Choose autumn when local fruit is fully colored and leaves are changing or dropping. Ripeness and frost timing matter more than a date.
Being Tea Co provides education, not medical advice, treatment, or positive plant identification. Natural does not mean risk-free. Never ingest a wild plant or fungus from a photograph, app result, common name, or this website alone.
Herbs can cause allergic reactions and interact with medicines. Pregnancy, breastfeeding, childhood, surgery, seizure history, kidney or liver conditions, and other health factors can change what is appropriate. Ask a qualified clinician or pharmacist about your own situation.
Research lead—not identification, permission, or a safety clearance.
Alaska & Subarctic North
- Lingonberry / lowbush cranberry — Fully ripe fruit only; identify the whole low evergreen plant, leave most berries, and exclude historical leaf-tea use. Safety class: Guided food use · fruit only.
- Squashberry / highbush cranberry — Fully ripe Viburnum edule fruit may be cooked as food; red elderberry and poisonous red baneberry must be ruled out. Safety class: Guided food use · cook and strain.
- Woods’ rose hips — Fully colored sound hips may be present; remove or finely strain irritating internal hairs and leave most for wildlife. Safety class: Guided beginner · field identification required.
- Common dandelion — Cool-weather leaves may be present in known unsprayed ground. Safety class: Guided beginner · field identification required.
Pacific Coast
- Lingonberry / lowbush cranberry — In verified northern coastal habitat, ripe fruit is a food lead; low red-fruited evergreen plants are not interchangeable. Safety class: Guided food use · fruit only.
- Woods’ rose hips — Use only a previously confirmed shrub and fully colored sound fruit. Safety class: Guided beginner · field identification required.
- Common dandelion — Cool-season regrowth may occur; site cleanliness remains the limiting factor. Safety class: Guided beginner · field identification required.
Interior West & Southwest
- Smooth sumac — Where Rhus glabra is verified, use mature upright red fruit only and rule out white-fruited poison sumac. Safety class: Guided food use · field identification required.
- Squashberry / highbush cranberry — A northern Rocky Mountain lead only where Viburnum edule is confirmed; fruit is cooked food, not medicine. Safety class: Guided food use · cook and strain.
- Woods’ rose hips — At suitable elevations, fully ripe Rosa woodsii hips may be present. Safety class: Guided beginner · field identification required.
Great Plains & Midwest
- Smooth sumac — Mature upright red hairy drupes may support a cold culinary infusion; never use white or drooping fruit clusters. Safety class: Guided food use · field identification required.
- Common dandelion — Cool-season leaves may be present in clean unsprayed sites. Safety class: Guided beginner · field identification required.
Great Lakes, Northeast & Appalachia
- Smooth sumac — Use only locally confirmed mature Rhus glabra fruit and leave most clusters for birds. Safety class: Guided food use · field identification required.
- Common dandelion — Cool-season leaves may be present in clean unsprayed sites. Safety class: Guided beginner · field identification required.
Southeast & Gulf Coast
- Smooth sumac — A cold-infusion food lead only where the dry-site shrub, upright red fruit, and species are fully confirmed; swamp-growing poison sumac is excluded. Safety class: Guided food use · field identification required.
Before acting on any lead
- Verify the scientific name and exact part with current regional references.
- Confirm at least three positive traits and rule out named lookalikes.
- Check current rules and obtain permission for the exact parcel.
- Exclude contaminated sites and sparse or sensitive populations.
- Review the complete profile’s interaction and preparation sections.
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