Wild Edibles

CURRENT Wild Edibles

Cauliflower mushrooms add zest to any number of entrees.

October’s Wild Edible: Cauliflower Mushrooms

Spot one from afar, and you’ll likely agree that the creamy white clump growing from an oak’s base or its roots make the cauliflower mushroom look like the namesake vegetable.
Paw paws don’t last long once they fall to the ground.

September’s Wild Edible: Paw Paws

Known for its colorful nicknames such as mountain custard, mountain banana, custard apple, and here’s a new appellation…the hipster banana, I would describe Asimina triloba as tasting something like a cross between a banana and a pineapple.
Smooth chanterelles add zest to any salad.

August’s Wild Edible: Smooth Chanterelles

Smooth chanterelles (Cantharellus lateritius) are characterized by their up to 4-or 5-inch caps with wavy margins and orange to yellow stalks with white flesh inside.
Wild blackberries growing on a Virginia mountainside.

July’s Wild Edible: Blackberries

Growing along the edges of pastures, agricultural areas, woodlots, or wherever ground has been recently disturbed, blackberries are a crucial part of our mountain ecosystem.
Chicken of the woods mushroom is a choice edible.

June’s Wild Edible: Chicken of the Woods Mushroom

If someone were to ask us what our favorite mushroom is, we would without hesitation answer chicken of the woods.

Departments

At Coopers Rock State Forest, new Stargazer cabins invite guests to look up through skylights and telescopes.
Country Roads

Even Closer to Almost Heaven

New Stargazer cabins at Coopers Rock State Forest offer a skyward escape in the mountains of West Virginia.

©Duncan Seaman
Country Roads

A Mountain Tradition Turns 90 

Visitors flock to Galax, Virginia, each summer for the Old Fiddlers’ Convention, a days-long celebration of Appalachian music.

Synchronous Fireflies
Creature Feature

The Light Fantastic

Fireflies are struggling with the effects of artificial light.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS