G’morning, Nooga — Trista here, and this time of year always reminds me of foraging for ramps + morels, just before it’s berry-picking season. I grew up about 20 minutes north of Asheville, NC, and foraging was a normal family activity — we’d spend our weekends out in the woods looking for mushrooms and ginseng. Anyone else grow up doing that around here? ✋
When I was younger, we were lucky enough to have access to private land for finding food, but now that I live in a rented house surrounded by neighbors I don’t know, foraging gets a little trickier. Chattanooga is in a rich biome, full of foraging, also known as wildcrafting, opportunities for the novice and the professional. So grab your backpacks and put on some long pants, let’s get to foraging. 🍄
Tennessee foraging laws
Foraging laws differ from state-to-state, but in TN — on TVA public land — it’s within your rights to gather reasonable quantities (the general rule is no more than 10% of what’s growing) of natural, renewable products. Think berries, fruits, herbs, nuts, mushrooms, driftwood + flowers. This also goes for pebbles + small rocks. Georgia state parks prohibit the collection of any wildlife.
There are some exceptions to this, however. National parks typically have their own laws — Cherokee National Forest requires a permit to forage, and when it’s ginseng season, only 40 permits are given and the root can only be foraged between Sept. 16-30.
Edible plants in this region
Mushrooms
○ Chicken of the Woods (Laetiporus) can be found in clusters at the base of dead or dying trees, most commonly oak, cherry, or beech. The top is usually a yellow tone and the base is white. It gets its name from the texture and flavor once cooked and the way the ruffled edges look like hen feathers.
○ Morels (Morchella) are my personal favorite mushroom. They pop up in the spring, and grow around the edges of forests, near dead or dying trees, typically ash, aspen, elm, and oak. They are conical in shape and the bottom of the cap is attached near the bottom of the stem. They have a rich + meaty flavor.
○ Oyster (Pleurotus ostreatus) mushrooms look like clusters of oyster shells, and like the “chicken of the woods,” they grow on dying or dead trees. The caps are off-white, beige, brown, or gray. They have a mild flavor and are best sauteed in oil or butter or eaten in a sauce.
Those are three popular mushrooms in the Chattanooga area, but there are many, many more you can hunt. If you want to try your hand at finding more elusive mushrooms, like the black trumpet, pick up a field guide and learn more about the different species. If you can’t identify a mushroom, don’t eat it — ask a professional or just leave it alone.
Herbs
○ Broadleaf plantain (Plantago major) grows from spring to autumn and is full of nutrients that are great for overall health. And it’s multipurpose — if you get a mild burn, insect bite, or small wound, you can chew on this plant and apply it directly to the affected area. The entire plant is edible, and can be eaten raw or cooked. You can also dry the leaves and use them to make tea.
○ Goldenrod is best foraged in the autumnal months after the late summer bloom, and it has many medicinal + culinary benefits — it’s anti-inflammatory, fights allergies, and is beneficial to the kidneys + urinary tract. It’s also commonly mistaken for ragweed, but its pollen is not airborne and the blooms are brighter than ragweed’s. Goldenrod is plentiful, and many people think it’s just another weed, so be sure to gather some this year and try something new.
○ Stinging nettle is my best defense against seasonal allergies. (That and raw garlic — seriously, it’s the best.) And much like goldenrod, a lot of people view it as a weed when it is, in fact, a very beneficial plant. It’s been known to relieve anxiety, increase energy, and it adds nutritional value to common dishes, like soups or stews. You can find nettle just about anywhere — on the side of the road, by the river, or even in your backyard. And, just like their name, they do sting, so when harvesting nettle, you should wear a thick pair of gloves. Spring into early summer is the best time to find it, so now’s your chance.
Fruit
○ Berries grow abundantly in this region, and I noticed that they’re just starting to bloom, so we’ll have fruit to pick soon. In the Chattanooga area, you should be able to find blackberries + raspberries in the wild. Again, though, if you can’t identify the berry, don’t eat it. There’s a really cool interactive map called Falling Fruit that allows users to map out where to forage. You can find things like berry bushes, grape vines, wild basil + apple trees.
○ Pawpaw trees (Asimina triloba) have been all but forgotten, but they are some of the most unique fruits you can find in this region. In fact, we published an article about the wild pawpaw four years ago, and the information still stands. The fruit also comes with a lot of health benefits — vitamin C, magnesium, iron, copper and manganese, and it’s a good source of potassium + several essential amino acids. They grow along waterways, so get out there and try a pawpaw.
○ Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) trees are native to the Eastern US, and, if you’re lucky, you can find them in the wild and enjoy their delicious fruit.The best time to forage persimmon fruit is in the fall, particularly September and October. Who else is craving a slice of persimmon pie now? 😋
I’ve only scratched the surface of foraging here in Chattanooga, and I urge you all to grab a field guide and do your own research. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of finding your own food and enjoying it for dinner or enhancing a dish. And, we can’t repeat this enough, don’t eat anything you can’t identify — ask a professional or leave it alone.
I’ll leave you with this — if you go out and forage, please practice reciprocity with nature. You can do this by using a mesh bag to gather mushrooms so their spores are scattered along the ground, you can pick up any trash you find, or you can simply say thank you to the earth for her abundance.
