What to forage in October

Discover over forty wild food plants you can forage and harvest in October.

Availability should only be seen as a rough guide. Variations in climate and location will make a difference to what’s available.


Alexanders – Smyrnium olusatrum
Leaf: Raw, cooked.
Leaf stalk: Raw, cooked.

Black Mustard – Brassica nigra
Leaf: Raw, cooked.

Burdock – Arctium spp.
Root: Raw, cooked.

Cow Parsley – Anthriscus sylvestris
Leaf: Raw, cooked.

Crab Apple – Malus sylvestris
Fruit: Cooked.

Dandelion – Taraxacum officinale
Root: Raw, cooked.
Leaf: Raw, cooked.

Douglas Fir – Pseudotsuga menziesii
Leaf: Raw, cooked.

Garlic Mustard – Alliaria petiolata
Root: Raw, cooked.

Ground Elder – Aegopodium podagraria
Leaf: Raw, cooked.

Guelder Rose – Viburnum opulus
Fruit: Cooked.

Hairy Bittercress – Cardamine hirsuta
Leaf: Raw, cooked.

Hawthorn – Crataegus monogyna
Fruit: Raw, cooked.

Hedge Bedstraw – Galium mollugo
Leaf: Raw, cooked.

Hogweed – Heracleum sphondylium
Seed: Raw, cooked.

Horseradish – Armoracia rusticana
Root: Raw, cooked.

Lady’s Smock – Cardamine pratensis
Leaf: Raw, cooked.

Mallow – Malva spp.
Leaf: Cooked.

Navelwort – Umbilicus rupestris
Leaf: Raw, cooked.

Oak – Quercus spp.
Acorns: Cooked.

Pineapple Weed – Matricaria discoidea
Flowers: Raw, cooked.
Leaves: Raw, cooked.

Rock Samphire – Crithmum maritimum
Leaf: Raw, cooked.Seed: Raw, cooked.

Rosehip – Rosa canina
Fruit: Raw, cooked.

Rowan – Sorbus spp.
Fruit: Cooked.

Saxifrage – Chrysosplenium oppositifolium
Leaf: Cooked.

Sea Aster – Tripolium pannonicum
Leaf: Raw, cooked.

Sea Campion – Silene uniflora
Leaf: Raw, cooked.

Sea Beet – Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima
Leaf: Raw, cooked.

Sea Buckthorn – Hippophae rhamnoides
Fruit: Cooked.

Sea Purslane – Atriplex portulacoides
Leaf: Raw, cooked.

Sea Radish – Raphanus maritimus
Leaf: Raw, cooked
Leaf stalk: Raw, cooked (spicier than the leaf)

Silverweed – Potentilla anserina
Root: Cooked.

Sloe or Blackthorn – Prunus spinosa
Fruit: Raw, cooked.

Sorrel – Rumex acetosa
Leaf: Raw, cooked.

Sowthistle – Sonchus spp.
Leaf: Raw, cooked.

Staghorn Sumac – Rhus typhina
Fruit: Fresh or dried.

Stinging Nettle – Urtica dioica
Leaf: Raw, cooked.
Seed: Raw, cooked.

Stonecrop – Sedum album
Leaf: Raw, cooked.

Sweet Chestnut – Castanea sativa
Nut: Raw, cooked.

Walnut – Juglans regia
Nut: Raw, cooked.

Wild Service or Chequers Tree – Sorbus torminalis
Fruit: Cooked.

Wood Sorrel – Oxalis acetosella
Leaf: Raw, cooked.

Yarrow – Achillea millefolium
Leaf: Raw or cooked.