Foraging on Long Island: 'Wildman' Steve Brill teaches how to identify edible plants

‘Wildman” Steve Brill, 72, first became interested in foraging more than 40 years ago, when he came across a group of women picking grape leaves in a Queens park. He said he followed suit and brought some home to cook and was instantly fascinated with nature’s bounty and the idea of “living off the land.”

That fortuitous encounter led to a lifelong passion for Brill, who has been leading foraging explorations on Long Island and throughout the tristate since 1982.

“We forage for renewable plants, plants that will grow back quickly,” Brill, who lives in New Rochelle, said. “We find rare plants on rare occasions, which we leave be.”

Long Island is replete with wild edibles, Brill said — in the parks, along the trails, in the forests and even along the coast. Common early spring finds include mustard greens and greenbrier, black birch twigs and mullein, yarrow and common spicebush leaves that can be used in teas.

On his tours, foragers are not only allowed — but encouraged — to collect their finds, he said.

Foragers learn to identify poisonous plants, edible mushrooms, medicinal plants and other greens commonly believed to be weeds. On the tours, Brill shares recipes, cooking tips, plant history, folklore, and health and nutrition information — as well as his share of bad jokes.

Josh Goldman, 43, of New York City, said he has been on a few dozen tours over the past several years, including in Manhattan and on Long Island, and found them to be a wealth of knowledge.

“I used to ignore the mass of green growing in the wild and popping up all over the city,” Goldman said. “Brill’s tours resolved that mass into a bunch of vegetables, fruits, nuts, spices, mushrooms and some things to stay away from.”

He said there were enough abundant plants on the tours so that all participants could taste them and also take home plenty of clippings. Goldman enjoys cooking, and uses his foraging finds in recipes Brill shares on the tour. “Soft burdock stems are my new favorite addition to my pasta primavera,” he said.

Brill will be hosting a “Wildman” tour April 7 at Sunken Meadow State Park in Kings Park. Participants can expect to find sea rocket, a pungent mustard that has been likened to horseradish in taste, and rockweed, a type of seaweed used in soups and Japanese dishes, in Long Island Sound. Navigating away from the water’s edge in the thicket, possible finds include field garlic, poor man’s pepper (also known as peppergrass), mullein and culinary mushrooms if the ground is damp enough.

The three-hour foraging walk begins at 1 p.m. The suggested donation is $20 for adults and $10 for kids under 12. Private tours are also available.

For more information, visit Brill’s website at www.wildmanstevebrill.com.