In Ojibwe, waagaagin, ostrich fern is the usual fern called fiddlehead. It’s a traditional dish in Quebec and New Brunswick and the sprouts are a delicacy called kogomi in Japan. It’s the first fern in our edible and medicinal plants series! Growing 2-6 feet tall, this popular fern may even be found in grocery stores around […]
Category Archives: Edible & Medicinal Wild Plants
Wild Leek – Allium Tricoccum: The Top Locally Foraged Edible & Medicinal Wild Plant
In Ojibwe, zhigaagawanzh+iig means onion, wild leek is a popular foraged plant by people who aren’t otherwise foragers around here. Some properties have carpets of them. Others have been stripped of them as people don’t know offhand how long the bulbs take to grow and how easy it is to devastate a population of ramps. In […]
Stinging Nettle – Urtica Dioica: First Misunderstood of Foraged Edible & Medicinal Wild Plants
In Chippewa, bepadji’ckanakiz’it ma’zana’tig, stinging nettle tends to make a bad impression on first meeting, as the name suggests. But there’s way more to this needled edible and medicinal plant. The Chippewa name given refers specifically to the slender leaf subsp. The sting never lasts long for me, but I’ve heard of it lasting for days […]
Quaking Aspen – Populus Tremuloides: A Popple’r Foraged Edible & Medicinal Wild Plant
In Chippewa, asa’di means aspen. “Balm of Gilead” can be made from various poplar buds including tremuloides/quaking aspen, a common edible, medicinal and useful tree in our area. Last month we talked about balsam poplar. But quaking aspen was my first ID’d poplar. I noticed a set of trees on the one-acre wood that softly trembled […]
Apple – Malus SPP.: Not Just Pie of Foraging Edible & Medicinal Wild Plants
In Ojibwe, mishiimin, apple isn’t just an ordinary edible fruit tree. It also has medicinal qualities. It is another plant that was brought to North America by European colonists, but the species originated in Central Asia. Our apples wild ancestor malus sieversii still grows there today. When a wonderful local lady told me there were apple […]
White Ash – Fraxinus Americana: Crafty Tree of Foraged Edible & Medicinal Wild Plants
In Chippewa, a’gimak’, white ash is a useful tree to know. In fact, it’s one of the top five trees Caleb Kinew Nini Musgrave @canadianbushcraft recommends knowing in our area, the other four being birch, cedar, spruce and soon to be covered – basswood. The “white” refers to the pale underside of leaves, twigs, and […]