Wood Sorel
Oxalis
I’ve known this one since I was a little kid on the farm. It tastes just like the peel of a green apple. Yum!

Garlic Mustard
Alliaria petiolata
This “invasive” species grows EVERYWHERE and is packed with nutrients.

Chickweed
Stellaria media
Only eat the top two-ish inches or it may be too stringy to eat. Tastes kind of like young raw sweetcorn IMO.

Sheperd’s Purse
Capsella bursa-pastoris
The little flower stem makes this plant super easy to locate!

Tall Hedge Mustard
Sisymbrium officinale
If you love wasabi you will love this plant! Just one leaf will leave your mouth feeling spicy. Looks like sheperd’s purse when young but hairs give it away.

Cattail
Probably my kid’s favorite wild food. Foraging cattails always ends with a full stomach.

Purslane
Super delicious raw. My kiddos and I eat this like candy when we find a juicy plant.

Prickly Lettuce
Lactuca Serriola
Also known as “opium lettuce”, this bitter green tastes great in salads and was historically used as a pain reliever when opium supplies ran out.

Wild Spinach
One of my favorites and super easy to identify due to the white powder that runs down the middle of the plant.

White Clover
This can be found pretty much anywhere that grass is mowed. Not my favorite but makes for some healthy fresh greens to add on a hummus sandwich.

Dandelion
Fried dandelion roots are my favorite! But just a warning, if you haven’t tried raw dandy leaves you are in for a bitter time.

Stinging Nettle
I’m an idiot because I never learn to put on pants and shoes when I go foraging for nettles. Either way nettles can be eaten RAW (yup!) but are best when cooked.

False Solomons-Seal
Still trying to figure this one out. I’ve eaten it many times with mixed results…

Curly Dock
It took too long for me to incorporate this plant into my diet. I think it tastes similar to wood sorel but 10x easier to gather.

Bull Thistle
Delicious! After stripping the stem just boil for 10 minutes in veggie broth with a dash of Worcester sauce and salt/pepper.

Cleavers
Packed with vitamin C and sticks to everything.

Virginia Waterleaf
One of the very first plants to pop up in spring. You can eat the leaves raw (the flower stems are better) or cook the flower buds before they bloom.

Milkweed
I haven’t eaten this many times for sustainability reasons but it’s a good plant to know!

Cow Parsnip
This plant is a beast! The thick boiled stems tastes great in oriental soups. Just watch out for raw juices from the stem, they can cause a rash.

Sochan
Rudbeckia lacinata
2024 is the year that I finally eat this common plant. Didn’t know it was edible until recently. Update coming soon!

Dame’s Rocket
Use in place of cooked spinach!

Wild Violet
Everything above ground is edible. Found often in urban areas.

Acorns
Most of our South Dakota acorn foraging comes from the bur oak trees nestled in parks surrounding Sioux Falls.

Curly Dock Seeds
Easily harvested and have a slightly bitter flavor when made into a flour. More to come…

Walnuts
If you want to stain all of your skin and clothing yellow then you should try eating wild walnuts! More info to come…

Gooseberries
If you can beat the wild animals to these berries they are among my favorite wild foods to find!

Wild Grapes
I’m usually too busy stuffing my face to take any photos when I find a patch of wild grapes. Don’t confuse these with the Virginia Creeper! More info to come soon…

Chokeberries
If you try to eat these while ripe you will understand their name. Very astringent. Berries turn red mid July and ripen to purple in August.

Currant
Sweet and sour! These differ from gooseberries due to the lack of spikes on the bush. They are tastier too!

Mulberry Tree
Usually the low hanging fruit is pillaged in any public city park but the canopy is FULL of ripe fruit for anyone daring enough to climb.

Wild Columbine
Eat the little red globes on the back of the flower for a hint of sweet honey flavor! I was told by a friend this is called “Wild Honeysuckle” so that might be a common local name in MN?

Wild Plums
I know of a beautiful forest in Minnesota that’s full of wild plums. More photos & videos to come…

Gill Over The Ground
Part of the mint family, gill-over-the-ground has a square stem with purple flowers and purple tinged leaves. It is a refreshing chew while hiking or makes a good tea!

Catnip
Square stem and round teeth with a minty smell make this plant hard to mis-identify!

Wooly Mullein
The super fuzzy basal rosette leaves separate this plant from any others. I frequently find this in the snow, is it possible that the fuzz helps protect the leaves from the cold?

Solomon’s Seal
This plant is frequently overharvested so it isn’t recommended unless you find an enormous crop. It tastes like a fiber-y potato!

Dandelion (again!)
There is no fear of overharvesting this root. Although I have eaten it many times fried up in olive oil my new favorite drink is dandelion coffee.

Burdock
Bring a shovel. Use the TIPS of the roots and cut off the hard upper portion. The problem is that the tips are DEEP in the dirt and… bring a shovel.

Hopniss
So elusive! I’ve been trying to find this for a while now. Check out the following article for some incredible info!

Poison Hemlock
There is no cure.