Foraging Scots pine tips in spring

Every May, for a fortnight or so, the Scots pines on the edge of our holding put out their new growth — soft, pale candles that snap off cleanly and smell of resin and citrus. These are the pine tips we dry and sell, and they are one of the easiest wild harvests there is.

When to pick

The window is short. Too early and the candles are still sheathed and bitter; too late and they harden into ordinary branch wood. We watch for the sheaths to split and the fresh needles to show bright green at the tip — usually the second week of May here, earlier at lower altitude.

How to pick without harming the tree

A pine candle is next year's branch, so never strip a whole branch or the leader (the single upward-growing tip). We take no more than one candle in five from any branch, and nothing at all from trees under head height. Snap sideways with your fingers — if it needs a knife, it's too old.

What to do with them

Fresh, they make a bright, resinous syrup: layer with sugar in a jar and leave on a windowsill for six weeks. Dried below 40°C they keep their vitamin C remarkably well and make a clean-tasting winter tea. Our Forager's Guide covers identification in detail — there are no dangerous lookalikes among Scottish pines, but yew (which is deadly) can catch out the careless, so learn the difference before you pick.

Pine tips from our own trees are usually in the shop from late May until they sell out.