Foraging Fun: Evergreens, identification & uses

My haul from a Winter foraging walk is mostly evergreens, along with some rosehips.

Given we live in Maine, I suppose it isn't surprising I'm passionate about evergreens. I've had a long love-affair especially with White Pines, so it is quite fitting indeed that we live here in the Pine Tree State. It seems a hundred years ago, when my daughters were tiny peanuts, that we would grab baskets & head out into the woods around our log-cabin to gather treasures. How clearly I recall hunkering down & fanning out a freshly picked cluster of White Pine needles to show them the easy 5-needle ID [W-H-I-T-E for White Pine.] <3 
​Memories to cherish.​

The Eastern White Pine [Pinus strobus] has coniferous needles which typically grow in bundles of 5

Here in the dead of Winter, our year-round Herbal Allies in the evergreen family are a perfect way to entice yourself to get out into the cold, fresh air!  With so many members & so many edible & medicinal ways to use them, it is hard to know where to start. They have been used in traditional Nordic & Indigenous Peoples cooking for centuries. Loaded with Vitamins C & A, as well as healing & pain-soothing properties, evergreens are main staple plants, especially for winter foraging.
​Easy to identify & available in nearly every climate, evergreens are a great place to start if you’re new to foraging as well. 

As with any foraging undertaking, it is imperative you accurately identify what you are collecting. Colleen of Grow, Forage, Cook, Ferment has a wonderfully detailed guide to ID-ing conifers that is packed with helpful info. Check it out before you head out!
​And as always, be sure to harvest from more mature trees, steer clear of those sprayed with pesticides or growing close to heavily traffic roads or railroad tracks, & avoid harvesting from the top of the plants, which can stunt their growth. Take only what you will use.

Most conifer needles are edible, with the exception of the toxic yew [Taxus spp.] tree. Spruce, pine, fir, & redwood all have wonderful herbal & edible uses. Conifer needles are particularly useful in teas & steams, but are also used in applications varying from healing-salves to flavoring infusions. In order to protect the Vitamin C, these needles are often cold-infused. Boiling, or heat infusion will result in less Vitamin C, but a deeper, more intense flavor. Both methods of extraction are used depending on the desired result. I love to add spruce tips to my daily tea where flavor, not vitamins, are my main focus.

Try Maine's Delicious White Pine In This Small-Batch Shrub

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Stovetop potpourri of foraged evergreens with oranges rejuvenates me & my home!

A favorite way to use freshly gathered evergreens is in fragrant stovetop potpourri. This is a wonderful way to freshen stale air in your Winter-locked-down home, as well as to freshen your spirits! Grab a nice selection of evergreens -- my pot here includes White Pine, spruce, fir, & arborvitae branches & pinecones, along with a few slices of orange. Pop them in a large, heavy pot & cover with water by about 1”. ​

​The refreshing taste of the white pine will usher you into the wilderness of a Maine forest as you sip it straight, dilute it in still or sparkling water, or use it to create your own cocktails. ​

learn more

Set the pot on your stovetop on high heat & bring to a boil. Lower the heat to maintain a slow simmer as long as desired, adding more water if needed, as you diffuse the fresh scent through your home & add moisture to the dry Winter air. Heavenly!

Bring the scent of evergreen's into your home

Maine Woods Soap

Spiced Pine Botanical Candle in Scotch Glass

Cedar Botanical Candle in Scotch Glass

Botanical Travel Tin Candles, 4 oz size

White Pine Shrub, Herbal Revolution

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Another super easy way to enjoy the benefits of pine is to add fresh needles to some bath salts for a fragrant, detoxifying soak. You can use whatever type of bath salt you have on hand, Epsom salts & pink Himalayan are two of my favorites. Simply snip your freshly gathered needles into small pieces. Add them to a jar with your salts & some sweet almond or olive oil [about 2 TBS oil per 3 cups salt] & shake to 

combine. Allow to infuse for at least an hour before use--but this mixture will keep for a couple of months. If you have them, crushed juniper berries are a lovely addition to this soak, or even a few drops of cypress, orange, &/or cedarwood essential oils [up to 12 drops total per 3 cups of salt.]  Incredibly soothing for the mind & the body, this soak is a Wintertime must! Be sure to place a small strainer or piece of cheesecloth over your drain at the end to catch the plant material when draining, or place your salts in a bath infuser or muslin bath-bag to start with.

Sorting & dying my herbs to enjoy in tea year-round.

Spruce is an absolute favorite of mine for flavoring syrups & teas, as well as for infusing in gin. Tender, young spruce tips in the Spring give the very best flavor, but spruce needles can be used this way year-round with wonderful effect. I will do a drink focus with them this Spring, showing a favorite pairing of them with apricot. You can easily find recipes online to make Spruce Tip Beer as well --although I have never played with this, I have heard wonderful things about it!  

In the Winter, I tend to favor teas with spruce, adding tiny cuttings to my herbal tea blends almost daily. I have also been playing around with them in a zero-proof ‘gin’ alternative with very positive results, but that is also a post for another time.

​Finally, I will mention the use of Pine in cough syrups. White Pine particularly is wonderful for soothing sore throats & works well as an expectorant. I will refer you back to Colleen’s Grow, Forage, Cook, Ferment for a wonderful Pine Needle Cough Syrup recipe. It is thoughtfully detailed & presented in her post & definitely worth your time to make.

Check out growforagecookfement for a lovely pine cough syrup recipe

I hope you have enjoyed this post & that it has encouraged you to get out & enjoy the outdoors during this slower-paced time of year. There is always something to learn & something to do in the Herbal World. If you are just beginning to explore foraging, evergreens are a wonderful [& delicious] starting point.
Let me know what you are foraging & how you are using it-- I love to hear from you!
Until next time--Stay safe & remember to  #StopAndEatTheFlowers