In Chippewa, djibe’gub, meaning ghost or spirit, moosewood AKA Eastern leatherwood (Dirca palustris) has been bumped as a feature here before for more edible and medicinal plants. However, I love this shrub so much and want to talk about it! Have you noticed a mostly inconspicuous shrub in the understory of woods around Haliburton that …
American silverberries or wolf-willow (Elaeagnus commutata) is Ontario’s native mealy sour silverberry shrub. It does somewhat resemble willow. There are several nonnatives around too. Japanese silverberry AKA Autumn olive (E. umbellata) is invasive around Ontario, especially to the south. In cottage country, it’s more of an introduced small tree you’ll occasionally spot in someone’s lawn. …
In Chippewa, manido’bima’kwud, woodbine AKA American ivy AKA Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) is a grape relation you can find around Ontario. Locally, it’s found mostly on roadsides and along abandoned railroad tracks. I’ve also found this vine in mixed woods. It’s gorgeously ornamental in Autumn, so you’re likely to find it in town too. In …
Common toadflax (Linaria vulgaris) has a much easier folk name to remember: butter-and-eggs. the flowers look just like the breakfast. Around Haliburton this nonnative plant is common on open sandy and gravelly ground. It’s got a lot of aggressive competition in these disturbed areas, but I usually find at least one when I’m walking down …
In our previous post, we covered tree lungwort, a lichen. Today’s lungwort (Pulmonaria officinalis) is an herb related to borage. Often in my herbal book collection, one will always be mentioned in the others entry. Perhaps they get confused? While the namesake lichen is native, the herb lungwort is introduced to Ontario. The species is …
This isn’t the herb lungwort, which we’ll be covering next month. This is a very special lichen also called lungwort. Tree lungwort AKA lung lichen (Lobaria pulmonaria) wowed me the instant I saw it. This is a large distinct lichen, named after its pulmonary appearance. I first spotted it on a tree in damp woods …