Humans have been gathering wild plants and consuming them since the dawn of time. In recent years, there has been a resurgence of this ancient practice. Once again, even here in the urban Bay Area, human beings can be seen with baskets in hand, joyfully tromping through the spring hills in search of green bounty. Hooray! Gathering plants is part of what it means to be human. Through the simple act of picking and eating wild plants, we recover an ancient part of our souls. But what does it truly mean to forage responsibly?
What if we are not here to “get” anything? What if instead of getting, we are seeking to return to a sacred circle? Maybe what we give is more important than what we “get”.
Wild Arnica
Because we don’t know better, we treat the natural world like a grocery store- we are here to “get” a commodity- our elderberries, our turkey tail mushrooms….Being responsible people, we don’t overharvest, take only what we need, and “pay” something in return. We say thanks as a form of payment. That’s a great start. But perhaps responsibility goes beyond just the transaction. What if we are not here to “get” anything? What if, instead of getting, we are seeking to return to a sacred circle? Maybe what we give is more important than what we “get”.
So we need to examine what kind of exchange we’re actually having. Why are we harvesting and how does that obligate us to this land and all its inhabitants? Wildcrafting is a deep practice reflecting our personal relationship with the land, the seasons, and the plants who share their gifts with us. We take the time to learn a plant well enough to identify it hands free, without an app. Learning its ways, courting it, season after season, so we might say, “Oh, here’s my dear friend Angelica. I know where to find you, in rocky, seasonal streams. Of course you’re here. Hello! I can see it’s still a little early to harvest- your flowers haven’t gone to seed yet. But I’ll pull some of these non-native weeds nearby while I’m here, so you can get the brightest sunshine like you like.”
Fall Root Harvest: Angelica brewerii
Botanists call a plants’ appearance its’ “habit”. And knowing a plants “habit,” how to recognize and call it by name, is how we can begin. To linger in the details like leaf arrangement and probe the number of stamens, to notice the unique patterns of veins, to twirl the stem between our fingers and ask if it is square or round? As we take the time to truly learn and observe, we abide more and more in that plants consciousness. It’s habits. Habits are also the plants way of life.
We see how a plant chooses a particular environment, the dappled edge of a forest, a mucky ditch, as part of its medicine. We learn its rhythms, when it comes out in spring, what it looks like when it first emerges as a tiny seedling, and how to recognize it when it has withered and gone to seed. We seek the plant out for its own sake to commune with it, rather than going just once a year to take something.
As a self taught Wildcrafter, (for over 25+ years), I learned without internet searches and apps. I walked alone in the woods and took the time to discern if it was Doug Fir or White Fir, Violet or Starflower, until I knew them and they became my friends. There are stands of plants I have visited and tended for more than half my life. Finding these stands and caring for them is a central part of my practice. It’s also the heart of wildcrafting. There’s an initiation created by the time and energy we give to the plants. Our attention, willingness, and discipline become food for the plants, and in turn the plants feed and grow us too. It’s a journey over time. And it is 100% humble. This is another one of the plants’ gifts, beyond just the simple act of sharing berries or fiddleheads.
Nettles: From Forest to Table
A stand of plants is a special relationship that develops over time. Just as traditional ways of learning always take place in a circle, so too, does the learning with plants. When we enter back into the circle it becomes both an initiation and another form of responsible harvest. So how do we reenter the circle? harvesting responsibly is just the beginning- we can also grow local plants, donate to local indigenous groups, pick up trash when hiking, save seeds and share them, visit plants during every season and learn about their ecology, and educate others. The gifts we give are the true medicine.
STAY TUNED for PART 2: ethical harvesting