Coriander (Coriandrum sativum) is not listed in Haliburton Flora, nor in many foraging books. But it is seedy and can escape cultivation. Plus, you may have it amongst your kitchen spices. Edible Uses of Coriander Hereabouts, dried coriander seed is a popular kitchen spice. It flavours many curries, meat dishes, breads and even liquor. The … [Read more…]
Edible and medicinal sweet cicely (Osmorhiza claytonii) and its close relations have an anise like scent. Wooly AKA hairy sweet cicely (Osmorhiza claytonii) is the only Osmorhiza listed in Haliburton Flora. It’s fairly common on bush roads and trails and in thin deciduous woods. I tend to find it here and there down the center … [Read more…]
Goutweed (Aegopodium podagraria) was rare when Haliburton Flora was compiled, in one spot even. It was on an open damp roadside, an escapee from cultivation – a mere hint of how invasive this plant would become. Now you can find it taking over lawns and parks. It’s even crept into the west side of Algonquin … [Read more…]
Queen Anne’s-lace (Daucus carota) 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!) You’ll want to make sure to distinguish it from other carrots. A lookalike that comes to mind is goutweed. The purple dot in the … [Read more…]
There may not be a traditional word for wild parsnip (Pastinaca sativa) because this plant is an invasive settler introduced plant. Edible and medicinal carrot/parsley family plants are notorious on the internet. Their relation giant hogweed is especially villainized. My library of herbal books tends to focus on cow parsnip, and even then, these parsnip … [Read more…]