So I was passing through my local park when I spotted a few familiar plants growing feral in the thickets. Has anyone got a thing for eating wild plants? I just find that after memorizing a few species, it makes you look at a patch of weeds differantly.

I've read most of Euell Gibbons' books, but am not real confident of my identification skills. Would really like to go out in the wilds with a mushroom pro.

I don't think I'll ever do wild mushrooms-too risky. I like the Peterson guide to edible wild plants-they don't have many color plates, but they're so thorough that you know exactly what you're looking at and how to use it. They also, of course, have poison look-alikes listed. I was talking to this guy who thought that staghorn sumac was the poison variety, and I just walk up to it, pick off a seed cluster and nibble on the sour hairs and his eyes nearly popped out, he was so surprised. I got a good laugh from that.

I'd love to go collect wintergreen berries soon; they are my absolute favorite- sweet and juicy, but wintergreen flavored. Might just plant a bed or two to harvest in my backyard. That's pretty rough soil prep, but it's really worth it- I could do with fresh wintergreen fruit, no problem.

Actually, this is something I'd really like to learn more about, and pass it along to my children. Although I'm rather nervous about wild mushrooms. (No morels down here to my knowledge.)

I only eat that which I am doubt-free on. A bush with strongly tapered silvery leaves, thorns and red berries that are covered in speckles would be autumn olive, the silvery leaves and speckled berries being the giveaway. Wintergreen-scented leaves and fruit on low-gorwing evergreen creepers are always safe.

My biggest tip: invest in good books- you may need the knowledge someday, and it's fun- if you absolutely know what you're doing.

I gotta say that I never gather queen annes lace or wild parnsips- too close to water hemlock and a toxic carrot-leaved species to tell the difference. No thanks.

There's an article worth reading on the topic of wild salad veggies in this month's OG. You can probably access it from the homepage.

It's the garden-to-table column, which you can't access online. Oh, well.