Forager's Field Notes Get the journal

New Jersey · December

What foragers look for in New Jersey in December

5 of the 18 species on the New Jersey calendar have December records. Listed by how much of each row's year falls in this month.

Never eat anything based on this page or on the app. These tables show when people recorded these species in public datasets. They do not say anything is ripe, edible or safe, and they do not help identify a find. Confirm every find with a qualified local expert.
‹ NovemberJanuary ›
  1. Wild roses (hips)Rosa spp.
    Records tailing off
    71% of this row's peak · iNaturalist research-grade observations, New Jersey · n=671 (86 in December)
  2. Black walnutJuglans nigra
    Records tailing off
    35% of this row's peak · iNaturalist research-grade observations, New Jersey · n=201 (11 in December)
  3. Oyster mushroomsPleurotus spp.
    Records tailing off
    35% of this row's peak · iNaturalist research-grade observations, New Jersey · n=494 (34 in December)
  4. SumacsRhus spp.
    Records tailing off
    19% of this row's peak · iNaturalist research-grade observations, New Jersey · n=768 (34 in December)
  5. Blueberries, huckleberries and relativesVaccinium spp.
    Records tailing off
    11% of this row's peak · iNaturalist research-grade observations, New Jersey · n=219 (6 in December)

None of the rows peaks in December in New Jersey. Records of Hickories and pecan, Prickly pear, American persimmon, Giant puffball drop below the listing line after November. "Peak month" means the month with the most records for that row; "rising" and "tailing off" describe the record counts on either side of it, nothing about the plant or fungus itself.

‹ NovemberJanuary ›

Questions

What do foragers look for in New Jersey in December?

In public records for New Jersey, people most often report these in December: Wild roses (hips), Black walnut, Oyster mushrooms, Sumacs, Blueberries, huckleberries and relatives. This is a list of records, not of anything safe to eat.

Does a record mean it is ripe or edible?

No. A record means someone reported the species that month. It says nothing about ripeness, quantity or edibility, and many have dangerous lookalikes. Confirm every find with a qualified local expert.

Same month, nearby

New York in DecemberPennsylvania in DecemberDelaware in December

New Jersey: the whole year · December across the US

Source and date

Counts are public records by calendar month, shown as a share of each row's busiest month. A record means someone reported the species that month; it says nothing about quantity, ripeness or safety. Records follow where and when people go out, so busy weekends and popular parks count more than remote ground.

iNaturalist
Research-grade observations, New Jersey, all years to 2026-10-20: mushrooms as all observations; fruit and nut plants as observations annotated "Fruits or Seeds". Retrieved 2026-10-20 from the iNaturalist API. inaturalist.org
USA-NPN
Nature's Notebook "Ripe fruits" phenophase status records, New Jersey, 2009–2025 (one record = one plant in one year, from first to last "yes"). Retrieved 2026-10-20 from the USA National Phenology Network data service, shown as a cross-check where a row has at least 8 records. usanpn.org
Rows
The 5 rows above are the species with at least 10% of their peak-month count, and at least 3 records, in December in New Jersey. Common names are the ones foragers use and are not an identification; the scientific name is the source's taxon.

Record what you find

Forager's Field Notes is a private journal: your own names, your own patches, stored only on your phone. Log a find and your own calendar builds itself, week by week, with a year wheel you can share and a field checklist for next month.

It never identifies species or judges edibility. Free to start, no account.

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