Edible Wild Plants You Could Probably Find in Your Backyard Right Now

TikTok foraging queen Alexis Nikole Nelson tells us what to be on the lookout for this spring.
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Photograph by Rachel Joy Barehl

Technically, I’ve been foraging since I was five—after my mother’s inspired attempt to keep me from ruining her garden (a five-year-old with a trowel can be scary-disastrous). She pointed out a patch of onion grass, and my mind was blown to learn that I could eat it: There’s just food out here, by accident?

So began a lifelong obsession. I loved connecting to the outdoors by identifying species and getting to know them. Mix in the fact that I was broke coming out of college; sometimes whether or not I could find curly dock leaves in my neighborhood determined whether or not there was anything fresh in my meals.

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I started posting my foraging online to keep track of things. Now I’m not the only person looking at my account. What I want people to take away from my work is renewed curiosity in the world around them. We all have it as kids, asking adults, “What’s this?” We unlearn that as we get older. I hope foraging encourages people to look at the spaces around them with a new eye.

Notice the dandelions; appreciate the dandelions. Notice the burdock that you never noticed before. You can eat it! People take care of places better when those places hold resources they care about. It makes you take greater pride in the world around you, and maybe love it more.

To get your foraging journey started, here are some fruits and vegetables that can be found nationwide between mid-April and mid-May.

Illustrations from the Biodiversity Heritage Library; biodiversitylibrary.org

Garlic Mustard

You’ll find this in disturbed dirt and on the edges of woods, recognizable by its rounded, scallop-edged leaves and pungent garlic smell. Use it raw for a pesto that could roundhouse kick you in the face if it had legs (blanch it for something less aggressive). The greens are less bitter if you gather them before the plant flowers. But pull the entire plant for the sake of your local ecosystem; it crowds out native species. I preserve the horseradish-y roots in vinegar, and the seeds are delicious too. Make them into stone-ground mustard.


Illustrations from the Biodiversity Heritage Library; biodiversitylibrary.org

Burdock

You’ll see it anywhere the ground has been torn up. In mid-spring, before the plants start to show signs of flowers, lop off the two- to three-foot-high stalks. They’re easier to get than the roots (digging them up is a punishment I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy). Peel the bitter, fibrous skin, and the thick pith in the center is a crunchy dupe for artichokes—I use it to make a mean knockoff spinach-artichoke dip.


Illustrations from the Biodiversity Heritage Library; biodiversitylibrary.org

Dandelions

Find them in the yards of everyone who doesn’t want them—but be sure you’re gathering from spaces that haven’t been sprayed with pesticide. The whole plant is useful: the flowers for fritters or syrups; the springtime greens for salads or smoothies (they get more bitter in the summer); the roasted roots for a coffee replacement; and the stem for a zero-waste straw that won’t dissolve in your drink. Eating weeds is a much more fun way to get rid of them.


Illustrations from the Biodiversity Heritage Library; biodiversitylibrary.org

Magnolia

Magnolia trees are popular landscaping features. The flowers are deliciously gingery but not as aggressive as raw ginger. I love quick-pickling the petals or the whole flowers and pairing them with sushi. You could dehydrate them after quick-pickling for a bright floral punch you can sprinkle on any dish. I’ve even put them in cookies: Freeze the unopened flower buds and grate them as you would ginger into a gingersnap. Magnoliasnaps!


Illustrations from the Biodiversity Heritage Library; biodiversitylibrary.org

Serviceberries

Also known as Juneberries, sarvisberries, and Amelanchier, these taste like blueberries, apples, and almonds had a baby. The trees have smooth gray bark and rounded green leaves, and bloom early in the season when nothing else has yet. The berries vary from fire engine red to almost black, with matching crowns; always look for the crown. Use them anywhere you’d use blueberries—they have better flavor than what you’ll find at the store in the early spring. I look forward to them all year, then I hoard them in the freezer.