If hearing Minnesota State University biology graduate student Fen Sego describe plants as “he” or “she” rather than ‘it” wasn’t a sign of appreciation for local edible flora, a tattoo of stinging nettles on their arm would be a dead giveaway.
As the spring weather sets in, so too comes the bountiful wild foods that come with it as well as those eager to eat them. From ramps to morels, the biodiversity of the Minnesota River Valley is as kaleidoscopic as it is delicious to the foragers willing to get their hands dirty searching for it. Sego, who is studying maple tree carbohydrate storage and how that affects sap sweetness, is among them.
“The earth has so many gifts for us,” Sego said.
Foraging, perhaps humanity’s most ancient source of food, has experienced a recent heyday since COVID-19 pushed folks outside. For Megan Bull Bear, owner of Mankato’s Lakota Made, this pivot is cause for celebration.
“I get excited because it’s people reconnecting with how we all existed. It doesn’t matter what country you come from, what cultural background you come from,” Bull Bear said while preparing a balm made from bison tallow. “We all existed with foraging as our first foods and our first medicines.”
But for the novice forager, turning to the wilderness in lieu of the produce section at the grocery store can be overwhelming given the potential downsides. Eating wild foods that one can’t positively identify can be dangerous, or even deadly, so confidence grounded in multiple sources is critical when consuming wild foods, experts say. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, for one, urges caution, particularly when harvesting foods new to foragers.
“If you are identifying a berry, remember to look at the leaves, stems, fruit and overall structure of the plant. If you are identifying a mushroom, look at the top, bottom, stem and how the two connect. Check the surrounding area and if it is a tree mushroom what type of tree is it growing on. All of these things can be clues to identifying the mushroom,” the agency’s webpage on the subject states.
“Also look for other mushrooms that may look similar in your field guide to be certain that it couldn’t be anything else. If you are not 100% sure, don’t eat it and don’t feed it to anyone else. The first time you eat any wild edible eat only a small amount to see how it will affect you. Remember that some plants, like the ground cherry, are edible only at a certain stage of growth or with special preparation. If you eat them at the wrong time, they are toxic. Be safe and enjoy your wild harvest.”
Bull Bear also recommends spending the first year foraging simply learning about plants before eating them.
But beyond the scary elements of eating wild food, Bull Bear and others swear by it, not only for its health benefits but also the more intangible sense of belonging that foraging can bring.
Kara Swenson, the owner of Thistle Patch Wellness, will be leading an edible plant walk May 14 in Mankato. (Those interested in attending can register online at tinyurl.com/mwmzpkc3.) She said learning about one’s natural surroundings is its own reward. Tasty treats are a bonus.
“Learning how to identify and work with the wild growing plants offers us deeper connection with the land and nature and creates empowerment in health,” Swenson said. “Plus, it turns ‘all the green’ or ‘just another flower’ into plants and flowers with a name, making our time in nature that much more interesting and exciting.”
Within about five minutes of beginning a walk through Seven Mile Creek in late-April, Sego pointed out several plant species that are used as food and medicine. Among them were motherwort, red raspberry, wood sorrel, plantain, mullein, trout lilies and, of course, stinging nettles.
“A lot of people have this huge notion that it’s so bad to eat anything you find outside like you can’t eat foods in the wild, but that’s where all food comes from,” Sego said.
But before you go out ready to pluck the first edible plants you see, Sego urges you to understand the health and native status of individual edible species. The ramp, a delectable leafy, onion-like plant known for its flavor and long duration it takes to regrow, is one species that has come into foraging focus. A recent surge in the popularity of the ramp has led to the threat of its overharvesting, Sego said. That’s why Sego tends to more liberally harvest non-native plants and implements sustainable techniques, such as leaving much of the harvested plants intact.
Bull Bear urges folks to take only what they need and maximize that which is taken.
“A single plant can be used for tea and then food. There’s many people that rely on this tiny ecosystem that exists right here,” Bull Bear said of the area surrounding Mankato.
Beyond sustainability, foragers might also pump the brakes on harvesting if they wish to stay out of trouble.
At Seven Mile Creek, visitors are instructed to stay on marked trails and not remove natural resources from the park, said Nicollet County Assistant Public Works Director Mike Suska.
In state parks, state recreation areas, state waysides and state forest recreation areas, foragers may harvest edible fruits, nuts and mushrooms for personal consumption — about as much as a family could eat in a week. The same is true for Blue Earth County parks, said Parks Supervisor Josh Downey. There is no permit process for harvesting plants from the county parks, but foragers can apply for a permit through the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to harvest certain plants and large quantities of berries from state land.
Rules at the state level may change soon with the introduction of a bill to the House Environment and Natural Resources Committee that would require the DNR to establish a body that puts forth a task force with duties that include gathering and reviewing data and existing regulations and developing recommendations, educational materials and a permitting model for foragers.
Hunting edible plants on private land avoids the public land restrictions, but many foragers may lack access to expansive acreage where many edible plants grow. The good news is that many edible plants grow in most lawns in the area. The oft-maligned dandelion for one, Sego said, is not only tasty as a coffee substitute, it is also traditionally used for liver support.
“It’s always popping up in our faces, and we’re just ignoring it,” Sego said.
