Wild Food & Natural Resources Course - April - Set One

I trust you have enjoyed your first month of gently getting into plant recognition and can remember the useful and edible parts. If you're not keeping up, then just stick to one set a month. Remember, it's better to remember few than to forget many. I imagine some of you have looked up a few extra plants or a few more facts about the ones we've covered so far. Hopefully you've found most of them and that some of you lucky ones have been able to locate some morels.

If you've come in half way through, then please do take a read through the archives to see what you've missed.

As the month has progressed, the Nettles will have grown and it's now worth remembering that as they grow chemicals build up in the lower leaves that can cause stomach upsets, so we stick to the top couple of sets of leaves. The Beech trees may have started producing leaves which at this stage can be eaten raw, having a nutty taste. Most of the Jew's Ears will now be dry, but remember, they can be rehydrated. Navel wort will be abundant where established and the new growth will be consistently preferable to the old. Ash buds will likely be exploding into quite distinctive plumes which can be seen from quite a distance. The Morels will still be hiding.

Remember not forget these species, giving yourself a constant reminder and you pass them day to day. Relay the facts in your mind or out loud and try to spot them from a distance. You should continue to analyse habitat and by doing so, you'll begin notice companion plants.

And so to the first set for April. Again a tree, plant and fungus. This time there is not a lot to eat, but these plants build on what we've learnt so far and start to tell us more about our environment and how plants can give us clues.

Tree - Sallow (Pussy Willow or Goat Willow)

Male Sallow Catkins

The leaves are starting to come out and though they are a good identifier, some are very similar. One of the easiest, albeit short lived, identifiers for trees is their catkins which are clusters of small flowers which ultimately turn to seed at which point they become a rather good natural tinder.

Male Sallow catkins form early in the year and are spray yellow all over the leafless branches. The females are more sedately green, but larger. Pollen is distributed by wind, insects and birds and seeds ultimately by wind, so you can often find many Willows, both male and female in one area. With no leaves, it's now time to start taking note of structure and bark.

Female Sallow Catkins

Habitat is generally moist earth, be it river banks, reed beds or even ditches. As an indicator of wet ground, they represent somewhere you do not particularly want to camp. Note also that fallen willow can often have taken on some of this moisture.

All of the willows have a good for making baskets, hurdles and flexible enough to be used as a form of wire. Willow bark is also quite tough and good for binding and also contains salicin, the precursor to asprin. Not being very hard, it's a fast burner and often crackles whilst throwing out plenty of sparks. It's actually grown as a biomass fuel. Additionally it's good for making charcoal, and cricket bats.

As time progresses, note the developing leaves which are consistent between males and females and somewhat rounder than other willow species.

Plant - Gorse

Gorse Flowers

Gorse flowers early and as a shrub it is quite obvious. Get up close and you'll find Gorse is very spiky indeed. It's hardy and can stand the weather, this is why it can be found extensively along the coast, along with Heather. It does, however, need plenty of sunlight. With this in mind, one might like to consider its location as exposed and not ideal for shelter (pun intended).

When picked in direct sunlight, Gorse flowers taste of coconut, other than that, they have a inoffensive sweet grass taste. They can be eaten raw or made into a tea, or wine, for that matter.

As an evergreen, they can be a source of food for local fauna and may be a good place to start winter tracking exercises. When dead, the thin branches make an excellent natural tinder.

Fungus - Cramp Balls (King Alfred's Cakes)

Cramp Balls

One of the many tinder fungi, this one is a Bushcraft favourite. It can be used straight from the tree. I generally break it in half to ensure it's brittle, since a moist tinder is pretty useless. You will generally find that those with broken shells have got a bit squishy inside and are no good. 

Cramp balls can be found on dead wood,  generally Ash, but also live Ash. Since we've already been taking note of Ash, we can start using it as for an indicator for Cramp Balls, as well as Cramp Balls as an indicator for Ash. 

Be careful how you store these, since they have a tendency to spore black everywhere.

Pop quiz ... are the Cramp Balls in the photo on dead Ash or something else?

So there you have a new set of things to look for, but once again, don't forget the others. As I'm sure you can see, the choices I've made might not be the most obvious, but hopefully encourage you to start taking more notice of habitat as well as companion and indicator species.

This month is rife with plants flowering and many of the leaves will start to show on trees. Identification will start to take a different tack. Thankfully, there are some tasty treats on offer from some absolutely unmissable. 

Happy foraging and keep an eye out for complementarity articles.

REMEMBER: Do no pick or eat anything you can't positively identify as safe and legal.

Wild Food & Natural Resources Course - March - Set Two

Welcome to the second set of natural resources for March. If you are reading this then you have already read the following posts and are confident with their content.

A New Outdoor Diet

Wild Food & Natural Resources Course - March - Set One

If you've not, then I suggest that you head on back to have a look then come back to this post in a week or so, when you're happy you can recognise them. The idea of this course is to be progressive, not drowning you with information, much of which you'll forget. So, this post is a bit extra for those who have got through set one and looking for more.

Recognise all those from the last set? Good good. It's now important to reinforce this set by not ditching it and moving on, rather we keep reminding ourselves of them, keep watching their progress and start filing them in our memory, so we simply know them.

The Beech may now have lost its leaves to the wind, but by now you should be able to recognise its buds. Have a look at the ground, the leaves will likely still be there. You might be able to recognise it from a afar, from its branches. Try to spot it from a distance and confirm when you get closer.

The Nettle will have grown, but the top set of leaves will look very similar to the new growth. You should be able to predict the location of these from a distance now. Have you made tea with them yet, or a soup, or chucked some in a stew? Remember, you just want the top couple of sets of leaves. At this time, they will still be lighter green. Remember what they were used for in the war?

As for the Jew's Ear, did you find some? Did you note the tree it was on? It was mostly likely a dead Elder. Did you find it easier to spot this companion rather than the fungus itself? I bet you did. As the weather warms up, you might find these dried. Remember how to test if they are dead?

I get to repeat the facts whilst teaching, which reinforces it for me, but at this time, you need to actively repeat the information or it'll be lost. It's a real "use it or lose it" situation. You'll be amazed how much better the info sinks in if you say it out loud, so tell the kids, the dog or even the plant itself. Try not to impress your friends at this stage or they'll ask you a ton of questions about other things, and that can get awkward.

So, if you've got that all going on, let's move on to the next set. Remember, don't overload. It's still better to remember few than forget many, so if you're still not sure, come back to this another day.

Plant - Navelwort or Pennywort

New and Old Pennywort

This is an easy on to spot as it can be found on walls all over the place but also on rock outcrops and in crevices. Succulent and crunchy, this is a handy plant you can browse on as you go by as it requires no cooking, though in a survival context, you might not want to take the risk. As always with recreational foraging, ensure that you pick high enough off of the ground to miss the dog pee. 

The picture shows the new growth coming through next to the old, both of which are still edible. Try them both and see which flavour you prefer. Leaves and stems are both edible.

Tree - Ash

Distinctive Black Ash Buds

Ash has no edible parts, but is a companion to other  resources as well have having many uses itself. A hard wood with a straight grain, it's very good for construction and tool making. Chances are that handle on your broom is made from Ash. 

Most usefully, Ash can be burnt green, meaning straight from the live tree, which means you can use any offcuts from construction on the fire. It burns nice and slow this way, and green logs can be used as a component of a fire you want to burn through the night.

The reason I've chosen you this one is because it's another one with a distinctive bud structure. As you can see from the picture, the buds are black and like no other. 

Look out for the buds and use those as a reference to the tree itself. Take not of the bark and branch configuration. As always, try to spot from a distance and confirm.

Fungus - Morel

No image for this one for a very good reason. I like to use my own photos and I've not got a good one because North Devon is riddled with clay soils which are a massive turn off for Morels. There are three species to look out for, but they are all roughly the same. Have a look at Morels on Google Images to get the idea. They all have the same look and the real deal has a hollow body. ALL MORELS MUST BE COOKED throughly as they are poisonous raw.

I've chosen this mushroom for two good reasons. The first is that it's one of the few that grows at this time of year. The second is that it's another of those which is pretty much impossible to get wrong. There is are False Morels, which pretty much only grow in Scotland and on the South Coast, but if you take a look at False Morel on Wikipedia you'll see they are totally different. You won't get that wrong, will you?

So where do we find them? Here in lies the rub, these are a right bugger to find. The common factor with all is they grow in rich soil, often where there has been decay or fire. Look out for areas of cleared woodland or where there are many fallen branches, lots of leaf litter or needles. They require warmth and humidity, so don't start looking too early in the year if you're way up North. They are best looked for early one sunny morning after the rain. There is no guarantee you're going to find any of these, but of you do, they are worth it. Sometimes, you find them by accident in the stupidest of places, like under the roses on the garden.

To increase your chances, ferns are good indicator of Morels and decaying ferns make for good soil, so keep and out for those and carry a stick for turning the leaves. The mushrooms are quite small, rarely growing to 10cm and can easily be passed by. In a survival situation, you're likely to take more energy looking for them than you get from them, but worth knowing, in case you bump into them. Recreational foragers might like to take  picnic.

Common Morels can be found in woodland as well as scrub and favour chalky soil. Poppies and Corn Flowers (later in the year) are good indicators for chalk and Ash thrives there too. Unfortunately, Ash doesn't mind clay either. Since Rhododendron and Heathers hate chalk, their presence can be considered a good indicator for the lack of Common Morels. Black Morels favour coniferous woodlands and the acid soil they produce. Semi-free morels are not as tasty as the other two, but can be found in both woodland and grassland as well as paths and canal sides.


You're probably getting the idea that the sets of plants, trees and fungi that you are being tasked with finding are only part of what we're beginning to understand. We're starting to learn about habitat, soil, companion species and indicators, which allow us to zone in on what we're looking for. Not only are we learning the habitat and indicators for what we're looking for, but by taking note of what we find with these sets, we start to use them as indicators themselves.

Keep your eyes peeled and your mind active and you'll begin to learn by yourself. Next month I'll not only post another couple of sets, but update you on things to look out for from those learnt in March.

Happy foraging.

REMEMBER: Do no pick or eat anything you can't positively identify as safe and legal.

Wild Food & Natural Resources Course - March - Set One

So, here you are with your first month of getting in to foraging. If you recall from A New Outdoor Diet, I am publishing a series of articles relating to my simple and progressive method of getting into foraging for wild food. Many people, including myself, have found that buying a bunch of books and hoping to absorb them whilst wandering around the woods and meadows is an epic fail waiting to happen. Not only can't you carry all the books, but having sat reading them all evening, you're filled with pictures of plants from all seasons, many of which are not even be anywhere near you.

The difference with this course is that I'm going give you a few things to look for each month with photos of what it looks like in that month. I'm choosing things that are all over the place, and in the first set, things that are almost impossible to get wrong, as far as confusion species go.

As each month progresses, you'll not only get a new set to look for, but be able to watch the progress of your previous sets. I'll ultimately be compiling an online database to map this, rather than littering the blog with a post per resource per month. Watch this space for a link.

As an aside, there is much to learn about nature, habitat and wildlife as well as just foraging and wild food. I'll be putting up two articles a month, each representing a set consisting of one plant, one tree and one edible fungus. Each of these will be a wild food, but also represent a useful natural resource. There will also be articles on habitat, weather, wildlife, food preservation, medicine, etc. I'll not be presenting each and every fact about the item in question, just enough to be absorbed, and more importantly - remembered.

If you're hardly out, try to keep to one set per month, if you're going out more often, try to take in both sets and if you're reading this a year or so later then there will be sets three, four and onward posted.

Righto, that's the waffle over, let's get down to it. Here's your first set for March.

Plant - Nettle

Stinging Nettle - Spring

The humble stinging nettle. Chances are you already now what these look like, but let's start to take notice of where they grow; most likely not in meadow or in woodland, but on the fringes of both where they can still get light, but their roots have not been restricted.

The nettle will be around for months and months and and chances are, if you've seen one, you've seen a whole load, so always pick the best looking examples. You only want the top section, no lower than that illustrated in the picture. The rest is full of acids that will give you the squits,

From a recreational foraging perspective, these can be used to make a refreshing tea, soup or as a tasty leafy vegetable in a stew or casserole. To make a tea, take a few heads, and use like a tea bag. Make your tea without milk, of course, but feel free to add sugar, berries or lemon. Simple.

From a survival viewpoint, these are a super food and should be eaten every day. High in vitamins and minerals; containing more iron than spinach and having more protein by weight than any other temperate leafy plant, this is a life saver. Add to every stew and if making a tea, be sure you eat the leaves. This sting will have gone, so no worries there.

Fact: nettles were used to make dye for camo nets.

Tree - Beech

Beech - March

Why have I chosen this tree you might wonder, since it's not going to produce nuts until Autumn. Well, it's little known fact, but some trees produce quite palatable leaves and sometimes buds. Also, the Beech is a good starting tree, because it's easily recognisable at this time of year and has distinctive characteristics. 

You'll find Beech simply as, other than conifers, it's likely to be the only tree that still has leaves, and almost certainly the only one that has Autumn leaves still attached. This makes it easy to see from a distance. Take note of the leaf shape, as this will be a give away later.

The buds are very pointy and have a characteristic criss-cross pattern. Remember the location of this tree as it's going to provide you with food and firewood throughout the year. Beech is about to become a useful foodstuff, so start to take note of the bark and branch structure before those leaves finally fall. You'll need to be able to recognise the new leaves when the old have passed and the buds are no longer.

Fact: Beech rots from the inside, so branches fall without warning. You can only spot these potentially fatal branches when they lack the leaves that the rest of the tree has, Thankfully, since Beech retains its leaves, they are often quite easy to spot, but let's not take risks, just in case.

Fungus - Jew's Ear

Jew's Ear Fungus

I've already mentioned this fungus in Make No Mistake as it's so easy to get right. With fungi being such a dangerous foodstuff to get wrong, this one is a simple starter. 

Found on dead Elder, these are an easy foodstuff and in my opinion, best shredded and added to stews and casseroles. They are high in B vitamins and many minerals not all of which are available in leafy plants, so form an essential part of a survival diet. 

Jew's Ear Fungus Dry

Whilst revered in the Far East, these mushrooms are an "acquired taste" in the West. They are available, together with Cloud Ears, which are both collectively known as Wood Ears, in a dried form in many Chinese and Far-Eastern supermarkets. 

The photos show the same fungi a week apart, the second being after a particularly sunny spell. A week later, they might be back to  their fully hydrated form. Soak dried ones in water and if they swell, they are fine; if not, they are dead and should be avoided.

That's the set for this month. Try not to take a printout, don't carry a book and don't make notes. This is the key to getting it all to sink in.I'll be posting another set this month, but don't try to go go too fast. If you find it all too much, just slow down the progress. It's better to remember fewer, than to forget many.

As the month progresses, try to predict locations of these from a distance.  Spot the Beech from its leaves, guess where the best nettles grow and try to identify dead Elder from a distance, as this is much easier to find than Jew's Ear itself.

Next month, there will be more to look for, but don't forget these gems. Keep an eye on their progress and see how they change throughout the year. I'll be posting updates on these as well as other things to look out for and further posts on useful plants, wild medicine and natural resources. 

To ensure you don't miss anything, you can always check my post on this Natural Resources Course or simply Wild Food. The best bet is to simply subscribe to this blog  here or on the Survival's Cool Facebook page.

Happy foraging, feel free to comment and let us all know your progress.

REMEMBER: Do no pick or eat anything you can't positively identify as safe and legal

A New Outdoor Diet

Wild Food, Natural Medicine and the general topic of Useful Plants is a a BIG subject and takes a long time to master. I've spent years learning and have only touched the surface. Many people dedicate decades to the subject and still don't know it all. If you want to get into foraging, the I'll share this method which should give you a progressive path needing no prior experience and allow you to go as far as you want without becoming swamped or having to carry a book with you wherever you go.

We can only take in so much in at a time and so trying to rote learn a whole book of information is not the way to go. What with all the leaves & flowers, nuts & berries, roots, bark, tubers, confusion species and not even to mention the sheer number of species; it's an absolute minefield.

The key to cracking this topic is practice through repetition and a realistic rate of progress which matches your level of exposure to the outdoors. If you walk your dog twice a day, every day, then you can pick this up quicker than the city dweller who only gets out once a fortnight.

Here's core of the method. Like success in trapping is based around understanding animal behaviour, success in foraging is based around understanding plants (and fungi). Let's start with the fact that availability of species depends on season, latitude, altitude, climate, gradient, orientation, habitat, soil type, local animals and other stuff. Thankfully, you don't have to learn any of that in advance. All you have to know is that there is some or there isn't.

Next, we have to understand that different parts of plants are useful and not only are we interested in leaves, fruit and nuts, but also shoots, buds, flowers, seeds, wood, bark, roots, tubers, sap, resin, etc.   and these only exist at certain times of the year; buds in Spring, foliage in Summer, fruit in Autumn and tubers through Winter, for instance. Thankfully, you don't have to remember all of this in one go either. All you need to know is that which is available right now and that which has gone before.

"So where do I start?", I hear you ask, "and why have you told me all this stuff I don't need to learn". Well, dear readers, you don't need to learn all this stuff, but you will, naturally and as for starting, I'll give you a phrase my dad used, "if you don't know where to start, just start". A caveat to this was "unless super glue is involved", but that's another story.

This is where we start; March, 2012 and this is what we're going to do: Each month, we're going to learn one plant, one tree and one fungus. That might not sound like much, but as each month passes, we get to build on the ones we know and our internal database will grow and grow. Sometimes we'll repeat the same species, as the season changes and the plant provides us with a new resource.

It's important that we choose the right set, so we're going to start with things that are common and everywhere, or "ubiquitous", which is one of my favourite words. From a survival perspective, it's better to be able to recognise things that are more likely to be around than it is to know the ultra-rare specific variants which, though interesting, are unlikely to be helpful. Additionally, we need to know what's available here, now and soon, not last season or miles away.

This month, we learn something new, next month, the fun begins. Not only do we learn a new set, but we get to watch the progress of our existing set and build on the knowledge we've gained. One day, we're going to see elder flowers, and as time progresses, we'll then see elderberries. We'll see hawthorn twigs, then leaves & ultimately fruits and by knowing where the silver weed plant is, with its cooling leaves, we'll know where the silver weeds tubers will be.

Here's March's set:

Beech Tree, Nettle Leaf, Jew's Ear Fungus

Why have I chosen these, you may wonder. The answer is simple: you can't really fail to find them. they are distinctive, they don't have anything species which are comparable, they have a wide variety of uses and they have a nice progressive future.

The above are all the visuals you're getting right now from me, but I will post an article on each one this month. I've already partially covered Jew's Ear in Make No Mistake, which also addresses confusion species, which should not be your concern right now.

Your mission is to head on out and find them. Here are a few clues:

• Beech is probably the only tree which still has dried leaves hanging on it.
• Nettle is EVERYWHERE, but especially in rides between grass and woodland or in hedgerows. 
• Jew's Ear can be found on dead Elder, which is the one of the most popular trees in the UK.

So, not only have we learnt three species here, but we've got the bark, old leaf & bud of beech, the look of an early nettle and not only Jew's ear, but (dead) Elder, which is a rather useful firewood. Things to take in are season, location and surroundings. Learn where these are and we can watch the progress. Start to take notice of things like bark, branch structure and companion species for beech. Take note of the places where nettles grow where dogs are unlikely to wee and try to recognise elder in this form at least. Watch them change over time.

What you'll find is, once you seen these up close, you'll start to recognise them from afar. The beech leaves hanging on will give away the location. The environment for nettles can easily be seen and the dead elder is very good indicator for Jew's Ear, which is otherwise quite well camouflaged until you get up close. Do go forth and investigate, it'll prove it's working.

This is all you need to do this month. Just learn these three and as little or as much extra about them as you want. With each passing day outdoors, you'll see your set over and over again. You should consciously spot the, confirm them and relay any useful information you know about them to yourself.  This process reinforces the knowledge and is a lot easier than making notes or carrying books. Your confidence will grow.

As time progresses, you'll begin to predict locations subconsciously and if you watch this blog, you'll catch the additional posts containing useful information on each one, including uses as well as methods for harvesting, cooking and preservation, where applicable.

For those who are out more then others, two a month might be more the mark, so here are a few more to try: Ash, Penny wort and Morel. Again, you can't really go too far wrong with these, but no clues here other than it's worth looking up False Morel, which is only just a reasonable lookalike for the real thing. I'll cover all three of these this month too.

Happy foraging, watch out for further posts and I hope you find this method as useful as I do.

REMEMBER: Do no pick or eat anything you can't positively identify as safe and legal