Having read articles about urban foragers, I was curious what information was out there for learning about which plants are edible and more importantly ... tasty.  I'm not sure how far this curiosity will actually go since my fear of eating the wrong plant may be greater than my desire to try something new.  However, I do think there is some real value in knowing how and what to look for in wild plants.

The first thing I found was from Russ Cohen.  He has authored a book on foraging called "Wild Plants I Have Known...And Eaten" and has several walks and courses he holds throughout the year with a schedule on his site.  Since Russ provides lessons in addition to a website and a book, I figure he deserves some special notice.  His courses can be just the thing to excite your foraging desires.

• Course Schedule
• Recipes
• Article Links 

Since we live in an online world, I thought I should find some videos on YouTube that might get me started.  I found some Northeast guides from hunters that were pretty good and entire channels based in Europe that were nicely done.  The videos from Europe are are useful since we have pretty similar environments due to climate and culture.

• Wild Food School
• Eat Weeds
• Wilderness Outfitters - Wild Edibles

The next logical step was books.  I really want materials on hand to ensure I am picking the proper plants and preparing them in a way that makes them most enjoyable.  For this I found a book series that focuses on mid and eastern U.S. for edible plants and a companion book on medicinal plants and herbs.  In addition, I found that anything by Euell Gibbons is considered to be a terrific read.  His books were written in the '60s and his approach to finding wild food is poetic and passionate coming from his childhood where foraging was needed during the depression to provide for his family.  Lastly I found a book that focuses on only New England in Tom Seymour's, "Foraging New England".  In any of these choices the ultimate goal is to avoid the outcome of another book, "Into The Wild" and these should help you do that.

• Books by Euell Gibbons
• A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants
• A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs 
• Foraging New England

In all of us there is a part that is fascinated by the idea of what life would be like without all the phones and computers and the hustle of everyday life.  Foraging is a way to connect with some of the things that speak to our primal nature and can be therapy against modern life.  Understanding local foraging can be useful in just identifying something new at your farmer's market.  It can be used to find some items while on a hike.  It can even be a way to know the place in which you live a little better.  Whatever the reason may be, it is worth checking out.

If you know of other links worth mentioning on this topic, please feel free to add comments to share with other readers.