Fall Foraging Hike - Central Valley California

[vja4Him]

Yesterday I went on my first foraging hike around our neighborhood. Walked about two miles. Here are some pictures of the plants I found:

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[vja4Him]

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[vja4Him]

My goal is to learn to identify wild edible plants and which plants I can safely eat. More unknown plants:

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[vja4Him]

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[vja4Him]

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[vja4Him]

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[vja4Him]

This plant came up as volunteers around my garden. Some of these plants grew to around 7-8 feet tall! These plants around our yard have died out, but I found them growing down the road in a field:

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[vja4Him]

More unknown flowers:

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[Alaskan Survivalist]

That's a good start!

[vja4Him]

Unknown flowering plant:

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[vja4Him]

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[vja4Him]

That's a good start!

I'm about to head out again today for more foraging ... I'll be riding my bicycle, so I can cover more distance.

I'm searching for large abandoned fields, and woody areas, where I can hopefully find many more unknown plants, and ultimately find wild edibles!

[Rick]

I would suggest starting with a good reference guide. There are many on the market. I happen to like Edible Wild Plants of Eastern/Central North America but there are many basic plants, like cattails, that are common to California. There is also a lot of good reference material on the net complete with pictures.

Pick out a few common plants then try to find them while you are out foraging. You might also look for foraging clubs/classes in your area. Don't overlook libraries as a source of information and classes either.

[rwc1969]

#4 looks like Goosefoot, possibly. The water beading up on the leaves is key.
#6 looks like JimsonWeed or some plant in the potato, tomato, nightshade family, potentially toxic.
#7 might be Horseweed, but YCC would know better than me.

[crimescene450]

can i get a close up of #10?

looks like wild raddish but its hard to tell.



and also. not to shoot down rick or anything. but the peterson book of edible plants really doesnt work well with CA
probably because its meant for the east coast.

go to the local parks department or w/e and see if they have displays to teach you

also my parks have brochures of the local plants with pictures and everything

i also learned alot by volunteering with them, and i learned firsthand about alot of the native plants.

[crimescene450]

#8 looks like vetch

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicia

[crimescene450]

http://www.ebparks.org/files/EBRPD_f...bot_Plants.pdf


this is another pdf i use.

its for castro valley. so its not exactly central valley. but there should be alot of overlap.

[your_comforting_company]

#2 looks like groundsel from above, but could be sow thistle. need to see the leaves.
#7 is definately horseweed, Conyza canadensis
#8 is a vetch. the tendrils, flower cluster, and pinnate leaves is a giveaway. I'll look in my book, but you can check the fabacaea family.
#10 from here appears to be a mustard or radish. Check the Brassicacea family.
#11 reminds me of a sage.. I'd need to look at it closer. The leaf pattern also kinda looks like a mustard, but I don't see any flowers.

And again, I have to recommend "Botany in a Day" for your book collection.

[vja4Him]

can i get a close up of #10?

looks like wild raddish but its hard to tell.



and also. not to shoot down rick or anything. but the peterson book of edible plants really doesnt work well with CA
probably because its meant for the east coast.

go to the local parks department or w/e and see if they have displays to teach you

also my parks have brochures of the local plants with pictures and everything

i also learned alot by volunteering with them, and i learned firsthand about alot of the native plants.

I think that is a close-up of #10. I'll check though ... I don't think it's radish. I've planted many different kinds of radishes, and always allow them to go to seed. I've seen a variety of flower colors with the radishes.

I found out that you can eat the radish leaves! They are actually tasty. I'll be planting lots of radishes soon ....

[vja4Him]

http://www.ebparks.org/files/EBRPD_f...bot_Plants.pdf


this is another pdf i use.

its for castro valley. so its not exactly central valley. but there should be alot of overlap.

That's awesome! Thanks. I have it downloaded for studying.