The Four Fs is an informal term and

mnemonic A mnemonic ( ) device, or memory device, is any learning technique that aids information retention or retrieval (remembering) in the human memory for better understanding. Mnemonics make use of elaborative encoding, retrieval cues, and imag ...

in English

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...

for fruit, fungi, flowers and foliage. People can gather the Four Fs so long as it is for personal use, and not for sale or commercial gain. This does not mean that people can enter land unlawfully to do so, but in areas where they can lawfully be, for example on a country park, or walking along a

right of way Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another. A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...

, they are entitled to collect and take away the Four Fs. Like most common law this provision does not apply if some other legal provision over-rides it, for example the species in question is specially protected, say by listing in Schedule 8 of the

Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom implemented to comply with European Council Directive 79/409/EEC on the conservation of wild birds. In short, the act gives protection to native species (especia ...

. The same act also prohibits uprooting of any wild plant without the landowner's permission, so the Four Fs only applies to picking, for example daisies in a public park; not to digging up, for example, bluebell bulbs or young trees. Another significant exception is that land made accessible through the

Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (c. 37), known informally as the CRoW Act or "Right to Roam" Act is a United Kingdom Act of Parliament affecting England and Wales which came into force on 30 November 2000. Right to roam The Act imp ...

is not subject to these rights. This principle was put into statute in the

Theft Act 1968 The Theft Act 1968c 60 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It creates a number of offences against property in England and Wales. On 15 January 2007 the Fraud Act 2006 came into force, redefining most of the offences of deceptio ...

which states: "A person who picks mushrooms growing wild on any land, or who pick flowers, fruit or foliage from a plant growing wild on any land, does not (although not in possession of the land) steal what he picks, unless he does it for reward or for sale or other commercial purpose. (For purposes of this subsection 'mushroom' includes any fungus, and 'plant' includes any shrub or tree.)" Legal challenges to this right are unusual, and not always successful.

References

External links

Naturenet page on English common law
Common law English law {{UK-law-stub