Black bears

Lowbush Blueberry – Vaccinium Angustifolium: Edible & Medicinal Uses of the Super Berry of Wild Plants

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Lowbush Blueberry – Vaccinium Angustifolium

Lowbush blueberry AKA “low sweet” blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium) is common here, as is velvet-leaf blueberry (Vaccinium myrtilloides) which thrives around marshes. I’ve heard a few personal anecdotes from locals about picking blueberries all the while watching a black bear or bears doing the same nearby. There’s a myth (I originally believed!) that blackflies pollinate blueberry … [Read more…]

Common Blackberry – Rubus Allegheniensis: Edible & Medicinal Uses of the Cordial Bramble of Wild Plants

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Common Blackberry - Rubus Allegheniensis

Common blackberry syn. Allegheny blackberry (Rubus allegheniensis) is a cordial wild edible and medicinal bramble. It’s distinguishable from black raspberries by having a core instead of being hollow inside when harvested (second picture down this page). There are around 50 species of black and raspberries in North America and up here in the north, aren’t we … [Read more…]

Wild Red Raspberry – Rubus Idaeus Var. Strigosus: Edible & Medicinal Uses of a Berry Sweet Wild Plant

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Wild Red Raspberry Syn. American Red Raspberry - Rubus Idaeus Var. Strigosus

Wild red raspberry syn. American red raspberry (Rubus idaeus var. strigosus) is one of hundreds of wild edible and medicinal brambles. Its fruit is not a true berry, but a cluster of drupelets. So, yeah, bananas are berries and raspberries are not. Around Haliburton you’ll also find purple-flowering raspberry (Rubus odoratus), which will be covered … [Read more…]

Apple – Malus Spp.: Edible & Medicinal Uses of the Not Just Pie of Wild Plants

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Apple - Malus Spp.

Apple (Malus spp.) isn’t just an ordinary edible fruit tree. It also has medicinal qualities. It is another plant that was brought to North America by European colonists, but the species originated in Central Asia. Our apples wild ancestor malus sieversii still grows there today. What you’ll find in the wild is a mixed bag, … [Read more…]

White Ash – Fraxinus Americana: Edible & Medicinal Uses of the Crafty Tree of Wild Plants

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White Ash - Fraxinus Americana

White ash (Fraxinus americana) is a useful tree to know. In fact, it’s one of the top five trees Caleb Kinew Nini Musgrave @canadianbushcraft recommends knowing in our area. The other four being birch, cedar, spruce and basswood. The “white” refers to the pale underside of leaves, twigs, and bark, although it’s really more of … [Read more…]

American Beech – Fagus Grandifolia: Edible & Medicinal Uses of the Old Tree of Wild Plants

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American Beech - Fagus Grandifolia

Beech (Fagus grandifolia) is considered by some to be the oldest tree name in the world! It’s also an antique edible and old school medicinal plant. The beechnut tree scarcely grows fruit before it’s 40, 50 years old and produces more with age. Even then, good seed crops won’t happen every year. They tend to … [Read more…]