Seasonal Foraging Guide
Wild greens, berries, fruit, nuts and mushrooms month by month — where they grow, how to use them, and the look-alikes to watch for.
Best foraging near you right now
What’s in season this month and actually being found within about 50 miles of you.
Your location is rounded to about 7 miles and never saved on our site.
Sightings from iNaturalist research-grade observations. Photos © their photographers via iNaturalist, used under Creative Commons licenses.
Season calendar
Typical seasons for the eastern and central United States. Farther south things come in earlier; farther north and higher up, later.
What to look for
Mushrooms · March–May
Morel mushrooms
Morchella
Where: Woods edges, around dying elms, ash and old apple orchards, once the soil warms to about 50°F.
Look-alikes & cautions: False morels are poisonous. A true morel is completely hollow from tip to stem when sliced lengthwise, and the cap is attached at the bottom. Always cook — never eat raw.
Use: Sauté, fry or dry
Greens & shoots · March–May
Ramps (wild leeks)
Allium tricoccum
Where: Rich, moist hardwood forests in the East and Midwest.
Look-alikes & cautions: Lily of the valley and false hellebore are poisonous look-alikes — a crushed ramp leaf smells strongly of onion and garlic. Take one leaf per plant and leave the bulb; ramps grow back very slowly.
Use: Fresh, pickled, frozen or dried
Greens & shoots · March–May
Wild onion & wild garlic
Allium canadense
Where: Lawns, fields and open woods in early spring.
Look-alikes & cautions: Death camas looks similar and is deadly but has no onion smell. If it doesn’t smell like onion, don’t eat it.
Use: Use like chives or garlic
Greens & shoots · March–October
Dandelion
Taraxacum
Where: Lawns, fields and roadsides — pick where nothing has been sprayed.
Look-alikes & cautions: True dandelion has one flower on a hollow, leafless stem and toothed, hairless leaves. Look-alikes such as cat’s-ear and chicory are also edible.
Use: Young greens, flowers and roots
Greens & shoots · March–June
Stinging nettle
Urtica dioica
Where: Moist, rich soil along streams and woods edges.
Look-alikes & cautions: Wear gloves. Cooking, blanching or drying removes the sting. Pick the top 4–6 leaves before the plant flowers.
Use: Cooked greens, soup and tea
Greens & shoots · March–May, September–November
Chickweed
Stellaria media
Where: Lawns and garden beds in cool weather.
Look-alikes & cautions: Scarlet pimpernel (toxic) looks similar but has orange-red flowers and square stems. Chickweed has white star flowers and a single line of hairs along the stem.
Use: Fresh in salads
Greens & shoots · March–May
Wild violets
Viola sororia
Where: Lawns, shady yards and open woods.
Look-alikes & cautions: Common blue violet leaves and flowers are edible. African violets (houseplants) are not true violets and are not eaten.
Use: Salads, syrup, jelly and tea
Greens & shoots · April–May
Fiddleheads (ostrich fern)
Matteuccia struthiopteris
Where: Stream banks and moist bottomland in the North.
Look-alikes & cautions: Only ostrich fern: smooth stems with a deep U-shaped groove inside and brown papery scales. Bracken and other ferns can be harmful. Always boil 15 minutes or steam 10–12 minutes before eating.
Use: Always cooked
Greens & shoots · April–June
Cattail shoots
Typha
Where: Marshes, ponds and ditches with clean water.
Look-alikes & cautions: Young cattail can be confused with iris, which is poisonous — iris leaves are flat and fan out from the base; cattail has a round base. Avoid polluted water.
Use: Peeled shoots, raw or cooked
Greens & shoots · April–May
Wild asparagus
Asparagus officinalis
Where: Fencerows, ditches and old homesteads — look for last year’s tall feathery stalks.
Look-alikes & cautions: Pick only where roadsides and ditches aren’t sprayed.
Use: Like garden asparagus
Learn With Others
The best way to learn wild foods is alongside someone who knows them. Ask for identification help in the Foraging group — post clear photos of every part of the plant or mushroom — and never eat anything on an online ID alone.