Five Winter Foragables
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Where I live in Minneapolis, Minnesota, winter is generally a cold and quiet time of year. Birds fly south, animals hibernate, and plants go dormant during this challenging season. However, don’t let that fool you into thinking that winter is lifeless! There is still vitality to this season, for those who care to look! And there is still an array of wild foods to harvest.
Below is a list of five types of foods that can be foraged in the winter. I’ve opted to describe broad groupings rather than focus on individual species, just to show the diversity of winter foods. As such, this list is meant more for inspiration than to provide technical details. However, the links in each category offer more information for those wishing to dive deeper!
Hard-bodied Mushrooms
Several mushroom species persist into winter, including turkey tail (Trametes versicolor, pictured above), chaga (Inonotus obliquus), and tinder conk (Fomes fomentarius). Though not edible in the same way as soft-bodied mushrooms, these species boast several medicinal qualities and can be made into a tea or tincture for internal use. As with all wild edibles, make sure you have positively identified the species before harvesting!
Winter Fruits
How often have you come across fruits hanging on trees or shrubs well into the winter? Once you start looking for them, you will begin to see them everywhere! Not all winter fruits are edible, so be sure that you correctly identify the plant before consuming. Some of my favorites are crab apples (Malus spp.), hackberries (Celtis occidentalis), highbush cranberries (Viburnum trilobum, pictured above), and rose hips (Rosa spp.). You can read more about each species in the links below!
Cold-hardy Greens
If you’ve done any gardening, you’ll know that some cultivated greens can survive rather extreme temperatures. The same is true of wild greens! On warm winter days when the snow melts, you can often find dandelions (Taraxacum spp, pictured above), garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata), and other plants peeking through. If you head to a spring or fast-moving stream, you may discover watercress (Nasturtium officinale) growing in the open water. Learn more about these cold-hardy greens in the links below!
Seeds and Nuts
Winter is not typically the ideal time to harvest seeds and nuts; that’s usually done in the fall. However, many plants retain their seeds over the winter and represent an important food source to wildlife. Humans can partake in this harvest as well! Yellow dock (Rumex crispus, pictured above) is one plant that makes a prodigious amount of seeds, which often last through til spring. Nuts like black walnuts (Juglans nigra) and acorns (Quercus spp.) can be found on the ground or under the snow. Some people like waiting to harvest nuts until they have begun sprouting; this is described in the article on acorns below.
As always, make sure you’ve identified the seeds or nuts correctly before harvesting!
Edible Evergreens
Evergreens may be the most conspicuous example of winter foragables. They make up a significant portion of the tree population in northern climates, and their green color is easy to spot among an otherwise monochrome landscape. Though they’re not edible in the same sense as most other greens, they do make excellent teas, infusions, and seasonings. Importantly, they represent a source of vitamins A and C, which can be lacking in a winter diet. Edible evergreens also have myriad medicinal qualities, such as treating colds, coughs, and fevers. Like with other edible foods, make sure you properly identify the plant before you eat it. Yew (Taxus spp.) is a common ornamental evergreen that has poisonous needles, bark, roots, and seeds (read more about it in the link below).
I hope that this article spurred your excitement for winter foraging! The season is so much more fun with enjoyable outdoor activities. Give it a try if you haven’t yet! And if you already are a winter forager, please let me know what you harvest during this time of year. Are there any favorites of yours that I missed? Let me know in the comments below!
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