5 Edible Plants for the Foraging Backpacker

    One of my favorite things to do while hiking and backpacking is to forage for wild plants. By now, it has become a game with myself to see how many edible plants I can find on my way, and the prize for winning is a delicious snack. I like that foraging helps me learn about the plants in the area where I am traveling and gives me an interesting type of insight into that area. And, on the most practical level, foraging for edible plants while backpacking means that you get to have fresh vegetables to supplement your dried ramen and beef jerky. It honestly doesn't get better than that. 

    I have been learning about edible plants and foraging for about 5 years and, while I'm no expert, I have learned some useful information along the way. I decided to make this list to showcase some of my favorite tried and true plants that I like to pick when I'm out and about. For this list, I focused on the attributes that are most important to a traveling backpacker; available in many different areas, easily identifiable, and of course tasty. 

There are a multitude of different edible and medicinal plants in each different environment, and I totally recommend learning about your local flora if it interests you. That being said, it can be super handy to know a few hardy plants that you can find almost anywhere while traveling and exploring. I picked the plants on this list because they are known to grow in a wide range of areas. While I do most of my foraging in the Southeastern US, I have also had personal experience foraging for most of these plants in different places around North America as well as Hawaii in some cases. Going along with easy accessibility, most of these plants are easy to identify and don't have poisonous lookalikes. You should always make sure you are 100% certain about a plant before eating it, but this list provides a good starting point with plants that are not as easy to misidentify. And of course, after doing all that work to find and correctly identify a plant, it needs to taste good. While some people learn wild edibles as a last-ditch survival strategy, I consider all of these plants to be delicious vegetables in their own right and I gather many of them even when I am at home with a fridge full of food. It doesn't get much better than eating a perfectly fresh, sun-warmed blackberry on a summer day. And ultimately that's what foraging should be; fun! 

    Before we get into the fun stuff, though, an important word about safety and ethics. Everyone says this, but that's because it's true: never eat something if you're not 100% sure you know what it is. To that end, it can be helpful to use pictures and descriptions to cross-reference your plants while you are foraging, or even go out with someone more experienced to learn the ropes. At the end of the day, no new plant is worth a trip to the emergency room or worse and you should do whatever you need to in order to feel confident in your knowledge. 

    The other important point is about ethics and sustainability. Most of the plants on this list grow in abundance and are even considered weeds in some areas. However, it is still important to make sure that you are not over-harvesting a plant to the point where it might be wiped out in that area. This post from Attainable Sustainable is a great detailed guide on ethical harvesting, but in general, a good rule of thumb is to never harvest an entire patch or dig up all the roots of a plant. Also, keep in mind that other animals and even humans may also rely on your patch so leave enough for others to enjoy the harvest too. 

    Now that all the details are out of the way, here are some great plants to get you started on your foraging adventures:

Smilax

    Smilax is the genus name for a group of edible vines that grows primarily in the eastern half of the US. Any gardener will probably be able to tell you that the main part of the smilax plant is extremely tough and difficult to break. However, the tips of the vine where the new growth starts are very tender and can be easily snapped off for a trailside snack. Smilax generally tastes mild and slightly nutty. I have found that the larger vines generally taste milder than smaller ones, which can sometimes be bitter. 

    Smilax makes a great source of veggies for camping and hiking trips because it tastes good and is easy to collect. It grows in all sorts of random places--in fields and thickets, through trees, and even on the sides of cliffs! I will often pick smilax from the side of backcountry trails while I'm walking and end up with a few sizable handfuls by the end of the day. You can eat it in limited quantities straight out of hand but it also makes a really good addition to meals like ramen or stir fry where you can steam it to maximum tenderness. A lot of people suggest to cook it like asparagus in butter and garlic.

Smilax tips

Blackberries

    This one is almost a no-brainer. Blackberries grow everywhere, are easy to identify, and taste delicious! Whether you're on a high-elevation mountain bald or a coastal plain, you are likely to find some blackberries. My favorite experience picking blackberries actually happened in the middle of downtown Vancouver. I was surprised to find that blackberries grow like weeds there; in unused lots, beside sidewalks, and at the edge of the city's beautiful beaches. Whenever I got hungry while exploring the city, I would find a tall bush (to avoid anything sketchy at ground level) and pick a handful of delicious berries. 

Blackberries in downtown Vancouver

Wood Sorrel

    Wood Sorrel is a tart, lemony tasting plant that resembles clover and grows from... I even found it in the middle of the Pacific Ocean in Hawaii. Wood Sorrel is generally easy to identify and low risk because its closest look alike, clover, is also edible but simply doesn't taste as good. The easiest way to differentiate the two is by their flowers. I like Wood Sorrel because, unlike many wild edible greens, it tastes tangy instead of bitter, and the flavor is good enough that I would consider buying it in a grocery store if it wasn't already growing in my backyard. The best comparison I can make is that it tastes similar to eating grape skins; tangy, sour, and a little sweet. Wood Sorrel is delicious on its own, in salads, with fruit, and pretty much any other way you can think of. One of the most intriguing recipes that I have been itching to try incorporates Wood Sorrel into berry jam to add an extra lemony kick (If anyone tries or has tried this tell me how it works!).

Muscadine Grapes

    If you spend any time outside in the South during late summer there is a good chance that you will run across some Muscadines. Conjuring up images of Scuppernong jam and Muscadine wine, these grapes are the poster child of southern foraging, however they can also be found as far north as New Jersey. Wild Muscadines grow in thickets sprawled across trees at the edges of clearings, roads, and wherever there is sunlight. Basically, imagine the grape vine's crazy cousin; the leaves and fruit look similar but Muscadines are way more dispersed in their growth pattern.  

    Muscadines can be eaten raw or made into jams, pies, and wine with a bit more effort. My favorite way to eat Muscadines on the trail is to pick a handful and then pop one in my mouth and slowly suck the juice out until only the skin is left. Also note that wild Muscadines have sizable seeds in the center. They taste similar to grapes but tend to be more sour and have tougher flesh. While they aren't always as tender as conventional grapes, they do travel well which makes it easy to stow some in your pack for later. 

Cattails

    This one might involve getting a little wet and muddy but it's definitely worth it if you are lucky enough to run across a patch of cattails in the springtime. Most people know this aquatic plant for its distinctive seed heads that look like corn dogs growing out of the water...or I guess like cat tails. You will definitely be disappointed if you bite into a seed head expecting a hot dog, however, there are other parts of the cattail plant that are actually quite delicious! In the spring and early summer you can pick cattail shoots and eat the tender inside part of the stalk. It has a similar taste and texture to cucumber. I always find fresh cattail shoots to be incredibly refreshing on hot days. Like cucumbers, you can eat the shoots plain or add them to salads. People also dig up cattail roots in the winter and make them into flour, although I haven't personally tried this method because it is so labor intensive. 

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