Winter Wild Edibles in the Midwest United States

Here in the midwestern United States, winter is a season of dormancy. Most plants have adapted to go into a sort of hibernation to survive. Trees drop their leaves to conserve energy, biennial and perennial plants pull all their energy in their roots, insulated by the Earth. Even the seeds of these wise plants have adapted to the winter, and in fact these seeds need the cold frost to awaken in spring. Some fungi and lichen have even found a way to adapt to the frigid season.

The urge to take a winter stroll and see what wild edibles I could forage was undeniable. Why not film it and talk about it a little bit! Usually, December in Iowa means snow. And lots of it. However, it hadn't snowed in a while and there is no snow on the ground. It was warm for December. Still a bit chilly, but not nearly as cold as this area usually would be. Perhaps this was part of the motivation to get out in the forest.

I set out on my hike, not 10 steps into the forest and I had already been struck with the beauty of a Turkey Tail cluster. It was like it was destiny. Trametes versicolor was the very first fungi I ever learned to identify. It will always hold a special place in my heart. The colors and banding is always a bit different with each colony. I once encountered a fallen log with clusters and clusters of Turkey Tail with purple and magenta banding. I couldn't believe my own eyes. I wish I had my phone that day to snap a photo. Ya can't win em all.

Right next to the Turkey Tail was a patch of Ground Ivy. Glechoma hederacea is its scientific name. At first, it appeared to be garlic mustard. Upon further inspection, the crushed leaves did not smell like garlic. They smelled like the unique scent I know as Ground Ivy. To confirm, I moved some leaf litter to observe its growth pattern. It did in fact grow just like Ground Ivy, trailing along the soil with the nodes hugging the ground and growing roots from the nodes. Now, I was certain I was correct in identifying Glechoma hederacea. This plant is a good salad green, but an even better tea.

Coincidently, I also ran into some actual Garlic Mustard shortly after misidentifying another plant for it. Bruising a leaf and giving it a smell, I could confirm this was Garlic Mustard. Allliaria petiolata is a very invasive plant. I love cooking with Garlic Mustard. In the video, I go on this rant about how Garlic Mustard starts growing so early. The native plants adapted here dont grow until the last frost of the year has passed. By that time, Garlic Mustard has already grown to shade out those seedlings struggling to germinate, is sucking nutrients from the soil and hogging all the water. Competing with a head start like that isn't fair. It's hard for native plants to thrive with invasive plants for those reasons. Native plants are so important for our native pollinators. Many of our pollinators are what is called a specialized species. That means that they depend on just a select few, if not just one single plant as a food source to survive. The population of our native plants really do have an enormous impact on the health of our ecosystems as well as our modern agricultural systems. I would love to talk more about that another time and dive deeper.

As I strolled along the riverbank, I came across a Mullein plant. Verbascum thapsus is another plant that is near and dear to me. She's just so amazing. So soft and snuggly, and so sweet and delicious in a tea. Her roots are a good food source this time of year. This plant can have a skinny root that is easy to pull, or a deeper stronger root that requires a little more convincing with a trowel. Be careful of where you harvest roots, as they will soak up any pollution in the area. Especially near water sources with industrial runoff.

Continuing my hike, I encountered many sacred guardians. Juniper, Maple, Birch, Pine and Hemlock were the trees that called to me the most. Juniper, Pine and Hemlock are wonderful teas. Birch can be tapped for water or syrup as well as Maple. The cute little cones on the Hemlock trees make my heart smile every time I see them.

I also saw a cute little jelly fungus! They are so refreshing to play with its jiggly, bouncy fun texture. I include many more edibles to forage in the midwest at the last half of the video.

What plants did were you surprised to learn were edible? Which plants have you tried before?