A list of items that are needed for an afternoon of wildcrafting:

• Local medicinal plant book, earmarked to show the plants that are ripe for picking this time of year. We’ll have to look for plants that store their alkaloids in the flower or leaf; plants that store their potency in the root or bark are best picked in autumn.
• Small, sharp knife; small shovel; small pruner/clipper; pair of gloves
• Sack or backpack to carry samples, variety of paper bags to separate plant samples
• Marker for labeling bags
• 20x loupe for viewing the very tiny (Bausch & Lomb makes a great keychain loupe)

Tips:

• Never consume a plant if you are uncertain about what it is.
• Check your plant guide to know which parts of a plant to use: leaf, bark, flower, seed, root, sap.
• Avoid plants by roadsides and ditches or near any kind of contaminant or waste.
• Always collect where the plant is abundant, and never collect more than 20 percent of the amount visible to you.
• Never collect in national forests or wildlife reserves.

Storage:

• Most plants can be dried in a paper bag tacked to the wall and left alone for a week or two.
• Plants can also be steeped in alcohol (vodka or Everclear is recommended) or honey to extract their medicinal properties while also preserving them for future use.

Wendy Jehanara Tremayne gets wild on the Powell’s blog: http://powells.us/13DbCJe