2015 OUTDOORS ISSUE
NON-NATIVE SWEET BRIAR ROSE
PHOTO BY TRASK BEDORTHA
FORAGE
AHEAD
How to responsibly find edible plants
in the wild B Y M I K E B I V I N S
F
or most Eugeneans, “foraging” means a trip to
Market of Choice or The Kiva. But the ability to
forage for food in the wild, a throwback from our
hunter-gatherer days, has a certain appeal and lets
food-intrepid adventurers connect their nourishment
to the outdoors.
Pat Patterson, currently a volunteer master gardener
with Lane County’s Oregon State University Extension,
has been foraging since her grandmother tasked her with
gathering stinging nettle and other wild greens when she
was young. Foraging is “very in,” Patterson says.
And though it’s trendy, responsible foraging means
supplementing your diet with other foods and being careful
not to overharvest.
Patterson moved to Oregon in 1961, and now, in her
70s, she passes on her knowledge of plants to students
through the extension.
Foraging should be done responsibly, she says, cautioning
that foragers must “know the plant.” If you misidentify a
plant and end up with poison hemlock instead of wild carrot,
you could poison yourself or others.
Hemlock is acutely poisonous to humans, and you don’t
even have to eat it — the poison can be absorbed through
the skin. Patterson steers clear of wild carrots altogether,
she says.
Patterson also advises to “never take all” in an area
where your plant grows, because this gives the plants a
chance to reproduce and to “keep the food coming.”
Additionally, she warns, potential foragers must watch
out for aerial pesticide spraying.
Local herbalist Howie Brounstein outlines a few tips for
beginning foragers on his Columbines School of Botanical
Studies website, including obtaining a harvesting permit
for foraging on public lands. The Eugene District Bureau
of Land Management (BLM) in Springfield issues permits
for BLM land.
Foraging is useful for commercial endeavors, as
well. Though the ingredients gathered are free, the
plant stands do not belong to any one person, says Old
Growth Ales co-founder Amanda Helser who, along with
business partner Steve Braun, make alcoholic beverages
containing healthy ingredients harvested in the Cascadia
bioregion, such as stinging nettle, dandelions, elderberry
and St. John’s wort.
Helser lists several ethical considerations when foraging
for wild plants, echoing Patterson’s words about knowing
what to pick before you pick it. Another tip is to leave the
area where you are foraging in better condition than when
you found it. This can be accomplished by picking up
discarded plant material, filling in holes or even spreading
seeds about.
Helser recommended reading Michael Moore’s
Medicinal Plants of the Pacific West and Jim Pojar’s Plants
of the Pacific Northwest to learn more about foraging for
wild ingredients. ■
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eugeneweekly.com • May 21, 2015
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