Hello, friends! Happy New Year! As we reflect back on 2024 and look forward to the year ahead, we are humbled and grateful to know that the Lord provides for us in all seasons of life. The bountiful edible and medicinal wild plants that surround us are evidence that He will always bless us with everything we stand in need of.
What are you looking forward to this upcoming year? What are the hopes and dreams you hope to achieve? We have plans for some exciting new foraging resources and herbal products later this year, so stay tuned for announcements!
Even in the short, chilly days of January and February, if you’re willing to head out and explore you will discover treasures to forage if you know what to look for. Though they’re not as abundant as at other times during the year, there are still many plants for you to find and use. Here are some of the things that we’re on the lookout for here in the Ozarks in mid to late winter. It will be a much different list if you live in a place with a harsher weather and even here several of these things won’t show up until we get some warm spells. That’s the adventure of winter foraging: you never know what you’re going to find!
Winter foraging is especially valuable as a survival skill, since it is one thing to know which plants you can eat and use as medicine during times of plenty, but knowing what you can find when things are scare can truly make a difference in a survival situation. And even during your day-to-day life, all of these plants are nutrient dense and can help you enjoy your best health no matter what life brings!
Pine Needles (Pinus spp.) – Though not as tender as when they have new growth in the spring, pine needles are a valuable wild edible to know about. As long as you have pine trees nearby, there will always be something you can forage all winter long. They are especially useful with their high levels of Vitamin C, which can help you maintain your health in the winter months. They are anti-inflammatory and help with many health conditions. You can finely chop the needles and pour hot water over them and let steep for 5-7 minutes to make tea. Make sure to not boil them, as this can make them bitter.
Black Walnuts (Juglans nigra) and Hickory Nuts (Carya spp.) – If you can find some that the squirrels haven’t gotten to yet, nuts that fell last autumn should still be good and edible and can add some delicious nutrition to your winter meals if you’re willing to put in the effort to crack them. All hickories are edible, but some produce particularly bitter nuts, so try to identify the species of nut that you find and sample each nut to see if they’re bitter. Nuts are a rich source of protein, calories, healthy fats, and many minerals, making them the perfect survival food.
Sassafras Roots (Sassafras albidum) – Anytime in the winter when sassafras trees are dormant is the perfect time to dig up some of their roots, since all of the nutrients are being stored in the branches and roots. You can make it into a delicious tea and make your own probiotic root beer if you’re up for the project! (A tutorial is in the works to be added to this blog soon.) Learn more about how to make tea from roots from this blog post. Though easiest to identify the tree when the leaves are on it, if it’s winter and you’re unfamiliar with the area you’re foraging in, you can keep your eyes peeled for smaller trees typically growing in groves with slightly green or reddish twigs. Snap and branch and if you get a distinctive smell of root beer, you’ve found sassafras! Traditionally, it is the bark of the roots that is used in tea. If you’re able to find some but don’t want to or aren’t able to dig up the roots, you can still make a tea out of the branches, though the flavor won’t be as concentrated as if you use the roots.
Oyster Mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) – Thriving in cool, wet environments, oyster mushrooms can be found growing during the winter months if it’s warm enough for them. A delicious wild edible, they can be added to all kinds of recipes. As always with mushrooms, always be 100% certain in your ID before consuming. To help with identifying, oyster mushrooms usually grow in clusters in a shelf-like formation. They are smooth and usually white or light brown with white flesh. They have decurrent gills, which means that the gills are attached to and run directly down the stem. Research to find if there are any dangerous lookalikes to be aware of in your area.
Photo by Chris Vogt
Turkey Tail Mushrooms (Trametes versicolor) – Another mushroom that can be found in cool weather, turkey tails will also grow if it isn’t covered in ice. They are famous for their many health benefits, including their immune boosting properties. It can be made into a tea or tincture. There are no toxic lookalikes, but there are several other kinds of edible mushrooms that don’t contain the health benefits that turkey tail mushrooms are celebrated for. Here are a few things to look for to distinguish a true turkey tail mushroom: The bottom side should be white with tiny pores, not yellow or smooth; the top side should be covered in very fine hairs that make it feel velvety; the fresh mushroom should be thin and flexible.
Chickweed (Stellaria media ) – If you get a warm spell in the winter, you can often find chickweed growing here in Zone 7a. Resilient through the cold weather, small sprigs of chickweed can be harvested and added to salads or used as garnish. Its mild flavor is easy to enjoy in any meal or as a snack. It is an excellent source of Vitamins C and A, some B vitamins, magnesium, iron, calcium, and zinc. It is also anti-inflammatory and contains antioxidants and saponins, which are compounds that studies suggest fight bacteria and have astringent properties.
Field Garlic (Allium vineale) – If you see what appear to be tufts of grass growing in your lawn when most of the grass is dead, examine them closer and you might have field garlic! You will be able to tell from its distinct garlic/onion odor. In the spring it will grow little bulblets that can be used in cooking, but in the winter it is easiest to just use the greens for adding wild flavor to your meals. Filed garlic is bursting with all of the health benefits of its cultivated cousin and adding it to your diet can be a great boost to your health.
Wintercress (Barbarea spp.) – A genus including several species, winter cresses are cold hardy greens that can be found whenever it’s warm enough to grow, though more abundant in late winter. Here in the Ozarks we are most likely to find bittercress (Barbarea vulgaris). As part of the mustard family, the taste is slightly spicy and can be bitter if you are unaccustomed to it. Lightly blanching it in water before adding it to recipes can improve the flavor. Wintercress was nicknamed “scurvy cress” by early settlers here in the US, since it was a welcome source of many vitamins and minerals in the winter months.
Photo by Joana Arteaga.
Rosehips (Rosa spp.) – Often still found hanging on wild rose vines all throughout the winter, rosehips are another excellent source of vitamins. Though many wild varieties have small rosehips that some don’t find worthwhile to harvest, if you are really in need of things to forage in winter, it is a blessing to know that something will be out there. Rosehips have small irritating hairs on the inside around the seeds that are hard to remove, which is usually done with larger cultivated hips before they’re used in jellies and syrups. You can still use the small wild ones in tea without crushing them or run them through a very fine strainer.
Photo by Beverly Buckley
Sunchokes (Helianthus tuberosus) – Also known as Jerusalem artichokes, the tubers of these plants are best harvested in fall and winter. Though it is a wild edible, it is often cultivated as well. The plants die back in the fall and it is best to wait to harvest them until you have had a few hard frosts, as the cold helps break down the starches in the tubers to make them more digestible. Sunchokes have lots of inulin, which is a prebiotic fiber that helps nourish the beneficial bacteria in your gut. Most of our bodies aren’t used to such high amounts of this fiber, which can cause some upset in some people’s digestive system. In addition to waiting for hard frosts before you harvest, you can also make them into lacto-fermented pickles to make them more digestible. As your stomach gets used to it, you can cook with them or enjoy the crunch of the fresh tubers as a good food source in winter.
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Happy foraging! Let us know what you are able to find on your winter foraging adventures!
God bless, Tasha (Marqueta’s daughter)