of global biomass
Recent research reviewing plant-awareness disparity notes that plants represent more than 80% of global biomass.
PLOS One · 2026 ↗The world beneath your feet
You know your phone.
Do you know the land?
We move through a living world every day while barely knowing its names. Food, fiber, medicine, ecology, history and generations of human knowledge can be growing outside the door. Urban Forager exists to help rebuild that relationship.
Start here · Before you forage
The 12 Rules of Foraging.
Every harvest affects a living ecosystem. Learn the essentials of safe identification, responsible collecting, and respect for the land before gathering anything.
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01
Identify Before You Harvest
Confirm an organism’s identity and learn its dangerous look-alikes.
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02
Know the Laws of the Land
Check permissions, permits, land rules, and protected species.
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03
Take Only What You Need
Harvest with purpose, and avoid unnecessary waste.
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04
Harvest Sustainably
Leave enough for wildlife, reproduction, and regeneration.
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05
Respect Wildlife and Habitat
Protect pollinators, nesting animals, soil life, and habitats.
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06
Protect Rare and Vulnerable Species
Never collect protected species or from declining populations.
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07
Minimize Unnecessary Damage
Avoid harming roots, mycelium, trees, and surrounding plants.
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08
Know Your Environment
Avoid polluted sites, treated areas, and contaminated soil or water.
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09
Prevent Ecological Harm
Avoid spreading invasive species, pests, and pathogens.
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10
Honor Indigenous Knowledge
Respect living knowledge holders, land rights, and traditions.
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11
Practice Reciprocity
Restore habitats, remove litter safely, and protect biodiversity.
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12
Know When Not to Harvest
Sometimes observation is the most responsible choice.
Safety first: Never identify or eat wild plants or fungi using this app alone. Verify with expert-quality sources, check local restrictions, and avoid contaminated sites.
Why this knowledge matters
Plants dominate the living world around us. Yet research shows we routinely fail to notice them.
This isn't nostalgia. Plant literacy affects how we understand biodiversity, conservation, food, culture and the ecosystems keeping us alive.
college students studied
Across six colleges, most participants did not report confidence identifying plant categories; food, herbs and foraging plants were among the better-known groups.
Natural Sciences Education · 2024 ↗dimensions of the disparity
Research describes plant-awareness disparity through attention, knowledge, attitude and relative interest—not simply whether someone can visually see a plant.
CBE—Life Sciences Education ↗Watch · learn · reconnect
Learn without leaving the app.
Explore field walks, films and lessons. Select a video to watch it here in a lightbox.
Tap any video to play · Swipe or use the arrows to browse
Knowledge becomes relationship
Don't just identify it. Understand it.
Reciprocity, not extraction
Knowing what you can take is only half the lesson.
USDA's Indigenous and wild-plant harvesting guidance emphasizes sustainable harvest, permission, giving back, proper identification and maintaining relationships with plant and wildlife relatives.
CONTINUE THE RELATIONSHIP
Zerra
Urban Forager helps you recognize and understand the living world. Zerra continues that relationship through ecological literacy, reciprocity, regeneration and lower-waste living.
Explore Zerra