Foraging / Where you can collect
The same handful of berries can be legal to pick on one piece of ground and against the law a few steps away. Get the land question right, and the rest is easy. This guide starts with that land map, then walks through wild food, mushrooms, rocks and fossils, arrowheads, the beach, and the famous bluebonnet question.
Take nothing
In a Texas state park it's illegal to pick, cut, dig, or remove any plant, rock, fossil, antler, or artifact - take only photos. Collecting is a Class C misdemeanor (a $25-$500 fine). City parks and nature preserves follow the same 'leave it' rule.
Mostly take nothing
National parks (Big Bend, Guadalupe Mountains) ban collecting plants, rocks, and artifacts. The friendly exception: at Padre Island National Seashore you may keep up to a 1-gallon container of empty shells and sea beans per person (no commercial collecting, and only those two items).
Foraging allowed
The big flip. On the four national forests (Sam Houston, Davy Crockett, Angelina, Sabine), personal-use gathering IS allowed - mushrooms, hobby amounts of rocks and petrified wood (never to sell), and some fruit or nuts. Quantities vary by ranger district, so check with the district first. At Big Thicket National Preserve you may gather up to a 1-quart container of certain fruits, nuts, and berries.
Only with permission
You may collect whatever the landowner agrees to. Without permission, foraging is legally theft and trespassing. Since Texas is about 95% private land, this is the usual path - just ask first. Many landowners are happy to let you pull 'weeds' like dewberries.
Limited
No Texas law clearly grants a right to pick along roads, and none clearly forbids it. The practical rule: pick above-ground parts only (never dig), don't step onto adjoining private land, don't block traffic, and never on Interstates (stopping there is for emergencies). Skip roadsides that may be sprayed.
Public, with rules
The beds of navigable rivers and the Gulf beaches are public, but collecting rules still apply (see The Beach). Don't assume 'public water' means 'take anything.'
The through-line: most collecting in Texas means private land, so the usual move is simply to ask the landowner first. Public land is mostly "take nothing," with national forests the big exception.
Official sources
Park rules come from TPWD and the National Park Service; foraging allowances come from the U.S. Forest Service. Each agency runs its own land its own way.
Caution: Rules vary by the exact park, forest, or district. The official page for the specific place is the final word.
