Thanks to its varied habitats and combination of native and introduced species, this world-famous park overflows with wild food.

If the summer has been rainy, the mushrooming should be excellent. In years where there was exceptionally rainy weather, we found hundreds of dollars worth of prized prince mushrooms on a path across from the Museum of Natural History, and they may be back again under similar circumstances. Other great species we may find include chicken mushrooms and ringless honey mushrooms.

Many common wild greens also abound. We'll hunt for lamb's-quarters (a wild spinach), sour wood sorrel and sheep sorrel, spicy poor man's pepper, mild lady's thumb, and string
bean-flavored Asiatic dayflower.

We'll also cover culinary and medicinal herbs such as burdock, sassafras, and common spicebush. The latter also bears oblong red berries that make a fantastic, allspice-like seasoning.

Speaking of fruit, there's usually a huge crop of wild apples just northwest of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and west of Park Drive East. Further south, we may also find stands of
sour-flavored quince.

Not to be outdone, Park Drive West has a great stand of staghorn sumac, which you use to make pink lemonade or a wonderful concentrate used in place of lemon juice.

We'll also look for hawthorn berries, related to apples, and with a similar flavor. The fruit of the hackberry tree, on the other hand, tastes like the candy coating of M&M's.