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 …
Indian tobacco (lobelia inflata) has yet to be renamed, but I imagine it will be decolonized in the future. Another less common name for it is “wild tobacco”. I was going to cover cardinal flower this month, a showier, bright-red close relation. But usage-wise our title plant is stronger. It’s considered toxic yet has medicinal …
In Chippewa, bu’giso’win meaning “swimming“, swamp milkweed is not as edible and medicinal as its common relation. So we’re all the more talking about how much of an all-star this plant is for pollinator gardens and native landscaping. Swamp milkweed (asclepias incarnata) can be found in the margins of swamps, marshes and other low wet …
In Ojibwe, mitigwaabimin+ag, Ontario’s local red mulberry is precariously close to extinction. The Asian white has taken over and hybridized with the red. Only around 200 true red mulberries are left. Mulberries (morus SPP.) are absent from Haliburton Flora; just its relations hops and marijuana made the cut. I have seen them around, likely all planted …
In Ojibwe, okaadaak means carrot, and Queen Anne’s-lace is literally a wild carrot. It’s another likely garden escapee, naturalized to Haliburton, and a surprisingly edible and medicinal wild plant. (If you’re not possibly pregnant, anyway!) Edible Uses of Queen Anne’s-lace (Wild Carrot) The whole plant smells distinctly of carrot. But the edible roots are white …