A field reference for the plants around you

Every plant carries a safety tier:

🟢 gentle — everyday kitchen and tea plants, and easy edibles.   🟡 potent — real cautions: cook-first, small-doses, or handle-with-care.   🔴 respect — toxic or expert-only. Look, don't use.

Zones are matched to your account. Plants that won't survive your winter are dimmed — flip the toggle to see everything.

Every plant, one by one

Plant	Zones	Tier	Good for	Cautions
Garlic	3–9	🟢	Kitchen staple — bulbs, green tops, and spring scapes	A true workhorse. Nothing to watch for.
Bee balm (wild bergamot)	3–9	🟢	Fragrant tea and a top pollinator plant; minty-oregano scent	Spreads by runners — give it room or edge the bed.
Calendula	2–11	🟢	Edible petals and the classic skin-salve flower	Go easy with a serious daisy or ragweed allergy.
Chamomile	2–11	🟢	Calming tea from the dried flowers	Ragweed-allergy folks may react to it.
Lavender	5–9	🟢	Fragrance, tea, and baking; adored by bees	Wants sharp drainage — it rots in wet clay.
Lemon balm	4–9	🟢	Lemony, mood-lifting calming tea	Spreads freely — contain it or it takes the bed.
Oregano	4–10	🟢	Kitchen herb; stronger dried than fresh	Can sprawl; shear it back to stay tidy.
Rosemary	7–10	🟢	Evergreen kitchen herb for roasts and breads	Not winter-hardy below zone 7 — grow in a pot and bring it in.
Garden sage	4–8	🟢	Kitchen herb — savory dishes, poultry, and tea	Very large medicinal doses of the oil aren't for pregnancy.
Thyme	4–9	🟢	Kitchen herb and gentle tea; doubles as a groundcover	Nothing notable in kitchen amounts.
Goldenrod	3–9	🟢	Tea and a late-season pollinator feast	It does NOT cause hay fever (that's ragweed) — but daisy-allergy folks go easy.
Blue violet	3–9	🟢	Edible flowers and leaves; pretty in salads	Only true wild violets — African violets are unrelated and not edible.
Self-heal	3–9	🟢	Mild edible green and tea; old-time wound herb	Gentle; spreads modestly in lawns.
Red clover	3–10	🟢	Edible flowers and tea; a nitrogen-fixing cover crop	Large medicinal doses aren't for pregnancy or with blood thinners.
Purslane	2–11	🟢	Succulent, lemony wild green — rich in omega-3s	Don't confuse with toxic spurge, which bleeds a white sap when snapped.
Common mallow	3–10	🟢	Mild edible leaves and soothing "cheese-wheel" seeds	A common lawn weed — just wash it well.
Curly dock	3–9	🟢	Young leaves cooked like spinach; pleasantly tangy	High in oxalates — eat cooked and in moderation.
Cleavers	2–11	🟢	Spring tonic tea; the sticky "goosegrass"	Best young — it turns fibrous and clingy with age.
Ostrich fern fiddleheads	3–7	🟢	The classic spring fiddlehead vegetable	Cook thoroughly — never raw, and only true ostrich fern.
Yucca	4–11	🟢	Edible flowers and fruit; fiber and soap from the roots	Needle-sharp leaf tips — mind your eyes when weeding nearby.
Spicebush	4–9	🟢	Aromatic berries as an allspice-like seasoning; leaf tea	Harvest only the ripe red berries.
Holy basil (Tulsi)	2–11	🟢	A fragrant, clove-scented tea herb and adaptogen; grown as an annual	Gentle in tea amounts — grow it like basil.
Lamb's quarters	2–11	🟢	A mild, spinach-like wild green — a nutritional powerhouse	Cook it and eat in moderation (oxalates); wash grit from the leaves.
Mache (corn salad)	2–11	🟢	A tender, nutty cool-season salad green	Entirely gentle — one of the easiest salad greens to grow.
Stinging nettle	3–10	🟡	A superb cooked green and tonic tea once the sting is gone	Stings on contact — wear gloves, and always cook or dry before eating.
Burdock	2–10	🟡	Edible root (gobo) and a traditional tonic	Dig with care — first-year rosettes resemble toxic foxglove and belladonna. Know your plant.
Watercress	3–11	🟡	Peppery, vitamin-packed edible green	Wild: only from clean water, and never confuse it with poison hemlock. Cook if unsure of the source.
Shepherd's purse	2–11	🟡	Edible peppery leaves; a folk styptic herb	Strong action on circulation — not in pregnancy or with heart medication.
Evening primrose	4–9	🟡	Edible roots and shoots; the seed oil is a known supplement	The oil can interact with blood thinners and seizure medication.
Boneset	3–8	🟡	A traditional fever and immune herb	Potent — not for long-term use or in pregnancy; the fresh plant can nauseate.
Joe-Pye weed	3–9	🟡	A pollinator giant with a folk medicinal root	Medicinal use is potent and best left to those who know it; skip in pregnancy.
Jewelweed	2–11	🟡	The classic topical for poison-ivy rash and stings	Topical only — it's a remedy to rub on, not a food.
Horsetail	3–11	🟡	Mineral-rich tea and a garden anti-fungal spray	Contains thiaminase — short courses only; and it's aggressively invasive.
Yerba mansa	6–9	🟡	A Southwestern folk medicinal root	A potent astringent and a specialist's herb — not a casual tea.
Mormon tea	5–10	🟡	A desert tea brewed from the jointed stems	It's a mild stimulant (ephedra family) — go easy, and skip it with heart or blood-pressure issues.
Big sagebrush	4–10	🟡	Aromatic desert shrub for smudge and folk washes	Strong oils — not for internal use, and not the "sage" of the kitchen.
Agave	8–11	🟡	Fiber, a cooked-heart sweetener, and a striking dry-garden plant	Raw sap stings skin and mouth (needle-like oxalate crystals) — it must be cooked. Sharp spines.
Cholla cactus	8–11	🟡	Edible buds (de-thorned and cooked); desert wildlife habitat	Barbed glochids are miserable to handle — process very carefully.
Barrel cactus	9–11	🟡	Desert survival lore — the fruit, not "water"	The "drink the barrel" myth is false: the pulp is bitter and can sicken you. Hooked spines.
American ginseng	3–7	🟡	A prized adaptogenic woodland root	Threatened in the wild — buy cultivated, never wild-dig; real dosing and drug-interaction cautions.
Milkweed	3–9	🟡	The essential monarch host plant	Grow it for butterflies, not the plate — parts are toxic raw and it resembles toxic dogbane.
Epazote	8–11	🟡	A Mexican culinary herb for beans and quesadillas	Use small culinary amounts only — the concentrated oil is toxic, and not for pregnancy.
Aloe vera	9–11	🟡	Topical gel for minor burns and scrapes; an easy potted succulent	Topical only — never eat the raw leaf; the sap under the skin is a harsh laxative. Not hardy outdoors below zone 9.
Prickly pear	4–11	🟡	Edible pads (nopales) and sweet fruit (tunas); tough and drought-hardy	Handle with tongs — the tiny barbed glochids are worse than the spines. Singe or peel them off first.
Pine (needles & inner bark)	2–9	🟡	Vitamin-C needle tea and edible inner bark — a survival staple	Confirm it is a true pine, never yew; skip ponderosa and lodgepole needle tea in pregnancy.
Bloodroot	3–8	🔴	A woodland wildflower; historic dye and folk topical	Toxic — the orange sap is caustic. Not for home remedies. Enjoy it in bloom.
Mayapple	3–8	🔴	Woodland groundcover; only the fully ripe fruit is edible	Leaves, roots, seeds, and unripe fruit are poisonous. Best admired, not eaten.
Tansy	3–9	🔴	Historic strewing and insect-repelling herb; button flowers	Contains thujone — toxic in quantity and an abortifacient. Not for internal use.
Wild ginger	3–7	🔴	A woodland groundcover with a ginger-like scent	Contains aristolochic acid (kidney-damaging, carcinogenic) — do not eat, despite old flavoring lore.

Hover any illustration for a closer look. This page pairs with the foraging and medicinal guides — start there for the safety-first basics before you harvest anything.