Identifying Edible and Poisonous Wild Plants
Our Hedgerow Guide aims to help you forage for British plants that are relatively common in the wild, easy to find and good to eat – and to avoid those that are inedible or poisonous.
Never rely on one source for plant identification, and never eat anything unless you are 100% sure it is edible. We will not be held responsible for the use of the information in this guide.
Hedgerows are a great place to find most of these plants, but do look around in woods and fields as many grow there too.
You can filter to see what’s in season currently. If you want to learn more about wild food and foraging then why not come one of our courses?
To identify a item from specific characteristics please use our search
| Photo | Sort by common name : Common Name | Sort by scientific name : Scientific Name | Type | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Yew Tree | Taxus baccata |
|
Season Start : Sep | Season End : Nov |
|
Yarrow | Achillea millefolium |
|
Season Start : Mar | Season End : Nov |
|
Woody Nightshade | Solanum dulcamara |
|
Season Start : May | Season End : Oct |
|
Wood Sorrel | Oxalis acetosella |
|
Season Start : Jan | Season End : Dec |
|
Wood Avens | Geum urbanum |
|
Season Start : Jan | Season End : Dec |
|
Wintercress | Barbarea vulgaris |
|
Season Start : Dec | Season End : Jun |
|
Winter Heliotrope | Petasites fragrans |
|
Season Start : Jan | Season End : Dec |
|
Winter Aconite | Eranthis hyemalis |
|
Season Start : Jan | Season End : Dec |
|
Wild Thyme | Thymus polytrichus |
|
Season Start : Jan | Season End : Dec |
|
Wild Strawberry | Fragaria vesca |
|
Season Start : May | Season End : Aug |
|
Wild Raspberry | Rubus idaeus |
|
Season Start : Jun | Season End : Sep |
|
Wild Mustard | Sinapis arvensis |
|
Season Start : Mar | Season End : Aug |
|
Wild Gooseberry | Ribes uva-crispa |
|
Season Start : Jun | Season End : Aug |
|
Wild Garlic | Allium ursinum |
|
Season Start : Feb | Season End : Jun |
|
Wild Chervil | Anthriscus sylvestris |
|
Season Start : Mar | Season End : Nov |
|
Wild Carrot | Daucus carota |
|
Season Start : Dec | Season End : Dec |
|
White Campion | Silene latifolia |
|
Season Start : May | Season End : Sep |
|
White Bryony | Bryonia dioica |
|
Season Start : Mar | Season End : Nov |
|
Watercress | Nasturtium officinale |
|
Season Start : Mar | Season End : Nov |
|
Water Pepper | Persicaria hydropiper |
|
Season Start : Jun | Season End : Oct |
|
Water Mint | Mentha aquatica |
|
Season Start : Apr | Season End : Oct |
|
Walnut | Juglans regia |
|
Season Start : Jun | Season End : Nov |
|
Violet | Viola odorata |
|
Season Start : Jan | Season End : Dec |
|
Vetch | Vicia spp. |
|
Season Start : Mar | Season End : Oct |
|
Trailing Bellflower | Campanula poscharskyana |
|
Season Start : May | Season End : Dec |
|
Three-Cornered Leek | Allium triquetrum |
|
Season Start : Jan | Season End : Jan |
|
Thornapple | Datura stramonium |
|
Season Start : Jun | Season End : Oct |
|
Sweet Cicely | Myrrhis odorata |
|
Season Start : Mar | Season End : Oct |
|
Sweet Chestnut | Castanea sativa |
|
Season Start : Sep | Season End : Nov |
|
Stinking Hellebore | Helleborus foetidus |
|
Season Start : Jan | Season End : Dec |
|
Stagshorn Plantain | Plantago coronopus |
|
Season Start : Mar | Season End : Oct |
|
Sow Thistle | Sonchus spp. |
|
Season Start : Jan | Season End : Dec |
|
Sour Fig | Carpobrutus sp |
|
Season Start : | Season End : |
|
Silver Birch | Betula pendula |
|
Season Start : Mar | Season End : Mar |
|
Shepherd's Purse | Capsella bursa-pastoris |
|
Season Start : Mar | Season End : Nov |
|
Sheep's Sorrel | Rumex acetosella |
|
Season Start : Mar | Season End : Oct |
|
Sea Radish | Raphanus maritimus |
|
Season Start : Jan | Season End : Dec |
|
Sea Beet | Beta vulgaris maritima |
|
Season Start : Jan | Season End : Dec |
|
Scurvy Grass | Cochlearia officinalis/danica |
|
Season Start : Mar | Season End : Aug |
|
Salsify | Tragopogon sp |
|
Season Start : May | Season End : Sep |
|
Rowan/Mountain Ash | Sorbus aucuparia |
|
Season Start : Apr | Season End : Oct |
|
Rough Chervil | Chaerophyllum temulum |
|
Season Start : | Season End : |
|
Rosebay Willowherb | Chamerion angustifolium |
|
Season Start : Apr | Season End : Oct |
|
Rock Samphire | Crithmum maritimum |
|
Season Start : May | Season End : Oct |
|
Ribwort Plantain | Plantago lanceolata |
|
Season Start : Mar | Season End : Nov |
|
Redcurrant | Ribes rubrum |
|
Season Start : Jun | Season End : Sep |
|
Ragwort | Jacobaea vulgaris |
|
Season Start : Jan | Season End : Dec |
|
Primrose | Primula vulgaris |
|
Season Start : Mar | Season End : Jun |
|
Prickly Wild Lettuce | Lactuca serriola |
|
Season Start : Apr | Season End : Sep |
|
Pink-Sorrel | Oxalis articulata |
|
Season Start : Jan | Season End : Dec |
|
Pink Purslane | Claytonia sibirica |
|
Season Start : Jan | Season End : Dec |
|
Pineapple Weed | Matricaria discoidea |
|
Season Start : May | Season End : Oct |
|
Pimpernel | Lysimachia sp |
|
Season Start : | Season End : |
|
Pignut | Conopodium majus |
|
Season Start : Mar | Season End : Jun |
|
Pheasant Berry | Leycesteria formosa |
|
Season Start : Jul | Season End : Oct |
|
Pennywort | Umbilicus rupestris |
|
Season Start : Mar | Season End : Oct |
|
Oregon Grape | Mahonia aquifolium |
|
Season Start : Jan | Season End : Dec |
|
Nettle | Urtica dioica |
|
Season Start : Jan | Season End : Dec |
|
Mugwort | Artemisia vulgaris |
|
Season Start : Apr | Season End : Oct |
|
Mouse-Eared Chickweed | Cerastium sp |
|
Season Start : Mar | Season End : Nov |
|
Monkshood | Aconitum napellus |
|
Season Start : Mar | Season End : Oct |
|
Miner's lettuce | Claytonia perfoliata |
|
Season Start : Feb | Season End : May |
|
Meadowsweet | Filipendula ulmaria |
|
Season Start : Mar | Season End : Oct |
|
Meadow Bindweed | Convolvulus arvensis |
|
Season Start : Jan | Season End : Dec |
|
Mallow | Malva sylvestris |
|
Season Start : Mar | Season End : Oct |
|
Lords and Ladies | Arum maculatum |
|
Season Start : Mar | Season End : Nov |
|
Lime Tree | Tilia sp |
|
Season Start : Mar | Season End : Aug |
|
Lily of the Valley | Convallaria majalis |
|
Season Start : Apr | Season End : Jul |
|
Lesser Swine Cress | Coronopus didymus |
|
Season Start : Mar | Season End : Oct |
|
Lesser Celandine | Ranunculus ficaria |
|
Season Start : Mar | Season End : Jun |
|
Lamb's lettuce | Valerianella locusta |
|
Season Start : Jan | Season End : Jan |
|
Lady's Smock | Cardamine pratensis |
|
Season Start : Jan | Season End : Dec |
|
Laburnum | Laburnum sp. |
|
Season Start : Jan | Season End : Dec |
|
Honesty | Lunaria annua |
|
Season Start : Mar | Season End : Oct |
|
Hogweed | Heracleum sphondylium |
|
Season Start : Mar | Season End : Nov |
|
Himalayan Balsam | Impatiens glandulifera |
|
Season Start : Mar | Season End : Nov |
|
Henbane | Hyoscyamus niger |
|
Season Start : May | Season End : Sep |
|
Hemlock Water Dropwort | Oenanthe crocata |
|
Season Start : Feb | Season End : Jul |
|
Hemlock | Conium maculatum |
|
Season Start : Mar | Season End : Sep |
|
Hedge Garlic | Alliaria petiolata |
|
Season Start : Jan | Season End : Dec |
|
Hedge Bedstraw | Galium mollugo |
|
Season Start : Feb | Season End : Oct |
|
Hazel | Corylus spp. |
|
Season Start : Jan | Season End : Dec |
|
Hawthorn | Crataegus monogyna/laevigata |
|
Season Start : Mar | Season End : Nov |
|
Harebells | Campanula rotundifolia |
|
Season Start : Jul | Season End : Oct |
|
Hairy Bittercress | Cardamine hirsuta |
|
Season Start : Jan | Season End : Dec |
|
Ground Elder | Aegopodium podagraria |
|
Season Start : Mar | Season End : Oct |
|
Green Alkanet | Pentaglottis sempervirens |
|
Season Start : | Season End : |
|
Greater Stitchwort | Stellaria holostea |
|
Season Start : Mar | Season End : Jun |
|
Greater Plantain | Plantago major |
|
Season Start : Jan | Season End : Dec |
|
Gorse | Ulex sp. |
|
Season Start : Jan | Season End : Dec |
|
Good King Henry | Blitum bonus-henricus |
|
Season Start : Jan | Season End : |
|
Giant Hogweed | Heracleum mantegazzianum |
|
Season Start : Mar | Season End : Oct |
|
Foxglove | Digitalis sp |
|
Season Start : Mar | Season End : Sep |
|
Forsythia | Forsythia x intermedia |
|
Season Start : Feb | Season End : Apr |
|
Fool's Watercress | Helosciadium nodiflorum |
|
Season Start : Mar | Season End : Dec |
|
Fool's Parsley | Aethusa cynapium |
|
Season Start : Mar | Season End : Sep |
|
Few-Flowered Garlic | Allium paradoxum |
|
Season Start : Mar | Season End : Jul |
|
Fat Hen | Chenopodium album |
|
Season Start : Apr | Season End : Oct |
|
Elder Tree | Sambucus nigra |
|
Season Start : May | Season End : Oct |
|
Douglas Fir | Pseudotsuga menziesii |
|
Season Start : Jan | Season End : Dec |
|
Dog's Mercury | Mercurialis perennis |
|
Season Start : Mar | Season End : Nov |
|
Dewberry | Rubus caesius |
|
Season Start : | Season End : |
|
Deadly Nightshade | Atropa belladonna |
|
Season Start : May | Season End : Oct |
|
Dead Nettles | Lamium sp |
|
Season Start : Jan | Season End : Dec |
|
Dandelion | Taraxacum officinale |
|
Season Start : Jan | Season End : Dec |
|
Damson | Prunus domestica subsp insititia |
|
Season Start : Sep | Season End : Oct |
|
Daisy | Bellis perennis |
|
Season Start : Jan | Season End : Dec |
|
Crown Vetch | Securigera varia |
|
Season Start : May | Season End : Jul |
|
Crowberry | Empetrum nigrum |
|
Season Start : Jun | Season End : Apr |
|
Crow Garlic | Allium vineale |
|
Season Start : Nov | Season End : Aug |
|
Crab Apple | Malus sylvestris |
|
Season Start : Aug | Season End : Nov |
|
Cowslip | Primula veris |
|
Season Start : May | Season End : Sep |
|
Common Sorrel | Rumex acetosa |
|
Season Start : Jan | Season End : Dec |
|
Common Chickweed | Stellaria media |
|
Season Start : Jan | Season End : Dec |
|
Comfrey | Symphytum officinale |
|
Season Start : May | Season End : Oct |
|
Columbine | Aquilegia |
|
Season Start : Apr | Season End : Jul |
|
Clovers | Trifolium sp |
|
Season Start : Jan | Season End : Dec |
|
Cleavers | Galium aparine |
|
Season Start : Jan | Season End : Dec |
|
Cherry | Prunus Family |
|
Season Start : May | Season End : Jun |
|
Buttercups | Ranunculus sp |
|
Season Start : Jan | Season End : Dec |
|
Burdock | Arctium minus, Arctium lappa |
|
Season Start : Sep | Season End : Dec |
|
Bramble | Rubus fruticosus |
|
Season Start : Mar | Season End : Oct |
|
Borage | Borago officinalis |
|
Season Start : Mar | Season End : Sep |
|
Blackthorn (Sloe) | Prunus spinosa |
|
Season Start : Sep | Season End : Nov |
|
Black Nightshade | Solanum nigrum |
|
Season Start : Jul | Season End : Sep |
|
Bistort | Bistorta officinalis |
|
Season Start : | Season End : |
|
Bilberry | Vaccinium myrtillus |
|
Season Start : Jul | Season End : Sep |
|
Beech Tree | Fagus sylvatica |
|
Season Start : Apr | Season End : Nov |
|
Barberry | Berberis thunbergii atropurpurea |
|
Season Start : Sep | Season End : Nov |
|
Asparagus | Asparagus officinalis, Asparagus prostratus |
|
Season Start : Mar | Season End : May |
|
Alexanders | Smyrnium olusatrum |
|
Season Start : Jan | Season End : Sep |