A selection of my current favourites.
1. The Easy Edible Mushroom Guide by David Pegler. The first mushroom guide I ever bought and in fact the start of my love for wild foods. This is such a good book to get you started with mushroom hunting and it’s full of superb illustrations (much more accurate than just a photo). The Easy Wild Food Guide in the same series by Neil Fletcher is also a great beginners handbook.
2. Mushrooms by Roger Philips. Not so much the photographic bible of UK mushrooms but certainly an abridged version, my copy of the 2007 updated version is in constant use and nothing really comes close to this book (not enough info for you, then it’s daunting Funga Nordica…all 1600 pages of it and not a single photo or illustration!).
3. The Wild Flower Key by Francis Rose. This book used to scare the hell out of me. It represented everything I did not understand about the wild world. Now we have become firm friends and I use it all the time. The best book on UK wild plants there is. FACT!
4. The Hedgerow Handbook: Recipes, Remedies and Rituals by Adele Nozedar. A lovely little book with beautiful watercolour illustrations. I often cook with this and Roger Philips Wild Food, stealing the best or easiest bits from each.
5. Edible Seashore by John Wright. Such a good book to get you started with seashore foraging. Great photos all taken by John too. I am also a fan of his Hedgerows book in the same series.
6. Wild Food by Roger Philips. This is really a recipe book not a foraging guide but it is crammed with wonderful ideas and brimming with wild seasonal foods and drinks as well as some fascinating historical information about wild plants, mushrooms and seaweeds. Invaluable.
7. Wild Drugs by Zoe Hawes. I realise that proper herbalist will scoff at such a “coffee-tablesque” guide to wild medicines but for me this was and is a terrific and very useful little book full of simple and easy to make remedies. And my Mum bought it for me.
8. Hamlyn Guide to Trees of Britain and Europe by Humphries, Press and Sutton. Not the most comprehensive of tree books but extremely useful and small enough to take out without feeling like you have half a tree in your pocket.
9. Mycelium Running by Paul Stamets. Not a foraging guide at all but a wonderful introduction to the amazing mind of my fungi hero (yes I actually have one). Look on line for his ten minute TED lecture to see what’s in store. https://blog.ted.com/2008/05/06/paul_stamets/
10. Field Studies Council Laminated Hand Outs. I’m not sure of the correct title for these but the FSC produce wonderful and informative, illustrated fold out sheet on numerous wild plant and animal topics.
