the best time to harvest! Wrinkled fruits are what you want to look for.
Wild onion- this is found pretty much anywhere. Wild onion fakes do not smell like onion. Once you open up the leaves you will immediately recognize the classic onion smell and know it is a wild onion. Do not remove the bulbs! More will continue to grow for the season and in years to come. I like to dry mine in the oven and then store it in a shaker and use the wild onion flakes in my homecooked meals.
Winter oyster mushrooms- winter oysters have white, to pale cream colored gills. The gills will gun down the stem. They grow exclusively on wood, especially ones that have fallen recently. These winter oysters have a white spore print.
Chickweed – while the flowers are gone chickweed can still be harvested. Make sure it is chickweed, it is only mistaken for the fake when the flowers are missing because that and the hair-like fibers on chickweed stems are the dead giveaways for this medicinal herb. The leaves and stems can be eaten raw or cooked or used to soothe the skin from itchiness, bug bites, and hot rashes.
Mint- Mint can be found in the winter. It can be used in many cooking recipes, garnishes, salads, or made into a tea, perfect for getting cozy in the winter months.
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