Wild Foods in March

I’m not experienced in winter foraging, so for me, very few wild foods are greening or available for foraging before March.

But March herself is a green, delicious explosion of wild foods!

Here’s a list of what I’ve gathered and enjoyed during the month of March here in Western NC, along with some links to more posts about those wild foods.

March wild foods, in general order of their appearance:

 

Smooth rock cress (Boechera laevigata) — leaves and flowers raw or cooked

1. Smooth Rock Cress, Solomon’s Seal, Lamb’s Ear and Vetch Greens

Chickweed (Stellaria media) — leaves, stems, blooms raw or cooked

1. Harvesting Common Chickweed Greens and Flowers
2. March Wild Salad
3. Tom Yum Soup with Chickweed and Waterleaf

Hairy Bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta) — leaves, stems, blooms raw or cooked

1. Harvesting Hairy Bittercress Greens and Flowers
2. First Wild Salad of the Year

Roundleaf dock (Rumex obtusifolius) — young leaves, seeds for flour

1. Rainy Day Foraged Salad
2. Staghorn Sumac, Lamb’s Quarters, Purslane, and More

Cutleaf toothwort (Cardamine concatenata) — flowers, leaves and root raw or cooked

1. Yellow Rocket and Waterleaf Greens are Here
2. News of Spring

Ramps (Allium tricoccum) — entire plant raw or cooked

1. Wild Ramps and Spring Head Daffodils
2. Pickled Wild Ramps

Dandelion — entire plant raw or cooked, roots dried and roasted for tea

1. Dandelion, Ramp, Deadnettle, & Violet Salad
2. Dark-Roasted Dandelion Root Coffee
3. Hosta & Dandelion Smoothies

Spring beauties (Claytonia virginica) — flower, stems, root, raw or cooked

1. March Wild Salad
2. First Wild Salad of the Year
3. Spring Beauty Smoothies

Bishop’s weed (Aegopodium podagraria) — young leaves raw or cooked

1. 8 July Greens (and 2 Flowers)
2. March Wild Salad

Purple Deadnettle (Lamium purpureum) — leaves, stems, blooms raw or cooked

1. Dandelion, Ramp, Deadnettle, & Violet Salad
2. March Wild Salad

Virginia waterleaf (Hydrophyllum virginianum) — leaves, stems, blooms raw or cooked

1. Yellow Rocket and Waterleaf Greens are Here
2. Tom Yum Soup with Chickweed and Waterleaf
3. Foraging Beech Leaves, Cleavers, and Virginia Waterleaf Greens

Violets (Viola) — leaves, stems, flowers raw or cooked

1. Wild Violet Tea
2. Nine Wild Greens for Dinner

Lamb’s ear (Stachys byzantina) — leaves raw, cooked, or steeped for tea

1. Smooth Rock Cress, Solomon’s Seal, Lamb’s Ear and Vetch Greens

Daylily (Hemerocallis fulva) — young (<10 inch) shoots; flowers in summer raw or cooked

1. Daylily Shoots, Yellow Rocket, and Chickweed Salad
2. Common Vetch and Daylily Salad with Red Clover

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Please remember: Always be 100% certain of your identifications before harvesting or eating any wild food. Harvest sustainably, so that the plants can keep growing. And don’t forget to tell the earth and all her gifts “thank you.”