The First-Time Forager is a very well written, precise, illustrated guide to foraging by Andy Hamilton. Released 11th April 2024 by the National Trust, it's 176 pages and is available in paperback and ebook formats.
This guide is divided into sections. First, an A-Z herbal with illustrated entries for plants from Apple to Wood avens (Geum urbanum). Note that this guide is aimed at common plants in Britain, but many of them are ubiquitous to temperate regions the world over because of human introduction and natural occurrence. Each of the entries contains a common and botanical binomial (Latin name) followed by a description. The entries are accompanied by multiple photos of the various component plant parts. Pictures are clear and in color. The herbal also includes one or more recipe featuring the plants in question.
The second section of the book is a useful field guide to poisonous plants and lookalikes, with good advice on proper identification and safety. The author has included clear photos as well as what plants each of the dangerous plants looks like and with which they can potentially be confused. These poisonous plants are important in their habitats, often as host plants for species of insect and as food sources for wildlife. The author takes pains to show them for the important, useful plants they are whilst stressing that foragers should generally leave them well alone.
Although it's aimed mostly at readers in the British Isles, it's a useful resource for North America and Europe as well. The author/publisher have also included an abbreviate links list for further reading.
Four and a half
stars. This would be an excellent choice for public library acquisition,
home use, for smallholders and self sufficiency folks, and for gift
giving. It's lovely to see a burgeoning appreciation for foraging and using local fresh ingredients (safely).
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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