The coastal Pacific Northwest of North America is home to a multitude of edible and medicinal plant species, edible mushrooms, and marine plants – from Black Gooseberry to Western Tea-Berry, from Golden Chanterelle to Yellow Morel Mushroom, and from Sea Asparagus to Winged Kelp. Now revised and updated with additional species and recipes, this compact, full-colour forager's guide offers clear photography, descriptions, safety tips, and warnings, as well as culinary and medicinal uses from Indigenous Peoples and settlers, for more than 150 wild-growing flora species in the region. Practical, user-friendly, and safe, Edible and Medicinal Flora of the West Coast is an indispensable guide for beginner and experienced foragers alike.
Collin Varner is a horticulturalist/arboriculturist. He began his career at the University of British Columbia's Botanical Garden, and over the next forty years, he assumed responsibility for conserving twenty-five thousand trees across campus and taught courses in native plant studies. Now retired, Varner is an avid photographer, world traveller, and best-selling author of The Flora and Fauna of Coastal British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest, Invasive Flora of the West Coast, and The Flora and Fauna of Stanley Park. He lives in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
"Edible and Medicinal Flora of the West Coast is both a good read and, as a handy field guide, a keeper. The reader may dip into the book for specific safe foraging information-and will be drawn back to find out more."
– British Columbia Review