Foraging, Wildcrafting and Growing Herbs: Safety and Sustainability

Safety first: poisoning

If you or someone near you may have eaten a plant and feels unwell, call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 in the United States, or 911 in an emergency. MedlinePlus says the local poison control center can be reached directly through that national toll-free Poison Help hotline from anywhere in the United States.[1] Outside the US, see poison help by country and poisoning: what to do first.

What this page is, and is not

"Wildcrafting" means gathering plants from the wild. This page is information only. It does not teach how to identify, pick, prepare or use any plant, because a mistake can be serious and a description in words or a photo is not a safe check. For the same reason we give no recipes. See plant and mushroom poisoning.

Why picking plants for health use is risky

There are three separate reasons, each from a different kind of source.

• Mistaken identity. France's food-safety agency (ANSES) advises: do not eat a plant you have picked if you have any doubts about its identity.[2] It also advises against picking plants by the armful, because gathering different types together could mix toxic species with edible ones.[2]
• Plants that are toxic throughout. MedlinePlus says all parts of the pokeweed plant are toxic to humans.[1] That is a documented example of why "it is a plant" is not a safety argument.
• Edible plant, unsafe part. NCCIH says raw or unripe elderberries and other parts of the elder tree, such as the leaves and stem, contain poisonous cyanide-producing substances.[3] Fresh ginkgo seeds are also toxic when consumed orally.[4] The same plant can be a common food in one part and a hazard in another. For more, see toxic herbs and plant poisoning.

We do not name look-alike pairs or describe plant features, because that could be misused as an identification guide. If you want to learn plants, learn from an expert local botanist or a local agricultural extension service in person, over time, and treat photographs and phone apps as unreliable.

Growing herbs at home

Gardening has its own traps. ANSES notes that just because a seedling emerges in a place where seeds were sown, this does not mean that it comes from that batch of seeds.[2] It also warns of the risk of confusion when harvesting plants that have been transplanted from one year to the next.[2] Label your seeds and beds, and if you have any doubt about a plant, do not eat or drink it.

Growing a plant yourself also does not make a home-made product safe or standardized. We do not give home-extraction or dosing steps. The research behind a herb is about a specific part and preparation, as explained in plant parts used in herbal products.

Sustainability and wild plants

Some medicinal plants are harmed by wild harvest. NCCIH says wild goldenseal has been overharvested and is available in limited amounts.[5] Goldenseal is one example only; our at-risk medicinal plants page covers the wider topic.

What we did not read: we could not open the CITES (international wildlife trade) pages when preparing this page, so we do not describe trade rules or protected-species lists here. Rules for picking on public or private land, protected areas and permits: not described in the sources we read. Check local land and wildlife authorities before picking anything.

Also not described in the sources we read: how soil, roadside or water pollution affects wild-picked plants. Proper evidence not found on this; we searched ANSES, MedlinePlus and NCCIH.

Safer ways to use this page

• Do not use a plant for health purposes unless an expert has confirmed what it is, in person.
• Do not give wild or home-grown plant products to children.
• Tell your pharmacist or clinician about any plant you use, including medicines you take, pregnancy or breastfeeding, liver or kidney conditions, and planned surgery.
• If symptoms appear after eating a plant, ANSES advises contacting a poison control centre immediately.[2] In the US that is Poison Help.

Related pages

• Herb safety and interactions
• Herb quality and sourcing