Articles Wild Flow This Wild Plant Rivals Samphire Wild Mystery Power Supply It’s Not Just for You Human Foraging Safety Guidelines Sustainable Foraging Guidelines Careful With That Plant ID App How to Photograph Wildflowers Coronavirus Herbal Support Wild Seeds You Can Sprout Cold Water vs. Hot Water Infusions Forty Wild Edible Carrot Family Plants List of Edible Magnolia Flowers Wild Garlic FAQ Foraging As a Mindfulness Practice Gut Health of a Hunter-Gatherer Nomadic Sea Gypsies Foraging As An Act of Reverence Tasting Terroir Top Five Foraging Cookbooks Is Field Horsetail Edible? Nasreddi ..read more

Have you ever wanted to weave a basket straight from the land, and learn how to forage for food & medicine? Myrtle & Emma warmly invite you to join them for a weekend of foraging for wild food and materials to weave your own unique hedgerow gathering basket. In springtime, new growth flourishes in the hedgerows and trees, with an abundance of wild food, medicine and materials awaiting our merry band of wildcrafters. Our cosy outdoor venue nestled in the beautiful Dartington Estate is home for the weekend, with covered fireside spaces, and handmade wild refreshments provided. We’ll spen ..read more

Despite its common name, writes Peter Wyse Jackson, Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris) is not only found in its native Scotland but across northern Europe and as far as Siberia and Asia. It is also naturalised in North America, Canada and New Zealand. In Ireland, where pine populations have waxed and waned, the tree was known as one of the Seven Nobles of the wood. It yielded a valuable resin and pitch used by early inhabitants of Ireland for weatherproofing boats and preserving wood. The number seven seems to have a special significance for the tree, for it was observed in groups of pines called S ..read more

Rock Samphire has been regularly consumed as part of a traditional Mediterranean diet. It’s time to bring this delicious vegetable back into our kitchens and dining rooms. Since ancient times Rock Samphire, also known as Sea Fennel, has been extolled as fine food. One Greek legend mentioned it as one of the vegetables served to Theseus by Hekate. Scientific Name Crithmum maritimum. Family Apiaceae. Botanical Description A smooth, fleshy, much, branched plant with 2-3 ternate leaves; compound, many rayed umbels of white to yellow-green flowers; and short, smooth fruit. Status Perennial. Native ..read more

In this episode, I talk with herbalist Anne Stobart, who set up the Medicinal Forest Garden Trust, about why we need to grow medicinal and food trees instead of just ornamental trees and shrubs. Show Notes Online Course: Medicinal Trees and Their Healing Properties Book: The Medicinal Forest Garden Handbook Book: Household Medicine in Seventeenth-Century England Website: Medicinal Forest Garden Trust Twitter: @herbaid Instagram: @medicinalforest Facebook: @medicinalforest About Anne Stobart Anne Stobart is a medical herbalist, herb grower and historical researcher. Previousl ..read more

“Hazel was one of the first trees to colonise the land after the end of the last Ice Age,” writes Gabrielle Hatfield, “and for a great period of time it would have been one of the most abundant tree species.” Little wonder the hazel tree has become deeply entrenched in our ancient history, beliefs and customs. Hazel forests provided materials for making houses, fences, furniture, baskets and tools. Its charcoal gave early people the thrill of gunpowder. The nuts have provided a valuable source of sustenance probably since prehistory. People told epic stories about the tree and its fruit (hazel ..read more

Robin Harford has been running his hugely popular Devon foraging courses for over a decade. Before wild food became mainstream. His Devon foraging courses are considered to be truly inspirational and were recently voted #1 by BBC Countryfile. ‘Highly rated’ – The Guardian ‘One of Britain’s most dedicated foragers’ – The Lady ‘A revelation!’ – BBC Good Food Magazine Join Robin on a unique wild edible journey and discover the true taste of Britain. During your time together you will be taken on an exciting journey around the hedgerows and wild spaces of Devon. You’ll discover Na ..read more

This course is an invitation to take a pause from busy lives, to come back into connection with yourself, held and supported by wild plants and trees and the ancient practice of foraging. You will be guided through relaxing ways to become fully present in your surroundings, tuning into the plant world with the senses our ancestors used to thrive and survive. We’ll explore woodland & hedgerows teeming with life, gathering plants and learning about their gifts of food and medicine, and diving into a deeper connection with the plant realm through solo and group plant work. ‘Beautifully facil ..read more

Sea Purslane is a slow-growing shrub belonging to the goosefoot family and found in salt marshes and muddy beaches. Its thick, succulent leaves have a crunchy texture and are flavoured by the natural saltiness of the sea. Atriplex is one of the names the Roman physician Pliny (23–79AD) gave to plants and is derived from the Greek phrase ‘not to flourish’. However, what he meant by assigning this name to sea purslane is uncertain. Portulacoides seems equally obscure, for it means resembling the purslane plant. The origin of the common name purslane is a greater mystery still. The English n ..read more

When a beekeeper opens the hive to see that many honeybee workers bear a strange white stripe, he knows that the colony has been foraging on Himalayan Balsam.  The plant tempts the honeybee with its sweet nectar and provides a rich crop in summer. But as the insect crawls inside the flower, its sticky stamen leaves a white stripe on the bee’s thorax. Often seen as an invasive species, Geoffrey Grigson generously describes the arrival of Himalayan Balsam in the UK: Introduced in 1839, it was cultivated at first as a greenhouse annual by gardeners who never imagined the career ahead of it ..read more