Pacific Northwest Foraging: 120 Wild and Flavorful Edibles from Alaska Blueberries to Wild Hazelnuts

by Douglas Deur

The Pacific Northwest offers a veritable feast for foragers. The forests, meadows, streambanks, and even the weedy margins of neighborhoods are home to an abundance of delicious wild edible plants. Discover wild lilies with their peppery flowers, buds, and seeds and use them in your spring salads. Select sweet, succulent thistles or the shoots of invasive Himalayan blackberries and Japanese knotweed to add wonderful flavor to hearty soups. Douglas Deur, a lifetime Northwest forager and specialist in Native American plant traditions, shares his insights and experiences, showing you what to look for, when and where to look, and how to gather in a responsible way. For foragers in Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, and Southeast Alaska.

Genres: Nature, Nonfiction, Reference, Food, Cooking, Biology, Science

292 pages, Paperback

First published May 7, 2014

Reviews

[Sylvester (Taking a break in 2023) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really excellent reference guide for anyone interested in knowing what's edible in nature. I liked the way the book was organized, it was easy to follow and read. I appreciate that the author gives a brief description of the flavour of the plant. Now if I'm out for a hike I can pick up something for dinner along the way! I would give this book 5* except that I think it could use some detailed drawings of the plants as well as the photos.

I received this book from Netgalley.

[Chelsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

While walking in the woods, I've often wondered if certain berries or edible, and muse on the name of plants I've always seen but don't know much about.

There is such an information gap with today's generation in regard to what's safe to eat. I can remember the first time my husband saw me eat chokecherries straight off the tree. I got such a lecture. "Those could be poison!"
To which I replied, "Dude, they're only chokecherries. My mom and I made chokecherry jelly all the time when I was growing up."
It's still one of my favorite things to put on toast. And yet most people have never heard of it.

After reading this book, I now know what a common plantain is, that mountain ash berries are edible, (who knew?) and that for some reason, I've always thought that huckleberries looked more like blackberries. I was wrong!
This book is an incredible resource to those who want to more about the natural resources around them, and safely forage for their own food. I'm glad that there are people who respect nature, and passing on knowledge that may have been completely lost in a generation or two.
My only criticism is in regard to the layout of this book. I wish that the plant pictures were featured on the same page as the title and description. Pictures were often featured on the second page, and I felt it would have had better flow if it were shown directly under the heading.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The real strengths, and what I appreciated about this book were learning about the Native American plant traditions of the Pacific Northwest. I didn't know huckleberries were so abundant in our area due to ancient Native American harvesting practices. I think it is important to remember that what is eaten by another culture as part of their diet and what is eaten in times of starvation or lean food times, may clearly be different than what "we" may consider our normal daily diet. The author clearly points out that many of the foraged foods, were only eaten by the Native American's during times when other food was not available, as a last resort. The author also points out those that can be toxic and states; "When in doubt, throw it out." My main complaint with the book is the author tells you to Google pictures of the plants to identify them. He does provide 1-3 small color photos for each plant in each section of his book, but it is not a plant ID book, I was disappointed by that. Having to buy another guide, just seem silly. Actually there was a book right next to this book, at the book store, that I now realize included the ID's, kinda wish I would have bough it instead. I enjoyed a lot of the info. in this book and being an avid gardener and nature girl I really enjoyed the sections on "Future Harvests" listed for each plant, I just wish this would have been a more comprehensive guide book.

[Gregory Pedersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly great guide to foraging in this region, and it lends a lot of expert knowledge to food and nature enthusiasts like myself. I’ve always known the Pacific Northwest to be abundant in edible plants, but this work was enlightening to me and I will use it as a guide for future foraging. It provides great info on identification, uses, and future conservation of edible plants. One item to note: this book does not cover mushrooms. I’ll have to locate another source for that.

[lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't really trust this book after I read in it that nettles should be harvested in the summer. There was some other questionable information. I'm sure there are much better books out there on eating wild plants.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This seems like an excellent starting point for learning about edible plants of the northwest. I appreciated the authors inclusion of Native American uses, tips on preparing, and sense of humor. It's got me excited to learn more and start trying new things!

[Kate Sampsell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Conflicts more scholarly books, but it seems solid on trail munching food, and the pictures are good.

[Jacob Miller · Rating 2 out of 5]

The good: it's fairly concise, and gives some information on each plant. It works well as a short list of plants that are actually edible.

The bad: there isn't sufficient detail on each plant to give a confident identification. There is one photo for each plant, which is enough for a definite ID on some easier plants, and not even close for species with a lot of close relatives. I've had to reference multiple other sites (fortunately free government ones) to get a better idea. That really prevents it from being a standalone field guide, as I would need to access other resources instead of just using this one. Really to identify things well, being super clear on what leaf structure is with a picture/diagram, and similar things for each part of that plant is extremely helpful.

You might say 'why so hard on this book, there's a lot of great information!' true. But if you don't have enough for a confident ID, and you grabbed this book thinking it was enough, and your attempted to identify Yampah or Cow Parsnip and mistakenly grabbed a poison hemlock, you might end up dead. This isn't a subject where close enough is acceptable. If it's just a fun book to read on your couch and get a real field guide later, that's cool, but man you should make that abundantly clear in the introduction and at every point where there are easy false identifications that will harm you.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Summer Book Bingo: PNW Nature

Let's be real here, I'm not going to go traipsing around the woods, coastal areas, or post-wild fire burn spots of my state and start picking wild plants to eat after having read this book. Yes, it was informative and interesting (I finally learned that wapato is a food, and not just a city). But a lot of these plants still come with warnings (largely of the "may cause a laxative effect" variety) and some are either similar to, or have a tendency to grow with, other plants that could poison a person.

I think to actually be successful, and safe, at foraging you need to get hands on experience with knowledgeable people who can show you one plant from another. I also kind of expected a book on foraging to have significantly more pictures, because it's hard to know without detailed visuals what exactly is meant by something like "minor leaf serration."

One random bonus though (or possibly a creepy one depending on your view) is that ever since I started reading this book, The Algorithm has started serving me up videos from Black Forager and I'm finding the "Poison or Snack" series both hilarious and informative (even if she lives halfway across the country from me, and the plants aren't always going to be found in both of our respective areas).

[Colleen Stinchcombe · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent introductory guide to foraging for beginners (and perhaps experienced foragers - I’m a beginner myself.) While I would turn to another guide or internet resource to positively identify some of the trickier plants in the book, I think this author does an excellent job of stoking interest and enthusiasm while offering a nice variety of accessible plants. I especially appreciated the author’s sense of humor throughout, while still covering the basics of what a forager should know, including propagation of plants for future harvests.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book with beautiful photos, and easy to follow directions about when, where and how to harvest. This book will definitely get you excited to learn and explore your surroundings. I would like to emphasize that this is a not an identification guide. If you plan to go out into the field and harvest you will need a proper identification book.

[Jay Bridget · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay for overview, and the author is a renowned scholar on the topic, but there's lots of lacking and even incorrect information in here. Wouldn't use as a guide (few pictures, lacking descriptions), or as a historical resource (Nancy Turner's work is far superior). A combo of any of Sam Thayer's books and Nancy Turners books will give a far more practical and informed perspective than this one.

[Brittany Leonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most helpful foraging book I've ever seen. Details information, and real photographs for pictures instead of just sketches. I love the way it's organized on each page, and also that it's in alphabetical order. I've had it a week and have learned so much already!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very detailed and thorough in it's descriptions, information, and usage of plants native to the PNW. Through this book, I found many edible and medicinal plants in my own back yard. This book has started a very fun foraging journey for me and I've referenced it often since reading.

[Vern Henley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book and Im sure it will be quite useful in the future. I just with it had more detailed illustrations or pictures. It would also be helpful if it was highlighted or even organized by location.

[Caroline De · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential. This book is so enjoyable and educational. Beautiful and very clear pictures. Makes foraging safe and easy for beginners.

[SJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastically useful, and written in conjunction with local tribal elders to focus heavily on sustainable harvesting and reseeding.

[Trintonofthesea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this series, and they have volumes for every part of the United States. Would appreciate more photos of identifiable characteristics, but definitely a good value as a starter text for foraging.

[Breyanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have enjoyed this as a reference text and it has provided a great introduction for me. It hits all the main edibles. Four stars for me because I still wanted more plants and information and I prefer really thorough reads. I will continue to reference it.

[Mike Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

This covers the hazelnuts and berries that I picked as a kid growing up in Washington, as well as some things that I'd heard of being edible, but never tried. The majority of plants, though, are ones I'd never have imagined were edible. Some were very familiar as plants growing in my part of the world. Some I'd try, but others would be subsistence last resorts. Skunk Cabbage, for example. It grew in the creek that flowed across our land. Not in a million years would I have thought to put any part of it in my mouth. Yuck! Another one is Water Lily. I'd have to be mighty hungry. A very interesting, though somewhat repetitious, read though.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me, part of health is knowing our food, and part of knowing our food is getting out in the wilderness and learning to forage. Found this book on a trip to the Olympic Peninsula and had great success with it. I happend to be there in berry season and ate well, I must say, with the help of this book.

[Nicole]

I'm not sure about the credentials of the author, but overall it is well presented and laid out.

[Ellen Massaro]

Exellent for the novice forager.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

too comprehensive for me. I just want a guide to edible berries.