are you *really* interested in foraging?

Black Cohosh, a plant you might find in the wild but would certainly never harvest

I have a new, controversial theory: you might think you're interested in foraging, but what you're really interested in is botany.

Hear me out: people often ask me excitedly “Do you ever go foraging?” and then follow up with “I don’t even care about harvesting. I just want to learn about the plants.”

Foraging sounds romantic: trekking through the forest with muddy boots and a crescent knife, harvesting into one of those baskets you wear like a backpack, living off the land and making crackers from various seeds you've gathered. You're one step away from escaping to a cabin in the woods and drinking root decoctions from earthenware mugs that you've crafted from creek clay.

Of course you're into that! Who wouldn't be?

Botany, in contrast, sounds tedious: thumbing through a field guide while walking even slower than the adorable snail that's captured your attention when you were supposed to be scrutinizing leaf arrangements, fumbling with a magnifying glass (excuse me, loupe) and wondering how soon is too soon to open the granola bar you brought and if the crinkle sound will bother anybody in the group because it's sooo quiet amid the nerdy murmuring and forest sounds.

I get it. I used to be right there with you.

Ok, admittedly I've never been particularly interested in foraging. I've always been more interested in growing the plants, and I just happened to harvest plants growing near the garden, like Plantain or Dandelion. It didn't need to be a whole Activity with a name and a hashtag; it was just one of my activities on the farm. And, while I'm happy to eat Plantain seed crackers or Nettle pancakes or Mulberry muffins, I'm just not the person who's going to make them myself (please share Mulberry muffins with me if you make them!)
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But I wasn't about to sign up for a botany class. I bought a field guide when I took my first herbalism class and never opened it. In fact, I gave it away a few years ago because I kept not using it and its presence annoyed me (nothing against field guides, just being honest here. Please admire my vulnerability. No, I don't need recommendations for apps, but thank you anyway.)

I did, however, sign up for David Winston's Two Year Herbalist Training Program, and that program includes a botany unit taught by Richard Mandelbaum. I was open-minded about the unit, but I wasn't exactly looking forward to it.

I was in for a big surprise. Turns out, I was already very into botany. I just didn't realize it.

My years of growing plants, combined with years of friendship with a naturalist who told me oh-so-many stories about plants, added up to a fair amount of botanical knowledge. I felt like Hermione, raising my hand to keep answering questions when no one else was. The class was exciting -- so much fodder for the imagination! (And Rich is a fantastic teacher. If you have the chance to study with him, take it!)

I am still a very novice botanist. I approach botany with a perspective of "How can I incorporate this into a story about gnomes?" and "How do fairies interact with this flower structure? Could it be a hammock? A hut? A place for napping?"

I haven't memorized all the names for leaf edges (excuse me, margins). I can’t even list all the flower structures (just the ones the fairies nap on). And I know embarrassingly little about trees.

But I do know many plants that grow in the forest, as well as their medicinal qualities and even a few thrilling botanical facts, and for the past two years I have loved giving plant walks as part of my Intro to Herbalism class.

Two weeks ago, it occurred to me for the first time that I could offer plant walks as their own separate event, a short class that someone could sign up for.

So, hidden amid my class calendar, you'll find some Medicinal Plant Walks. Yes, we'll talk about leaf and flower structures. No, you do not need to bring a field guide or an app. If you want to walk oh-so-slowly through the forest while someone points out plants and talks enthusiastically about them, these walks are for you.

And if you don't live nearby but you think you're interested in foraging, check out field botany classes! They might turn out to be just what you're looking for.

yours in fairy hammocks,

Amanda

P.S. want to see where I've funneled all those botany lessons?