Edible Wild Berries in Washington
Every Washingtonian is familiar with huckleberries, raspberries and blackberries in autumn. While other regions may regard these foods as delicacies, they grow quite wild and are even invasive in the mountainous regions. Other edible wild berries are salmonberries, which are ripe as early as May, thimbleberries, salal, Oregon grapes and wild strawberries.
Stinging Nettles
These are the bane of many hikers. Their captivating heart-shaped leaves hide a row of dagger-like thorns just waiting for you to bump into them. Hikers report, however, that if you harvest the leaves and scrape off the thorns, they're quite tasty. There are even recipes for Nettle soup, which is filled with vitamins and minerals. Reportedly, ingesting nettles, whether as salad greens or in a soup, can render you immune to their sting.
Cattails and other Wetland Foods
Cattails grow in many streams and along riverbeds throughout the state. Many parts of the cattail are edible. The roots can be prepared like potatoes and are best in the fall. The flowering tops of each stalk yield a pollen that can be used as flour in making pancakes or muffins. The buds of the flowers and early leaf shoots can be steamed like asparagus.
Edible Salad Greens
Dandelion greens are edible and almost always widely available. You may also want to try the leaves of the purslane, sheep sorrell, thistle, clover, chickweed and yellow dock. Carry a field guide with you whenever you hike or forage, until you're sure that you can identify these foods.
