I picked these to make Rowan Berry Jelly. They are not poisonous but they are quite bitter (an acquired taste!). Rowan Berry Jelly is particularly delicious served with venison, hare… Read More
Hedgehog fungus – Hydnum repandum
Luckily for foragers, hedgehog fungus is far less well-known that it’s cousin the chanterelle. It is easily identified by its spines or teeth under the cap which look vary different… Read More
Wild Chorizo Salad
Sadly I forgot to photograph this before we ate it all as it looked very pretty! Ingredients Go for a walk and see what you can find! Today I found… Read More
Common Wood Sorrel – Oxalis acetellosa
These pretty leaves have a distinctive sharp sorrel flavour and make a lovely addition to a wild salad, or as a garnish to a soup or dish. They are best… Read More
Blackcurrants
There’s a lot of plump blackcurrants (Ribes nigra) this year and luckily 101 things to do with them. Full of vitaminC and flavonoids, they bestow many health benefits as well… Read More
Meadowsweet Cordial
If you like Elderflower Cordial you’ll love this! It has a sweet, honeyed flavour that is perfect diluted with fizzy water. “Children’s Champagne” I told a young man who tried… Read More
Crispy Dulse Seaweed Snack
I was given some dried dulse Palmaria palmata last night by Fi Houston, a fellow forager and a seaweed aficionado who sells wonderful sea spices at www.seaspice.co.uk. Below is the dried… Read More
Valerian – Valeriana officinalis
Valerian is so good for anxiety that Valerian B.P. (made to British Pharmacopeia standards) was handed out to civilians in air raid shelters during the First World War. At high… Read More
Meadowsweet – Filipendula ulmaria
Meadowsweet is now coming into bloom along the stream here at Wychmoss. It’s original Latin name was Spiraea ulmaria which is where the name A-Spirin (aspirin) comes from as chemists… Read More
Feverfew – Chrysanthemum parthenium
Feverfew is excellent as a preventative for recurrent headaches. Research has shown that this is probably due to it having a beneficial effect on the platelet clumping implicated in migraines.… Read More
Pink Purslane
Pink purslane (Claytonia sibirica) is an edible plant in the Portulacaceae family related to Spring Beauty (Claytonia perfoliata) and Common Purslane (Portulaca oleracea) which is high in Omega 3 oils… Read More
Leopard’s Bane
Leopard’s Bane (Doronicum pardalianches) is related to Arnica (Wolf’s Bane) and also poisonous as neither should be taken internally. Great drifts of this are now in flower along the river… Read More
Sanicle
We found Sanicle (Sanicula europea) in the woods of Colinton Dell this evening. A member of the carrot family, the leaves are edible. In the Middle Ages it was a… Read More
Rose riddle
On a summer’s day, in sultry weather, Five brothers were born together. Two had beards and two had none, And the other had but half of one. Who am I?… Read More
Get pickled! A Ploughman’s Lunch is good for you.
Are you a lover of all things pickled? Pickled onions, peppers, gherkins, capers (or of course, nasturtium seeds)? Well you can easily justify your indulgence. You probably already know that… Read More
Horsetail – an ancient plant with healing properties
This weekend I noticed horsetail Equisetum arvensis poking up, making its first appearance of the year. It’s a natural source of silica and very good for strengthening hair, bone and… Read More
Eat your greens. They really are good for you!
There’s a lot more to eating greens than making sure you have enough dietary fibre and vitamin A. I think the majority of people think of their daily vegetables as… Read More
Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
Dandelion Taraxacum officinale is high in vitamins A, B complex, C, and D, as well as minerals such as iron, potassium, and zinc. For comparison, spinach contains around 9,000 –… Read More
Easter Banquet featuring Venison in Elderberry and Hawthorn
To those of you who imagine that a forager’s fare is stark or unexciting, then think again. A fortuitous gift of venison (I love living in the country) turned Easter… Read More
What’s up in the woodland garden
The last few days of glorious March sunshine have boosted the growth in the woodland garden. This is in a corner of the land always the last to be reached… Read More
Why do dogs eat grass…
… and other animal medicine stories! Just today a man phoned me from Canada. He wanted to let me know how good he thought Napiers Joint Ability Herbal Remedy was.… Read More
Willow bark medicine ~ natural Aspirin
All the willow that wasn’t coppiced back in February is now covered with pretty furry buds. Cut long stems and put them in a tall base for a dramatic Spring… Read More
Coltsfoot in March
Coltsfoot is one of the first spring flowers, after the snowdrops, with the flowers appearing first before the leaves. A wonderful herb for sore throats, it likes poor, dry, stony… Read More
Coppicing willow and hazel
Willow coppices Last weekend, mid February, I spent coppicing – cutting back my willow Salix spp. and hazel Corylus avellana. I have a large amount of willow, across several species,… Read More
Oyster Mushrooms on the Menu
Both of the large horse chestnut Aesculus hippocastanum trees that fell in the January gale were host to some fabulous oyster mushrooms Pleurotus ostreatus. Fried in butter with an egg… Read More
Wychmoss update – Signs of Spring?
It may be mid-winter here at Wychmoss. with cold, crisp frosty days the norm, but Coltsfoot buds are appearing in warmer, sheltered spots on the edge of my woodland to… Read More
In Praise of Coltsfoot
Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara) can be an elusive plant. It raises its flowers before its leaves in the Spring (hence the country nickname “Son before Father”). The flowers quickly pass as… Read More
How I poisoned my wife
Trouble was brewing when our writer decided to experiment with a new herbal tea Article written by John-Paul Flintoff A few weeks ago, I almost killed my wife with herbal… Read More
A weed is a plant that has mastered every survival skill except for learning how to grow in rows.
Lady’s Smock (Cardamine pratensis)
Quote by Doug Larson
Picture by Monica Wilde
Endangered Herbs
Endangered in the UK Chamomile, Wild (Chamaemelum nobile) Chickweed, Scottish (Cerastium fontanum subsp. scoticum) Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus) Eyebrights Euphrasia sp. (endemic) – Euphrasia officinalis seems to be OK still. Juniper,… Read More