Beyond the mushroom season
Wild plants and forest fruit: what to pick all year round
Wild garlic and nettles in spring, bilberries and elderflower in summer, fruit for liqueurs in autumn. For every plant we say when to pick it and what not to confuse it with.
Edible plants, herbs and fruit
BilberryVaccinium myrtillus L.Edible
Black chokeberryAronia melanocarpa (Michx.) ElliottEdible
BlackberryRubus sect. Rubus (m.in. Rubus plicatus, Rubus caesius)Edible
BlackthornPrunus spinosa L.Edible with care
Bog cranberryVaccinium oxycoccos L. (Oxycoccus palustris Pers.)Edible
Common sorrelRumex acetosa L.Edible
DandelionTaraxacum officinale F.H. Wigg.Edible
Dog rose (hips)Rosa canina L.Edible
ElderberriesSambucus nigra L.Edible with care
ElderflowerSambucus nigra L.Edible with care
Ground elderAegopodium podagraria L.Edible
Guelder roseViburnum opulus L.Edible with care
Hawthorn (common and Midland)Crataegus monogyna Jacq.; Crataegus laevigata (Poir.) DC.Edible
Hazel (hazelnuts)Corylus avellana L.Edible
Japanese quinceChaenomeles japonica (Thunb.) Lindl. ex SpachEdible
LingonberryVaccinium vitis-idaea L.Edible
QuinceCydonia oblonga Mill.Edible
RaspberryRubus idaeus L.Edible
Ribwort plantainPlantago lanceolata L.Edible
RowanSorbus aucuparia L.Edible with care
Scots pine (young shoots)Pinus sylvestris L.Edible
Sea buckthornHippophaë rhamnoides L.EdiblePartially protected
Small-leaved and large-leaved lime (blossom)Tilia cordata Mill.; Tilia platyphyllos Scop.Edible
Stinging nettleUrtica dioica L.Edible
Wild garlicAllium ursinum L.EdiblePartially protected
Wild strawberryFragaria vesca L.EdiblePoisonous plants that are easy to mistake
These species grow next to edible ones and get confused with them: lily of the valley and autumn crocus with wild garlic, cowbane with wild members of the carrot family.
Autumn crocusColchicum autumnale L.Deadly poisonousPartially protected
CowbaneCicuta virosa L.Deadly poisonous
Deadly nightshadeAtropa belladonna L.Deadly poisonousPartially protected
Lily of the valleyConvallaria majalis L.Deadly poisonous
MezereonDaphne mezereum L.Deadly poisonousPartially protected
Red-berried elderSambucus racemosa L.Poisonous
Sosnowsky's hogweedHeracleum sosnowskyi Manden.Poisonous
YewTaxus baccata L.Deadly poisonousPartially protectedSafety rule
Never eat a mushroom identified only from a website, a photo or an app. Show any doubtful specimen to a certified mushroom inspector at the sanepid (state sanitary inspection); in season the advice points are free. Do not give wild-picked mushrooms to children.
The golden rules of foraging →