Land Plants

The National Biodiversity Network allows you to view distribution maps and download UK wildlife data by using a variety of interactive tools. One can search for wild food plants and, best of all, it is possible to browse for species (plants, animals and insects) of conservation concern.

Through foraging, the last thing I would want to encourage is for anybody to deplete our natural environment. One thing to bear in mind is that although a wild food source may seem freely and abundantly available it is possible that some of the insect species it supports are themselves threatened or in decline.

This is a superb site with excellent photos – ideal when used in conjunction with pfaf.org

“The Ecological Database of the British Isles has been constructed from a wide variety of sources by Dr Helen Peat and Professor Alastair Fitter at the University of York, with financial support from the British Ecological Society and the Natural Environment Research Council. It consists of data on over 2200 species of higher plants that occur in the British Isles, together with the bibliography of sources. This version has been produced by Dr Henry Ford.
The data comprises information on taxonomy (family, genus, specific name, authority, and vernacular name, together with a synonomy), a suite of over 130 ecological and morphological characteristics, vice-county distribution in Britain, European distribution by country, mycorrhizal associations, phytophagous insects and fungal diseases. The data are obtained from the literature and therefore coverage varies greatly between species. Some data sets are incomplete at this stage.”

A brilliant database of 7,000 plants that are not commonly used as food but could be!

“Plants For A Future is a resource centre for rare and unusual plants, particularly those which have edible, medicinal or other uses. We practise vegan-organic permaculture with emphasis on creating an ecologically sustainable environment based largely on perennial plants.”