Best foraging books for the Pacific Northwest

A foraging guide is only as good as its match to your area. These books are written for the Pacific Northwest. Always confirm an ID with two sources before you eat anything, and learn the deadly look-alikes first.

Written for the Pacific Northwest

1. 

   Pacific Northwest Foraging

   Douglas Deur · Pacific Northwest

   120 wild foods of the Northwest coast and Cascades, with harvest seasons and notes on Indigenous use.

   beginnerPacific Northwest
2. 

   Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest

   Steve Trudell · Pacific Northwest

   A Timber Press field guide to Northwest mushrooms with clear photos and keys.

   intermediatePacific NorthwestField guide
3. Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast

   Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast

   Jim Pojar, Andy MacKinnon · Pacific Northwest

   A comprehensive plant ID guide for coastal Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, and Alaska, with notes on traditional uses.

   intermediatePacific NorthwestField guide

Broader guides that also cover this area

1. 

   All That the Rain Promises and More

   David Arora · Western North America

   Arora's pocket-sized, funny guide to western mushrooms. A lighter companion to Mushrooms Demystified.

   beginnerWestern North AmericaPocket-size
2. 

   Edible and Medicinal Plants of the West

   Gregory L. Tilford · Western North America

   Covers edible and medicinal plants from the Rockies to the Pacific with color photos.

   intermediateWestern North America
3. 

   Peterson Field Guide to Western Medicinal Plants and Herbs

   Steven Foster, Christopher Hobbs · Western North America

   The western counterpart to the Peterson medicinal guide, covering plants from the Rockies to the Pacific. Includes safety notes on toxic species.

   intermediateWestern North AmericaField guide