North Carolina · December

What foragers look for in North Carolina in December

5 of the 22 species on the North Carolina 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.

‹ November January ›

Oyster mushroomsPleurotus spp.
Records tailing off
48% of this row's peak · iNaturalist research-grade observations, North Carolina · n=1,105 (139 in December)
Hickories and pecanCarya spp.
Records tailing off
33% of this row's peak · iNaturalist research-grade observations, North Carolina · n=45 (4 in December)
USA-NPN cross-check: 87 "Ripe fruits" plant-year records in North Carolina peak in September.
Lion's mane and other HericiumHericium spp.
Records tailing off
24% of this row's peak · iNaturalist research-grade observations, North Carolina · n=1,038 (86 in December)
Wild roses (hips)Rosa spp.
Records tailing off
16% of this row's peak · iNaturalist research-grade observations, North Carolina · n=232 (9 in December)
SumacsRhus spp.
Records tailing off
12% of this row's peak · iNaturalist research-grade observations, North Carolina · n=736 (22 in December)

None of the rows peaks in December in North Carolina. Records of Prickly pear, Hedgehog mushrooms, American persimmon, Hen of the woods (maitake) 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.

‹ November January ›

Questions

What do foragers look for in North Carolina in December?

In public records for North Carolina, people most often report these in December: Oyster mushrooms, Hickories and pecan, Lion's mane and other Hericium, Wild roses (hips), Sumacs. 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

Virginia in December Tennessee in December Georgia in December South Carolina in December

North Carolina: 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, North Carolina, 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, North Carolina, 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 North Carolina. 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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