Red elderberry or red-berried elder (Sambucus racemosa) is not as edible and medicinal or renown as its relative common elderberry is. But it wins in another area. It’s a wildlife favourite. As soon as the berries are ready, birds flock to this shrub and clear them out quickly. Its early blooms attract pollinators too. And …
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 …
If you spend any time in public parks and woodlands you may be familiar with the notorious garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata). While there are numerous nonnative plants in Ontario that are spreading into wild spaces, plants like garlic mustard, creeping jenny, dog strangling vine, “bamboo” that’s actually Japanese knotweed, and Lily-of-the-valley are some of the …
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 …
Common bracken (pteridium aquilinum) is a popular edible, especially in the far east. But like most edible fiddleheads it’s complicated. Not preparing it thoroughly may be linked to stomach cancer. Common bracken (pteridium aquilinum) is traditionally edible and medicinal in many places, but unfortunately a compound in it is potentially linked to stomach cancer. It’s …
Sheep sorrel (rumex acetosella) is another tangy nonnative edible and medicinal plant in Ontario. It’s very similar in usage to our native wood sorrel. But it’s an ingredient in the popular and controversial Essiac tea. Sheep sorrel (rumex acetosella) is common here around Haliburton, primarily in ditches and sand flats. This sorrels clusters of reddish …