Foraging Flora Trivia Quiz

Answer: Blackberries

One of the most familiar sights in autumn along hedgerows throughout the British Isles is the bramble or wild blackberry bush (Rubus fruticosus). The plant is a nightmare for gardeners because of its intrusive roots but it provides a wealth of protective cover along country lanes for our smaller wildlife friends, such as birds and rodents. Insects visit the flowers for pollen and nectar before the petals die off and turn into the succulent dark purple berries that humans and animals forage at the latter part of the year. For centuries we have lived off the land and the blackberry has provided a wealth of nutrition through food and drink, as well as being used as a dye for wool and clothing.

Chiropterology is the study of bats, whereas batology is the scientific study of the genus Rubus, more commonly known as brambles. It is taken from the Greek words "baton" meaning blackberry, and‎ "ology" meaning study of. Also included in this family are the succulent raspberry, boysenberry, loganberry and tayberry.

Answer: Beechnut

Foraging for nuts is called nutting. There are five known wild edible nuts in Britain and these are hazelnut (cobnut), walnut, sweet chestnut, beechnut (mast) and acorn, although acorn is best fed to the pigs because of its bitterness! All of these can be foraged in the autumn but don't forget to save some for the squirrels and other wildlife to feed on over winter. The beechnut is an edible fruit from the beech (Fagus) tree and has high tannin content, so should not be eaten in vast quantities.

The beech tree is more common in the south of England and south Wales and some have been known to have survived for over a thousand years. The deciduous canopy can grow up to 40m in height and the leaves supply a wealth of bronze and copper foliage during the autumn with many children kicking up the crunchy dead leaves as they walk to school.

Answer: Elderberry

The elder, or elderberry, (Sambucus nigra) is tolerant to the climate of the northern hemisphere. The flowers form creamy white florets in June and this is when they can be foraged to make a refreshing summer drink, a popular beverage during picnics or barbeques.

Fully grown elder bushes can grow up to 60m tall and appear like small trees. The name elder comes from the Anglo-Saxon word "aeld" meaning fire. The hollowed out stems were taken from the bush and used to blow into a fire, creating a bellow effect, hence the meaning. At night-time, you may be lucky enough to see some faerie-folk remove the branches to make hollowed out musical pipes before dancing around the ring of toadstools in the wooded clearing.

Answer: Garlic mustard

The history behind the name is a little vague. It is believed to have originated from the word "Jack", an old term meaning urinal. The smell of the plant was so pungent that they called it Jack-by-the-hedge. John is an informal name for toilet, named after John Harrington who made an early design of a flushing toilet. Jack, the diminutive of John, is a lesser known slang word for toilet, and named after Jack Power who, in 1806, invented a multi-cubicle toilet because of his 38 children.

Other alternative names for garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) include poor man's mustard and penny hedge. Native to Europe, Asia and Africa, the herbaceous plant has an invasive growth pattern which has now reached North America. It grows to approximately 1m tall, has green heart-shaped leaves with clusters of white flowers at the beginning of spring. The leaves smell of garlic when they are crushed and can accompany salads, soups and sauces for additional flavour.

Answer: Dandelion

Dandelion is taken from the French words "dent de lion" which translated into English means "lion's tooth". Other common names include bum pipe and the devil's milk plant, but my favourite is fairy clock because the flower head systematically opens and closes at dawn and dusk. Children (and adults) love blowing the rounded seed head of the dandelion "clock" to tell the time.

These small and hardy weeds are adaptable to many places, growing amongst grass, in hedgerows, fields, towpaths and along railway tracks. Many people who live in towns and cities are able to find this plant without visiting more rural areas. For centuries, the dandelion has been foraged for food and medicine, but today it is better known as an invasive pariah. Let others be put off by their bad reputation as you sit down to enjoy a glass of delicious dandelion wine after a hard day foraging.

Answer: Burdock

In 1941, Swiss engineer George de Mestral was taking a walk on the Swiss Alps when he brushed against a plant which left burrs stuck to his clothing. The plant was the greater burdock (Arctium lappa) and from a small seed of an idea grew the world renowned product, velcro. The burr, or bur, is a plant seed with small hooks or teeth which can attach itself to fur, hair or clothing. Another example of a plant found with burrs is the cleaver (Galium aparine).

Burdock is native to Europe and Asia, and grown plentifully in Britain if you can distinguish it from similar looking plants such as thistle and even rhubarb. Burdock have distinctive thistle-type purple flower-heads, but it was the roots that were used in the popular drink soft drink, Dandelion and Burdock, first produced in the Middle Ages.

Answer: Leave it. It is a protected species.

With over 15,000 species of wild fungi in the UK, they are a forager's dream as long as you can tell which is poisonous, and which is safe to eat. Penny bun, giant puffball and common morel are all edible, but deathcap, destroying angel and fly agaric (toadstool) are all toxic. All fungi can be identified if you take a reference book with you, but ask an expert if you are not sure.

Another consideration if you are foraging for mushrooms is that some species are specially protected against picking, uprooting, damage and sale in the UK, as per the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981). This is to save them from facing extinction. Check the DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs) website for their full list of protected species. It is also illegal to forage on a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), such as Epping Forest, where people have been prosecuted for foraging. One such protected species of fungi in the UK and several other countries in Europe is the edible pig's ear mushroom. They can be easily identified by their lilac-hued, funnel shaped, wrinkle-edged cap.

Answer: Stinging nettle

If you brush against the tiny hairs on the stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) leaf, you break the fragile tips which causes venom to be injected into the skin. Once the initial stinging sensation dissipates, it leaves a gentle swelling and soreness for a few hours. Dock leaves, calamine lotion, antihistamine and even toothpaste are said to alleviate any pain. People who forage for stinging nettles wear thick gloves, for obvious reasons. The plant has many health benefits and is used to make tea, soup and wine, as the vitamin and mineral content is very high.

Hogweed sap causes a skin irritation which needs light (phototoxin) to activate. Poison ivy produces a toxic sap with a chemical called urushiol. Hemlock is poisonous when ingested but some of the natural oils can be absorbed through the skin.

Answer: Watercress

Foraging plants is not just a pastime inland, but also something that can be enjoyed along the great British coastline. The waters around the UK hold approximately 630 different species of seaweed but only 35 varieties have been used in cooking. Species include dulse, kelp, carragheen, balderwrack and laver, the latter harvested to make the Welsh laverbread. Samphire is a small green sea vegetable with tiny green shoots and a distinctively salty taste. The two varieties foraged are normally rock samphire and marsh samphire, found along estuaries and marshy ground. Sea kale has a similar appearance to a wavy-leaved, bluey-green cabbage, and even belongs to the brassica family. It grows wild on shingle beaches.

Watercress (Nasturtium officinale) is a freshwater semi-aquatic plant found growing inland alongside chalky streams and brooks. It can be foraged in the wild, but is cultivated on a wider scale in large commercial water beds. Very rich in nutrients, it has a warm peppery taste when added to other salad leaves.

Answer: Ramsons

Ramsoms are also known as buckram or wild garlic and belong to the chive family. Clusters of green leaves grow along shady roadsides or ancient woodland areas of Europe and Asia. Pretty sprays of white star-shaped flowers appear in spring, growing approximately 45 and 50 cm tall and providing a splash of bright colour under dense forest canopies in the same habitat as bluebells.

Their Latin name, Allium ursinum, referred to the brown bear who loved to forage for the bulbs when they once lived in Britain. Humans have foraged the leaves and flowers of this plant for centuries, using them in food to give a garlicky flavour to stews, soups, salads and even cheeses.

"Wild Garlic" was a poem by Mary MacRae (1942 - 2009).

"Allium ursinum, ramson, sometimes ransom,
Old English hramsa: all Northern Europe
has a name for wild garlic, that startling white,
its pungency. Pick and they quickly fade
but in the mass - and what mass! - overwhelming.
In Cornwall they form thick banks along the lanes
and fill damp woods, making me long to be
propped on beds of amaranth and moly -
and truly I find they're magic: the moly-garlic
Hermes gave Odysseus to protect him.
Now hostage to fortune, how willingly
I'd pay a king's ransom - in ramsons, of course,
whole armfuls of them, a wild cornucopia -
for the smallest chance of release, remission."