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Central Great Plains Foraging Calendar Mixed-grass prairies and corn belt transitional lands of Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, and Minnesota. Morel mushrooms flush in cottonwood river bottoms; sand hills support wild asparagus, rose hips, and chokecherries.
136 edible species recorded here
Peak and shoulder ratings are rough guidance, not a schedule. Microclimate, elevation, and the year's weather can shift any species by weeks.
These pages are educational reference only. Never use them as your sole basis for deciding whether something is safe to eat. Always cross-reference a field guide, take a class, or go out with an experienced forager before harvesting anything.
Month View Calendar View
All Categories Mushrooms Wild Greens Berries Fruits Nuts Invasives
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
84 species at peak or shoulder in June
peak Wild Greens American Brooklime Veronica americana easy ▼
peak Mushrooms Aspen Oyster Mushroom Pleurotus populinus expert ▼
peak Nuts Beaked Hazelnut Corylus cornuta easy ▼
peak Berries Black Raspberry Rubus occidentalis easy ▼
peak Nuts Black Walnut Juglans nigra easy ⚠ process ▼
peak Wild Greens Broadleaf Plantain Plantago major easy ▼
peak Nuts Butternut / White Walnut Juglans cinerea easy ⚠ process protected ▼
peak Wild Greens Cattail Typha latifolia moderate ▼
peak Fruits Chickasaw Plum Prunus angustifolia moderate ▼
peak Wild Greens Chicory Cichorium intybus easy ▼
peak Wild Greens Cinnamon Fern Fiddlehead Osmundastrum cinnamomeum moderate ⚠ process ▼
peak Wild Greens Clover Trifolium spp. easy ▼
peak Berries Common Blackberry Rubus allegheniensis easy ▼
peak Berries Common Hackberry Celtis occidentalis easy ▼
peak Wild Greens Common Mallow Malva neglecta easy ▼
peak Wild Greens Common Purslane Portulaca oleracea moderate ▼
peak Wild Greens Cow Parsnip Heracleum maximum expert ⚠ process ▼
peak Wild Greens Curly Dock Rumex crispus easy invasive ▼
peak Wild Greens Day Lily Hemerocallis fulva moderate ⚠ process ▼
peak Wild Greens False Solomon's Seal Maianthemum racemosum expert ▼
peak Wild Greens Field Garlic Allium vineale expert invasive ▼
peak Mushrooms Giant Polypore Meripilus sumstinei easy ▼
peak Berries Golden Currant Ribes aureum easy ▼
peak Wild Greens Ground Elder Aegopodium podagraria expert invasive ▼
peak Mushrooms Horn of Plenty Craterellus fallax easy ▼
peak Wild Greens Japanese Knotweed Reynoutria japonica easy ⚠ process invasive ▼
peak Wild Greens Kudzu Pueraria montana easy invasive ▼
peak Wild Greens Lamb's Quarters Chenopodium album easy ▼
peak Berries Lingonberry Vaccinium vitis-idaea expert ▼
peak Wild Greens Marsh Yellow Cress Rorippa palustris easy ▼
peak Wild Greens Narrowleaf Plantain Plantago lanceolata easy ▼
peak Fruits Pawpaw Asimina triloba easy ▼
peak Wild Greens Prickly Lettuce Lactuca serriola easy ▼
peak Wild Greens Prickly Pear Opuntia spp. easy ⚠ process ▼
peak Mushrooms Red Chanterelle Cantharellus cinnabarinus easy ▼
peak Berries Riverbank Grape Vitis riparia expert ▼
peak Mushrooms Russula Russula spp. moderate ▼
peak Wild Greens Sheep Sorrel Rumex acetosella easy ▼
peak Mushrooms Smooth Chanterelle Cantharellus lateritius easy ▼
peak Fruits Smooth Sumac Rhus glabra easy ▼
peak Fruits Texas Persimmon Diospyros texana easy ▼
peak Wild Greens Thistle Cirsium spp. easy ▼
peak Berries White Mulberry Morus alba easy invasive ▼
peak Wild Greens Wild Asparagus Asparagus officinalis easy invasive ▼
peak Wild Greens Wild Chives Allium schoenoprasum expert ▼
peak Fruits Wild Plum Prunus americana moderate ▼
peak Wild Greens Wild Rose Rosa spp. easy ▼
peak Berries Wild Strawberry Fragaria virginiana easy ▼
peak Mushrooms Wood Ear Auricularia americana easy ▼
peak Wild Greens Wood Nettle Laportea canadensis easy ⚠ process ▼
peak Berries Wood Strawberry Fragaria vesca easy ▼
shoulder Nuts Allegheny Chinquapin Castanea pumila moderate ▼
shoulder Nuts American Hazelnut Corylus americana easy ▼
shoulder Wild Greens Black Mustard Mutarda nigra easy invasive ▼
shoulder Wild Greens Broadleaf Dock Rumex obtusifolius easy ▼
shoulder Mushrooms Chicken of the Woods Laetiporus sulphureus easy ⚠ process ▼
shoulder Fruits Cholla Buds Cylindropuntia spp. easy ⚠ process ▼
shoulder Wild Greens Common Burdock Arctium minus easy ▼
shoulder Berries Common Groundcherry Physalis heterophylla expert ⚠ process ▼
shoulder Wild Greens Dandelion Taraxacum officinale easy ▼
shoulder Wild Greens Garlic Mustard Alliaria petiolata easy invasive ▼
shoulder Wild Greens Greenbrier Smilax spp. easy ▼
shoulder Berries Hawthorn Crataegus spp. easy ▼
shoulder Nuts Hickory Carya spp. easy ▼
shoulder Mushrooms Indigo Milk Cap Lactarius indigo easy ▼
shoulder Berries Lowbush Blueberry Vaccinium angustifolium expert ▼
shoulder Berries Maypop / Wild Passion Fruit Passiflora incarnata easy ▼
shoulder Mushrooms Meadow Mushroom Agaricus campestris expert ▼
shoulder Fruits Mesquite Pods Neltuma spp. easy ▼
shoulder Berries Muscadine Vitis rotundifolia expert ▼
shoulder Berries Nannyberry Viburnum lentago moderate ▼
shoulder Wild Greens Ostrich Fern Fiddlehead Matteuccia struthiopteris moderate ⚠ process protected ▼
shoulder Wild Greens Peppergrass Lepidium virginicum easy ▼
shoulder Mushrooms Pheasant Back Cerioporus squamosus easy ▼
shoulder Nuts Pine Seeds Pinus spp. easy ▼
shoulder Wild Greens Prostrate Knotweed Polygonum aviculare easy ▼
shoulder Berries Red Mulberry Morus rubra easy ▼
shoulder Wild Greens Redroot Amaranth Amaranthus retroflexus easy ▼
shoulder Fruits Staghorn Sumac Rhus typhina easy ▼
shoulder Wild Greens Virginia Waterleaf Hydrophyllum virginianum easy ▼
shoulder Wild Greens Watercress Nasturtium officinale expert ▼
shoulder Wild Greens Wild Bergamot Monarda fistulosa easy ▼
shoulder Wild Greens Wild Onion Allium spp. expert ▼
shoulder Wild Greens Yucca Yucca spp. easy ▼
Monthly alerts
Get a heads-up for Central Great Plains On the first of each month we will email you what is coming into season in this ecoregion, plus what is about to go out of season. Optionally add species to a watch list and we will highlight them at the top of every email.
