Sweet Cicely – Osmorhiza SPP.: Edible & Medicinal Uses of the Black Licorice of Wild Plants

Sweet cicely – Osmorhiza SPP.

In Chippewa, osaga’tigom meaning tangled branches, 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 …

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Goutweed – Aegopodium Podagraria: Edible & Medicinal Uses of the Celery of Wild Plants

Goutweed – Aegopodium podagraria

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 …

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Queen Anne’s-lace – Daucus Carota: Edible & Medicinal Uses of the Carrot of Wild Plants

Queen Anne's-lace - Daucus Carota

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 …

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Wild Parsnip – Pastinaca Sativa: Edible & Medicinal Uses of the Sweetest Aggressive Wild Plant

Wild Parsnip - Pastinaca Sativa

There may not be a traditional word for wild parsnip because this plant is an invasive settler 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 plants get overlooked …

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