State foraging calendar
New Mexico Foraging Calendar
New Mexico's dramatic elevation range and convergence of Rocky Mountain, Great Plains, and Chihuahuan Desert ecosystems makes it one of the most botanically diverse foraging states in the West. The summer monsoon, arriving in July, transforms the spruce-fir and mixed conifer forests of the Sangre de Cristo and Sacramento ranges into productive mushroom habitat for six to eight weeks each year. The piñon-juniper woodlands that cover much of the state's mid-elevation plateau are among the best piñon pine nut habitat in North America. Desert foraging in the south is shaped by the Chihuahuan Desert's distinctive flora of sotol, lechuguilla, cholla, and prickly pear.
6 bioregions across New Mexico
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Tap a region to see what's in season
Bioregions of New Mexico
Foraging seasons shift sharply between New Mexico's ecoregions. Pick the one nearest you for a 12-month calendar of what is in season.
Colorado Plateau
141 speciesNorthwest New Mexico's canyon and mesa country including the Chaco region, with piñon pine nuts, juniper berries, prickly pear, and wolfberry in a landscape with both Puebloan and contemporary foraging traditions.
View calendar →Southwestern Tablelands
138 speciesThe mesas and canyon country of New Mexico's eastern plateau with prickly pear, cholla, juniper berries, and wild plum in canyon-bottom drainages cutting through the red rock landscape.
View calendar →Southern Rockies
130 speciesThe Sangre de Cristo Mountains and other New Mexico ranges where the summer monsoon triggers boletes, chanterelles, and a rich variety of other edible mushrooms in the high-elevation spruce-fir and mixed conifer forest.
View calendar →High Plains
128 speciesEastern New Mexico's shortgrass and mesquite grasslands with wild onion, prairie turnip, and yucca fruit in the narrow native grassland remnants between agricultural and ranch land.
View calendar →Arizona and New Mexico Mountains
116 speciesThe Sacramento Mountains, Mogollon highlands, and Madrean sky islands of southern New Mexico with monsoon-driven mushroom flushes and a rich mix of Chihuahuan and Rocky Mountain flora at the transition zone.
View calendar →Chihuahuan Desert
102 speciesSouthern and western New Mexico's high desert basin with sotol crowns, lechuguilla hearts, prickly pear, cholla buds, and agave fruit available in the cooler seasons of this botanically rich desert.
View calendar →Always confirm any wild edible with multiple sources and an experienced local guide before eating it. Many edible species have toxic look-alikes.