Looking for palettes for groups of species that work together interdependently to inspire your design of guilds (plant communities) for a food forest? Featured guilds: - eat your ornamentals - native bounty - urban orchard (apple & pear) - nature's pharmacy - medieval potager - asian cooking herbal - edible fence - native nuts (black walnut, butternut, shagbark or shellbark hickory, chestnut or oak) In Permaculture: A Designers Manual Bill Mollison says that "We ourselves are part of a guild of species that lie within and without our bodies. Aboriginal peoples and the Ayurvedic practitioners of ancient India have names for such guilds, or beings made up (as we are) of two or more species forming one organism. Most of nature is composed of groups of species working interdependently." Guilding is a permaculture technique that learns from and works with the relationships in nature, especially in a forest system. Unlike monocultures – a field of corn, a traditional apple orchard or a grass lawn – guilds are polycultures of diverse plants, insects and animals that support each other in a mini ecosystem. They’re designed around a primary food producing species (such as an apple tree) along with diverse, multi-functional support species to maximize the health and productivity of the guild. They produce a wide variety of useful products such as food, medicine, fibre, wood and dye. By considering the whole plant community, – placing plants carefully in relation to each other in a way that facilitates interconnection and support rather than competition (for example, plants with different root systems such as shallow vs tap roots) - Nitrogen fixing plants, along with species that supply phosphorus, potassium, calcium and other minerals, fertilize food producing plants - Soil food web recycles plant debris to build healthy, moisture retentive soil - Insectary plants attract beneficial predatory insects such as ladybugs, lacewings and predatory wasps as well as pollinators such as native bees that increase fruit and vegetable yield - Strongly aromatic plants such as oregano, garlic, thyme and yarrow confuse pests, preventing them from discovering the plants they like to eat - Diversity attracts a wide variety of bacteria, fungi, insects and birds to increase system health - Dense layer of herbaceous and groundcover plants suppress unwanted species and protect the soil

1. Designing food forests
fruit & nut tree guild handout

2. roots & tubers & bulbs
ground hugging
living mulches
vines
fruits
nuts
berries
leaves
roots
tubers
bulbs
sprouts
shoots
flowers
buds
pods
petals
hips
seeds
protectors
(insectaries)
miners
(minerals)
edible (people or wildlife)
biodiversity (resilience)
multispecies beauty
Think multiple gifts diversify
edibles
architectural
mound
ferny
grassy
combine shapes
erect
spreading
cascading
perennial | annual | biennial | ruderal
life expectancy
canopy
understory
shrubs
tree
feeders
(nitrogen fixers)

3. Bill Mollison, Permaculture: A Designer’s Manual

4. Start with the canopy

5. Black cherry
(Prunus serotina)
Hackberry
(Celtis occidentalis)
Oak
(Quercus spp.)
Hickory
(Carya spp.)
Sugar maple
(Acer saccharum)
American basswood
(Tilia americana)
American beech
(Fagus grandifolia)
Chestnut
(Castanea spp.)
Heartnut
(Juglans ailantifolia var.
cordiformis)
Ultra Northern Pecan
(Carya illinoensis)
Korean pine
(Pinus koraiensis)
Walnut, Butternut, & Buartnut
(Juglans spp.)
Trazel
(Corylus spp. avellana x colurna)
Swiss stone pine
(Pinus cembra)
Chinese elm
(Ulmus parvifolia)

6. Black walnut (Juglans nigra)

7. feed with nitrogen
fixers

8. Showy tick trefoil
(Desmodium canadense)
White prairie
clover (Dalea
candida )
Redbud
(Cercis canadensis)
Buffaloberry
(Shepherdia canadensis)
Bayberry
(Myrica pensylvanica)
False Indigo
(Amorpha fruticosa)
New Jersey Tea
(Ceanothus americanus)
Honey locust
(Gleditsia triacanthos)
Seaberry
(Hippophae rhamnoides L.)
Lupin
(Lupine spp.)
Leadplant
(Amorpha canescens)
Blue false indigo
(Baptisia australis)
Groundnut
(Apios americana)
Wild senna
(Senna hebecarpa)
Goumi berry
(Elaeagnus multiflora)
Purple prairie
clover(Dalea
purpurea )

9. Redbud
(Cercis canadensis)
Wild senna
(Senna hebecarpa)

10. layer in an
understory

11. Medlar
(Mespilus germanica)
Spicebush
(Lindera benzoin)
Yellowhorn
(Xanthoceras sorbifolia)
Hazelnut
(Corylus Americana)
Serviceberry
(Amelanchier canadensis)
Mulberry
(Morus rubra)
Persimmon
(Diospyros virginiana)
Pawpaw
(Asimina triloba)
American cranberry
(Viburnum trilobum)
Wild plum
(Prunus americana)
Raisin Tree
(Hovenia dulcis)
Hawthorn
(Crataegus spp.)
Cornelian Cherry
(Cornus mas)
Jujube
(Ziziphus jujuba)
Sumac
(Rhus spp.)
Elderberry
(Sambucus species)
Fringe tree
(Chionanthus virginicus)
Sichuan pepper
(Zanthoxylum spp.)

12. Mulberry
(Morus rubra)
Elderberry
(Sambucus spp.)
Pawpaw
(Asimina triloba)
Redbud
(Cercis canadensis)
Wild senna
(Senna hebecarpa)

13. diversify
using shrubs

14. Red raspberry
(Rubus idaeus.)
Black Raspberry
(Rubus occidentalis)
Wild black currant
(Ribes americanum)
Wild roses
(Rosa spp.)
Wild raisin
(Viburnum cassinoides)
Wild gooseberry
(Ribes hirtellum)
Jostaberry
(Ribes nidigrolaria)
Haskap
(Lonicera caerulea)
Blueberries
(Vaccinium corymbosum)
Aronia berries
(Aronia melanocarpa)
Quince
(Cydonia oblonga)
Goji Berry
(Lycium chinense)
Summersweet
(Clethra alnifolia)
Shrubby St. John’s Wort
(Hypericum kalmianum)
Snowberry
(Symphoricarpos)

15. Mulberry
(Morus rubra)
Wild roses
(Rosa spp.)
Snowberry
(Symphoricarpos)
Elderberry
(Sambucus spp.)
Pawpaw
(Asimina triloba)
Redbud
(Cercis canadensis)
Wild senna
(Senna hebecarpa)

16. cover the soil with
edible mulch

17. Siberian purslane
(Claytonia sibirica)
Horseradish
(Armoracia rusticana)
Miner’s lettuce
(Claytonia perfoliata)
Sea kale
(Crambe maritima)
Garden sorrel
(Rumex acetosa ‘Profusion’)
Ostrich fern
(Matteuccia struthiopteris)
Wild arugula
(Diplotaxis tenuifolia)
Rhubarb
(Rheum rhabarbarum)
Waterleaf (Hydrophyllum
virginianum)
Lovage
(Levisticum officinale)
Ground cherry
(Physalis pubescens)
Good king henry
(Chenopodium bonus-
henricus)
French dandelion
(Taraxacum officinale)
Radicchio
(Cichorium intybus)
Egyptian walking onions
(Allium cepa x proliferum)
Downy waodmint
(Blephilia ciliata)
Broad-leaved toothwort
(Cardamine diphylla)
Salad burnet
(Sanguisorba minor)

18. Woodland strawberry
(Fragaria vesca)
Hosta
(Hosta spp.)
False Solomon's Seal
(Maianthemum
racemosum)
Mallow
(Malva spp.)
Spikenard
(Aralia cordata)
Honewort
(Cryptotaenia canadensis)
Bugleweed
(Ajuga reptans)
Daylilies
(Hemerocallis spp.)
Balloon flower
(Platycodon grandiflorus)
Fennel
(Foeniculum vulgare)
Chinese Artichoke
(Stachys affinis)
Showy stonecrop
(Sedum spectabile)
Milkweed
(Asclepias syriaca)
Columbine
(Aquilegia canadensis)
Bracken fern
(Pteridium aquilinum)
Sweet cicely
(Myrrhis odorata)
Sochan
(Rudbeckia laciniata)
Herb Robert (Geranium
Robertianum)

19. Herb robert
(Geranium Robertianum)
Woodland strawberry
(Fragaria vesca)
Sweet cicely
(Myrrhis odorata)
Mulberry
(Morus rubra)
Solomon’s seal
(Polygonatum biflorum)
Wild roses
(Rosa spp.)
Snowberry
(Symphoricarpos)
Elderberry
(Sambucus spp.)
Wild ginger
(Asarum canadense)
Pawpaw
(Asimina triloba)
Redbud
(Cercis canadensis)
Wild senna
(Senna hebecarpa)
Downy waodmint
(Blephilia ciliata)

20. add plants to attract
pollinators & deter pests

21. Carrot (Apiaceae) family Daisy (Asteraceae) family
Wild arugula (Diplotaxis tenuifolia)
Mustard (Brassicaceae)
family
Sunflowers (Helianthus spp.)
Cow parsnip (Heracleum maximum)
Plants with small flowers in clusters
attract the most beneficials

22. Chives
(Allium schoenoprasum)
Bocking 14 Comfrey
(Symphytum x
uplandicum 'Bocking 14')
Anise hyssop
(Agastache foeniculum)
Garlic chives
(Allium tuberosum)
Tarragon
(Artemisia dracunculus
‘Sativa’)
Golden alexanders
(Zizia aurea)
Borage
(Borago officinalis)
Garlic
(Allium spp.)
Nasturtiums
(Tropaeolum spp.)
Spotted beebalm
(Monarda punctata)
Fennel
(Foeniculum vulgare)
Dill
(Anethum graveolens)
Mountain mint
(Pycnanthemum spp.)
Catnip
(Nepeta spp.)
Sage
(Salvia officinalis)
Woodland Sunflower
(Helianthus divaricatus)
Basil
(Ocimum basilicum)
Sweet cicely
(Myrrhis odorata)

23. Wild ginger
(Asarum canadense)
Herb robert
(Geranium Robertianum)
Woodland strawberry
(Fragaria vesca)
Sweet cicely
(Myrrhis odorata)
Mulberry
(Morus rubra)
Solomon’s seal
(Polygonatum biflorum)
Wild roses
(Rosa spp.)
Snowberry
(Symphoricarpos)
Elderberry
(Sambucus spp.)
Pawpaw
(Asimina triloba)
Redbud
(Cercis canadensis)
Wild senna
(Senna hebecarpa)
Downy waodmint
(Blephilia ciliata)
Zig Zag Goldenrod
(Solidago flexicaulis)

24. Tuin Smakelijk
carpet the ground to
maximize biodiversity

25. Woodland strawberry
(Fragaria vesca)
Violets
(Viola spp.)
False Solomon's Seal
(Maianthemum
racemosum)
Cow Parsnip
(Heracleum maximum)
American Yew
(Taxus canadensis)
Ostrich fern
(Matteuccia
struthiopteris)
Barren strawberry
(Waldsteinia fragarioides)
Canada windflower
(Anemone canadensis)
Eastern waterleaf
(Hydrophyllum
virginianum)
Plains coreopsis
(Coreopsis tinctoria)
Wild ginger
(Asarum canadense)
Brown-eyed susan
(Rudbeckia triloba)
Mountain Mint
(Pycnanthemum
muticum)
False strawberry
(Potentilla indica)
Goat’s beard
(Aruncus dioicus)
Columbine
(Aquilegia canadensis)
American ginseng
(Panax quinquefolius)
Broad-leaved
toothwort
(Cardamine diphylla)

26. Waterleaf (Hydrophyllum
virginianum)
Brown-eyed susan
(Rudbeckia triloba)
Columbine
(Aquilegia canadensis)
Wild ginger
(Asarum canadense)
Herb robert
(Geranium Robertianum)
Woodland strawberry
(Fragaria vesca)
Sweet cicely
(Myrrhis odorata)
Mulberry
(Morus rubra)
Solomon’s seal
(Polygonatum biflorum)
Wild roses
(Rosa spp.)
Snowberry
(Symphoricarpos)
Elderberry
(Sambucus spp.)
Pawpaw
(Asimina triloba)
Redbud
(Cercis canadensis)
Wild senna
(Senna hebecarpa)
Downy waodmint
(Blephilia ciliata)
Zig Zag Goldenrod
(Solidago flexicaulis)

27. grow up to maximize
space & privacy

28. Malabar spinach
(Basella alba)
Nasturtium vine
(Tropaeolum spp.)
Montreal melon
(Cucumis melo
'Montreal Market')
Coral honeysuckle
(Lonicera sempervirens)
Groundnut
(Apios americana)
Wild grape
(Vitis riparia)
Virgin’s bower
(Clematis virginiana)
Five flavour berry
(Schisandra chinensis)
Caucasian spinach
(Hablitzia tamnoides)
Mouse melon
(Melothria scabra)
Scarlet runner beans
(Phaseolus coccineus)
Fava beans
(Vicia faba)
Climbing Hydrangea
(Hydrangea petiolaris)
Zucchini Tromboncino
(Cucurbita moschata
‘Tromboncino’)
American wisteria
(Wisteria frutescens)
Hardy kiwi
(Actinidia arguta)
Hops
(Humulus lupulus)
Bitter melon
(Momordica charantia)

29. Brown-eyed susan
(Rudbeckia triloba)
Columbine
(Aquilegia canadensis)
Herb robert
(Geranium Robertianum)
Woodland strawberry
(Fragaria vesca)
Sweet cicely
(Myrrhis odorata)
Mulberry
(Morus rubra)
Elderberry
(Sambucus spp.)
Pawpaw
(Asimina triloba)
Redbud
(Cercis canadensis)
Wild senna
(Senna hebecarpa)
Downy waodmint
(Blephilia ciliata)
Virgin’s bower
(Clematis virginiana)
Waterleaf (Hydrophyllum
virginianum)
Wild ginger
(Asarum canadense)
Solomon’s seal
(Polygonatum biflorum)
Wild roses
(Rosa spp.)
Snowberry
(Symphoricarpos)
Zig Zag Goldenrod
(Solidago flexicaulis)

30. Grow down for edible roots
& to build organic matter

31. Trout lily
(Erythronium
americanum)
Golden garlic
(Allium moly)
Skirret
(Sium sisarum)
Groundnut
(Apios americana)
Salsify
(Tragopogon Porrifolius)
Sunchoke
(Helianthus tuberosus)
Cattail
(Typha latifolia)
Garlic
(Allium spp.)
Wild Leek
(Allium tricoccum)
Marsh Woundwort
(Stachys palustris)
American ginseng
(Panax quinquefolius)
Chinese artichoke
(Stachys affinis)
Parsnip
(Pastinaca sativa)
Spring beauty
(Claytonia virginica)
Daikon
(Raphanus sativus
Longipinnatus)
Arrowhead
(Sagittaria latifolia.)
Water lily
(Nymphaea odorata)
Wild ginger
(Asarum canadense)

32. Toshihiro Gamo, flickr
eat your
ornamentals

33. Hostas
Crabapple
(Malus spp.)
Linden
(Tilia cordata)
Redbud
(Cercis canadensis)
Rose of sharon
(Hibiscus syriacus)
Rugosa rose
(Rosa rugosa)
Thyme
(Thymus spp.)
Showy stonecrop
(Hylotelephium spectabile)
Solomon’s seal
(Polygonatum biflorum)
Daylilies
(Hemerocallis spp.)
Yarrow
(Achillea millefolium)
Nannyberry
(Viburnum lentago)

34. WhatsAllThisThen, flickr
native bounty

35. Black chokeberry
(Aronia melanocarpa)
New Jersey Tea
(Ceanothus americanus)
Mulberry
(Morus rubra)
Bayberry
(Myrica pensylvanica )
American ginseng
(Panax quinquefolius)
Currant
(Ribes spp.)
Nodding Wild
Onion
(Allium cernuum)
Anise Hyssop
(Agastache foeniculum)
Eastern waterleaf
(Hydrophyllum
virginianum)
Wild ginger
(Asarum
canadense)
False Solomon's Seal
(Maianthemum racemosum
Mountain Mint
(Pycnanthemum spp.)
Broad-leaved
toothwort
(Cardamine diphylla)
Groundnut
(Apios americana)
American cranberry
(Viburnum trilobum)
Coneflower
(Echinacea)

36. urban orchard

37. Lovage (Levisticum
officinale)
Wild Licorice
(Glycyrrhiza lepidota)
Anise hyssop
(Agastache foeniculum)
Wild Blue Indigo,
(Baptisia australis)
Rhubarb
(Rheum rhabarbarum)
Bronze fennel
(Foeniculum vulgare)
Sweet cicely
(Myrrhis odorata)
Strawberry
(Fragaria spp.)
Violets
(Viola spp.)
Apple ‘Connell red’
(Malus spp.)
‘Reinette
Simirenko’
Oregano
(Origanum spp.)
Golden garlic
(Allium moly)

38. & Shinko) Garden sorrel (Rumex
acetosa ‘Profusion’)
Lupin
(Lupine spp.)
Coneflower
(Echinacea)
Goumi
(Elaeagnus multiflora)
Horseradish
(Armoracia rusticana)
Dill
(Anethum spp.)
Sweet woodruff
(Galium odoratum)
Nasturtiums
(Tropaeolum)
Asian pear ‘Kenko’’
(Pyrus pyrifolia)
‘Yonashi’
Mountain mint
(Pycnanthemum spp.)
Garlic
(Allium spp.)
Kiwi
(Actinidia arguta)

39. Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine
nature’s pharmacy

40. Witch Hazel
(Hamamelis virginiana)
Prickly ash
(Zanthoxylum
americanum)
Yarrow
(Achillea millefolium)
Sage
(Salvia officinalis)
Wild ginger
(Asarum canadense)
Motherwort
(Leonurus cardiaca)
Cow parsnip
(Heracleum maximum)
Feverfew
(Tanacetum parthenium)
Ginkgo
(Ginkgo biloba)
Lungwort
(Pycnanthemum spp.)
Wild Bergamot
(Monarda fistulosa)
Stinging nettles
(Urtica dioica)
St. John’s Wort (Hypericum
perforatum)
Hawthorn
(Crataegus spp.)
Fringe tree
(Chionanthus virginicus)

41. l'Office de Tourisme du Grand Figeac
medieval potager

42. Skirret
(Sium sisarum)
Parsley
(Petroselinum
crispum)
Chaste tree
(Vitex agnus-castus)
Good king henry
(Chenopodium
bonus-henricus)
Betony
(Stachys officinalis)
Parsnip
(Pastinaca sativa)
Valerian
(Valeriana officinalis)
Medlar
(Mespilus germanica)
Thyme
(Pycnanthemum spp.)
Fava beans
(Vicia faba)
Mandrake
(Mandragora
officinarum)
Salad burnet
(Sanguisorba minor)
Grapevines
(Vitis spp.)
Lavender
(Lavandula spp.)

43. asian cooking
& herbal

44. Yellowhorn
(Xanthoceras sorbifolia)
Cornelian Cherry
(Cornus mas)
Chinese cedar
(Toona sinensis) Five flavour berry
(Schisandra chinensis)
Garlic chives
(Allium tuberosum )
Angelica, Korean
(Angelica gigas)
Sichuan pepper (Zanthoxylum simulans)
Goumi (Elaeagnus multiflora)
Chinese Artichoke
(Stachys affinis)
Japanese Plum Yew
(Cephalotaxus
harringtonia )
Jujube (Ziziphus jujuba)

45. edible hedgerow

46. False Indigo
(Amorpha fruticosa)
Wild gooseberry
(Ribes hirtellum)
Hazelnut hedgerow
(Corylus americana)
Buffaloberry
(Shepherdia canadensis)
Elderberry
(Sambucus)
Wild Leek
(Allium tricoccum)
Groundnut
(Apios americana)
Great angelica
(Angelica atropurpurea)
Woodland strawberry
(Fragaria vesca)
Yarrow
(Achillea millefolium)
Aronia
(Aroniav)
Black Raspberry
(Rubus occidentalis)
Witherod/Wild raisin
(Viburnum cassinoides)
Pawpaw
(Asimina triloba)
Wild plum
(Prunus americana)
Smooth Rose
(Rosa blanda)

47. native nuts

48. Wild roses
(Rosa spp.)
Barren Strawberry
(Waldsteinia
fragarioides)
Mulberry
(Morus rubra)
Snowberry
(Symphoricarpos spp.)
Pawpaw
(Asimina triloba)
Redbud
(Cercis canadensis)
Sweet cicely
(Myrrhis odorata)
Spotted beebalm
(Monarda punctata)
Elderberry
(Sambucus spp.)
Zig Zag Goldenrod
(Solidago flexicaulis)
Woodland strawberry
(Fragaria vesca)
Solomon’s seal
(Polygonatum
biflorum)
Wild ginger
(Asarum canadense)
Eastern waterleaf
(Hydrophyllum
virginianum)
Black walnut
Juglans nigra

49. Flowering Raspberry
(Rubus odoratus)
Downy Wood Mint
(Blephilia ciliata)
American Persimmon
(Diospyros virginiana)
New Jersey Tea
(Ceanothus americanus)
Serviceberry
(Amelanchier spp.)
Hoptree
(Ptelea trifoliata)
Sweet cicely
(Myrrhis odorata)
Spotted beebalm
(Monarda punctata)
Spicebush
(Lindera benzoin)
Carex
(Carex spp.)
Woodland strawberry
(Fragaria vesca)
Solomon’s seal
(Polygonatum
biflorum)
Wild ginger
(Asarum canadense)
Eastern waterleaf
(Hydrophyllum
virginianum)
Butternut
Juglans cinera

50. Red Mulberry
(Morus rubra)
Beautyberry
(Callicarpa americana)
Leaf Cup
(Polymnia canadensis)
Hop Tree
(Ptelea trifoliata)
Carolina Allspice
(Calycanthus floridus)
Groundnut
(Apios americana)
Sochan
(Rudbeckia laciniata)
Strawberry
(Fragaria spp.)
Violets
(Viola spp.)
Shagbark hickory
Carya ovata
Shellbark hickory
(Carya laciniosa)
False Indigo
(Origanum spp.)
Elderberry
(Sambucus)

51. American Barberry
(Berberis canadensis)
New Jersey Tea
(Ceanothus
Americanus)
American hazelnut
(Corylus americana)
Leadplant
(Amorpha
canescens)
Woodland Sunflower
(Helianthus
divaricatus)
Golden Alexanders
(Zizia aurea)
Mountain Mint
(Pycnanthemum
virginianum)
Early Goldenrod
(Solidago juncea)
Hog peanut
(Amphicarpaea
bracteata)
Bee Balm
(Monarda didyma)
Salad burnet
(Sanguisorba minor)
Wild Plum
(Prunus
americana)
Swamp White Oak
(Quercus bicolor)
Chestnut
Castanea dentata

52. buffer trees make it harder for pests