What to Forage in June: The Complete Guide to England’s Most Abundant Month
June is the month that foragers dream about all winter. The hedgerows are full, the light is long, and almost nothing dangerous has coloured up its berries yet — making it the most abundant and accessible month to learn. By the summer solstice on 21st June, wild plants are at peak bioactive compound concentration: research into plant secondary metabolites confirms that UV-B radiation and photoperiod length directly drive flavonoid and phenolic compound production, which peaks with the longest days of the year (PMC6017249). The plants are not just beautiful right now. They are making more of the compounds that matter.
This guide covers twelve wild plants at peak season in June across England, grouped by habitat: hedgerow and meadow, woodland edge, and coast. Some have full dedicated science posts — click through for the research detail. Four plants here — mallow, fat hen, water mint, and sea beet — we haven’t written up in depth before, so we’ve given them proper coverage below. Each section includes a recipe, because knowing what to do with a plant is what turns identification into a habit. For more on what’s flowering and why this week specifically matters, see the Solstice Forager post.
What to forage in June in the UK
The twelve best wild plants to forage in June in England are: elderflower, St John’s Wort, yarrow, mallow, fat hen, water mint, wild strawberry, lime flowers, pineapple weed, sea beet, meadowsweet, and dog rose. All are at peak abundance and bioactive concentration from mid-June through the solstice on 21st June.
Hedgerow and meadow
1. Elderflower (Sambucus nigra)
You will smell elder before you see it. The heavy, honey-scented flower heads — flat-topped clusters of hundreds of tiny cream-white flowers — are unmistakeable and everywhere in June: hedgerows, woodland edges, gardens, and roadsides. This is the week to pick them. Harvest when the flowers are newly open and still bright white. Once they begin to go cream or brownish at the edges, the volatile compounds responsible for the flavour break down.
Identification: large shrub or small tree with opposite leaves divided into 5–7 leaflets. The leaflets smell unpleasant when crushed — a useful confirmation. Flower heads are flat-topped, up to 20cm across. The autumn berries are dark purple-black and require cooking before eating.
The science: elderflower contains quercetin glycosides, kaempferol, rutin, and chlorogenic acid — a flavonoid profile with well-documented antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties. See the full elderflower science post for the polyphenol research detail.
🌿 Elderflower and lemon drizzle rice cake
Serves 8–10 · 45 minutes · Gluten-free
Ingredients
- 200g ground almonds
- 100g rice flour
- 150g caster sugar
- 3 eggs
- 120ml light olive oil
- Zest of 2 lemons
- 6 large elderflower heads, flowers stripped from stems
- 1 tsp baking powder (gluten-free)
- Pinch of salt
- For the drizzle: juice of 1 lemon, 2 tbsp elderflower cordial, 2 tbsp icing sugar
Method
- Preheat oven to 170°C. Line a 20cm round tin.
- Whisk eggs and sugar until pale and slightly thickened. Add oil gradually.
- Fold in ground almonds, rice flour, baking powder, salt, lemon zest, and elderflower florets.
- Pour into tin and bake 30–35 minutes until golden and a skewer comes out clean.
- Mix drizzle ingredients and pour over the warm cake as it comes out of the oven.
- Leave to cool completely before slicing. The elderflower flavour intensifies as it sits.
2. St John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum)
St John’s Wort flowers at the solstice — its timing is one of the most precise in the British flora. Look for bright yellow five-petalled flowers on dry banks, roadsides, and rough grassland. The identification test: squeeze a bud between your fingers. It stains red. That is hypericin — the key bioactive compound — and it is your confirmation.
The clinical trial evidence for St John’s Wort is unusually robust, but so are the drug interaction warnings. Read the full St John’s Wort science post before using it internally — it interacts with a significant number of prescription medications including antidepressants, contraceptives, and blood thinners.
🌿 St John’s Wort-infused honey
Serves 1 jar · 15 minutes + 4 weeks infusing · Gluten-free
Ingredients
- A large handful of fresh St John’s Wort flowers and buds (red-staining when squeezed)
- 300g raw honey — runny enough to pour
Method
- Gently warm the honey in a bain-marie until just liquid — do not overheat.
- Pack flowers loosely into a sterilised jar. Pour honey over to cover completely.
- Seal and leave in a warm sunny spot (a windowsill) for 4 weeks, turning daily.
- Strain through muslin into a clean jar. The honey will be deep amber.
- Use as a throat-soothing addition to warm (not boiling) water with lemon. Not for children under 12 months. Do not use internally if taking any prescription medication — see the science post for the full interaction list.
3. Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
Yarrow is the plant that foragers notice and most walkers step over. By June it is everywhere: road verges, meadows, lawns, chalk downland, railway embankments. The flat-topped white flower heads are unmistakeable once you know them — dozens of tiny florets packed into a corymb. Crush a leaf: it smells medicinal, slightly bitter, completely distinctive.
Identification: feathery, deeply divided leaves (the Latin millefolium means thousand-leaved), upright stems 20–60cm, flat white flower heads. Pink-flowered forms exist and are equally edible. Do not confuse with hemlock, which has hairless hollow stems, purple blotching at the base, and no scent whatsoever.
The science: yarrow contains chamazulene (the same blue anti-inflammatory compound in chamomile), camphor, flavonoids including apigenin and luteolin, and sesquiterpene lactones with documented anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activity. Its role in supporting digestion as a bitter tonic is well supported. Avoid during pregnancy.
🌿 Yarrow and honey oat-free granola clusters
Serves 4 · 25 minutes · Gluten-free
Ingredients
- 150g buckwheat groats
- 100g mixed seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, sesame)
- 50g flaked almonds
- 3 tbsp runny honey
- 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp fresh yarrow flowers, stripped from stems
- Pinch of sea salt
Method
- Preheat oven to 160°C. Mix buckwheat, seeds, and almonds in a bowl.
- Warm honey and coconut oil together. Pour over dry ingredients with vanilla and salt. Stir well.
- Spread on a lined baking tray. Bake 18–20 minutes, stirring once halfway, until golden.
- Remove from oven. Scatter yarrow flowers over the hot mixture and press lightly into clusters.
- Leave to cool completely without stirring — this is what creates the clusters.
- Store in an airtight jar for up to 2 weeks. Serve with yoghurt and wild strawberries.
4. Common mallow (Malva sylvestris)
Common mallow is one of the most underrated edible plants in Britain. By June it is in full flower — those beautiful purple-pink petals with darker veining that make it genuinely one of the prettiest plants in the hedgerow. It grows on roadsides, waste ground, village greens, and coastal paths. It is not rare. It is simply overlooked.
Identification: rounded leaves with 5–7 shallow lobes on long stalks; flowers 2–4cm across, five notched petals in deep pink-purple with darker veins. Grows to around 1m. The immature round seeds — called “cheeses” for their shape — are also edible raw and taste pleasantly nutty.
The science: mallow contains high levels of mucilaginous polysaccharides that soothe and protect irritated mucous membranes, alongside flavonoids including malvin and gossypin. A 2021 review in Antioxidants (PMC8382527) confirmed significant antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and mucoprotective properties. The traditional use for coughs and digestive inflammation is mechanistically well understood. A cold-water mallow infusion — not boiling, to preserve the mucilage — is one of the gentlest and most effective herbal drinks you can make.
🌿 Mallow leaf and lemon frittata
Serves 2 · 20 minutes · Gluten-free
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- A large double handful of mallow leaves, stems removed
- 1 clove garlic, finely sliced
- Zest of half a lemon
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Sea salt and black pepper
- A few mallow flowers to finish
Method
- Wash mallow leaves and blanch in boiling salted water for 90 seconds. Drain and squeeze dry. Roughly chop.
- Beat eggs with lemon zest, salt, and pepper.
- Heat olive oil in a small ovenproof frying pan over medium heat. Soften garlic 1 minute.
- Add mallow leaves and stir. Pour eggs over evenly.
- Cook on the hob until the edges are set — about 3 minutes — then finish under a hot grill for 2 minutes.
- Scatter mallow flowers over the top and serve directly from the pan with a dressed salad.
5. Fat hen (Chenopodium album)
Fat hen sustained populations across northern Europe for thousands of years before modern agriculture made it inconvenient. Seeds have been found in the stomach contents of Tollund Man. It is also, nutritionally, one of the most extraordinary wild greens you can eat — and it grows as a weed in almost every disturbed soil patch, field margin, and garden from June onwards.
Identification: upright annual, 30–100cm, with a distinctive mealy white coating on young leaves — this is the plant’s own waxy bloom, not pesticide residue. Leaves are roughly diamond-shaped with irregular teeth, greyish-green above, silvery below. Flowers are tiny, green, clustered in dense spikes. It is entirely unshowy. That’s rather the point.
The science: fat hen contains more iron, protein, and calcium than raw spinach by weight, with higher levels of vitamins B1, B2, and C. It also contains oxalic acid — as does spinach — so cooking reduces this, particularly for those prone to kidney stones. The nutritional profile is not contested; fat hen is simply unfashionable. That makes it one of the best-kept secrets in the hedgerow.
🌿 Fat hen, garlic, and poached egg on rice cakes
Serves 2 · 15 minutes · Gluten-free
Ingredients
- 4 large handfuls fat hen leaves and young tops
- 2 cloves garlic, sliced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 eggs
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 4 rice cakes or gluten-free toast
- Sea salt, black pepper, chilli flakes
Method
- Bring a pan of salted water to the boil. Blanch fat hen for 2 minutes, drain, and squeeze dry. Roughly chop.
- Heat olive oil in a frying pan. Cook garlic until just golden. Add fat hen, season well with salt, pepper, and chilli.
- Poach eggs in simmering water with a splash of vinegar for 3 minutes.
- Pile fat hen onto rice cakes. Top with a poached egg.
- Finish with a little extra olive oil and flaked sea salt. Eat immediately.
6. Water mint (Mentha aquatica)
You will find water mint by smell before you see it — a cool, intensely minty scent rising from the edge of any stream, pond, ditch, or boggy ground. It grows in dense spreading patches and is in full flower from June onwards: lilac-pink whorls of tiny flowers at intervals up the stem.
Identification: opposite oval leaves, slightly hairy, strongly aromatic when crushed. Square stem — all mints have square stems, which is a reliable family marker. Flowers lilac-pink in dense rounded heads. Always in damp to wet ground. No dangerous plants share this habitat, stem shape, and overwhelming mint scent.
The science: water mint is rich in rosmarinic acid — a phenolic compound with well-documented antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties — alongside menthol, flavonoids, and volatile terpenoids. A 2021 review on the Mentha genus (PMC7923432) confirmed significant antimicrobial activity. Traditional digestive and respiratory uses are supported by the pharmacological evidence.
🌿 Wild mint, cucumber, and wild strawberry cooler
Serves 2 · 5 minutes + 1 hour chilling · Gluten-free
Ingredients
- A large handful of water mint leaves and flowering tops
- Half a cucumber, thinly sliced
- A handful of wild strawberries (or small cultivated ones)
- 600ml cold sparkling water
- Juice of half a lime
- Ice
Method
- Lightly bruise the mint between your palms to release the oils.
- Place mint, cucumber, and strawberries in a large jug. Add lime juice.
- Pour over sparkling water. Stir once and refrigerate for at least an hour.
- Serve over ice. No sweetener needed — the strawberries do the work.
- Strain before serving if you prefer it clear, or leave the botanicals in for a wilder look.
Woodland edge
7. Wild strawberry (Fragaria vesca)
The tiny fruits of the wild strawberry are just beginning to ripen on sunny woodland edges, hedgebanks, and chalk grassland in June. They take patience — you may spend twenty minutes gathering a handful. But a handful of wild strawberries eaten warm from the plant on a June walk is one of the genuine pleasures of the foraging year, and the ellagic acid and ellagitannin content per gram is substantially higher than any cultivated variety. The full polyphenol research is in the wild strawberry deep-dive post.
Identification: trifoliate leaves with toothed leaflets, white five-petalled flowers, and small bright red fruits with seeds on the surface. The underside of the leaf is noticeably pale. Grows in patches in dappled sun or semi-shade. The scent of a ripe fruit confirms it instantly.
🌿 Wild strawberry and almond cream pots
Serves 4 · 15 minutes + 2 hours setting · Gluten-free
Ingredients
- 200g wild strawberries (or small strawberries)
- 400ml coconut cream
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 2 tsp agar-agar flakes
- A few elderflower florets or violet leaves to finish
Method
- Warm coconut cream gently in a saucepan with maple syrup and almond extract.
- Add agar-agar and whisk over low heat for 3–4 minutes until fully dissolved.
- Pour into four small glasses or ramekins. Leave to cool then refrigerate for 2 hours until set.
- Arrange wild strawberries on top just before serving.
- Finish with a few elderflower florets if in season, or a single violet leaf.
8. Lime / linden flowers (Tilia cordata)
Lime trees flower in late June and early July — a brief window, easy to miss, impossible to forget once you’ve caught the scent. The pale yellow flowers hang from a characteristic strap-like bract (a pale, oblong leaf-like structure attached to the flower stalk) that doubles as an identification feature. Look up at large lime trees on streets and in parks. The flowers are right above you.
The full science — flavonoids including tiliroside and quercetin, and the volatile compound profile linked to mild sedative and anxiolytic effects — is covered in the lime flowers science post. Linden tea is one of the most evidence-supported plant preparations for sleep and nervous system support in the European herbal tradition.
🌿 Linden flower and honey sleep tea
Serves 1 · 5 minutes · Gluten-free
Ingredients
- A small handful of freshly picked lime flowers and their bracts
- 1 tsp raw honey
- 200ml just-off-boiling water
Method
- Place lime flowers in a mug or small teapot.
- Pour water at around 85°C — just off the boil — over the flowers.
- Steep for 5–7 minutes, covered to retain the volatile compounds.
- Strain, add honey, and drink warm in the hour before bed.
- The bract is part of what makes lime flower tea work — include it.
9. Pineapple weed (Matricaria discoidea)
Pineapple weed is the scented secret of every farm track and compacted path in England — growing in the wheel ruts and field gateways where nothing else survives. Rub one of the rayless, conical yellow-green domes between your fingers: pineapple and chamomile, entirely unmistakeable. It is the safest plant to identify in this guide. Full identification guide and science — including its apigenin content — in the pineapple weed post.
🌿 Pineapple weed and honey cold-infused lemonade
Serves 4 · 10 minutes + 4 hours infusing · Gluten-free
Ingredients
- 30 fresh pineapple weed flower heads
- 1 litre cold water
- Juice of 2 lemons
- 2–3 tbsp honey, to taste
- Ice and lemon slices to serve
Method
- Place pineapple weed flower heads directly into a jug of cold water.
- Add lemon juice and honey. Stir to dissolve honey.
- Refrigerate for at least 4 hours — overnight is even better.
- Strain into glasses over ice. The cold infusion preserves the apigenin content far better than hot steeping.
- Garnish with a lemon slice and a fresh flower head. Serve immediately.
Coast
If you’re near the coast, June is one of the finest months to forage there. The tidal zones and shingle beaches offer plants with a mineral intensity and nutritional profile quite different from inland species. The June riverbank post also covers what to look for along freshwater edges — worth reading alongside this section.
10. Sea beet (Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima)
Sea beet is the ancestor of beetroot, Swiss chard, and sugar beet — all of those cultivated vegetables bred from this one coastal plant over centuries. It grows on shingle beaches, coastal paths, sea walls, and salt marshes around most of the English coast, and in June the dark, glossy, succulent leaves are at their most tender before the plant puts energy into its flowering spike.
Identification: dark green, glossy, fleshy leaves with a characteristic waxy surface — they look almost polished. Roughly diamond or triangular in shape, sometimes with wavy edges. The stems can be reddish. Grows sprawling over shingle or in dense patches at the top of beaches and along coastal paths. No dangerous coastal plant shares this combination of habitat, leaf texture, and mild earthy-beet scent.
The science: sea beet contains high levels of vitamin K (notably higher than spinach), vitamin C, iron, and betaine — the compound that gives it its faintly earthy, mineral flavour and that has documented roles in methylation pathways and liver function. Its nitrate content mirrors that of beetroot, with the associated cardiovascular benefits now well-evidenced in the research literature. If you live near the coast, this is the wild green worth knowing above almost any other.
🌿 Sea beet, feta, and lemon baked eggs
Serves 2 · 25 minutes · Gluten-free
Ingredients
- 4 large handfuls sea beet leaves
- 3 eggs
- 80g feta, crumbled
- 1 clove garlic, sliced
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- Zest and juice of half a lemon
- Pinch of chilli flakes
- Sea salt and black pepper
Method
- Preheat oven to 190°C.
- Wash sea beet thoroughly (the leaves can hold sand). Remove any tough stems.
- Heat olive oil in an ovenproof pan. Cook garlic briefly, then add sea beet and wilt for 2–3 minutes.
- Season with lemon zest, chilli, salt, and pepper. Squeeze over lemon juice.
- Make three wells in the greens. Crack an egg into each. Scatter feta over everything.
- Bake 8–10 minutes until whites are set but yolks still soft. Serve directly from the pan with rice cakes.
11. Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria)
The scent of meadowsweet in full flower on a warm June evening is one of the most distinctive in the British flora — heavy, almond-vanilla, filling the air above any damp meadow or streamside. The frothy cream-white flower plumes appear from late June. This is a plant with a genuinely remarkable pharmacological history: aspirin was originally synthesised from a compound first extracted from meadowsweet, and its traditional use as a digestive and anti-inflammatory herb is well supported. The full science, including its salicylate content and the research on pain and fever management, is in the meadowsweet post. Do not use if you are sensitive to aspirin.
🌿 Meadowsweet cold-infused panna cotta
Serves 4 · 20 minutes + 4 hours setting · Gluten-free
Ingredients
- 10 large meadowsweet flower heads
- 600ml full-fat coconut milk
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tsp agar-agar flakes
- A handful of wild strawberries or fresh raspberries to serve
Method
- Place meadowsweet flowers in a bowl. Pour cold coconut milk over. Cover and refrigerate overnight — this cold infusion captures the volatile almond-vanilla compounds without cooking them off.
- Strain the infused milk through muslin, squeezing gently to extract all the flavour.
- Warm the strained milk in a saucepan with maple syrup. Do not boil.
- Add agar-agar and whisk for 3–4 minutes over low heat until dissolved.
- Pour into four moulds or glasses. Refrigerate 4 hours until firmly set.
- Turn out onto plates if using moulds, or serve in glasses. Top with wild strawberries.
12. Dog rose (Rosa canina)
The dog rose is the queen of the June hedgerow — those pale pink five-petalled flowers with golden stamens that seem to glow against the dark green of the bramble and hawthorn. The petals are edible: delicate, subtly fragrant, beautiful raw in salads or cold-infused into honey or vinegar. The rosehips that follow in autumn are among the most vitamin-C-rich wild foods in the British flora. Full details on both the flowers and the hips in the dog rose post.
Identification: arching thorny stems, leaves divided into 5–7 oval leaflets, flowers 4–6cm across in pale to mid pink (occasionally white). Found in hedgerows, scrub, and woodland edges across England. The sepals fold back after flowering — visible when the petals drop — which distinguishes it from other Rosa species.
🌿 Dog rose petal and apple cider vinegar
Serves 1 small jar · 10 minutes + 2 weeks infusing · Gluten-free
Ingredients
- A large double handful of dog rose petals — freshly picked, the white heel at the base of each petal removed
- 250ml raw apple cider vinegar
Method
- Check petals for insects. Remove the small white bitter heel at the base of each petal with scissors.
- Pack petals into a sterilised jar. Pour apple cider vinegar over to cover completely.
- Seal and leave in a cool dark place for 2 weeks, shaking daily.
- Strain through muslin. The vinegar will be a beautiful pale rose pink.
- Use as a salad dressing base, drizzle over roasted vegetables, or dilute a teaspoon in sparkling water as a daily tonic.
References
- PMC6017249 — Response of Plant Secondary Metabolites to Environmental Factors. Molecules. 2018.
- PMC8382527 — Health Benefits of Malva sylvestris: Nutritional Composition and Bioactive Properties. Antioxidants. 2021.
- PMC7923432 — The Wonderful Activities of the Genus Mentha. Molecules. 2021.
- PMC9898411 — Phytochemical profiling and pharmacological activities of Malva sylvestris. 2023.
- PMID 18042411 — Prebiotic effectiveness of inulin extracted from edible burdock. 2008. [See the burdock post for more on the gut health research relevant to this season.]
Free Foraging Downloads
The Seasonal Foraging Calendar
25 pages · 17 wild plants · identification guides, science, 6 recipes, and lookalike warnings.
The Seasonal Foraging Calendar
14 pages · month-by-month guide to foraging in England — what to find, where to look, and why it matters.
A note on safety
This content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Wild plants can be dangerous if misidentified. Never consume any wild plant unless you are completely confident in your identification. In June, hemlock (Conium maculatum) is flowering — a deadly white umbellifer found in damp ground. Learn it. Elderflower must be correctly identified as Sambucus nigra — other elder species and the unripe berries are toxic. St John’s Wort interacts with many prescription medications. Always consult your GP before using wild plants medicinally, particularly if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or taking medication.
