September brings colourful rosehips, red hawthorn berries, ripening hazelnuts and autumn mushrooms. Discover what to look for, how to harvest responsibly and what you can make with the season’s finds.
This guide focuses on the Netherlands and nearby regions with a similar climate. Harvest times vary with local conditions.
Colourful hedgerow fruits, ripe nuts and woodland mushrooms to explore.
Rosehips, hawthorn berries and hazelnuts, with porcini where conditions suit.
Hedgerows, woodland edges and mixed woodland where harvesting is permitted.
Take only what you need and leave plenty of food and shelter for wildlife.
Explore these four seasonal finds, from colourful hedgerow fruits to woodland mushrooms. Open each guide for detailed identification, possible lookalikes and important safety information.
Rosa canina
Red, oval hips develop on arching, prickly stems, often with dried flower remnants at the tip.
Leaves are divided into serrated leaflets. Choose ripe, healthy hips for syrups, teas and preserves.
Safety: Remove the seeds and irritating hairs when using the flesh, or filter cooked preparations carefully through a fine cloth. Harvest from clean, unsprayed plants and take care around the prickles.
Crataegus monogyna
Small, deep-red fruits grow in clusters, each with a tiny dark flower remnant at the tip.
Deeply lobed leaves grow on thorny branches. The ripe fruits have firm flesh surrounding a hard stone.
Safety: Confirm identification using both leaves and fruits. Use the flesh for cooked sauces, jellies or preserves, then strain out the stones. Do not crush or eat the stones.
Corylus avellana
Rounded nuts grow inside leafy husks, with shells turning brown as they mature in early autumn.
Broad, rounded leaves have pointed tips and toothed edges. Hazel often grows as a shrub with several stems.
Safety: Crack each nut and check the kernel before eating. Discard mouldy, damaged or rancid nuts. Hazelnuts are unsuitable for people with a hazelnut allergy; whole nuts are a choking hazard for young children.
Boletus edulis
A brown cap sits above a stout, pale stem, usually with a fine white net-like pattern near the top.
The underside has pores rather than gills, changing from white to yellowish and olive-green as it matures.
Safety: These features alone are not enough to confirm identification. Have finds checked by an experienced mushroom identifier while learning. Eat only confidently identified, healthy specimens and cook thoroughly before serving.
Turn September’s harvest into simple homemade favourites. From fruity rosehip syrup to nutty snacks and savoury mushroom toast, these recipes bring the flavours of early autumn into your kitchen.
A few simple precautions will help you forage safely and responsibly.
Check several identifying features. Get expert help with mushrooms while learning.
Avoid polluted ground and sprayed areas. Check that harvesting is permitted.
Pick only what you need from abundant sources and leave plenty for wildlife.
Follow each guide’s advice on cleaning, straining, removing stones and cooking.
Every wild plant and mushroom has its own identification features, uses, lookalikes and preparation advice. Explore the complete guides before harvesting something unfamiliar.