January
What’s Usually Available
Mushrooms
- Chaga
- Oyster mushrooms
- Velvet foot / wild enoki
- Wood ear mushrooms
Berries & Fruits
- Rose hips
- Frozen cranberries
- Wintergreen berries
- Highbush cranberries
Evergreen Foods
- Pine needles
- Spruce needles
- Fir needles
- Juniper berries
Roots
- Burdock root
- Dandelion root
- Cattail rhizomes (if accessible)
Best Habitats
- Birch forests
- Cedar swamps
- River corridors
- Old orchards
February
What’s Usually Available
Tree Products
- Early maple sap during warm spells
- Pine resin
- Spruce resin
Mushrooms
- Chaga
- Oyster mushrooms
Evergreen Foods
- Wintergreen
- Pine needle tea
- Cedar tea
What People Watch For
Late February thaw cycles often kick off syrup season in parts of the southern U.P.
March
What’s Usually Available
Sap Season
- Maple sap
- Birch sap starts late in the month
Early Greens
- Chickweed in exposed areas
- Watercress near springs
- Garlic mustard rosettes
Mushrooms
- Oyster mushrooms
- Wood ears
Best Habitats
- South-facing hillsides
- Creek edges
- Open hardwood forests
April
Prime Spring Season Starts
Greens & Shoots
- Ramps / wild leeks
- Wild onion
- Wild garlic
- Nettles
- Dandelion greens
- Violet leaves
- Basswood leaves
- Cattail shoots
Tree Foods
- Spruce tips
- Fir tips
Mushrooms
- Early morels in warm years
Best Habitats
- Hardwood forests
- Wetlands
- Burn areas
- Dead elm stands
May
Peak Spring Foraging
Mushrooms
- Morels
- Dryad’s saddle
- Oyster mushrooms
Greens
- Fiddleheads
- Garlic mustard
- Lamb’s quarters
- Plantain
- Sheep sorrel
Flowers
- Violet flowers
- Dandelion flowers
- Apple blossoms
Wetland Foods
- Cattail shoots
- Watercress
Best Habitats
- Old orchards
- Aspen forests
- River bottoms
June
Berry Season Begins
Fruits & Berries
- Wild strawberries
- Serviceberries
- Juneberries
Mushrooms
- Oyster mushrooms
- Early chanterelles
Greens & Herbs
- Wild mint
- Clover
- Bee balm
- Fireweed shoots
Flowers
- Elderflowers
- Clover blossoms
Best Habitats
- Logging roads
- Sunny clearings
- Old fields
July
Peak Berry Season
Berries
- Blueberries
- Huckleberries
- Thimbleberries
- Red raspberries
- Black raspberries
Mushrooms
- Chanterelles
- Black trumpets
- Boletes
Wetland Foods
- Cattail pollen
Herbs
- Yarrow
- Sweet fern
- Mint
Best Habitats
- Pine forests
- Burn areas
- Sandy openings
August
Mushroom Explosion Month
Mushrooms
- Lobster mushrooms
- Chicken of the woods
- Giant puffballs
- Hedgehog mushrooms
- Porcini
- Boletes
Berries
- Blackberries
- Elderberries
- Gooseberries
- Currants
Nuts
- Early hazelnuts
Wetland Foods
- Wild rice is beginning in some areas
Best Habitats
- Mossy forests
- Hardwood stands
- Old trails
September
Fall Harvest Starts
Mushrooms
- Maitake/hen of the woods
- Oyster mushrooms
- Honey mushrooms
- Lion’s mane
- Cauliflower mushrooms
Nuts
- Hazelnuts
- Beechnuts
- Acorns
Fruits
- Apples
- Crabapples
- Wild grapes
Roots
- Burdock root
- Jerusalem artichokes
Best Habitats
- Beech forests
- Old homesteads
- Oak ridges
October
Peak Fall Foraging
Mushrooms
- Maitake
- Oyster mushrooms
- Late chanterelles
- Wood blewits
Fruits
- Cranberries
- Rose hips
- Highbush cranberries
Nuts
- Acorns
- Beechnuts
Greens
- Chickweed
- Watercress
- Dandelion greens
Best Habitats
- Cedar swamps
- Wetlands
- Hardwood forests
November
Late Fall & Early Winter Transition
Mushrooms
- Late oyster mushrooms
- Velvet foot
- Wood ears
Fruits
- Frozen apples
- Rose hips
- Hawthorn berries
Evergreen Foods
- Pine needles
- Spruce needles
Roots
- Dandelion root
- Cattail rhizomes
Best Habitats
- River bottoms
- Birch stands
- Old orchards
December
Deep Winter Foraging Begins
Mushrooms
- Chaga
- Oyster mushrooms
- Velvet foot
Winter Fruits
- Wintergreen berries
- Cranberries under snow
- Rose hips
Evergreen Foods
- Pine tea
- Fir tea
- Juniper berries
Best Habitats
- Conifer forests
- Birch forests
- Protected wetlands