Dear Wood Folk, You’ve likely heard of or seen the plant bleeding heart. I have some planted over the graves of my beloved pets. Dutchman’s breeches (dicentra cucullaria) and squirrel corn (dicentra canadensis) are the native relations to bleeding heart in Ontario. Dutchman’s breeches have yellow “waistbands” on their upside-down knicker shaped flowers, while squirrel …
It may surprise folks that basic kitchen herbs and spices have any medicinal value. Thyme (thymus spp.) is actually a powerful medicinal herb for respiratory issues and more. Wild thymes (thymus spp.) have one species noted in Haliburton Flora: mother of thyme (t. praecox). The few specimens were found on an open hillside and in …
Pinks AKA carnations (dianthus spp.) noted in Haliburton Flora include the uncommon to likely now more common Deptford pink (dianthus armeria), found on sandy roadsides amoung grasses. I see Deptford’s bright pink often along park edges and well used trails. A couple rare varieties included are maiden pink (d. deltoides) and garden pink (d. plumarius). …
In Chippewa, odji’biknamun refers to one species of gromwell. Common gromwell (lithospermum officinale) was noted in Haliburton Flora in a dry sandy waste area and in open damp ground beside a swamp. I found the pictured specimen in the middle of a spruce grove. The spruce had grown over an old foundation for a homestead that …
Dear Wood Folk, We covered so many butterflies in Volume 3, but never got to moths, bees, wasps, ants, etc. Someday we’ll get back to pollinators. And the previous birding series is far from complete too. But I feel like something different, and I’ve wanted to cover my favourite poisonous or toxic plants for sometime. …
Forget-me-nots (myosotis spp.) are a well known European flower, but did you know there are Ontario native varieties of this edible and medicinal plant? The nonnative field forget-me-not (m. arvensis) was uncommon when Haliburton Flora was compiled, and may be found in damp ditches and open sandy areas. Back then, European forget-me-not (m. scorpioides) was …