Wild Food & Natural Resources Course - Autumn Round up

Three seasons in and thanks for sticking with it. I hope by now the course has proven itself useful and shown you that by working your way the year in a progressive fashion, you forget less and with a background of the basics of ecology, climate and botanical sciences, it all fixes into place. By now you'll be confidently spotting and hopefully munching wild edibles in a number of habitats. With winter here, you might be going out less, but there is still a lot to learn. You'll have noticed some of your earlier plants coming back, so here's a round up of everything we've learnt in Autumn, together with a look at that which has gone before and how that's faired with passing seasons.

Wild Food & Natural Resources Course - Summer Round up

Six months and two seasons through this course and I'm glad you're still with me. I imagine you've had an opportunity to locate and in many cases sample most of what has been covered. I hope too that even though many of the Spring plants have passed, your diligent practice has allowed you to retain the knowledge you gained along the way. I trust you've been reading the supporting articles and are not looking at the world in a different way, constantly seeing clues as to the habitat of a potential feast.

For those who are joining late, and those wanting to verify their continued observations, I'd like to take this opportunity to plot the history of all that has gone so far this Summer and then to discuss the progress of our Spring subject as the next season came.

Summer Trees

By Summer, most trees and shrubs are in full leaf and flowers are abundant. Many leave are not tough an unpalatable, but some offshoots are still producing young, lush leaves. Fruit begins to form and in the case of stone fruits and some berries, ripen early. Some nuts are edible and very tasty in their green state. Towards the end of the season, as seeds, fruit and nuts form, so the leaves have done their job and begin to change colour and die ready to fall with the advent of Autumn.

Elder - An abundance of flowers will have seen Bushcrafters and Hedgerow Cooks out collecting to make cordials, wine and 'champagne'. Now past, they have given way to as yet unripe berries which will ultimately generate a new season of wine making.

Common Lime - A new discovery for most with leaves and flowers both available, again giving rise to fruits which although bitter, can be used in a survival diet or to make a cocoa substitute.

Hazel - Seeming to appear from nowhere with a number of straight offshoots and edible green nuts which are now in the annoying middle state on the road to maturity when a collection race with the squirrels with ensue.

Summer Plants

Edible summer plants are either late developers, have flavoursome hardy leaves or are those which bare soft fruits and berries. With their season governed by the sunshine, everything has come a bit late this summer due to excessive rain and cloud cover. Wind too had blown away some blossom before it's had a chance to do its work.

Wild Mint - Still available now, and for some time providing a trail snack, dish flavouring and excellent tea.

Wild Strawberry - Almost entirely passed now, these beauties hardly ever make it home having been munched on sight.

Blackberry (Bramble) - One would have expected their to be a mass of blackberries by now, but the lack of sun has stretched their season and they are still looking predominantly green. We can only hope that early Autumn will bring enough sun to ripen the full crop rather than see it wither.

Summer Fungi

There are relatively few fungi available in Summer, and the excessive rain has kept many at bay with few showing where other years they might be found in abundance. Thankfully, the true season starts in Autumn.

Chicken of the Woods - So simple to find, there's some in most woodland somewhere. It's one you bump into still, even when walking the dog and not on a definite fungi foray.

Giant Puffball - If you're lucky enough to find one, you're likely to find more. Unless coveted by others, they can be left in situ as they are likely to be around until October. Keep an eye on the colour to ensure you don't leave them too late.

Chanterelle - Now you've got the knack of the habitat, you'll be parking the car mid journey to check that bank just in case. Thankfully, these excellent mushrooms will be be around until around the end of the year.

Summer Extra - Meadowsweet

As a special treat for keeping with the course, I'm adding in an extra little something as a bonus.

Meadowsweet is another plant which has multiple edibles in different seasons, in this case, late Summer and Spring. The reason I'm presenting it this way around it because the flowers are frankly much easier to recognise than the leaves and by seeing them together, you should be in good shape to find the plant once more next Spring.

Oddly, meadowsweet does not grow in meadows, preferring damp areas near streams and rivers, but also in hedgerows associated with ditches. Take note of the distinctive leaf pattern and you'll never mix it up with any of the nasty umbellifers which inhabit similar areas.

The flowers themselves have similar uses to those of Elder, and come conveniently as the Elder flowers pass. Leaves are excellent in Spring and some eat them later. Keep an eye out and take not of the shape.

Spring Round Up II

Much has changed as Spring has long since past. Many of the plants and fungi have been and gone, but the trees have simply gone through their cycle. Some plants, however, have a second season and are coming good again. 

Spring Trees

Beech - The lush young leaves have long since past, having matured into tough, dark green counterparts. Beech has a tendency to hang onto its dead branches, but at this time of year, it's very easy to spot them, as they are without leaves and rather sad looking. Beech masts (nuts) are not yet mature, but the closed green prickly cases can be clearly seen.

Ash - From black buds to crazy looking flowers and now in seed, Ash has no edible parts, but I'm sure  you're now confident to distinguish it from Elder or Rowan, say.

Goat Willow (Sallow) - Damp loving Willow has thrived. Having gone from catkins to seed in Spring, its leaves and bark have harboured the larvae of many butterflies. The leaves themselves will hang around for while yet.

Silver Birch - The bark has remained largely the same and isn't really going to change much throughout the year. You will hopefully have had the chance to take in the small, double toothed leaves, these can be made into a tea, though I've never tried it myself. Dainty winged seeds came after the catkins, there will be hundreds of thousands of them.

Oak - Many insects and subsequently birds are attracted to Oak. More excitingly, however, is that Oak, as well as Beech, have a relationship with many many fungi, so these will be a good are to scan around come Autumn.

Spring Plants

Nettle - I do hope you remembered to only eat the top few sets of leaves. These have long since gone to seed and the leaves are almost withered. The seeds are still a source of nutrition, however, and they don't sting, which is nice.

Pennywort - Never really went away and is still about now, though they did get a bitter as time went on. Did you see those bizarre seed structures, how mad were they?!

Gorse - The flowers are still hanging around, but not for long.

Ramsoms (Wild Garlic) and Three Cornered Leek (Wild Onion) are both bulb plants and hence came and went quite early on. Hopefully, you've kept a note of their location, because the bulbs are very good. Of course, it's against the law to dig them up willy nilly, so hopefully a badger will have done the work for you.

Jack by The Hedge (Garlic Mustard) - Came and went and will be back. Now you know the leaf structure, you can spot them early next season. The pre-flowering roots (if dug up by something else) can be used like radishes and the seeds like any mustard seeds.

Wood Sorrel - Never seems to disappear, but has good and bad times.

Common Sorrel - Lasted a while before turning to seed in impressive rusty red stems which are unmistakable and can be seen easily when driving. They can be eaten too or ground up and used as a flour. At the moment, we're getting a second crop, which is nice.

Primrose - Didn't last long and the leaves becoming bitter. Thankfully, the foxgloves got very large and mixing them up became almost impossible.

Dandelion - Flowers came and mostly went, but there are still some about. Leaves got bitter and you'd have to cook them now to get anything vaguely tasty.

Sweet Violet - Another for the Spring only, we can look forward to it next year.

Spring Fungi

Cramp Balls - Now you've seen then once, you won't be able to miss them.

St George's Mushrooms - Pretty much gone by June, but remember the location, like most fungi, they'll be back next year.

Fairy Ring Champignon - The will be around until November, so take a mental note of the habitat and if you find yourself in a similar place, take a moment to cast your eyes around to find some more. As the season changes, it's important to ensure you've got the right ones as new season fungi can cause confusion.

Autumn

So what's to come in Autumn? Mostly nuts and berries. At this stage of life, the leaves have lost their usefulness and turn wonderful reds and browns before falling. This will be the time to start taking extra note of the structure and bark of the trees so you can continue to identify them through the winter. 

We've also got a lot fungi to come as the damper weather can support less tolerant species. With this, however, will have to come a little more diligence in identification, so make sure you read carefully and only consume when absolutely confident.

Happy foraging and look out for further articles.

REMEMBER: Do not pick or eat anything you can't positively identify as safe and legal.

BE AWARE: There is an inherent risk in the consumption of all new foods, both wild and cultivated. Ensure they are cooked as prescribed and begin by eating a little of only one new food at a time in case you have an intolerance or adverse reaction. If you are taking any medication or have a current or family history of any allergy or medical issue, seek advice from a medical practitioner before eating any new wild foods.

NOTE: All articles are written from a UK perspective and identification will almost certainly differ in other places around the world. Seek local advise to confirm positive identification.

DON'T FORGET: You can get updates and share comments on the Survival's Cool Facebook Page.

Wild Food & Natural Resource Course - Spring Round Up

This Wild Food and Natural Resources course has been running for the three months of Spring and has had great feedback and support. Initially, it was to cover one tree, one plant and one fungus per month, but by popular demand, generally doubled that and added in a few supporting articles. I thought it worth rounding up what we've learnt and how things have changed.

We have learnt a great deal about habitat and how it affects the things that grow. The major habitats are important, but also the fringes and transitional borders between them. We've learnt about water, altitude, light & shade, leaf morphology, companion & indicator species as well as how things change throughout the season.

I'm hoping you have maintained the regime of not taking notes or books with you on you wanders or tried to take on too many species if you don't get out much. This forces us into a progressive learning pattern with repetition reinforcing what we know. By now you will have proved to yourself that you don't need such trappings and in fact, they can be a hindrance as they compel us to take on more than we should.

Here's a quick test. Find a long pictorial list of wild plants online, such as this one. Read through it, taking in all of the pictures and descriptions. Now stop looking at it and try to recall the contents. Which of the plants you saw were inedible and could you positively identify them? Which of the plants are growing now? Can you recall them all? If not, what is the use? Maybe you would see something outdoors and decide you might have read about before grabbing a guide and checking.

This is the problem with trying to learn too much at once. The human mind can't hold too much new information. Here's another experiment. Spend as long as you like trying to memorise this list letters and numbers.

G 6 J 3 9 K 8 R 3 U 0 E L 2 B 2

Got it? Now go and find a piece of paper and try to write them down from memory. See you in a minute. I mean it, go and write them down on a piece of paper.

How many did you get? Six, seven? Eight, nine or ten with a few mistakes? It's hard work taking in new info. Yes, there are lots of techniques for memorising series, but you get the point.

Now here's the proof that what we've gone through has taught you a great deal and that you've not only retained it, but added to it yourself in such a way that you probably won't remember to specifics of what was written and what you picked up by learning to look at the natural world in a different way.

Each of the links below will take you back to the original article, but you'll probably not need them. Take a look down this of all the covered species. Maybe you didn't read each of the articles, and if that's so, don't beat yourself up about it; be happy with what you've learnt and know there is more for next Spring. For each one, try to recall what they look like, how they've changed throughout the year, where they grow and which grow together. Try to remember all you can, you'll amaze yourself.

Trees - buds, catkins, flowers, branch structure, bark, leaves and leaf development as well as uses for each one.

Ash
Beech
Oak
Silver Birch
Sallow (Pussy Willow or Goat Willow)

Fungi - size, grouping, shape, colour, smell and uses.

Cramp Balls (King Alfred's Cakes)
Fairy Ring Champignon
Jew's Ear or Jelly Ear
Morel
St. George's Mushroom

Plants - flowers, leaves, shoots and taste

Dandelion
Field Sorrel
Gorse
Jack by the Hedge (Garlic Mustard)
Navelwort or Pennywort
Nettle
Primrose
Ramsoms (Wild Garlic)
Three Cornered Leek (Wild Garlic)
Wood Sorrel

Learnt loads, haven't you. Nice work! Take a few minutes to look back over a few to remind yourself of a few details, but also to show how much you've taught yourself on top of the basics.

If you fancy a reread, of all of the Course and Supporting Articles, be careful that you don't overload yourself with information to try to catch up. Remember, it's better to remember few than forget a lot.

For doing so well, here's a special bonus for sticking with it. These sweet violets should still be around and although the leaves are edible, the flowers are where it's at. I'm sure you'll have seen them in the hedgerows and many of you, like me, will have learnt them as a child. They are a tasty trail treat* and when combined with other flowers make a mighty mouthful*. 

With Spring over, we have Summer on the way there is still much to learn and enjoy, such as elder, hawthorn, rose, blewits, wild mint and many more. Try to keep a good learning pace and don't forget the trees, plants and fungi you've learnt already. Watch how they change throughout the Summer and which of our new sets overlap and interact with them. 

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. 

NOTE: These articles were written from a UK perspective and identification will almost certainly differ in other places around the world. Seek local advice to confirm positive identification.

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* I love alliteration :)

Wild Food & Natural Resources Course - May - Extras

May is a fantastic time for food and I thought it a shame not to miss some specific tasty treats so I've decided to do a quick round up of a few of my faves, all of which can be eaten raw on the trail. I'll throw in a few leaf morphology terms, just for good measure.

Jack by the Hedge (Garlic Mustard) is a great addition to a cheese sandwich. Believe it or not, it tastes like a cross between garlic and mustard and can be found by hedges, often at the side of roads. Who'd have known!

Distinct in colour, it can be seen from quite a distance and at speed, which is useful if you're playing Fast Food. The leaves themselves grow between kidney shaped (reinform) and heart shaped (cordate) with a crinkly edges (sinuate margins) with crazy paving looking veins (reticulate).

As always, the younger, smaller, lighter green leaves are significantly less bitter to taste, which is the common objection. Like mustard, I use is sparingly and in combination with another strong flavours.

Wood Sorrel looks a little bit like clover, but has more heart shaped (cordate) leaves which are much lighter in colour and lives in the woods rather than in grass; another victory for habitat.

It tastes like a cross between lemon and apple peel and is a good source of vitamin C. It's great in savoury and sweet salads, stuffed in trout and can be made into a cordial, if you're so inclined. Personally, I just munch it when I find it. As with all wild foods which can be found in abundance, pick the best examples available.



Field, Lamb's, Sheep's or Common Sorrel are all much the same thing, look about the same and taste about the same. They all taste like Wood Sorrel, yet look nothing like it. This is because they are not of the same family at all.

To avoid confusion with the rather poisonous Lords and Ladies (or Cuckoo Pint), with the same fields and hedgerows, take special care in learning the distinct shape at the base of the leaves.

Primrose is subtle tasting flower with edible leaves, albeit quite bitter when mature. You can even eat the roots; boiled or roasted, like many other roots.

There are two general confusion species, the Cow Slip, which is just as edible and the Fox Glove, which is deadly. This is why I tend to wait for them to bloom before embarking on consumption since Fox Gloves do not have these creamy coloured flowers.

Dandelions are another plant we know well. Found in fields and gardens, it can be prolific. All of the plant except the stem is edible.

The flowers can be eaten raw or made into fritters, which are nicer than they sound. The roots can be boiled or roasted and can be ground into a drink that some would say is a coffee substitute, but let's face it, it's just not.

The pinnatisect leaves are sweet when young and are a favourite in salads.

There are many many many plants out and about at the moment, but none so distinct and accessible as these the ones we've covered so far this Spring. Keep with us for Summer as we see distinct changes in the plants we know and watch as the fruits start to form for the Autumn.

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. 

NOTE: This article was written from a UK perspective and identification will almost certainly differ in other places around the world. Seek local advice to confirm positive identification.

Get updates via Facebook on the Survival's Cool Blog Page.

Wild Food & Natural Resources Course - May - Set One

Firstly, apologies for the delay. I hope you find this set another delicious addition to your wild food and natural resources knowledge base. Spring is still upon us with flowers blooming and buds bursting. I hope you are continuing to take note of the progress of all other species we have covered to date. So without delay, here we go.

Plant - Three Cornered Leek (Wild Onion)

Another of the Allium (garlic & onion) family, the Three Cornered Leek has a fantastic flavour with complements Wild Garlic both cooked and raw. At this time, it should be in flower and is hence easily identified from a distance. The white flowers and long stems and leaves make them appear like pale bluebells, with which they can often grow. The leaves, though subtly distinct are similar, but the cross section of the stems is the real give away. Now you can see how it gets its name.

Tree - Oak

I'm quite sure you know the leaf of the oak as well as the distinct acorns, however, there are other aspects of trees which are to be noted at this time, in addition to habitat, these are most notably bark and branch structure which as we discussed, are the purest of forms of identification, since they don't rely on leaf, bud or flower. The problem with learning this method is a requirement to have positive identification in the first place. Often, autumn leaves are left scattered at the base of trees, but with wind can take move them around and in crowded woodland, mistakes can be made.

Here is a clue to positive identification, a cluster of leaves forming from nobbly buds which may still be visible and worth noting for future identification. The leaves are curled and pale, but identifiable as those of an oak at closer inspection. 

Once noted, start taking paces back and widening you view to that of the branch and tree structure which you will note as distinct and familiar. The branches are gnarled and twisted. The tree is sometimes wider than it is tall and has an air strength and age about it.

As a climax forest tree, when mature, it often stands in its own ground with little around it. It can also be found alone in field or meadow, being much older than the grassland which surrounds it. You should be able to spot oaks at a distance and also when young, since the leaves at this stage are of a quite distinct colour. Once this identification has been established, start taking note of the bark.

Oak is an excellent firewood, but heavy and the calorie expenditure of carrying over large distances should be take into consideration. Though a strong building material, the branches are seldom straight and if others are available, it's better served as firewood for heating and cooking. 

The acorns are nutritious, but riddled with tannins, and are thus inedible unless treated. Boiling with multiple changes of water until it stays clear is one method, and boiling is another. Personally, I think acorns taste a bit rubbish, but make a worthy addition to a stew if crushed or powdered and provide fats and protein. 

Fungus - Fairy Ring Champignon

We've previously covered quite distinct fungi, but now that summer is drawing closer, things start to get a bit more interesting, with more and more species available there are more to be confused with and so more care has to be taken. It is now that we have to start learning some of the characteristics of fungi and with the an ability to distinguish between the good guys and the bad which to the untrained eye can look rather similar. 

Let us take the delicious Fairy Ring Champignon and rather deadly Fool's Funnel. They are both the same size and grow in the same habitat (grass) at similar times of year. Although champignon tend to grow in rings, this can be invaded by funnels and so one might lead to another. Both have similar (well, not really) caps and both have a rather long, thin, bare stem (or stipe). Both have thin flesh and similar looking gills and both spore white (more on this in another article). So what are the distinguishing characteristics? 

The Fool's Funnel is slightly depressed in the centre making it a little funnel shaped (no, really?) as compared to the Champignon which is flat to convex and when mature, has a raised spot (umbo) in the centre. The funnel is a dirty white and and the champignon is more of a tawny cream or ochre. The gills of the champignon are pronouncedly wide and the funnel gills can be slightly decurrent, that is to say that they draw down to stem a little, though the champignon gills do touch the stem.Now here is the challenge. From the above descriptions can you picture the two mushrooms, and importantly, mentally highlight the differences. Read back a couple of times before clicking on the following links to take a look.

Fairy Ring Champignon
Fool's Funnel

How did you do? Do you think you can identify both of these with 100% confidence? If not, then like any other edible, do not eat them and clearly don't eat the inedible ones. It is imperative that you are without doubt before consumption. Take some time to identify, photograph and double check the mushrooms you find and with time you will gain confidence.

One final note on Fairy Ring Champignon; they absolutely MUST BE COOKED as like Morels, they are poisonous otherwise. The stems are tough; to be discarded and the caps can be wind dried if you have an excess.

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. 


NOTE: This article was written from a UK perspective and identification will almost certainly differ in other places around the world. Seek local advice to confirm positive identification.

Get updates via Facebook on the Survival's Cool Blog Page.

Wild Food & Natural Resources Course - April - Set Two

Welcome back to the fourth set of plants, trees and fungi in what is turning out to be quite a popular course. If you've missed anything so far, take a look back through the archive and see what you can find. This set is a little bit late because my chosen fungi, the St George's Mushroom has decided to come out late and so I was unable to get a photo. Thankfully, fellow forager, Alan Smylie, was able to find some on his local site and has dropped me down a picture. So let's just get on with it, shall we.

Plant - Ramsoms (Wild Garlic)

Ramsoms (budding) and Nettles

Wild garlic has been out for a couple of weeks here, but has not flowered. It has distinctive leaves with a flat surface and unlike Lily of the Valley, with which it can be confused, it has no definite ribs. The petals are also pointy (not shown), as opposed to bell-like. The most distinctive distinguishing characteristic, however, is that is SMELLS LIKE GARLIC!

We can eat all of this plant raw or cooked from the leaves, stems, buds, flowers to the bulb. I personally prefer it to cultivated garlic as it has a fresher taste which does not linger.

As a bulb species, they can be found in patches and normally speaking, if you find one, you'll find hundreds. Favouring partial shade, they can be found at the edges of woodland. A good indicator species for Wild Garlic is Bluebells, which needs similar growing conditions. Bluebells are often more prolific, so you're likely to see them first, not only because of their distinct colouration. Like Bluebells and other bulb species they come and go quickly because the newly forming canopy of the woodland soon restricts the sunlight.

Tree - Silver Birch

Arguably the method of tree identification which applies all year is that of bark identification. Without buds or leaves, branch structure and bark are the only characteristics available to us. As with other trees and plants, over time we get used to the less distinct features, but in some cases, we don't have to, as they are quite distinct already. That is the case with the Birch.

Silver Birch

Birch is that white one with the bark that comes off in horizontal strips. There are really no other trees in temperate woodland that look like it. At this time of year the leaves are either not showing or they are small and indistinct, however, even at a distance, this tree sticks out like someone has painted it white and can be seen clearly at a distance. You don't generally find these as a majority occupier of woodland, rather that they pop up here and there amongst other deciduous trees.

The sap, which rises in early Spring, is a source of fluids and sugars, can be extracted by tapping. There are a billion videos on youtube, but be warned, it's not the elixir people make it out to be. It's a lot of effort for slightly sugary water.

As a relatively hard wood, with a straight, limited branching structure, Birch is an excellent construction material as well as a good firewood.

In addition, the bark is steeped in oils which are superb for fire lighting and almost impervious to rain water and are hence a favourite amongst bushcrafters. When stripped or roughed, it takes a spark easily. Taking the bark is simple and does not need a knife. See the article Birch Bite for my moan about people killing Birch by cutting and peeling the bark aggressively. The oils within the bark can  be extracted as tar which has been used as an adhesive, waterproofing agent, tanning agent and disinfectant. As a useful resource, it's worth removing all of the bark from branches you intend to burn, not only because it burns with an annoying black smoke. If removed in large sheets, the bark can be used to make containers and if really quite big, a canoe or coracle.

Fungus - St. George's Mushroom

Still early season for mushrooms and other Fungi, the St George is the first of the really tasty ones. As a proper looking mushroom, however, it's time to get a but more strict on identification. Thankfully, this early in the season there are not many confusion species. St. George's only grows in Spring, around St George's Day, so if you think you've found on in October, you've not. It is absolutely imperative that you do not eat any fungi you can't 100% positively identify.

St. George's Mushroom

The many gills are on the underside of a rounded, mostly white/pale, mostly smooth cap which can measure between 5 and 15cm. The stem is largely smooth and widens towards the base. The spore print is white. That is to say it if you leave a cap on a black piece of paper for a few hours, it'll leave a print of white spore. It also smells of grain, or say leather or cucumber.

It is important when learning new fungi of this nature, that we follow all of the steps to identifying the mushroom. Only with constant repetition of this process will we gain confidence in identification.

St. George lives on the ground, in the grass forming rings, many feet wide. My foraging friend, who also supplied the photo, pointed out to me that the ring has another characteristic; it affects the grass, which appears darker green. As this mushrooms forms a symbiotic relationship with trees, it's is found exclusively close by to them; normally Ash, which we know from a previous article. Other indicator species are Ramsoms and Bluebells. This whole package makes finding them a lot easier than simply looking everywhere.

As Spring continues, there are other treats available. It would be folly for me to publish them all, as it would be as overloading as a book. Keep your eyes peeled and remember all that we've learned. Repetition and confirmation are the key.

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.

NOTE: This article was written from a UK perspective and identification will almost certainly differ in other places around the world. Seek local advice to confirm positive identification.

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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