ID Guides

Common names: Alexander, horse parsley

Latin: Smyrnium olusatrum 

Appearance: Leaves are vibrant green and glossy on a thick, long stem. Yellow flowers bloom at the top in a cluster from March until June. The seeds are small green bulbs that can be pulled apart into segments.

Where: Coastal regions around Europe. Grows in clusters on patches of land near the sea.

How to forage: The entire plant can be foraged, so take the whole Alexander for endless possibilities in your cooking. If you only want the flowers or the leaves, then pick or cut the parts you need. The seeds can be collected straight from the plant.

When: January to September, mainly summer months.

How to use: Each part of an Alexander has a different use. The flowers can be used like broccoli and steamed with garlic. The stems are like celery in flavour and texture and can be used as such. The roots can be well scrubbed and used like a root vegetable alongside meat. Perhaps the most exciting discovery, alexander seeds can be picked from the plant before they drop for pollination and taste like strong black pepper. They can be dried and crushed down for a pepper substitute.

Common names: Gutweed, sea greens

Latin: Ulva intestinalis

Appearance: Vibrant green, hair-like strands.

Where: Rockpools high up on the shore or coastal groynes.

How to forage: Cut the amount you need from a patch of gutweed. It’s recommended to cut from a patch growing in rock pools or on rocks as sand is hard to get out of the tiny tubes. Don’t take more than needed, think of it as simply giving this seaweed a “haircut”.

When: June to September, summer months.

How to use: Patted dry with a towel and deep fried for a crispy fried seaweed snack. This cooking style is popular in Japan.

Common names: Pollock, pollack

Latin: Pollachius pollachius

Appearance: Pollock are bronze-brown with a hint of green on their backs, golden on their flanks and white on the belly. They have three separate dorsal fins and two anal fins, the first of which is long and originating directly below the first dorsal fin. They also have a distinctive underbite.

Where: Pollock can be found throughout the waters around Great Britain and Ireland. Their highest numbers are off the west coast of England and in the English Channel.

How to forage: The best way to fish for pollock is by using a lure rod with a 10-40g cast weight and fixed spool reel.

When: Spring and summer are the best seasons to catch pollock, and dusk and dawn are the most productive times of day.

How to use: Pollock is a mild-tasting white fish and it is very versatile. The most popular way to cook it is frying, but it can also be baked.

Common names: Three-cornered Leek, three-cornered garlic, snowbell

Latin: Allium triquetrum

Appearance: Three-cornered leek is so called because in profile the long green leaves make a ‘V’ shape. The plant is known to flower at any time of year (sometime twice a year), and the flowers look like white bluebells. They have six petals, each with a green stripe up the middle. 

Where: Three-cornered leek is an invasive species that is not hugely common, but spreading fast where it is established. It can be found anywhere from gardens to woodlands.

How to forage: All parts of the plant are edible, so uproot it using a trowel. In doing so, you also help prevent the spread of an invasive species.

When: All year round.

How to use: The roots of the younger plant can be used like baby leek or spring onion, and more mature roots like onion and garlic. The leaves and flowers can be used in salads, or like leeks in soups and stews.

Common names: Ground elder, gout weed, herb gerrard, bishop’s weed, dog elder, devil’s guts

Latin: Aegopodium podagraria

Appearance: Ground elder has pointed ovular leaves with jagged teeth, usually in groups of five. They are light green and translucent when young, and a darker matt green when mature. From May to June, the plant has tiny white flowers in an umbrella shape, similar to elderflower (hence the name).

Where: Ground elder usually grows in shady areas and at borders of gardens, lanes, woodlands or roads.

How to forage: The best use of ground elder is to collect the leaves.

When: The leaves are edible from March to October, but June is the best time.

How to use: The younger, translucent leaves taste like sweet parsley and can be eaten in salads. The slightly more mature leaves (darker green) can be cooked like spinach, but when they become papery they are not good for eating.

Common names: Mackerel

Latin: Scomber scombrus

Appearance: A small fish with a metallic, shiny blue/ green colour on the back. The back also has dark tiger-like stripes.

Where: Fished from piers or rocks/ rockpools around the UK.

How to forage: The easiest way to catch them is to use a fishing line during high tide, ideally on a pier or near rocky areas. 

When: From April to September, although easiest to catch in June and July when large shoals break into smaller shoals to travel to shallow waters.

How to use: Steamed or fried like you would any other fish. The preparation could take a bit of work if you are filleting it – if not, just cut crisscross lines into the fish, add salt and pepper and fry.

Common names: Chanterelle, girolle

Latin: Cantharellus cibarius

Appearance: An orange and yellow mushroom with gill-like ridges running along the stalk and up to the cap. When cut open, they are white and fleshy inside. They also have a sweet apricot-like scent, so can be identified using that as well.

Where: On the ground of damp, shaded forests.

How to forage: Pull them straight from the ground, but it is best to cut and remove the dirt-covered bottom.

When: June to September, summer months.

How to use: Chanterelles have a fruity, nutty and peppery flavour that is a great addition to any meal. Many opt to use them in omelettes or sauteed with garlic as a side with a steak. 

Common names: sea bass, European seabass, common bass, capemouth, king of the mullets

Latin: Dicentrarchus labrax

Appearance: A large fish that is silver in colour, has two distinct dorsal fins, the first one having eight to nine spines. Juveniles have black spots on their upper body, which aren’t usually found on adults.

Where: Around all UK coasts, they live in deep water during the winter and shallow waters and estuaries in the summer. British anglers are limited to keeping two sea bass per day.

When: Summer months because the mature migrating fish come inshore.

How to use: a very popular fish to eat and found on most UK menus, sea bass is extremely popular and delicious pan-fried.

Common names: Common chickweed, craches, winterweed, starweed, chickenwort

Latin: Stellaria media

Appearance: Small white flowers that are often compared to looking like stars. They are surrounded by five green oval-shaped leaves.

Where: Parks and gardens, especially under trees surrounded by grass, cracks in the pavement and in wastelands.

How to forage: Cut a few young fresh tops. The lower stems are more stringy.

When: All year round except when covered with snow or frost

How to use: Great in a salad due to its mild but grassy flavour that balances stronger flavours.

Common names: chicken of the woods, sulphur shelf, chicken mushroom

Latin: Laetiporus sulphureus

Appearance: thick fleshy fungus that is a bright creamy yellow colour (with orange sections as well but only when young).

Where: grows mainly on the trunks of oak trees but can also grow on yew, chestnut and cherry trees.

How to forage: it is very easy to pick – slice off the mushrooms near the base.

When:  late spring to autumn

How to use: they can be added to stir fry or deep fried as an alternative to chicken due to their meaty texture. NOTE: They don’t agree with everyone’s stomach so try a little bit in a meal first before eating large quantities.