“Wildman” Steve Brill, environmental educator, author, and urban foraging expert, has a word of caution for hunters of the juneberry: “They’re actually dangerous. They taste so good you can die of happiness.” To seek out this morsel of euphoria, look for leafy green bushes bearing clusters of blueberry-like fruit. Juneberry bushes like to keep their feet cool, so look for moist soil along streams and lakes. Like their cousin the blueberry, juneberries are ripe when blue-black. They wear a light powdering of pale dust and a little crown of dried bud. The fruit is sweet and the seed has a nutty flavor. Attention vegetarians and vegans: A serving of juneberries provides 23% of the recommended daily requirement of iron, so trade your supplements for saskatoons. Try drying the berries to preserve summer’s bliss for winter glooms. They are delightful in jams, tarts, and the Wildman’s vegan juneberry crème pie.

This broad-leafed ground-hugger is of no relation to the starchy fruit of a similar name. Once you learn to recognize the common plantain, you’ll find it dogging your footsteps wherever you go, in lawns, ditches, footpaths, and fields. Keep your eye out for a low-growing plant with broad leaves that send up a single seed-bearing stalk between them. The round, green leaves are ribbed with five to seven prominent veins running from base to tip. Choose the tender, younger leaves and remove the tough ribs before cooking. Wildman Steve enjoys his plantain leaves baked like kale chips. The vitamin C– and calcium-rich leaves can also be sautéed, sliced, and tossed with salad, and even sprinkled over pizza. Try serving the seedpods as you would green beans or asparagus.

Unless you live at McMurdo station, you almost certainly know where to find dandelions. Select the youngest leaves, as dandelions grow bitter with age. Even late in the year it’s possible to find young leaves because during the gardener's ceaseless war against dandelions, fresh green forces are always being called to the fronts. Try sautéing the leaves in the Italian fashion with olive oil, garlic, and hot pepper for a brazen dish bursting with vitamins A, C, and K. The sunny flowers, bane of lawn owners everywhere, can be battered and fried. Romantics can make dandelion flower wine, which, according to old European tradition, needs the touch of the fairy folk to transform bitter petals into a sweet sip. For a full-bodied draught to start your morning, try brewing a pot of roasted dandelion root coffee.

Purslane isn’t picky about where it settles its roots. You’ll spot the thick, reddish stems spreading in low rosettes from sidewalk cracks, roadside trenches, and waste ground. The fleshy, teardrop shaped leaves are the omega-3 kings of the plant realm, boasting more of the healthful fatty acids than any other leafy vegetable. With a lemony zing and a texture that falls between cucumbers and green beans, purslane’s raw leaves and stems add a lively note to salads, sandwiches, and hummus pita pockets. As at home on the side of the plate as on the sidewalk, purslane brings novelty to pesto and salsa. Feeling wild? Brill is scheming to make purslane ice cream this summer, betting that the tangy roadside urchin will provide the perfect contrast to ice cream’s sweetness.

The loveliest of spring brides spreads her flowered veil over the moist soils of stream banks, roadsides, and thickets. A shrub with limbs of smooth, gray bark, the elder wears a fringed shawl of narrow, toothed leaves. Her veil branches in flat or rounded clusters of frilled white flowers. Each blossom has five petals and five spiky stamens. Elderflower is delicate, suited to charming traditional preparations like Austrian hollerküchle (elderflower pancakes) and old-fashioned English elderflower cordial. Nothing could be more refreshing on a steamy day than elderflower lemonade or elderflower mint iced tea. Give soirees a sparkling finish with elderflower sorbet or elegant elderflower mousse.

Midsummer magic turns flowers to fruit and the elder is bedecked with clusters of midnight berries. Gather only dark blue and black fruit—unripe berries will make you ill, as will the poisonous product of the red-fruiting elder species. An ancient folk remedy for colds and flu, elderberry’s anti-inflammatory and immunoprotective properties now have support from clinical studies. Elderberry can reduce symptoms, as well as activate healthy immune systems. For best results, cook the fruit; raw elderberries taste more like a curse than a cure. Tradition bottles the berry’s cold-fighting powers in elderberry syrup. Add novel flair to curries, glazes and dressings with elderberry apple chutney. On long summer nights, no one can resist a second helping of elderberry pie or elderberry coffee cake, and elderberry slump tastes much better than it sounds.