Foraging and map routes
Identify Wild Plants Before Eating Them
Safe identification turns a wild find into usable food or medicine without gambling on an unknown plant.
WHERE & HOW TO FARM
Identify Wild Plants Before Eating Them
A searched forest, hedgerow, garden, or other vegetation zone where a find appears in the Foraging panel.
Before you go
- Foraging Search Mode enabled.
- Plant-identification knowledge or an in-game way to establish the find’s identity.
- Separate container or inventory space for unverified items.
Farming steps
- Enable Search Mode in a vegetation-rich area and wait for a highlighted find.
- Open the find’s item information and establish its identity using your available plant knowledge.
- Check whether the identified item is edible and whether it requires cooking or other preparation.
- Collect confirmed useful plants; keep uncertain items separate instead of mixing them with meal ingredients.
- At base, process identified finds according to their item information before eating or cooking with them.
- Store medicinal or crafting plants separately from food so they are not consumed by mistake.
- Review unfamiliar finds as your knowledge improves, but do not treat higher skill as a reason to skip identification.
- Season and zone affect which plants appear; a familiar location can produce a different selection later.
- Acorns need processing to remove tannins, and some mushrooms are unsafe raw or deadly; verify each item’s needs.
Repeat, collect and use
Repeat the identification check for each new find. It is an ongoing safety step, not a one-time unlock for every plant.
Common mistakes
- Eating an unknown berry or mushroom; identify it first or leave it uneaten if safety is unclear.
- Assuming every edible find is ready to eat raw; inspect whether cooking or processing is required.
- Mixing unverified plants with meal ingredients; store them separately until identified.
When to stop or switch
Stop collecting a type of plant if you cannot identify it or determine its preparation; use confirmed food and revisit after gaining reliable identification knowledge.
Sources & fact checks
What you can get here
Open a guide to find other locations and see what the item is used for.