I thought it could be a good idea to gather valuable resources for people to use whilst foraging! Feel free to comment other suggestions and I'll expand the list periodically. For now the list is minimal and general, but if/when it expands i might categorize them based on region or field of interest. Give us your best resources! 📚

• Shroomify (Mushroom Identifier App)
  • Link to Android app and for, iOS Devices
• Falling Fruit (Interactive Foraging Map)
  • https://fallingfruit.org/
• Pl@ntNet (Identify Plants with Pictures)
  • https://identify.plantnet.org/
• Fungus Identifier (AI based, use with caution!)
  • https://fungusid.com/
• Mushroom World (Database)
  • https://www.mushroom.world/
• INaturalist (Social biodiversity network)
  • https://www.inaturalist.org/

The USDA's plant database shows something like 50-ish native viola species in Pennsylvania, where I live. As far as I can tell, they're all more or less edible, but what about the flavor? Are there any especially choice species that really stand out? Internet sleuthing doesn't seem to turn up much of anything. So far, I'm getting the vague sense that purple ones generally taste better than yellow or white ones, and that short species might be sweeter than tall species.

This seems like the sort of thing that somebody somewhere must have figured out by now, since violet used to be a pretty popular flavor. The classic liqueur Creme Yvette is very specifically flavored with these obscure Italian Parma violets, which implies that they must taste somehow unique. So what about the rest of them?

This is a little off the beaten track as far as usual foraging posts go, but I had a question. Has anyone tried spinning Eastern Tent Caterpillar webs into a usable thread/yarn? I'm definitely not one of those people who hates them and wants them gone; they're native here and relatively harmless, despite what naysayers would have you believe. However, they sure do make a ton of webs! I'm sure they could probably stand to part with a little here or there right? Like, after they're done with them?

Not sure if it would work, but if it is spinnable, seems like it might be a convenient local source for an ahimsa silk alternative.