It’s easy to fall in love with store-bought herbs. They’re so easy, and often they are good quality. However, it is important not to forget the many healing herbs that grow wild in our very own backyards. These plants are there for us to appreciate and call on in times of need.

In Fall, we typically harvest:
- Roots - Dandelion, burdock, yellow dock, aralia, blackberry, echinacea...
- Barks - Black birch, wild cherry, witch hazel...
- Fruits - Elderberries, autumn olives, grapes, rosehips, hawthorn, cranberries...

• Please see "Wildcrafting Tips," below, before going out to harvest these plants. •

Also click here to download the class notes for Autumn Roots & Barks.

Here are just a few of the amazing plants on display in your neighborhood right now…

 

Black Elder - ripe                              Black Elder - not ripe yet

Black Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis, syn. Sambucus niger) deep purple/blue/black berries ripen in late summer and early fall to give us one of our most wonderful immune remedies. They grow along the edges - often between and wooded areas - in moist places like river and lakesides, swamps, drainage ditches along the road, etc. The bloom in summer with an umble-like cluster of small white flowers. (See some more ID tips under “Cautions.”)  Harvesting & Prep: This time of year they are ready to harvest when the fruits make the stems flop over, stems a reddish color, fruit very dark. You may have to beat the birds to get them. You can just harvest the whole cluster and then separate the berries from the small stems once you get home. It is best to cool or dry your elderberries - cyanide-like compounds in the plant can be toxic. Though may people eat fresh berries with no ill effects, I err on the side of caution. Cooking or drying the berries eliminates this problem. Elderberries are most often used to make syrup. Pull berries off the stems, rinse them, and then cook them with a little water until they get really liquid-y and dark. Strain it through a mill or jelly bag to remove the skin and seeds, add enough sugar or honey to make a syrup, plus whatever other herbs you’d like to add (ginger, cloves, etc.). Store in the fridge and use all season. You can also tincture the cooked berries, dry them for tea, make jam or cordials, etc. Use: Elderberries are right in bioflavanoids - as most edible, dark berries are - but it really shines as an immune protector. Compounds in elderberry prevent viruses from getting into your cells and replicating, so the herb is useful for both preventing and treating early cases of the flu and cold. Lab studies confirm its action even on the H1N1 “swine flu” virus. Cautions: Elderberry is generally safe if you cook or dry it. (Personally, I don’t recommend consuming the fresh berries.) However, the leaves of the plants are toxic internally. Also, be sure not to use Red Elderberry. It’s easily distinguished from Black Elderberry because Red Elder has (surprise) red berries and which are formed more like a raceme/spike. There are a LOT of things with opposite leaves that have dark blue/black berries in our area; however, black elder is one of the few that has leaflets that are divided in 5-7 lance-or egg-shaped, toothed leaves. (Viburnum and Cornus species have entire leaves, undivided.) Aralia hispida bears some resemblance to Sambucus; however, the flower structure is different (round, akin to garlic blossoms) and the berries are bigger, different-looking. During the flowering season, Sambucus can bear resemblance to Parsley-family plants (some of which are deadly), but they are easily distinguished in fall because elders put out berries while parsley family plants have seeds.

Echinacea (Echinacea spp) is not a wild plant in our parts, but we often grow it in our gardens. Echinacea angustifolia is the primary medicinal echinacea, and the roots are probably our strongest form of the herb. However, the easily cultivated Echinacea purpurea (common coneflower) can be substituted even if it is a tad weaker. The roots are generally accepted to be the strongest part of echinacea; however, the leaves, flowers, buds, and seeds also hold some activity, and they are certainly more abundant and easier to harvest. Harvesting & Prep: Harvest the roots of 4-year-old echinacea in the fall when the plant begins to die back. Scrub the roots clean under cold water with a potato scrubber. Chop up the roots. You can dry them for tea or use them fresh for medicinal extracts. Most herbalists feel the fresh root is stronger than dried. Fill a jar with the freshly chopped roots and then cover them with whole grain alcohol or vodka up to the tippity top. (Vinegar can be substituted for an alcohol-free remedy.) Let it sit a month or longer, strain, voila! A tincture. If you’re using leaves, buds, and flowers, harvest those in summer when they “look happy” and tincture or dry them just the same way. Use: I recommend relatively high doses of echinacea at the onset of a cold or flu - about 1 teaspoon every hour or two until the symptoms subside. It seems to help boost immune system activity including white blood cell count. It also helps “mop up” some of the inflammation and “battle debris” associated with viral infections. This “cleanup’ activity may work to directly improve cold and flu symptoms.  Echincea can also be used to move the lymph and as an “alterative” in liver/detox formulas. Smaller doses are fine for that. Echinacea can be applied topically - the tincture works well - for all sorts of unpleasant bites from snakes to spiders to bugs for emergency medicine (alternative with plantain, perhaps). Cautions: Generally pretty safe. Some people still don’t “agree” with echinacea and may have an allergic reaction. Use caution in autoimmune diseases; it can aggravate them.

Autumn Olive (Elaeagnus umbellata) trees dot many open spaces, landscapes, roadsides, and the like throughout NH. This INVASIVE small tree was encouraged a couple decades ago because it’s pretty, fixes nitrogen, grows quickly, and produced edible berries much loved by herbs. Unfortunately, it really took off and is now quite problematic and invasive. I would not recommend planting the tree, but you can find a stand of it pretty easily in the wild or a friend’s yard. ID: In May it produces small, off-white, deliciously scented flowers that resemble the scent of honeysuckle. In autumn, it has red, gold-speckled fruits with a tart, puckery flavor. The leaves are silvery, and the tree has thorny spikes reminiscent of hawthorns. (The above photo doesn’t look as silvery as it is, but you can see another photo on the below link.) Some trees produce better tasting fruit than others, although none of them are extremely sweet. They more closely resemble the flavor of pomegranate or raspberries. Use: You can eat these berries - and, if you like, the seeds - fresh, or you can use them in recipes, to make cordials, etc. They appear to have no toxicity (this is still a “new” food to us in the Western part of the world) and are extremely high in antioxidants, including the red pigment lycopene. Lycopene is particularly famous for its ability to protect the prostate from cancer. I suspect that autumn olives are a neglected “superfruit” in our own backyards, unfortunately overshadowed by exotics like acai, gogi and mang0steen. Really, most edible berries are “superfruits” such as blueberries, concord grapes, hawthorn, and blackberries. Cautions: None known, but it is still “new” to us, so there’s not a lot of information or research out there. Always be 100% sure of your identification before consuming a plant. (Not all berries are edible, some are toxic.) But, autumn olives are quite distinctive and abundant once you get the eye for them. Click here for an interesting article (with photo) of it.

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) roots are just about right for the digging this time of year. Autumn is our prime root- and bark-harvesting season, as the plants’ energies move from flowers and leaves into the parts that will survive the winter. Many of our roots and barks are harvested when the leaves begin to yellow and fade. Dandelion roots are best dug after they’ve been hit by a few good frosts - once you see the leaves start to get real grumpy and die back. Dandelion’s a bit sturdier than most plants, so if you can wait for a hard frost or so, you’ll be better off. Inulin levels, a starch in dandy roots that give them part of their medicinal value, rise dramatically with some freezing. (That’s why in the Southwest, we had to go to 10,000 feet to find dandelions that freeze in the winter. No need to search that far for seasonally frozen dandy roots here, though.) ID: Everyone recognizes dandelion, but it’s worth noting that not all weeds with the composite fluffy yellow flowers are dandelion. Dandelion only has one flower on a stem, and no branching leaves. The stem is hollow and has a milky latex when cut. The leaves are serrated like the teeth of the lion (dent de lion). If your plant doesn’t fit this bill, it’s not a dandelion. Harvesting & Prep: You’ll probably want to use a garden fork to dig the roots since they tend to be long and love compacted soil. Once harvested, scrub them clean in cold water with a potato scrubber. Chop them up and cover them with alcohol (to make a medicinal tincture), vinegar (to make a nutritive tonic vinegar), or dry them (to make a tea). You could roast your dandelion roots for an earthier tea. Use: Dandelion root is rich in potassium and other minerals. It’s bitter in flavor and action, which means it helps stimulate digestion all the way down the line from saliva to stomach acid to enzymes to bile to elimination. The bitter properties also make it great for liver detoxification; it encourages the liver to detoxify more effectively, producing and eliminating more bile. Cautions: Generally pretty safe, but it does make you pee a lot, shouldn’t be used if you have a bowel or gallbladder obstruction, and should be used with caution in pregnancy.

Burdock root (Arctium lappa. A. minor)

Burdock root can be used somewhat similarly to dandelion, tastes somewhat similar, and thus is often used in formula with it. Burdock tastes less bitter, more sweet, and slightly woodsy. ID: Burdock has broad leaves that resemble rhubarb. In the summer, they put up tall flower stalks with thistle-like purple flowers. Flower turn to velcro-like, round, brown burrs. Harvesting & Prep: In spring, you can harvest the second-year plants that are popping up with big rhubarb-like leaves but have not yet put up the flower stalk. Dig and clean like dandelion (above). Be warned, it’s a bugger to dig. Use: It is delicious sliced thinly or into matchsticks and sautéed with sesame seeds, soy sauce, and a little honey. It also makes a pleasant earthy tea (just dry chopped root slices). You can buy the fresh root in natural food stores, or in Asian markets as “gobo.” Like dandelion root, burdock is diuretic and a mild liver and digestive stimulant. It is often used for skin conditions including chronic skin eruptions, acne, psoriasis, eczema, boils, and sties. Many herbalists and systems of traditional medicine consider the liver and the skin to be closely linked; work on the liver, and skin conditions are expected to first break out and then clear up. Burdock root is also used to regulate lymphatic fluid (the “back alley” garbage system for sorting toxins, immune system trash, and fat) and improve excretion of toxins. Cautions: Not recommended during pregnancy. To be safe, it should not be used in gallbladder disease or bile duct obstruction unless under the guidance of a practitioner.

Chicory Root (Cichorium intybus)

This common, morning-flowering weed has similar properties as dandelion and burdock, but it is not as strongly medicinal. ID: Leaves are dandelion-like at the base but smaller as they grow up the flower stalk. The flowers are light corn-flower blue and surprisingly showy for a scraggly weed. They bloom in the morning and usually close up by noon. Chicory loves crappy soil along the median strips of roads and highways (don’t pick there!) as well as in fields. Harvesting & Prep: See burdock and dandelion, above. Use: The roasted root has a coffee-like flavor that has earned it a primary place in coffee substitute ingredient lists. It can be used as a digestive bitter, mild liver stimulant, and mild sodium-leaching diuretic. Young tender leaves can be eaten—they are also bitter and resemble dandelion greens in flavor and use. The gourmet green endive is really just chicory that has been chopped to the ground, then regrown in the dark. Radicchio is a close, cultivated relative.

Sheep Sorrel (Rumex acetosella) & Wood Sorrel (Oxalis corniculata, O. stricta)
This wild relative of garden sorrel (R. acetosa), as well as the yellow-flowered, clover leaf-like wood sorrel (Oxalis corniculata, O. stricta) are great eats! They’re deliciously sour eaten fresh from the field and rich in vitamin C and other vitamins and minerals. I typically enjoy them in salads, but feel free to use them in soups, sautés, spinach pies, etc. Like rhubarb and spinach, sorrel is high in oxalic acid, which is hard on the kidneys and unfortunately reduces your absorption of the calcium in the greens. If you have kidney stones or other kidney issues, you may want to avoid sorrels. However, most of us can enjoy them as a nutritive and tasty wild food as long as we don’t go nuts (ie: juicing them every day).

Wildcrafting Tips
Click here to download Wildcrafting 101.
Safety & Identification
• Always make sure you have correctly identified the plant you are harvesting. Cross reference ID books (see recommendations, below), information from herb walks, etc. You’ll have the best luck identifying a plant with ID/field guides, and then learning how to use it from herbals or foraging books. Don’t try to get *all* your information from just one book. It *will* be lacking.

• I like to watch a plant for at least one full year to make sure I am comfortable with its identification. Look at leaves, flowers, seedpods, fruits, growing patterns. If something you see doesn’t quite match with the identification patterns put forth in a book, don’t pick it. Wait and keep researching.


• Most plants are easiest to identify when they are in flower, even if this isn’t the primary harvesting time. Keep an eye out for flowers to find the plant, get to know it (this may take a year or so – no rush), and then go back when it is time to harvest.

• Try to ensure that you are picking from a clean area. Keep away from roads and nearby highways. Make sure the land does not get sprayed with chemicals. If picking by waterways, ensure that the water is clean. Many plants are known to concentrate chemicals in the ground or water.

• Don't be afraid to "borrow" someone's land (with permission). Most of my wildcrafting is done on the land of organic or semi-organic farms. If you know a family that has lived on the same untouched land for 50 years, then ask them if you can walk around to identify and pick weeds or pay/trade for cultivated plants.

• Avoid sickly plants that seem to have diseases or bug infestations. If it doesn't look "happy," don't harvest it.


Plant Ethics
• Never harvest a plant unless it is abundant in that area.

• Never harvest more than 1-10% of the plants.

• Be a good land steward. Return to a stand frequently, at the very least annually, to ensure that your harvesting is not harming the plant population.

• When possible, harvest in a manner that promotes the growth of a plant. For instance, pinching off mint-like plants, carefully pruning small branches of trees for bark. Make sure to leave some flowers to go to seed, fruits for wildlife, etc.

• Consider an act of gratitude and repayment for your harvest: help the plant sew more seeds, pick up trash, neaten the trails. On a grander scale, work to conserve land in  your community and the world.

• Leave the land looking untouched. If you dig a root, mulch the above ground parts and fill in the hole. No matter what you pick, it should be unnoticeable (or barely noticeable) that you were there.

• Harvest only what you need.

• Harvest small or sensitive plants sparingly, or not at all. (Ex: lobelia, bugleweed, partridgeberry, goldthread) Be particularly cautious with wild, native, perennial roots. (Ex: Trillium, goldenseal, ginseng.)

• Opt to harvest weedy and invasive plants rather than native and sensitive ones. You can generally harvest as much dandelion, burdock, autumn olive, plantain, Japanese knotweed, etc. as you like!

• Refer to lists made by United Plant Savers and other groups to ensure that you are not picking a plant that is at risk of being endangered. www.unitedplantsavers.org

• Step lightly when going off-trail to harvest plants.


PEOPLE ETHICS
• Get permission to pick plants in an area that you do not own.

• If you are harvesting from someone’s land, offer to give them something in return.

• Never pick in protected lands.

• Don’t pick near trails.


Recommended Reading
• Botany in a Day, Thomas Epel – A good start to medicinal plant botany. Learn by plant families. Great illustrations, easy to understand.

• Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide – THE best ID guide for our area. The keys make it easy to find plants quickly, and the illustrations are excellent. However, always cross-reference with at least a couple ID guides. There are many & all have advantages/disadvantages.

• Trees and Shrubs of New England; Spring Wildflowers of New England; Summer & Fall Wildflowers of New England, all by Marilyn J. Dwelley – Dwelley’s books are specific to our region and have interesting information about the plants that most guides don’t share. Unfortunately some illustrations are poor. Generally organized by flower color, and within flower color by plant family.

• Peterson Field Guide: Wildflowers, Peterson & McKenny – Organized by flower color & relatively expansive. A good second book when Newcomb’s fails to ID your plant.

• Another great thing you can do to confirm ID of a plant is to do a Google Image search. Go to www.google.com, and click on “Images.” Then search for common or Latin names & compare the photos to your plant. Not everything on the web is accurate, but it’s a great link to millions of plant photos.

To get to know the plants in your area, walk the same spots at least once a week and see how the plants and landscape change.  Try to ID every flowering plant you see.

• Go to botanical gardens now and then to see a variety of plants already identified for you. Locally, we have Garden in the Woods (wildflowers) in Framingham, MA, and the Arnold Arboretum (trees) in Jamaica Plain/Boston, MA.

• Attend a plant walk. Many herbalists host herb walks and events on their properties. Several of our local Audubon centers offer plant walks lead by herbalists.

Photograph: Cornus canadensis