NJ Foraging Calendar April 2018
With the heat a few days ago and now the rain, we're going to have plenty of fresh wild plants to forage in the upcoming weeks.
Here's a list of some species to look out for. There are many common, easy species here, as well as some more eclectic selections for those of you interested in some new flavors. This is just a list to get you started - please verify identification, edibility, and edible parts yourself -- or drop me a note in the comments field below and I'll answer any queries. Happy gathering!
- Alliaria petiolata garlic mustard
- Allium cernuum nodding onion
- Allium tricoccum ramps
- Allium vineale wild garlic
- Cardamine bulbosa bulbous bittercress
- Cardamine concatenata cutleaf toothwort
- Claytonia virginica spring beauty
- Cryptotaenia canadensis Canadian honewort
- Hemerocallis fulva orange daylily
- Hesperis matronalis dames rocket
- Hydrophyllum virginianum eastern waterleaf
- Lamium purpureum purple deadnettle
- Matteuccia struthiopteris ostrich fern
- Polygonatum biflorum smooth Solomon's seal
- Polygonatum pubescens hairy Solomon's seal
- Prenanthes altissima tall rattlesnakeroot
- Rudbeckia laciniata tall coneflower/sochan
- Rumex crispus curly dock
- Stellaria media common chickweed
- Taraxacum officinale common dandelion
- Tradescantia virginiana Virginia spiderwort
- Urtica dioica stinging nettle
- Viola sororia common blue violet
First spring greens of the season, 3/31/18.
Chickweed, tall coneflower, stinging nettle, dandelion, curly dock, field garlic, dame's rocket, nodding onion, purple dead nettle
Cooked in olive oil with smoked salt. The greens were tiny then, but are much more abundant now, two weeks later.