Sweet cicely offers many sensual pleasures to the forager. There is an ampleness and generosity in her growth that is pleasing to the eye – seldom taller than a metre or so, but always appearing substantial without being solid. Despite being a member of the often scary carrot family, this gorgeous plant is one I recommend to novice foragers.
The pungency of garlic mustard isn’t to all tastes. It took me a couple of seasons of uncertain nibbling to come round to its charms. Now i’m hooked and no spring walk seems complete without its rich and vibrants flavour.
Common hogweed is a startlingly delicious vegetable and an amazingly versatile wild spice – my favourite of all edible wild plants in fact. But getting to know and safely eat it is not as straightforward as many other plants on this website
This is one of the safest of the carrot family to identify, and certainly the most common. Its serrated leaves are oval with a point and mostly grow in 3 groups of 3 from a grooved stalk, close to the ground. Umbels of small white flowers appear in late May or June…
Sea beet is an aristocrat in the world of wild greens. Like many true aristocrats, it has an unkempt appearance that belies its pedigree. Look for glossy, oval to diamond shaped leaves in unruly rosettes on the foreshore and in about sea defences…