So, You Want to Forage?
Foraging wild edible plants and flowers may not sound like the best idea when living in an urban environment, however, the Bay Area is full of luscious wild plants waiting to be picked and collected for a satisfyingly good meal. Miner’s lettuce, blackberries, wild fennel, cleaver, sagebrush; there are so many lovely edible plants that grow all around our region. Foraging can be a fantastic and free way to harvest food for the dinner table. There are a few basic do’s and don’t’s when it comes to foraging in an urban area: namely where and how to forage crops and what you need to avoid to ensure a safe and successful harvest.
A variety of wild greens, herbs, and flowers that can be foraged.
Where you decide to forage is your first task. I like to go on foraging hikes in the East Bay hills or Marin headlands. You can also choose to forage in large urban parks such as Golden Gate or John McLaren, but these parks are heavily occupied, and come with a lot of people and animal traffic. In urban environments, many plants are subject to air pollution, human traffic, and potentially harmful germs that can come from litter and trash. I recommend foraging in larger natural areas further from urban centers to avoid this altogether.
Foraging fresh dandelion greens by hand.
When venturing out to harvest wild edibles, always bring your basket, gloves, and even pruners or scissors to cleanly cut trimmings from plants. If you do not have a harvesting basket, a tote bag should work, although when harvesting wild berries you will need a closable container, as they will squish and get juice all over a bag. When foraging near hiking trails, avoid harvesting from plants that are right alongside paths or low to the ground, as these plants have been exposed to lots of hikers, picking up dust and germs. Foraging from less busy areas is better, and harvesting higher up on the plants rather than low to the ground also helps to avoid any crops that have potentially been peed on by humans or animals. When you find edible or medicinal plants you would like to harvest, check your surroundings, make sure there is not any visible scat, trash or signs of contamination, or any hazardous plants.
Green summer leaves of poison oak come in threes, they do not turn red until the beginning of fall.
What constitutes a hazardous plant? The most common offenders in the Bay Area include poison oak, poison ivy, poison sumac, oleander, poison hemlock, stinging nettle, American black nightshade, and Angel’s trumpets. Even though many of these plants are only deadly or harmful if consumed, you should still be on the lookout when foraging. Plants you need to be particularly careful around are the poison guys that cause severe dermatitis and skin rashes, including poison oak, ivy, sumac, Angel’s trumpets, and stinging nettle. Recently on a trip to the Russian River, my partner and I ran into some poison oak while picking blackberries. Although I am well versed in knowing how to spot poison oak and other hazardous plants, I did not notice it amidst the thick blackberry bushes since it had very few leaves. Remember that even without the leaves, the rest of the plant remains poisonous to the touch. Lesson learned! Those blackberries were sweet, but not worth the few weeks of skin rashes that followed.
A bountiful harvest of foraged wild edible herbs, flowers, and greens.
Foraging is a rewarding, fun experience, and can provide you with so many new edible and medicinal plants to add to your kitchen. As long as you are aware of your surroundings, look out for hazardous plants, and ensure the plants are safe to eat, go for it! Just like gardening, be prepared, be mindful, and you will reap the benefits of free, beautiful harvests. If you are looking to learn more, I recommend reading The Bay Area Forager: Your Guide to Edible Wild Plants of the San Francisco Bay Area by Kevin Feinstein.