0

    Mountain States Foraging: 115 Wild and Flavorful Edibles from Alpine Sorrel to Wild Hops

    by Briana Wiles


    Paperback

    $24.99
    $24.99

    Temporarily Out of Stock Online

    Customer Reviews

    Briana Wiles is a herbalist and wild plants expert. She teaches classes on foraging and medicinal plants. Wiles also runs Rooted Apothecary, which offers bulk herbs, herbal remedies, and her own line of body-care products made with foraged botanicals. Visit her online at rooted-apothecary.com.

    Read an Excerpt

    Preface
    How can I forget my Italian grandfather’s love for food? He had a garden plot with a variety of grapes, figs, plums, eggplants, tomatoes, and peppers, all staples of his old country. I fondly remember feral pears and apples scattered on Grandpa’s dashboard. I can taste Grandma’s giardiniera and see the giant jars of pickles from the harvests lined up in the basement. I come from a family who loved to celebrate food, and those roots give me passion for everything I do. Whether it’s the garden I plant and feed my family from or the shrubs that I forage, I am connected to my family’s traditions wholeheartedly.

    Foraging for food has a feast of fans already. A movement is happening to rewild, regain, and revolutionize our tarnished food system. We want to eat local produce and to know where our food comes from. This can mean getting to know local farmers, food producers, and ranchers. We can also empower ourselves by being gatherers and heading into the woods, not just for the free food but also for respite. Foraging is about returning to the land with humbled hands. Let’s learn to take the time to sustainably prune the plants of the forest, spread seeds of the fields, and ensure the success of native plants by tending nature’s garden.

    There is something to be said for spending time in nature, with keen eyes, a slow pace, and a soft impact. It betters us as humans to connect our feet and fingers with the matters of the earth in a way that brings us nutrients. Just a pinch of wild in each dish is a success to celebrate, a way to start incorporating the freedom of foraging.

    It is a true blessing to live in a rural town in central Colorado. Here, I am surrounded by different climates within an arm’s reach: moist mountains, arid sagebrush, and riparian havens. The sands of Utah and the metropolitan Front Range are only four hours away, providing me with yet another variety of plants not found near my home. I can’t help but always be prepared to make a few gathering stops on the way.

    I chose the plants for this book based on my personal taste preferences and my experience with each plant as food. My wish is to provide the reader with the skills to seek out and harvest a plant with a sustainable mindset and then to preserve your harvest and prepare these feral foods for feast.

    My hope is not that this book will sit on a shelf or table but rather that it will somehow land, open, in the hands of a bored child or an adult waiting anxiously for time to pass. When they leave that spot, I want them to greet the lamb’s quarters, dandelions, and salsify with an irresistible urge to pick a leaf and taste it. This is how foraging lures you in, takes hold of your whole being, and welcomes you to the wild side.

    Table of Contents

    Preface 8

    Introduction: Foraging High and Low 10

    Timing Your Forage: A Guide to Seasonal Harvests 22

    Wild Edible Plants of the Mountain West 35

    Alfalfa 36

    Alpine sorrel 39

    Amaranth 41

    Angelica 43

    Apple 46

    Asparagus 48

    Aspen 51

    Balsamroot 54

    Beebalm 56

    Bistort 59

    Black walnut 61

    Bluebells 64

    Blueberry 66

    Blue mustard 69

    Brandegee's onion 71

    Bullberry 74

    Burdock 77

    Cattail 80

    Chick weed 84

    Chicory 86

    Chokecherry 88

    Cleavers 91

    Cota 93

    Cottonwood 95

    Cow parsnip 98

    Crabapple 101

    Dandelion 104

    Dock 107

    Douglas fir 110

    Elderberry 112

    Filaree 115

    Fir 117

    Firewood 120

    Glacier lily 123

    Golden currant 125

    Goldenrod 127

    Gooseberry 129

    Ground cherry 132

    Hackborry 134

    Hawthorn 136

    Hyssop 139

    Juniper 142

    King's crown 145

    Lamb's quarters 147

    Lilac 150

    Linden 152

    Mallow 155

    Mariposa lily 158

    Miner's lettuce 160

    Mormon Tea 162

    Mounta'n ash 164

    Mountain candytuft 166

    Mountain gooseberry 168

    Mountain parsley 170

    Mulberry 172

    New Mexico locust 175

    Northern bedstraw 181

    Orache 183

    Oregon grape 185

    Ox-eye daisy 187

    Pennycress 190

    Pepperweed 192

    Pine 194

    Pineapple weed 197

    Piñon 199

    Plantain 202

    Prickly pear 204

    Purslane 207

    Raspberry 209

    Red clover 212

    Salsify 214

    Scrub oak 216

    Serviceberry 220

    Sheep sorrel 222

    Shepherd's purse 225

    Showy milkweed 227

    Skunkbush 230

    Smooth sumac 232

    Sow thistle 234

    Spring beauty 236

    Spruce 238

    Stinging nettle 241

    Stonecrop 244

    Strawberry blite 246

    Sunflower 248

    Sweet clover 250

    Sweet root 253

    Tansy mustard 256

    Thimbloberry 258

    Thistle 260

    Tumble mustard 263

    Twisted stalk 265

    Veronica 267

    Violet 269

    Watercress 272

    Wax currant 275

    Western blue flax 277

    White clover 279

    Whitetop 281

    Wild caraway 284

    Wild chives 287

    Wild grape 289

    Wild hops 292

    Wild lettuce 295

    Wild licorice 297

    Wild mint 299

    Wild plum 301

    Wild rose 303

    Wild strawberry 306

    Wintercress 308

    Wolfs currant 310

    Wood sorrel 312

    Yarrow 315

    Yucca 317

    Metric Conversions 321

    Useful Resources 322

    Acknowledgments 324

    Photography Credits 325

    Index 326

    Eligible for FREE SHIPPING details

    .

    Forage for wild edible plants in the mountain west!

    From alpine meadows to high deserts and lush forests, the mountain states are rich with wild edibles. Forager and herbalist Briana Wiles helps you find delicious plants for the picking—treats like spicy wild onion flowers, tender spring asparagus, and sweet late-summer blueberries. Back in the kitchen, infuse vinegars with spruce tips or make stinging nettle pesto with freshly foraged piñon nuts.

    Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

    Recently Viewed 

    From the Publisher
    Taste the West! Wiles introduces delicious wild edible plants and flavors you’ve probably never considered before.” —Thomas J. Elpel, author of Foraging the Mountain West and Botany in a Day

    “A stunning look at the natural abundance of the mountain states—with clear guidance on identification, gathering techniques, and uses for fruits, leaves, roots, and flowers.” —Jennifer McGruther, author of The Nourished Kitchen

    “The Timber Press foraging series offers another set of books with high quality photography. . . . also available as handy Kindles.” —American Herb Association Quarterly

    “A very easy-to-use guide with beautiful clear photos for identification.” —Fresh Air Fort Collins

    “If you’re new to foraging, you’ll find Wiles’ hundreds of clear color photos and tips on how to harvest sustainably, garble, winnow, and avoid poisonous plants very useful. Even if you’re a seasoned pro, her thoughts on what to make with your findings will surely inspire. . . . fantastic suggestions for how to consume and preserve edibles in unique ways.” —5280
    Sign In Create an Account
    Search Engine Error - Endeca File Not Found