We cut through the grass with our bodies, merging with the field. The calls of birds alert the other creatures to our presence as we swish and crackle our way through grass that’s taller than we are. At last, we come upon a clearing.

Nick points to the ground. It is covered in large toothed leaves arranged in basal rosettes.

He uses a shovel to dig next to one and lifts a clump of earth. He rummages around in the soil, scraping it away like an archeologist uncovering a fossil. At last, his hand grips what looks like a gnarled white carrot. He cuts it free with a slip of his knife and holds it up to us.

“Parsnip,” he says.

We each take turns smelling it. It is surrounded by the aroma of earth, but at its center is the unmistakable odor of a vegetable. Sharp and carroty, but with a flatter quality, like a potato.

Wild parsnip is infamous in the Driftless region because its oil can give nasty rashes and boils given the right conditions (sun, and some say sweaty skin). While Sam Thayer is said to beat himself with wild parsnip to prove its benignity, most farmers with a weed-whacker have had an experience that would dissuade them from such a practice.

However controversial Wild Parsnip’s stalk is, the root is an undeniably valuable resource. It is:

• Plentiful. No need to worry about overharvesting, no problem finding it.
• Nutritious. Ever wonder how the stalk grows so large? It’s because the plant takes an entire year gathering nutrients into the root to supercharge the next year’s ascent. These nutrients are at a peak in the fall, when it’s finished its summer stockpiling and is ready to go to sleep for the winter.
• Huge! So many wild edibles are delectable and nutritious but tiny. Half an hour in a good patch of wild parsnip will give you a good bag full, certainly enough of a meal for two (there’s nothing more romantic than chewing on roots).

Wild Parsnip isn’t the only wonderful wild edible to be found in the fall. See 11 Common Wild Edibles of Fall for a more in-depth list.