Look-alikes Kill
Never eat a wild plant or mushroom on one photo or app. U.S. Poison Control: 1-800-222-1222.
Safety & Ethics →Seasonal Foraging Guide
Wild greens, berries, fruit, nuts and mushrooms month by month — where they grow, how to use them, and the look-alikes to watch for.
Foraging Tracker
Log what you find and when, and build your own calendar for your land.
Open the Tracker →Best foraging near you right now
What’s in season this month and actually being found within about 50 miles of you.
Your location is rounded to about 7 miles and never saved on our site.
Sightings from iNaturalist research-grade observations. Photos © their photographers via iNaturalist, used under Creative Commons licenses.
Season calendar
| Wild food | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black walnuts | |||||||||||||
| Hickory nuts | |||||||||||||
| Wild pecans | |||||||||||||
| Acorns |
Typical seasons for the eastern and central United States. Farther south things come in earlier; farther north and higher up, later.
What to look for
Nuts · September–October
Black walnuts
Juglans nigra
Where: Fields, fencerows and river bottoms.
Look-alikes & cautions: Wear gloves — the husks stain. Hull, wash and cure nuts 2–3 weeks in a dry, airy spot before cracking.
Use: Baking and candy
Nuts · September–October
Hickory nuts
Carya ovata
Where: Upland hardwood forests (shagbark and shellbark are best).
Look-alikes & cautions: Bitternut hickory is too bitter to eat. Cure before cracking.
Use: Baking
Nuts · September–November
Acorns
Quercus alba
Where: Under oaks — white oak acorns are the least bitter.
Look-alikes & cautions: All acorns must be leached of tannins (soaked through many changes of water) before eating. Discard ones with holes.
Use: Leached flour and meal
Learn With Others
The best way to learn wild foods is alongside someone who knows them. Ask for identification help in the Foraging group — post clear photos of every part of the plant or mushroom — and never eat anything on an online ID alone.