Bottle brush rye (Elymus hystrix) is occasionally found on grassy slopes and gravel flats around Haliburton, Ontario. There’s also a northern bottle brush rye (Elymus bigelovianus). Local to Haliburton as well is Virginia wild rye-grass (Elymus virginicus), which prefers a damper habitat like stream borders. These are all uncommon in the wilds of Haliburton. All … [Read more…]
Northern spicebush (Lindera benzoin) is not listed in Haliburton Flora because it’s only near native here. Its northernmost range is southern Ontario. While spicebush can grow slightly north of Toronto, it’s likely if you see bright yellow flowers on a bush along the highway here you’ve spotted an escapee nonnative forsythia shrub. The resemblance lending … [Read more…]
Boletes (Boletus spp.) are not necessarily a beginner mushroom. They are also one of the least edible looking, with a spongey surface of pores where you’d expect the gills. Many varieties of boletes are toxic and will make you sick. Most of these toxic boletes having red to orange pore/”mouth” structures and/or they cut and … [Read more…]
Oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus spp.) are one of the top foraged mushrooms in our area. They’re up there with choice morsels like morels, chanterelles and dryad’s saddle. In some areas oysters are the most popular wild mushroom bought at farmer’s markets and stores. You can find oysters on hardwood trees, especially living and dead elm. Our … [Read more…]
Tansy as well as feverfew (Tanacetum spp.) are primarily medicinal as far as human uses go. Both are nonnative to Ontario. I went back and forth about lumping them together or not, and chose to lump as they are similar. Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) and feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium) are not an edible species by modern considerations, … [Read more…]
Hobblebush (Viburnum lantanoides syn. Viburnum alnifolium) is the most common viburnum around Haliburton, Ontario. It’s easy to find along roadsides and in thickets on the edges of woods. Like some of our other shrubs, you may find it nonblooming in the understory. Sometimes called moosewood, it’s not to be confused with striped maple. Like other … [Read more…]