Edible plant Foraging

Did you know that a large percentage of Washington's native plants are edible? They may not all taste good, but many are nutritious and delicious. Some can be eaten raw and others are best cooked or used in soups or tea.

Native plants were critical to the survival of the first people. They used them in all aspects of their daily lives –for food, medicine, construction, and even for ceremony. Early pioneers also used native plants to balance their diets and relied on them in the spring to relieve the monotony of dried meat, fish and bread. Here are some highlighs of the more flavorful plants found locally:

#1: Western Wild Ginger

Asarum caudatum

This inconspicuous plant is found low to middle elevations with substantial tree cover and rich soils. Look for moist Douglas tree forests with undergrowth plant colonies of ferns, trillium, and mosses. The leaves are dark green and waxy with an undeniable heart shaped. During the spring and summer they produce a small purple flower growing from underneath the leaves. The root of wild ginger is edible and has a spicy, even peppery, strong ginger flavor. Native Americans used this plant to treat headaches, intestinal pain, knee pain, arthritis, indigestion, tuberculosis, colic and as a general tonic.

#2: Licorice Fern

Polypodium glycyrrhiza

Often found growing on the trunks and branches of deciduous trees, the fronds do not stem from a central location like a sword fern but are creeping, appearing to have a single root for each frond. The root and young stems of this fern tastes just like strong black licorice! It was chewed for flavor and was traditionally used medicinally as a treatment for the cold and sore throats.

#3: Fiddleheads

The edible young unfurled fern fronds that rise in the Spring are called fiddleheads because they are usually tightly coiled and resemble the head of a fiddle.

The Bracken Fern and Lady Fern are the two edible fiddlehead species. Fiddleheads taste like a cross between asparagus with almonds, or artichoke but can sometimes be bitter. Collect bracken fern before the fiddle is unfurled. Lady Fern grows in moist woods and along streams. You may recognize ornamental varieties used in landscaping. Fiddleheads should be cooked well before eating.

#4: Big Leaf Maple Flowers

Acer macrophyllum

To identify a Big Leaf Maple, look for large trees with 5 lobed-leaves sometimes growing over a foot in diameter. Trees can be as tall as 150 feet with a multi-branching trunk and hefty branches that are often covered in mosses and licorice ferns. Flowers bloom March through April before the leaves emerge, are greenish-yellow, and numerous, on short stalks that hang in clusters. The sweet flower clusters may also be found on the ground after a windstorm. Try eating them straight, adding them to salads, or making maple blossom fritters.

Rules Of Wild Food Collection

• Know what you are picking

• Collect only what you identify as edible

• Harvest only plants that look healthy

• Clean and prepare like you do cultivated crops

• Eat small quantities when first trying a plant

• Get property owners permission

• Never over-harvest.

If you are foraging on Forest Service lands you do not need a permit for “incidental use,”,meaning your use of plants while you are camping or hiking in the forest. If you are harvesting for at-home use you may need a “Free Use Permit.” Contact your Forest Service District Office for details.