"An umbrella set up in the middle of the desert" — its flat, spreading silhouette signals the umbrella thorn from miles away, the only Sahara tree with such a distinct shape.

🫐

Açaí Palm (Euterpe oleracea)

“Multiple trunks from a single clump, a berry that's almost all seed” — recognize açaí by its cluster and work it for its tiny layer of pulp.

🌼

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

'A thousand leaves, a thousand uses' — the finest leaf lace in European meadows hides one of the oldest first-aid plants in human history.

💜

Monkshood (Aconitum napellus)

“Violet helm, heart stops fast” — the knight's helmet flower guards Europe's most toxic plant.

🍄

Wood mushroom (Agaricus silvicola)

"Clear anise and no volva" — without both at the same time, put the mushroom back down.

🌵

Parry's agave (Agave parryi)

“One single bloom, a lifetime of stored sugar” — the agave concentrates decades of energy in its heart right before blooming once and dying: that's your ideal harvest window.

🧄

Wild leek (ramps / ail des bois) (Allium tricoccum)

"If it doesn't smell like garlic, it's not wild leek." The smell upon crushing is non-negotiable; it rules out lily of the valley and false hellebore.

🧄

Wild garlic (Allium ursinum)

"No garlic smell, keep it off your plate" — this is the only rule that counts, and it alone eliminates lily of the valley and meadow saffron.

🔴

Lingonberry (mountain cranberry) (Vaccinium vitis-idaea)

'Red and green all year long, wild blueberry leaves in winter are gone' — foliage that stays green in the dead of winter gives away the lingonberry, never the wild blueberry.

🟡

Common Gorse (Ulex europaeus)

"Gorse pricks but smells like coconut" — one of the few shrubs that pairs a formidable defensive armor with a sweet, delicious scent, a contrast that helps you remember it instantly.

🍈

Ackee (Blighia sapida)

“Closed ackee, mouth closed” - only the fruit that split open by itself on the tree can be eaten.

🍁

Wild Service Tree (Sorbus torminalis)

"The service tree has the leaf of a maple, but it alternates" — alternate leaves = wild service tree, opposite leaves = maple, a single glance at the branch node is all you need.

🧄

Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata)

"Garlic mustard: smells like garlic, acts like mustard" — crushing it is all you need to be sure: no other plant in our undergrowth combines heart-shaped leaves with such a clear garlic smell.

🌵

Cape aloe (Bitter aloe) (Aloe ferox)

“Tall stem, spines all over the leaf, very bitter sap” — bitter aloe is the robust, purgative cousin of aloe vera.

🪴

Aloe vera (Aloe vera)

“The gel heals, the yellow latex purges” - always separate the clear core from the bitter skin before applying to a burn.

🍄

Hoof fungus (Fomes fomentarius)

"Horse hoof on the birch tree, an ember sleeps beneath its skin" — its massive bracket silhouette signals the most reliable fire resource in the boreal forest from a distance.

🍄

Caesar's mushroom (Amanita caesarea)

“White down to the stem, danger; orange down to the stem, Caesar” — and when in doubt about an orange amanita, never eat it.

🍄

Panther cap (Amanita pantherina)

“White warts that don't turn red”—if the cut flesh doesn't blush pink, it's not the edible blushing mushroom.

🍄

Death Cap (Amanita phalloides)

“Olive green, volva in a pouch”—never identify an amanita without digging up the entire base of the stem.

🍄

Blusher mushroom (Amanita rubescens)

“Turns red = blusher; stays white = panthercap, run away” — the bruising test is non-negotiable on any brownish amanita.

🍄

Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria)

“Red with white spots, stay out of the pots” — the fairy tale mushroom is no edible treat.

🍄

Destroying angel (Amanita virosa)

“Pure white, killing angel” — never trust an all-white mushroom with a volva without formal expert confirmation.

🫐

Serviceberry / Saskatoon (Amélanchier) (Amelanchier alnifolia)

“The first white flower of spring announces the first sweet fruit of summer” — its early blooming makes it as much a phenological marker as a food source.

🌿

Garden Angelica (Archangel) (Angelica archangelica)

“Angelica smells nice and forms a ball, hemlock stinks and stays flat” — the smell and shape of the terminal umbel settle it immediately.

🌿

Wild Angelica (Woodland Angelica) (Angelica sylvestris)

“Wild Angelica: the purple, musky cousin of true angelica” — its purple-tinged stem and aniseed-musky scent distinguish it from deadly hemlocks, which are hairless, foul-smelling, and share its damp habitat.

🍒

Strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo)

"Dark red or leave it alone" — eat only the fully ripe, dark red, almost soft fruit; the firm orange fruit will give you a stomachache.

🚫

Australian strychnine tree (Strychnos psilosperma)

“Red turning to black, keep off your snack” — the strychnine tree berry ends up black when ripe, unlike the edible red fruits you find around it in the rainforest.

🟠

Sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides)

“Sea buckthorn is the orange of the seaside”—the only bright orange berry covering silvery thorny branches on dunes or mountain stream banks.

🌼

Mountain Arnica (Arnica montana)

"Arnica heals outside, never inside" — the golden rule: skin application only, never as tea or ingested.

🍃

Cuckoo-pint (Lords-and-ladies) (Arum maculatum)

“Green horn, burning red berries” — your mouth burns before you even swallow, that's your warning sign.

🦋

Common milkweed (asclépiade commune) (Asclepias syriaca)

'One single boil is enough' — against the old myth of three boils, a single full cooking cycle removes the bitterness.

🟤

Knotted wrack (Ascophyllum nodosum)

“Knotted wrack has single nodes, bladder wrack has pairs” — only one swelling at a time along the ribbon, never two side by side.

🥭

Pawpaw (Asimina triloba)

“The pawpaw, the tropical mango that survived the winter” — the only tropical-tasting wild fruit growing as far north as bordering Quebec.

🌿

Wild asparagus (Asparagus acutifolius)

"Wild asparagus is picked before the thorn, never after" — once the spiny bush is formed, only the toxic red berries remain to be admired, not picked.

🌸

Common Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna)

“Hawthorn: the heart's true friend grows behind a thorny bend” — the plant for your heart hides in the prickliest hedge along the path.

🌳

Black Alder (Alnus glutinosa)

“Alder loves water and never rots in it” — the longer it soaked, the longer it lasts.

🌵

Desert date (balanites) (Balanites aegyptiaca)

“The desert date feeds you twice: the pulp eaten as is, the seeds after boiling” - two resources, two preparations.

🎋

Bamboo (young shoots) (Bambusoideae (nombreux genres : Bambusa, Phyllostachys, Dendrocalamus))

“Raw bamboo shoot, never in your mouth” — twenty minutes of boiling water before taking a bite, just like cassava.

🍌

Wild banana tree (Musa balbisiana)

“The wild banana feeds and quenches through its heart”—it's the central pith, not the seed-packed fruit, that provides the most reliable nourishment.

🌳

African Baobab (Adansonia digitata)

“The baobab drinks for the dry season, the fruit shell gives drink to man” - the massive trunk is a living cistern.

🌿

Greater Burdock (Arctium lappa)

“Burdock: the hook that invented Velcro” — as soon as a bur sticks to your sleeve, you know it's her.

🫐

Deadly Nightshade (Atropa belladonna)

« Beautiful to see, deadly as can be »: shiny black berry on a star-shaped calyx — never put it in your mouth.

🌿

Common hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium)

“Common hogweed: hairy everywhere, two meters max” — as soon as a hogweed towers way over your head or shows strong purple splotches, it's likely its cousin, the giant hogweed: do not touch.

🔥

Giant Hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum)

“Giant by the river, burns in the sun” — never leave skin exposed near an umbellifer over 2 meters tall.

🥬

Sea beet (Wild chard) (Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima)

“The wild chard of the seaside is the ancestor of all garden beets and chards” – a single plant at the origin of beetroot, sugar beet, and Swiss chard.

🫐

Wild lowbush blueberry / wild blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium)

"Small and wild, but twice as sweet" — its modest size hides a higher concentration of sugars and aromas than cultivated blueberries.

🍄

Bay bolete (Imleria badia)

“Bay that turns blue, no net on you” — a bay bolete has a smooth stem; if it has a netted pattern, it's not a bay bolete.

🍄

Orange birch bolete (Leccinum aurantiacum)

“Black-speckled stem, flesh turning black: cook it long, never a quick snack” — the golden rule for Leccinum.

🍄

Satan's Bolete (Rubroboletus satanas)

“Pale cap, bloody pores” — never assume a whitish bolete with red pores is edible.

🌳

Silver Birch (Betula pendula)

“Birch: the bark that unrolls like paper” — it's the only European tree whose bark you can literally write on.

🤍

Paper birch (bouleau à papier) (Betula papyrifera)

“The white bark burns even when wet”—its oil richness makes it North America's go-to tinder in wet weather.

🌳

Yellow Birch (Betula alleghaniensis)

"Golden bark that smells like mint candy" — the wintergreen scent when you scrape the bark is the signature mark of yellow birch.

🌱

Shepherd's purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris)

“Shepherd's purse, a pouch for every seed” — the triangular purse-shaped pod is the key signature to memorize.

🍇

White Bryony (Bryonia dioica)

"Devil's turnip, purging vine" — the only red-berried vine in our hedgerows is also the most violently purgative.

🌳

Common Box (Buxus sempervirens)

"Boxwood: smells tough, built to last" — the strong smell of crushed foliage flags the dense wood shrub of Europe, almost indestructible.

🌲

Bunya pine (Araucaria bidwillii)

"Under a laden bunya, do not set up camp" - the very tree that feeds you can kill you with a falling cone.

🍅

Desert bush tomato (kutjera) (Solanum centrale)

"Yellow and dry, never green to the eye"—the bush tomato should only be picked dried and yellowed on the plant, never green.

🍫

Wild cacao tree (Theobroma cacao)

“Pods grow on the trunk, but you suck the white pulp, not the bitter seed” — chocolate comes much later.

🌵

Barrel cactus (Ferocactus spp.)

'Barrel of spines, not a water fountain' - hacking open a barrel cactus to drink is a western myth, not a survival technique.

💜

Heather (ling) (Calluna vulgaris)

“Calluna: the calyx is as colorful as the bloom” — the only reliable trick to distinguish it from true Erica heaths when you look close enough at a tiny purple bell.

☠️

Apple of Sodom (Calotropis procera)

“White latex oozes, plant kills if swallowed” - apple of Sodom grows anywhere the soil is damaged, right where you might be tempted to look for a useful plant.

⚫

Black crowberry (Empetrum nigrum)

"Black crowberry, clear juice" — unlike blueberries that stain purple, crowberry leaves an almost colorless juice.

🔵

Camas (camas) (Camassia quamash)

“Blue I eat, white I die.” — flower color is your only safe bet, never rely on the bulb alone.

☠️

Death camas (Toxicoscordion venenosum)

"Smells like garlic, I eat it; smells like nothing, I leave it." Follow your nose before your eyes: the onion/garlic smell is the safest test to rule out death camas AND identify an Allium.

🎋

Wild Sugarcane (Saccharum spontaneum)

“Thin and fibrous is the wild one; thick and juicy is the cultivated one” — same genus, two different sugar levels.

🔴

Cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon)

'It floats because it breathes' — each cranberry contains small internal air pockets that make it float, exploited commercially for wet harvesting by flooding fields.

🌿

Kair (leafless caper bush) (Capparis decidua)

“The caper bush that lost its leaves” — in the Thar Desert, kair grows almost without foliage, with all its water economy managed through bare branches.

🌸

Caper bush (Capparis spinosa)

"Raw caper leaves you cold, salted caper turns to gold" — it is the pickling process, not the fresh plant, that makes the caper.

🌸

Cuckooflower (lady's smock) (Cardamine pratensis)

"Cuckooflower: the cress that doesn't get its feet wet" — same pungent taste as watercress, but without the liver fluke risk, since it grows in grass and not in running water.

🍒

Carissa (wild Natal plum, num-num) (Carissa edulis)

“Green or pink, leave it be; purple and black, pick for thee” — like all Apocynaceae, only the fully ripe fruit is safe.

🥕

Wild Carrot (Daucus carota)

“Hairy and fragrant, it's a carrot; smooth and stinking, run from hemlock” — the combo of hairs + carrot smell is the only test that matters, and you must confirm BOTH criteria, never just one.

🌳

Carob Tree (Ceratonia siliqua)

“The jeweler's carat weighed a carob seed” — each seed weighs almost exactly 0.2 g, remarkably constant from one pod to another.

⚠️

Caulerpa taxifolia ("killer alga") (Caulerpa taxifolia)

"Yew leaves on a green mat: don't touch, report it" — caulerpa covering the seafloor in a solid mat isn't an alga to harvest, but an invasion to report to the authorities.

🌿

Cecropia (pumpwood, embauba) (Cecropia peltata)

“Star-shaped leaf, hollow trunk, ants inside” — cecropia is the first tree to grow back in a clearing, and it houses its own bodyguards.

🌲

Western Redcedar (Thuja plicata)

“The tree that clothes and carries” — bark for clothes and baskets, trunk for canoes: the redcedar provided everything from cradle to canoe for the Pacific Coast peoples.

🍄

Porcini Mushroom (Boletus edulis)

“It never turns blue, it never turns red” — the only field test that separates the porcini from its deadly lookalike in 3 seconds.

🌿

Cow parsley (wild chervil) (Anthriscus sylvestris)

“Hairy down low, spots never show: chervil you know. Smooth stem with spots: deadly hemlock, let it go” — the survival rule for this plant family: hairless stem + purple spots = immediate exclusion, regardless of the species.

🍒

Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana)

“Flesh yes, pit never” — consume only the pulp of the ripe fruit, always discard or process the pit through prolonged drying.

🍄

Yellowfoot chanterelle (Craterellus tubaeformis)

“Hollow stem, autumn chanterelle” — it is often the last chanterelle of the season, long after the golden chanterelle has disappeared.

🌸

Spear Thistle (Bull Thistle) (Cirsium vulgare)

“The thistle pricks outside, feeds inside” — like the artichoke, its cultivated cousin from the same family, the edible part hides beneath the armor of spines.

🌳

European Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus)

“Hornbeam has teeth, beech is smooth and sweet” — hornbeam leaves have real teeth, while beech has a wavy margin fringed with fine hairs.

🌰

Sweet Chestnut (Castanea sativa)

'Sweet chestnut: fine and dense burr prickles; Horse chestnut: thick and sparse prickles' — touching the husk resolves any confusion instantly.

🌰

American chestnut (Castanea dentata)

“The ghost tree of the Appalachians” — ubiquitous a century ago, now reduced to root sprouts that regrow and die back repeatedly without ever growing up, waiting for genetic resistance.

🌳

Oak (pedunculate and sessile) (Quercus robur / Quercus petraea)

“The acorn can be eaten, but only after its bath” — leaching in clear water is the non-negotiable step separating poison from bread.

🌰

White oak (Quercus alba)

“Round lobe, good acorn; pointed lobe, patience — two years and three rinses.” White oak (rounded lobes) can be eaten with minimal prep, while red oak (pointed lobes) requires proper leaching.

🌳

Cork Oak (Quercus suber)

“The only oak you can strip naked without killing it”—its bark regrows after harvesting, a European botanical exception.

🍂

Northern red oak (Quercus rubra)

“Red and bristle-tipped, wait one more year.” Two winters to mature, several water baths to sweeten.

🌳

Holm Oak (Quercus ilex)

“Green all year round, least bitter acorn around” — spot it in winter when all other oaks are bare, and it's the easiest to shell.

🌱

Fat-hen (Chenopodium album)

“White flour on the leaf means fat-hen shows its true colors” — its natural powder is its ID card.

🌱

Chia (Salvia hispanica)

"A seed that drinks twelve times its weight" — soaked in water, the chia seed swells into a gel that made this plant valuable in the desert long before it became a modern superfood.

🩵

Chicory (Cichorium intybus)

"Chicory sleeps in the afternoon" — its blue flowers, open in the morning, close around noon; Linnaeus used it to tell time in his floral clock.

🟠

Cloudberry (bakeapple, knotberry) (Rubus chamaemorus)

“Red cloudberry wait a bit, golden amber is a hit” — only the translucent golden color signals full sweet maturity.

🌵

Jumping cholla (Cylindropuntia fulgida)

“The cactus that jumps on you without moving” — the cholla doesn't actually jump, but its segments detach so easily that they seem to latch on by themselves at the slightest brush.

🥬

Sea kale (Crambe maritima)

“Sea kale blanched under the shingle, stays off the French gatherer's plate” — protected in France, wild harvesting is forbidden; only garden cultivation is allowed.

🌴

Juçara palm (heart of palm) (Euterpe edulis)

“One trunk, one heart, one chance” — unlike the clumping açaí, cutting down the juçara palm dooms the entire tree.

☠️

Water hemlock (Cicuta maculata)

'Any white umbel near water is guilty until proven innocent' — never harvest any wild Apiaceae without absolute certainty of identification.

☠️

Cowbane / Water hemlock (Cicuta virosa)

“Chambered root, lethal shoot”—cut the rootstock open: if it looks like a honeycomb grid, run.

🦌

Reindeer lichen (cladonia) (Cladonia rangiferina)

“What the reindeer eats, humans barely digest” — this lichen remains primarily cervid fodder, a last-resort human food.

🥗

Miner's lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata)

“The lettuce that fed the gold prospectors” — its vitamin C saved them from scurvy far from fresh supplies.

🍄

Fool's funnel (Ivory funnel) (Clitocybe dealbata)

“Pliable stem, you're good to go; brittle stem, poison show” — test the flexibility before trusting a fairy ring.

🥥

Coconut palm (Cocos nucifera)

“Three pores forming a triangle at the base open up the nut” — you can always pierce a young nut through its softest spots.

🟢

Codium (dead man's fingers) (Codium fragile)

"Codium always splits in two" — each spongy branch forks into exactly two new branches, never three, a pattern recognizable at first glance.

🌸

Autumn crocus (Colchicum autumnale)

“No smell, no wild garlic” — before picking a lanceolate leaf from a carpet of green, crush it and smell it.

🚫

Colocynth (bitter apple) (Citrullus colocynthis)

“Bitter at first taste, keep it off your plate” — a wild watermelon that tastes horribly bitter at the slightest trace on your tongue is a colocynth: spit it out and stop right there.

⚠️

Common Comfrey (Symphytum officinale)

“Comfrey heals the outside, never the inside” — the only plant in this encyclopedia with a black-and-white ban on food use.

🍄

Shaggy mane (Coprinus comatus)

“Shaggy = booze is fine; common ink cap = not a drop for 3 days” — the only ink cap you can wash down with wine.

🍒

Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas)

"Cornelian cherry: the first yellow flower of late winter" — long before Forsythia, with which it is sometimes confused, this is the one that kicks off the season in February.

🌳

Common Dogwood (Cornus sanguinea)

'Sanguine' like blood: bright red stems in winter, black berries never to be tasted — the color warns you, the berries don't.

🍄

Fool's webcap (Cortinarius orellanus)

“Cobweb veil, poison waiting to derail” — the young mushroom's cortina warns you of a genus to avoid entirely.

🍄

Parasol Mushroom (Macrolepiota procera)

“Under 10 cm or a ring that doesn't slide: it's not a parasol mushroom” — the rule that has saved the most beginner foragers.

🌿

Creosote Bush (gobernadora) (Larrea tridentata)

"The smell of rain in the desert is creosote" — it releases its resinous fragrance as soon as the first drops fall, an instantly recognizable olfactory signal across the North American desert.

💧

Watercress (Nasturtium officinale)

“Wild watercress: never raw, the fluke lurks” — the rule to prevent fascioliasis: systematically cook any watercress that doesn't come from a controlled watercress farm.

🌿

Rock samphire (sea fennel) (Crithmum maritimum)

“True rock samphire grows on rocks, not in the mud” - the rocky, spray-swept habitat is your primary safety criterion against toxic umbellifers.

🌿

Ostrich fern fiddleheads (fiddleheads) (Matteuccia struthiopteris)

"U-shaped groove, cook it right; woolly hair, leave in sight." The U-shaped groove and lack of woolly hairs distinguish the good fern from the bracken fern.

🌴

Cycas (Cycas media)

“Cycas: days of soaking before a bite, never less” - the most demanding preparation in the entire Australian bush, and the most dangerous to shortcut.

🟡

Laburnum (Golden Chain Tree) (Laburnum anagyroides)

Golden chains bring pain—pods hanging from a tree with bright yellow flowers are never peas.

🌸

Spurge-laurel / Mezereon (Daphne mezereum)

“Flowers before leaves, berries that burn” — bare wood blooming pink signals a plant you should never taste.

🌴

Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera)

“A date is a power bank” - fast-acting sugar and potassium, the most energy-dense food in the desert.

🌺

Datura (Jimsonweed) (Datura stramonium)

'Prickly apple, mind up in smoke': the spiky fruit warns of a poison that clouds your head before stopping your heart.

🍇

Davidson's plum (Davidsonia jerseyana)

"The plum that grows on the trunk" — unlike almost any other fruit, Davidson's plum emerges directly on the trunk rather than at the end of branches.

⚠️

Desmarestia (acid kelp) (Desmarestia spp.)

“Almost all European seaweeds are safe - except Desmarestia, which you can recognize by its acidity” - the general rule of non-toxic European seaweeds has one clear exception you must know before tasting.

⚫

Velvet tamarind (Dialium guineense)

“Velvety black shell, sweet and sour core” — the velvet tamarind shares the tamarind's taste, but not its shape.

🌸

Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea)

“Foxglove's bell rings a heart's knell” — the purple bell signals cardiac poison.

🍇

Bittersweet Nightshade (Solanum dulcamara)

"Tiny tomatoes in the hedge, keep them far from your plate's edge" — bright red by the river is not a snack.

🔴

Dulse (Palmaria palmata)

“Red dulse grows at the base of the kelp” - look at the lower foreshore, often attached to a larger brown seaweed.

⭐

Edelweiss (Leontopodium alpinum)

“Look at the edelweiss, never pick it” — a species protected by law across all French Alpine and Pyrenean massifs.

🌹

Dog rose (Rosa canina)

“Rose hips: vitamin C right through the snow” — the fruit hangs on the shrub all winter, a emergency reserve visible from afar.

🌿

Ground elder (Goutweed) (Aegopodium podagraria)

“Ground elder: three times three leaflets, like a coat of arms” — the 3×3 pattern is the signature that lets you recognize it without ambiguity even before it flowers.

🍄

Livid pinkgill (Entoloma sinuatum)

“Flour smell, trap ahead” — the exact same deceptive scent links the edible and the toxic in this genus.

🌿

Ephedra (Mormon tea) (Ephedra nevadensis)

“Green jointed stems, but not horsetail” — in the dry desert, a bush with horsetail-like segmented stems is almost always an ephedra, as true horsetail prefers moist soils.

🌸

Fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium (syn. Chamerion angustifolium))

« Fireweed: the pink flower that repopulates the ashes » — wherever fire or a chainsaw has passed, it's often the first to bloom again.

🥬

New Zealand Spinach (Warrigal Greens) (Tetragonia tetragonioides)

“Warrigal greens: grows like ivy, cooks like spinach” — just blanch it quickly before tossing it in the pan.

🌲

White Spruce (Picea glauca)

“Spruce pricks and stinks, but its roots sew the canoe” — the crushed needle's unpleasant odor points you to the tree whose roots provide the best boreal cordage.

🌲

Black Spruce (Picea mariana)

“Spruce needles poke one by one, while pine needles bunch together” — the single attachment of needles to the twig instantly separates spruces from pines.

🍁

Sugar maple (Acer saccharum)

“Round sinus, sap abounds” — the rounded leaf lobes point to the sugar maple, the one whose sap has the highest sugar concentration of all North American maples.

🍁

Field Maple (Acer campestre)

“Field Maple = small and round” — Europe's smallest maple has the most rounded leaf lobes, never pointed.

🍁

Sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus)

“Sycamore: five points, no smooth rounds” — the five sharply pointed and toothed lobes clearly distinguish it from its smaller field maple cousin.

🌳

Eucalyptus (Tasmanian Blue Gum) (Eucalyptus globulus)

“The tree that burns to be reborn” — the oil that makes eucalyptus so flammable is also what fuels the bushfires it recovers from in just a few weeks, backed by vigorous stump shoots.

🌵

Candelabra tree (Euphorbia candelabrum)

"Looks like a cactus, bleeds like milk" — the white sap that beads at the slightest cut betrays the euphorbia, never a real cactus.

⚠️

Sea Spurge (Euphorbia paralias)

“On the sand, if it bleeds white, leave it be” — any dune plant exuding a milky latex when broken must be discarded, regardless of how much it looks like neighboring sea sandwort or glasswort.

🌿

Sun spurge (Euphorbia helioscopia)

« White latex flow, eyes say no » — milky sap at the break, keep it far from your eyes and mouth.

🌿

Wild fennel (Foeniculum vulgare)

"Sweet anise smell means fennel, cat stink means giant fennel" — the scent alone separates the edible from the dangerous.

⚠️

Giant Fennel (Ferula communis)

“Giant fennel smells like a cat, wild fennel smells like aniseed; at the slightest suspicious smell, put it down and don't cook it” — the smell alone lets you decide in an instant.

🌟

Lesser Celandine (Ranunculus ficaria)

"Lesser celandine: edible only before it blooms" — as soon as the yellow petals appear, protoanemonin rises and you must stop harvesting for the season.

🌳

Common Fig (Ficus carica)

'The fig tree weeps milk that burns in the sun' — never get latex on bare skin in daylight; the burn shows up hours later, not right away.

🌵

Prickly Pear (Opuntia ficus-indica)

« Singe the prickles first, enjoy the sweet pulp last » - always brush or singe before peeling.

🌳

Sycamore fig (Ficus sycomorus)

“The yellow trunk bears its figs right on the bark” — no need to search at the branch tips like with the European fig tree.

🍋

Finger lime (Citrus australasica)

“A lemon that bursts like caviar” — squeezing the finger lime fruit releases tiny juice pearls that pop in your mouth, unlike the pulp of classic lemons.

🍓

Wild strawberry (Fragaria vesca)

“The false strawberry holds its head high, the real one bows to the sky” — the position of the fruit (drooping on the real strawberry, upright on the yellow imposter) tells them apart at a glance.

🍒

Wild Raspberry (Rubus idaeus)

“The raspberry empties, the blackberry stays whole” — the white receptacle left behind on the plant is the foolproof sign of a raspberry.

🌳

European Ash (Fraxinus excelsior)

“Black buds, opposite leaves: it's ash, even in the dead of winter” — the only large European tree with buds of such a distinct colour.

🍞

Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis)

"Treat breadfruit like a potato: never raw, always cooked" — same starchy texture, same rule.

🟤

Bladderwrack (Fucus vesiculosus)

“Two by two, bladderwrack's bubbles do”—the paired air vesicles along the midrib are its signature, invisible on all its brown cousins without floats.

🌳

European Spindle (Euonymus europaeus)

"Pink cap, orange seed, keep it away from what you eat" — the most conspicuous fruit of the autumn hedgerow is also one of the most toxic.

🪢

Cleavers (Galium aparine)

“Cleavers is eating Velcro” — the only trick you need to identify it safely: it clings to your sleeve all by itself as soon as you brush past it, no other common plant does it so blatantly.

🍄

Funeral Bell (Galerina marginata)

"Small and brown on dead wood, just as deadly as the big one" — size tells you nothing about toxicity.

🍃

Eastern teaberry / Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens)

"The red berry that survives under the snow" — one of the rare sources of fresh fruit accessible in mid-winter throughout Northeastern forests.

🌿

Genepi (black wormwood / alpine wormwood) (Artemisia genipi / Artemisia umbellata)

“Silver genepi doesn't grow at your feet, you have to climb” — silver cushion and extreme altitude go hand in hand with true genepi.

💛

Scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius)

“Yellow and smooth broom: pretty to look at, never to taste” — no thorns to warn you like gorse, only the color and flower shape signal the genus to absolutely avoid chewing on.

🌲

Common Juniper (Juniperus communis)

“Juniper: the blue berries that flavor gin” — the waxy blue-black color immediately rules out the deadly red berries of the yew.

🌲

Eastern Redcedar (Juniperus virginiana)

“Bluish scales, no flat needles” — the scale foliage and blue-violet berry-cones distinguish juniper from toxic yew, which has flat needles and bright red fruit.

🌼

Great Yellow Gentian (Gentiana lutea)

“Yellow and opposite, gentian you got it; white and alternate, helleborine's your fate” — systematically check how the leaves are arranged on the stem before harvesting any root, whether in bloom or not.

⚠️

Meadow vetchling (Lathyrus pratensis)

“Grass pea = stay away in famine” — lathyrism (spastic paralysis of the legs) has never hit casual foragers, only populations forced to rely on it as a staple food for months on end during famines in India, Ethiopia, or Bangladesh.

🍄

Chanterelle (Cantharellus cibarius)

“Ridges, not gills” — if what you see under the cap slices sharply like a knife blade, it's not a chanterelle.

🔴

Slender Gracilaria (Gracilaria gracilis)

“Gracilaria is the red thread of agar-agar” — its tapered cartilaginous cords are the raw material for the gelling agent replacing animal gelatin in kitchens worldwide.

☠️

Poison hemlock (Conium maculatum)

“Spotted stem, mice in your nose” — purple on smooth, stink in the air: hemlock is there.

🍇

Grewia (Sahel raisin) (Grewia bicolor)

'Glossy green on top, downy white underneath' — that's the Sahel raisin, sweet and safe to eat.

🚫

Gympie-gympie (Giant stinging tree) (Dendrocnide moroides)

“Velvety heart, a year of smart” — the gympie-gympie's large heart-shaped leaf hides microscopic needles with a sting that can flare up months later.

🍄

False Morel (Gyromitra esculenta)

“Wrinkled brain, never pitted” — slice it in half: true morels are hollow and clean, false morels are filled and contorted.

🌿

Stinking hellebore (Helleborus foetidus)

“Smells like a mess, lethal to digest” — the foul smell when crushed is your first warning.

🍂

Poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans)

“Leaves of three, let it be” — three shiny leaflets, never touch it.

🌳

European Beech (Fagus sylvatica)

“Raw mast, use restraint; roasted mast, eat without concern” — cooking neutralizes the fagine so you can enjoy them worry-free.

🌺

Hibiscus (roselle, bissap) (Hibiscus sabdariffa)

“The red calyx of bissap calms blood pressure, not thirst”—a tangy, refreshing drink rather than a baseline therapy.

🟤

Himanthalia (sea spaghetti, thongweed) (Himanthalia elongata)

"Button first, spaghetti next" — the tiny disc attached to the rock in spring turns a few weeks later into long, branched thongs that you harvest just like green beans from the sea.

🌵

Hoodia (Hoodia gordonii)

“Hoodia: the Kalahari legend flopped in the lab” – a good example of a survival myth not to be confused with a miracle solution.

🌿

Hops (wild hops) (Humulus lupulus)

« Hops climb like a clock » — it always twines clockwise around its support, a fixed direction of rotation for this species that helps distinguish it from other vines.

🌳

Common Holly (Ilex aquifolium)

"Holly pricks below, strokes above" — leaves out of reach of herbivores lose their spines; there's no need to defend where nothing grazes.

🌲

English Yew (Taxus baccata)

“Yew kills quickly”: no resin smell, no cones — just a sweet red berry hiding a deadly black seed.

🍠

Wild Yam (Air Potato, Aerial Yam) (Dioscorea bulbifera)

“Bitter and raw, it kills; soaked, boiled, and rinsed, it fills” — wild yam is earned through an overnight soak and a thorough boil.

🫐

Illawarra Plum (Podocarpus elatus)

"The conifer that grows plums" — rare among conifers, the Illawarra Podocarpus produces a true edible fleshy fruit rather than a cone.

🧡

Jewelweed / Touch-me-not (Impatiente du Cap) (Impatiens capensis)

“Where poison ivy grows, its antidote is often close” — jewelweed and poison ivy share the same moist soil, almost always side by side.

🍄

Red Staining Inocybe (Inocybe erubescens)

“Torrents of sweat and saliva, atropine is urgent” — muscarinic syndrome is recognized quickly and treated well if you act fast.

🟡

Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus)

“Entire leaves, fruit on the trunk” — that's jackfruit; “lobed leaves, fruit at the branch tips” — that's breadfruit.

🚫

Jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis)

“Jojoba goes on your skin, not on your plate” — its wax treats burns externally, but the raw seed remains a purgative appetite suppressant you should avoid cooking with.

🌵

Joshua Tree (Yucca brevifolia)

“The yucca that grew a real trunk” — unique among American desert yuccas, the Joshua Tree stands on a true branched trunk.

🌵

Common Houseleek (Sempervivum tectorum)

“Houseleek on the roof keeps lightning away” — legend explains its old name, “Jupiter's beard” (Jove's beard), after the god of thunder.

🌳

Christ's Thorn Jujube (Ziziphus spina-christi)

“One straight thorn, one curved thorn, at the base of each leaf” - the identification signature of the desert jujube.

🌾

Black Henbane (Hyoscyamus niger)

“Blood-veined flower, seeds of madness” — the foul odor warns you, the seeds kill you.

🌳

Shea tree (Vitellaria paradoxa)

"A shea tree takes 15 years to yield its first fruit and 200 years to stop"—a generational investment that local communities protect rather than chop down.

🌭

Sausage Tree (Kigelia africana)

"The dangling sausage is never eaten raw" — dried and fermented for several days, it becomes beer; raw, it purges you violently.

🍄

Saffron milkcap (Lactarius deliciosus)

“Orange milk under pines, you're fine; white milk under birches, be careful” — the color of the milk and the host tree are all you need.

🌿

Common sow thistle (smooth sow thistle) (Sonchus oleraceus)

“Sow thistle: bleeds milk as soon as you snap it” — this instant white latex, never present in cut cultivated lettuce, identifies the genus Sonchus.

🟢

Sea lettuce (Ulva lactuca)

“Green and living, eat with joy; brown and piled up, stay away” — the same alga can nourish you or poison the air depending on its state.

🌿

White and Purple Dead-Nettle (Lamium album / Lamium purpureum)

“Dead-nettle mimics nettle but never stings” — the touch test (soft vs. stinging) is all you need to tell them apart in a second, risk-free.

🟤

Oarweed (Breton kombu) (Laminaria digitata)

"The kelp with outstretched fingers only reveals itself at low spring tides" — its broad finger-like straps, permanently submerged, only appear at high tide coefficients above 80.

🌼

Common Nipplewort (Lapsana communis)

“Nipplewort is the little yellow one that sleeps in the afternoon” — its tiny flower heads close as the sun fades, unlike dandelion which stays open longer.

🍄

Beefsteak fungus (Fistulina hepatica)

"It bleeds like meat, but it's a mushroom" — its red oozing liquid is the most reliable distinguishing mark.

🌿

Cherry Laurel (Prunus laurocerasus)

“No spice smell, keep it off the plate” — if it doesn't smell like Mediterranean cooking when crushed, it's not bay laurel.

🌺

Oleander (Nerium oleander)

“Leaves by three, keep off the barbecue” — oleander has nothing in common with bay laurel.

🌿

Bay Laurel (Laurus nobilis)

“Smells nice and sweet, cook it for your treat; oleander and cherry will put you six feet deep” — only bay laurel has a distinctly pleasant aromatic scent; spit out any odorless bay-like leaf or one smelling of bitter almond.

💜

Sea lavender (statice) (Limonium vulgare)

“Sea lavender keeps its flowers long after it dies” — its purple papery calyx remains intact for months, even when dry, making it a natural dried bouquet flower.

🍄

Deadly dapperling (toxic group) (Lepiota brunneoincarnata)

“Small and brown, leave it on the ground” — only the large parasol mushroom with a patterned stem and movable ring is safe to eat.

🌿

Ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea)

"Ground ivy: it creeps, it never climbs" — its misleading name has nothing to do with climbing ivy, which is toxic if ingested in quantity.

🍒

Small-leaved lilly pilly (riberry) (Syzygium luehmannii)

“Red pear with a spicy nose” — the small pear-shaped lilly pilly berry has the tart bite of cranberry and clove.

🌱

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa)

“Alfalfa: the corkscrew pod” — no other common legume has pods coiled in such a distinct spiral, making it the key feature to distinguish it from clover at a single glance.

🌰

Macadamia Nut (Macadamia integrifolia)

“The hardest nut to crack is also the most caloric” - 718 kcal per 100 g, one of the most energy-dense foods in all of nature.

🍎

Manchineel (Hippomane mancinella)

“Little beach apple, never in your pack” — the world's most dangerous tree looks like the most harmless apple tree.

🍠

Cassava (Manihot esculenta)

« Raw cassava, deadly cassava » — soak or cook long before taking a bite, with no exceptions.

🍂

Manzanita (Arctostaphylos manzanita)

“Red bark peeling like an apple” — its smooth red-brown bark is as distinct to the touch as it is to the eye, virtually unique in the chaparral.

🍄

Fairy ring mushroom (Marasmius oreades)

"It bends, it doesn't break" — the tough stem of the fairy ring mushroom separates it by touch from its brittle deadly lookalikes.

🌰

Horse Chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum)

'Horse chestnut on the tree, never for you and me' — compound leaf with 5-7 fingers, capsule with soft, spaced-out prickles: nothing to do with sweet chestnut despite the misleading name.

🍑

Marula (Sclerocarya birrea)

“Marula on the ground, animal feast around” - fallen fruits attract elephants, baboons, and antelopes, a great indicator for spotting the tree from afar.

🌾

Cattail and Common Reed (Typha latifolia / Phragmites australis)

“The brown sausage is cattail; the silvery plume is reed” — two wetland silhouettes impossible to confuse with each other, and easy to tell apart from toxic iris by their spike or panicle.

🌸

Common mallow (Malva sylvestris)

“Mallow: the little cheese growing by the roadside” — its tiny wheel-shaped fruit is child's play to spot and identify.

🌲

European Larch (Larix decidua)

“The only conifer that gets naked in winter is the larch” — losing its needles in autumn is unique among conifers in our mountains.

🌾

Yellow Sweet Clover (Melilotus officinalis)

“Dry and moldy sweet clover: hidden blood thinner” — this is the very story behind the discovery of warfarin, born from cattle hemorrhaging after eating spoiled sweet clover hay in the 1920s.

🍇

Canada Moonseed (Menispermum canadense)

“A crescent seed, never a grape indeed” — cut open the fruit before trusting your eyes.

🌿

Water Mint (Mentha aquatica)

“By the water, if it smells like mint, this is it” — the smell test instantly eliminates any confusion in its preferred habitat.

⚠️

Pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium)

“Pennyroyal: the mint you no longer drink” — among all wild mints in Europe, it is the only one whose use as tea is currently advised against by scientific literature due to pulegone.

🍒

Wild Cherry (Sweet Cherry) (Prunus avium)

“Wild cherry: striped bark peeling off like parchment” — when smooth coppery bark peels in thin horizontal strips, you've found it, even in dead of winter without leaves or fruit.

🦪

Oyster plant (Mertensia maritima) (Mertensia maritima)

"The leaf that tastes like an oyster should only be picked sparingly"—rare and threatened, it should only be gathered in very small quantities, never stripped completely.

🌵

Honey Mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa)

“The tree that fruits even in drought years” — its ability to produce pods even in dry weather made it a reliable resource for desert peoples, including the Seri of Mexico.

🌳

European Hop-Hornbeam / Mediterranean Hackberry (Celtis australis)

“The wood that bends but never breaks” — the hackberry provided whips and pitchforks for centuries precisely because it refuses to snap.

☀️

St. John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum)

"St. John's Wort: full of a thousand holes, but above all a thousand drug interactions"—the leaf perforations are easy to spot in the light, but the real risk of this plant isn't botanical: it's pharmacological, lowering the effectiveness of dozens of medications.

🫐

Black Nightshade (Solanum nigrum)

“When green, leave it be; when black, still not for me” — when in doubt, keep wild nightshade out of your basket.

🍄

Morel (Morchella esculenta)

“Raw, the morel makes you ill; cooked, it's a gourmet thrill” — and “Cut it in two: hollow and clear is a true morel; chambered and twisted, stay away.”

🌱

Moringa (Moringa oleifera)

"Moringa, the tree that feeds and filters" - its leaves stave off hunger, its crushed seeds clarify muddy water.

🌱

Chickweed (Stellaria media)

“A single line of hairs that switches sides at every node” — chickweed is the only common small herb with this unique signature.

🔔

Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis)

"Pretty little bell, heart takes a spell": the May Day fragrance hides a cardiac poison, even in its water.

🌳

Mulga (Acacia aneura)

"The wood that never rots underground" — the extreme density of mulga (up to 1100 kg/m³) makes it the most durable fence post in the outback.

🌳

White Mulberry (Morus alba)

"Mulberry leaves never have the same shape twice" — on a single branch, entire, lobed, or mitten-shaped: it's the signature of the species.

🌿

Common Myrtle (Myrtus communis)

“Transparent myrtle, dotted like a colander” — hold a leaf up to the light: the bright spots of the essential oil glands won't fool you.

🫐

Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus)

“Bilberry: the square stem, the juice that stains”—two clues are all you need to recognize it without hesitation in the undergrowth.

🍒

Native Cherry (Cherry Ballart) (Exocarpos cupressiformis)

“The upside-down cherry”—with the native cherry, the pit is on the outside and the sweet flesh grows underneath, the exact opposite of a real cherry.

🍓

Native raspberry (Rubus parvifolius)

“The raspberry crossed the Pacific trailing close to the ground” — the Australian cousin of the raspberry grows low arching stems rather than upright canes.

🍂

Common medlar (Mespilus germanica)

“Medlars are only eaten rotten”—it's the bletting process, and only that, which turns the hard, astringent flesh into a edible sweet pulp; picked too early, it remains inedible.

⚠️

Yellow Water-lily (Nuphar lutea)

“Yellow water-lily: only edible after several boiling baths”—without this repeated treatment, the rhizome remains acrid and irritating.

🌳

African Locust Bean (Parkia biglobosa)

“Sweet yellow pulp, savory fermented seed” — two contrasting foods from the same pod: one instant, the other after days of patience.

🫐

Purging Buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica)

« Buckthorn: its Latin name says it all, cathartica like catharsis-purge » — a black berry in a spiny hedge whose scientific name alone warns you of severe digestive danger.

🌰

Hazel (Corylus avellana)

“Hazel: the first to bloom, the last to yield” — its catkins open the year in January, while its fruits only ripen in autumn.

🌰

Brazil Nut (Bertholletia excelsa)

“Never under a fruiting tree” — the Brazil nut won't poison you, but it can knock you dead before you even pick it up.

🔴

Nori (purple laver) (Porphyra umbilicalis)

“Wild nori sticks to rocks like a blackened plastic bag” — its thin, translucent, midribless frond is the signature of the genus, unconfusable with any toxic seaweed.

🌰

Common Walnut (Juglans regia)

“Nothing grows under a walnut tree” — the juglone secreted by its roots explains why the ground under a large walnut tree often remains surprisingly clear of competing vegetation.

🌰

Black walnut (Juglans nigra)

"The shell that resists the hammer hides the boldest kernel" — its legendary hardness discourages many rushed foragers, rewarding those who take their time.

☠️

Strychnine tree (nux vomica) (Strychnos nux-vomica)

“Round, orange fruit in the jungle: never an orange” — the strychnine tree mimics the most mundane fruit in the world to hide the most violent poison.

🌿

Sea purslane (Halimione portulacoides)

“Sea purslane wears its leaves two by two, coated in silver” — its opposite, grey leaves distinguish it from all other plants along the drift line.

☠️

Hemlock water-dropwort (Oenanthe crocata)

“Saffron-yellow sap, sweet fingers: death in a bouquet” — never put an aquatic umbellifer root in your mouth.

🌵

Eastern prickly pear (Opuntia humifusa)

“Brush before you touch” — glochids, invisible from a distance, are the main safety rule with any Opuntia.

🌿

Wild Oregano (Wild Marjoram) (Origanum vulgare)

“Wild oregano already smells like pizza” — just crush a leaf, the scent is identical to the spice jar in your kitchen.

🌳

Field Elm (Ulmus minor (syn. Ulmus campestris))

"Elm: the limping leaf" — its asymmetrical base, with one side longer than the other, is the fastest marker for the genus.

🌿

Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica)

“Nettle stings your hand, but cooked it feeds the man” — the sting is its signature, hot water or drying erases it.

🌿

Sorrel (Rumex acetosa)

“Sorrel: sour to the tongue long before it stings your eyes” — a quick taste test confirms identification in an instant.

🌿

Alpine Sorrel (Rumex alpinus)

“Where the herd rests, Alpine sorrel manifests” — its presence in a dense carpet always signals soil enriched by livestock.

🌴

Sago Palm (Metroxylon sagu)

"A sago trunk is a bag of flour on legs" - split, pound, wash, dry: four steps to turn a trunk into a calorie reserve.

🌳

Blue Palo Verde (Parkinsonia florida)

“The tree that breathes even naked” — the palo verde's green trunk keeps photosynthesizing even when its tiny leaves have dropped, unlike all its desert neighbors.

🥕

Wild parsnip (Pastinaca sativa)

“Parsnip: the only yellow umbel by the roadside” — its color is a quick indicator, but gloves are mandatory for the foliage, photosensitizing like hogweed.

🌴

Pandanus (vacoa, screwpine) (Pandanus tectorius)

"The pandanus stands tall on stilts and feeds the atoll" — right after the coconut palm, it's the second main staple plant of the Pacific islands.

🍄

Brown roll-rim (Paxillus involutus)

“Tolerated today, fatal tomorrow” — the roll-rim proves that a mushroom eaten a hundred times without issue can kill you on the hundred and first.

🍃

Butterbur (pestilence wort) (Petasites hybridus)

“Butterbur: the giant colt's foot of riverbanks”—same flowering strategy before the leaves, but on the scale of an umbrella rather than a coin, and the same precautions regarding alkaloids.

🌳

Black Poplar (Populus nigra)

“Poplar: sticky and scented buds in spring” — rub them between your fingers, the balsamic scent and resin never lie.

🍄

Poplar fieldcap (Cyclocybe aegerita)

“On poplars, in tufts, with a broad white ring” — the poplar fieldcap is one of the safest wood-decay mushrooms you can identify.

🏮

Wild Physalis (Cape gooseberry, Peruvian groundcherry, husked cherry) (Physalis peruviana)

"As long as the cage is green, leave the fruit alone; when it dries and turns brown, the lantern is ripe" — the lantern husk is your green light for ripeness.

🍇

American Pokeweed (Phytolacca americana)

"Purple stem, black cluster, leave the root alone" — the only part ever eaten is the very young shoot, and only when boiled three times.

🍄

Wood blewit (Lepista nuda)

“No cortina, no dilemma” — plus pink spore print versus rust spore print, the foolproof test.

🍄

Wood Hedgehog (Hydnum repandum)

“Spines, not gills” — you can recognize the hedgehog mushroom by touch with your eyes closed.

🌸

Pigface (Karkalla / Hottentot Fig) (Carpobrotus spp.)

“Pigface soothes a jellyfish sting as well as it satisfies your hunger” - the same juice for skin and stomach.

🌲

Eastern white pine (Pinus strobus)

“W-H-I-T-E”: five letters, five needles per bundle — the most common memory trick in North America to identify eastern white pine among all other pines.

🌲

Swiss pine (Arolla pine) (Pinus cembra)

"Five for Cembro, two for Scots" — just counting the needles per bundle is enough to tell these two mountain pines apart.

🌲

Pinyon pine (piñon pine) (Pinus edulis)

"Two needles, big nut" — counting the needles per bundle (2 on the pinyon pine, compared to 5 on the Eastern white pine) instantly distinguishes the continent's two most cited species.

🌲

Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa)

“Sniff between the plates” — the orange bark of the ponderosa smells like vanilla or butterscotch in the sun, a unique signature among pine trees.

🌲

Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris)

“Pine: two needles per cluster, bark turning copper-red” — counting the needles instantly eliminates deadly yew.

🌼

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)

“Dandelion: one single flower, one single stalk, no leaf on the stem” — as soon as a stem branches or bears leaves, it's not a dandelion.

🌿

Mastic tree (Pistacia lentiscus)

“Lentiscus no end, the leaf stops dead” — the absence of a terminal leaflet at the top of the rachis reliably distinguishes the mastic tree from the terebinth.

🌿

Plantain (ribwort and broadleaf) (Plantago lanceolata / Plantago major)

“Plantain: tear a leaf in two, if white threads hang, it's the one” — the vein test never fails.

💧

Water plantain (European water-plantain) (Alisma plantago-aquatica)

“Water plantain: the fake cousin of land plantain” — same name, same family of oval leaves with parallel veins, but an aquatic habitat and a completely different chemical composition that demand caution.

🟠

American persimmon (Diospyros virginiana)

“Firm, it wrecks your mouth; soft, it sweetens it.” Never taste a firm persimmon — wait until it drops.

🌳

London Plane (Platanus x hispanica)

“The plane tree strips off in plates” — it is the only bark in Europe that peels into cream, green, and grey confetti, impossible to mistake.

🍄

Oyster Mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus)

“White gills on wood = oyster mushroom; orange glowing gills in the dark = stay away” — the bioluminescence of its toxic look-alike is a rare but real trap.

🍈

Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum)

"Green umbrella overhead, wait for yellow on the bed"—under the parasol leaf, everything is toxic except the fully ripe fruit.

🍐

Wild pear (European wild pear) (Pyrus pyraster)

“Round and low = wild apple, elongated and tall = wild pear” — the tree's silhouette and fruit shape are enough to tell these two hedgerow cousins apart.

🍄

Chicken of the woods (Laetiporus sulphureus)

“Sulfur orange on the trunk, never on yew” — the host tree matters just as much as the mushroom itself.

🍎

European crab apple (Malus sylvestris)

"The European crab apple is the apple before we sweetened it" — same star-shaped seeds, same structure, but a fruit that stayed tiny and sour, lacking the centuries of selection that created orchard apples.

🌱

Common purslane (Portulaca oleracea)

“Juicy purslane never bleeds white” — if it oozes a milky latex when snapped, it's not purslane, put it down.

🌿

Sea Sandwort (Honckenya peploides)

“Four neat rows, no milky flows” — sea sandwort aligns its leaves like a regular checkerboard and never secretes latex, unlike the toxic spurge sharing the same sand.

🌿

Field Horsetail (Equisetum arvense)

“Horsetail snaps together like a construction toy” — you can literally disassemble the stem segment by segment at each node, a handy trick to confirm identification instantly.

🌲

Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis)

'Hemlock tree ≠ Poison hemlock' — a harmless conifer and a deadly herbaceous plant only share an English name, never a botanical lineage: always check the species, never rely solely on the common name.

🫐

Kakadu plum (Terminalia ferdinandiana)

“One small fruit is worth 50 oranges” - the Kakadu plum holds one of the world records for vitamin C per gram.

🫐

Blackthorn (sloe) (Prunus spinosa)

“Sloe before the frost, your mouth gets lost; sloe after the frost, a sweet treat at no cost” — cold transforms astringency into sweetness.

🍑

Desert Quandong (Santalum acuminatum)

“The red quandong shines like a desert peach” - spot the bright red shine of the fruit amidst the pale foliage.

🌾

Cattail (quenouille) (Typha latifolia)

“Cattail: the brown sausage at the top of the reed feeds you top to bottom—the heart down below, the pollen up high.”

🌸

Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria)

« Meadowsweet: the aspirin scent that gave aspirin its name » — this direct etymological link is the best way to never forget it.

🌼

Meadow buttercup (Ranunculus acris)

“Fresh it stings, dried it sleeps” — the same flower becomes harmless once dried in hay.

⚠️

Alpenrose (Rhododendron ferrugineum)

“Rusty scales underneath, don't eat, even if it smells good above” — the rusty underside of the leaves marks the species to keep away from any foraging.

🌱

Castor Oil Plant (Ricinus communis)

"Mottled little bean, never to be chewed"—castor seeds look like candy, but they kill like a military poison.

🌾

Wild rice (manoomin) (Zizania palustris)

“It’s not true rice, it’s a lake grass worth its weight in gold” — Zizania is botanically unrelated to Asian rice (Oryza).

🌳

Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia)

'Locust stings but lasts long' — its thorns protect sweet edible flowers, but you must never eat its wood or bark.

🌿

Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus (syn. Rosmarinus officinalis))

“Sea-dew rosemary, white below, green above” — rosmarinus means “dew of the sea”, the resinous smell clears up any confusion.

🫐

Bramble and Wild Raspberry (Rubus fruticosus / Rubus idaeus)

“The blackberry stays whole, the raspberry pulls hollow” — a single picking movement is all it takes to never confuse the two fruits.

🌿

Sea rocket (Cakile maritima)

“Sea rocket grows where the wave stops” — its line of small green tufts marks the exact upper limit of the highest tides on beach driftlines.

🍄

Field mushroom (Agaricus campestris)

"Pink gills = edible, white gills = death" — the rule you must apply before harvesting any white mushroom in a field.

🌹

Burnet rose (Scotch rose) (Rosa spinosissima)

“Fine prickles, black hips” — you can recognize the burnet rose by its numerous fine prickles and its hips that turn black when ripe, unlike the dog rose with its large hooked thorns and bright red fruits.

🌾

Common Reed (Phragmites australis)

“The reed bends but never breaks” — La Fontaine's fable literally describes its physiology: a hollow, flexible stem capable of taking the wind without snapping, unlike the rigid oak.

🪢

Rattan (Calamus rotang)

“Rattan climbs with claws, not with arms” — its curved spines, not roots, hook it to the canopy.

🍄

Charcoal burner (Russula cyanoxantha)

“It bends, it doesn't break” — the single tactile test that identifies the charcoal burner among dozens of russulas.

🏹

Arrowhead (duck potato) (Sagittaria sagittifolia)

"Arrowhead: the arrow leaf hides potatoes in the mud" — spot the leaf on the surface, dig in the mud beneath to find the tubers late in the season.

🌵

Saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea)

'A pole of three ribs to pick the sky' — the Tohono O'odham harvest the saguaro fruit from high above using a pole crafted from the ribs of another saguaro.

🌿

Glasswort (Samphire) (Salicornia europaea)

“Marsh samphire salts itself” - no need to add salt to a vegetable that grows with its feet in seawater.

🌾

Meadow Salsify and Rampion Bellflower (Tragopogon pratensis / Campanula rapunculus)

“Salsify: the giant dandelion that closes shop at noon” — its flower head closing by early afternoon is a fun and reliable clue.

🌿

Toothbrush Tree (siwak/miswak) (Salvadora persica)

"The desert provides its own toothbrush" — for over a thousand years, a simple chewed branch of Salvadora persica cleans teeth just as well as a modern toothbrush.

🌰

Australian sandalwood (Santalum spicatum)

“The sweet-smelling cousin of the quandong”—same genus, same desert, but it's the sandalwood's timber, not its fruit, that is worth its weight in gold.

🌲

Balsam Fir (Abies balsamea)

"Pop the blister, heal the wound" — the resin bursting under your finger on the smooth bark is the boreal bushcrafter's bandage and glue.

🌲

Fir and Spruce (buds) (Abies alba / Picea abies)

"Fir, flat needles that don't prick; spruce, all-around needles that prick" — rolling the needle between your fingers tells them apart in an instant, and eliminates yew if there are no cones.

🍁

Sassafras (Sassafras albidum)

“Three leaf shapes, one tree, one distinct smell” — mitten, hand, and simple leaf on the same plant, recognizable by smell as much as by shape.

🌳

White Willow (Salix alba)

"Willow heals by the water's edge what aspirin heals at the bottom of the bottle" — the bitter bark of the willow is the direct botanical ancestor of the best-selling drug in the world.

🌿

Arctic Willow (Salix arctica)

“The northernmost willow lays flat to survive” — its extreme creeping shape is a direct adaptation to wind and cold, not a sign of youth: some individual plants are several centuries old.

☠️

Sea squill (Drimia maritima (syn. Urginea maritima))

“Huge bulb and a stalk so bare, keep squill off your plate, beware” — admire this large protruding bulb with its leafless flower stalk, but never pick it.

🌼

Common ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris)

“Small yellow flowers, liver takes the blow” — ragwort's danger builds up dose after dose, not all at once.

🌿

Wild Thyme (Thymus serpyllum)

"Wild Thyme: the creeping thyme" — if it grows flat as a low mat and smells like thyme, you found it; if it grows upright as a small shrub, it's common thyme.

🌳

Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia)

Raw rowan makes you frown, cooked rowan after frost goes down well — never eat raw berries in quantity, always cook or freeze them first.

🍐

Service tree (corm) (Sorbus domestica)

“The service tree is the XXL rowan”—same uses as rowan (blet before eating), but with fruits three times larger and a tree that lives for centuries instead of decades.

🌿

Prickly saltwort (Russian thistle) (Salsola kali)

“Prickly saltwort gets sharp as it ages” — pick it young, otherwise every leaf turns into a sharp spine.

🍄

Cauliflower mushroom (Sparassis crispa)

“A cauliflower at the foot of a pine tree” — its silhouette looks like no other common mushroom.

🟢

Sphagnum moss (Sphagnum spp.)

"Sphagnum drinks twenty times its weight and almost never rots" — it's this dual property (absorption + preservation) that explains all its survival uses.

☠️

Strophanthus (arrow poison liana) (Strophanthus gratus)

"Pink flower with twisted filaments, poison that stops the heart" — strophanthus tipped African hunting arrows long before firearms arrived.

🍂

Poison sumac (Toxicodendron vernix)

« White berries hanging low, where wet waters flow » — never on dry land, always wet feet.

🌳

Staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina)

“Red upright cone, squeeze it at home; white hanging cluster, leave it to bluster” — instantly distinguishes edible sumac from poison sumac.

🫐

American elderberry (Sambucus canadensis)

“Cook the elder, raw makes you suffer” — flowers raw are fine, raw berries never.

🌳

Elderberry (Sambucus nigra)

“Elderberry: eat the flower raw, eat the berry only cooked” — the simple rule to save any hurried foragers from a bout of nausea.

☠️

Dwarf elderberry (Danewort) (Sambucus ebulus)

"Soft stem on the elder, keep it off the dinner plate" — the stem test alone (hard wood = cookable black elder, soft herbaceous stem = toxic dwarf elder to avoid) is enough to tell them apart, even without fruits or flowers.

🫘

Tamarind (Tamarindus indica)

“The sticky, tangy brown pod” — tamarind pulp is the base for the most popular lemonade across Africa and Asia.

🍃

Taro (Colocasia esculenta)

“Raw taro bites, cooked taro feeds” — the burning sensation in your mouth is the signal that it needs to cook longer.

⚠️

Labrador Tea (Rhododendron groenlandicum)

“Rusty fuzz below, one cup and no more” — the dosage, not just the presence of the plant, determines the danger.

🌲

Northern white-cedar (Eastern arborvitae) (Thuja occidentalis)

“The tree of life saved Cartier” — a tea made from cedar bark and leaves, rich in vitamin C, cured an entire crew from scurvy in just a few days in 1536.

🌿

Common thyme (Thymus vulgaris)

“If it stings your nose with camphor, you've found your thyme” — the smell when crushed identifies thyme even before you look at the flower.

🌳

Linden (Lime tree) (Tilia cordata / Tilia platyphyllos)

“Linden: a little paper tongue attached to every cluster of flowers” — the winged bract is the label the tree puts on its own flowers.

🍀

Clover and Daisy (Trifolium repens / pratense — Bellis perennis)

“Three leaflets for clover, a rosette for daisy” — the two stars of edible lawns, with no dangerous confusion possible between them.

🌳

Common Aspen (Populus tremula)

“The aspen trembles because its leaf hangs by a flattened ribbon, not a round stem” — the slightest breeze makes it twist.

🍄

St. George's mushroom (Calocybe gambosa)

“Flour smell in spring, white spore print = St. George's; flour smell in summer, pink spore print = danger” — check both the season AND the spore print, never one without the other.

🪨

Rock tripe (Umbilicaria spp.)

“Rock tripe calms your hunger, but never truly feeds you” — it's an extreme survival food, not a reliable source of calories.

🍄

Horn of Plenty (Craterellus cornucopioides)

“All-black trumpet, no gills or pores” — the safest mushroom to identify in the European undergrowth.

🌼

Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara)

“Coltsfoot: the flower before the leaf” — the only common early spring plant to bloom in yellow without a single visible leaf; the hoof-shaped leaves only arrive later.

🌸

Valerian (Valeriana officinalis)

“Valerian: sweet-smelling flower, sock-smelling root” — the contrast between the delicate floral fragrance and the strong dried root odor is the best cue to remember this sleep remedy plant.

🌾

White veratrum (Veratrum album)

“Spiral leaves, heart perceives”: opposite leaves mean gentian, alternate and pleated mean veratrum.

🌱

Common Vetch (Garden Vetch) (Vicia sativa)

"Vetch is fine, but Lathyrus harms the spine" — remember that the genus Lathyrus (vetchling) carries the real neurological risk with massive consumption, while vetch (Vicia) is safer.

🍄

Giant puffball (Calvatia gigantea)

“Cut in half before cooking” — solid, uniform white flesh means it's a puffball; a mushroom outline forming inside means it's an amanita, throw it away.

🍇

Riverbank grape (wild grape) (Vitis riparia)

“Forked I climb, round I feed you” — forked tendrils and round seeds mark the true grape; if there are no tendrils and the seed is a crescent, stay away from moonseed.

🌸

Sweet Violet (Viola odorata)

“Sweet violet: if it smells great and has a spur, that's the one” — its scent is unmistakable right at ground level in February.

🔴

Guelder rose (Viburnum opulus)

"Guelder rose: bright red and pretty, but never eat it raw" — just like elderberries, these decorative berries must absolutely be cooked before eating, or you'll face some severe digestive troubles.

🟤

Wakame (Undaria pinnatifida)

"Wakame has a backbone" — its thick midrib and regular pinnate lobes set it apart from all other large coastal brown seaweeds.

🌱

Wattleseed Acacia (elegant wattle) (Acacia victoriae)

"Desert coffee grows in a pod" — roasted and ground acacia seeds have replaced coffee in arid Australia for millennia.

🍑

Ximenia (African wild plum) (Ximenia americana)

“Eat the flesh, spit the seed” — the African wild plum hides its cyanide in the kernel, never in the pulp.

🌵

Soapweed yucca (Yucca glauca)

"The plant that washes itself" — its lathering root makes it the desert's go-to natural soap.

🫒

Indian Jujube (Sahel Apple) (Ziziphus mauritiana)

“Paired thorns, sweet little apple of the Sahel” — the cousin of Christ's thorn jujube, only bigger and sweeter.

psychologie (13)

🧠

Experience increases risk on familiar terrain

The real danger isn't that you can't read the snow, it's your group dynamics

🎯

Minute-by-Minute Goals, Not a Rescue Date

Break the impossible into minutes, never into days

🌳

Hug-a-Tree: stop moving, pick a fixed spot

Stop moving, pick a tree, stay right next to it

🌲

Familiar terrain lulls your vigilance, not the danger

'I know these woods' has never made the forest any less dangerous

✈️

Eleven days following water after a 3,000-meter fall

Lost in the jungle: follow water downstream.

⛰️

Most serious accidents happen on the way down

The real danger starts when you think you're done

🥾

Over 6 out of 10 serious accidents happen on the descent

Prepare for fatigue before you start; you can't manage it on the way down.

🎖️

The captain and the crew

Talk to yourself like a captain commanding his crew

🔄

Changing targets in time saved 28 lives

Clinging to a dead plan costs lives; changing it in time saves them

🎯

The next boulder, never the 8 kilometers

Never think about the total distance: focus on the next boulder

🌑

Four days when giving up felt easier

The death of a companion must never become a reason to surrender

🪨

Share your plans before you head out

Say where you go, and when you'll be back below.

🌳

Out of 800 missing persons, only two stayed put

A stationary target is found infinitely faster than a moving target

sante (24)

💨

Asphyxiation causes 75 to 82% of avalanche deaths

It's not the cold that kills first, it's the lack of air

🩸

Bleeding First, Even Before a Visible Fracture

Blood first, always, even before the most screaming pain

💪

Dislocated Shoulder: Relaxation, Never Traction

Never pull on a dislocated shoulder: relax, don't force

🧊

Cold Ground Drains Your Body Faster Than Cold Air

Insulate yourself from the ground before putting on extra layers

🤢

Rapid Staph Poisoning, Slow and Deadly Botulism

Fast and painful = staph; slow and paralyzing = botulism

🧂

Lack of salt kills as fast as lack of water

Drink, but eat a little salt too.

💊

Willow: aspirin growing right by the water

Willow = salicin = wild aspirin.

🕷️

Ticks climb up, they never drop from trees

Twist the tick tool, never pull straight out.

🥩

Rabbit starvation: too much lean meat can make you sick

Look for fat before meat.

🧴

Twenty seconds of soap, no less

The time it takes to sing a short chorus twice in your head

🕳️

A cathole: 15-20 cm deep, 60 meters from water

60 meters, a good minute's walk away from any water

🩹

Apply tape before the blister, not after

Act on the hot spot alert, never wait for the blister

💊

An ORS packet reduces death risk by 93%

A few grams in the pack to cut death risk by 93%

🍋

One month without vitamin C before scurvy sets in

No fruits or veggies for a month: your gums start to bleed

🩹

The jungle kills through minor wounds, never through wild beasts

The jungle kills through minor wounds, never through wild beasts.

🧦

Two socks are better than one against blisters

Friction happens between the socks, not against your skin

🫁

Climb high, sleep low

Climb high by day, sleep low at night.

🦷

Scurvy kills without a single degree of frost

Without citrus or liver, gums bleed within weeks

❄️

Left for dead twice at 7,900 m

Move toward shelter or stay put: never do things halfway

🏠

30 meters to sleep, 60 to dig

Thirty meters to sleep, sixty to dig.

🪱

Remove ticks by twisting, never any other way

Twist, never pull a tick

🕰️

Attachment time changes the entire risk of Lyme

Removed fast, danger passed

💉

Use an adrenaline auto-injector without delay

Anaphylaxis: injector first, 112 next, don't wait

🌊

Jellyfish or weeverfish: hot water, never ice

Heat breaks down venom, cold only dulls the pain

secours (22)

🧭

Stay or Move: The Decision That Trumps Everything

When in doubt, stay put: it's always easier to fix than making things worse

📝

A Note on the Windshield Is Almost as Good as a Beacon

A note on the windshield costs nothing and works almost like a beacon

🎬

The movie-style improvised tourniquet almost never works

A shoelace hurts without saving: use a wide band, never a string

🐍

Sucking out venom removes less than a thousandth of the dose

Sucking out venom is movie fiction, never real first aid

🚶

A trail is better than a fixed point

Lost? A handrail (trail, ridge, river) beats staying stuck.

🤝

Touching a lightning victim is completely safe

The body holds no charge: touch, act, don't waste time

🫀

Reverse triage: revive the 'dead' first

Breathe for the 'dead' victim first, their heart might restart on its own

🆘

If the ice breaks: turn, pull, roll

Turn, pull, roll, move: ten minutes count.

⏱️

1-10-1, the order of priorities in cold water

One minute breathe, ten minutes move, one hour you hold on.

🛟

Protection, signals, water, food

Protection, signals, water, food — in that order, never the reverse.

👤

One finger that never leaves the victim

A pointed finger that never breaks eye contact with the victim.

🥾

Nobody knew where Ralston was

Always say where you're going and what time you'll be back

🏊

On your back, feet downstream, never stand up

On your back, feet ahead, never stand up in a riverbed.

🩸

MARCH: the life-saving order

MARCH — Massive hemorrhage, Airway, Respiration, Circulation, Hypothermie

🆘

Press, pack, tourniquet

Appuyer, bourrer, garrotter

🐕

Never close up a bite wound

Une morsure s'irrigue, elle ne se referme pas

🥶

Do not rub, shake, or stand up a hypothermia patient

Sous 30 °C, le cœur casse comme du verre

🥤

Homemade ORS: 6 sugar, 1/2 salt per liter

6 sucre, 1/2 sel : pas plus salé que des larmes

💧

1-10-1: falling into ice-cold water

1-10-1 : respirer, agir, tenir

🥛

Drinking too much water can kill you too

Bois à ta soif, ni plus ni moins

📝

The trip plan that slashes search time

A specific time, not 'in the evening': that's what triggers the alert

📱

112 works on any carrier's network

112 looks for any cell tower, not just your carrier's

signalisation (8)

👂

The roar arrives before the water

The roar arrives before the water: a rumble coming up a canyon is never wind

📯

Three whistle blasts, a pause, three blasts

Three blasts, pause, three blasts: the rhythm that catches the ear

🟧

Blaze orange is virtually absent in natural forests

Orange stands out, camo fades out: never dress a child in camouflage

📯

A whistle carries much farther than your voice

Six blasts, one pause, repeat.

🆘

Three meters tall to be read from the sky

Three meters tall, dark on light, readable from high up.

🚁

Y for yes, diagonal for no

Y = yes, need help. Diagonal = no, all clear.

3️⃣

The number three: universal language of distress

A single signal blends in, three signals call for help

🚁

Y arms: need help. Diagonal: everything is fine

Y for Yes (need help), diagonal for No (all good)