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Butterflies

Hobblebush – Viburnum Lantanoides: Edible Uses of One of Our Most Common Thicket Shrubs

October 3, 2025 by Rachel of the Woods Leave a Comment
Hobblebush - Viburnum Lantanoides

Hobblebush (Viburnum lantanoides syn. Viburnum alnifolium) is the most common viburnum around Haliburton, Ontario. It’s easy to find along roadsides and in thickets on the edges of woods. Like some of our other shrubs, you may find it nonblooming in the understory. Sometimes called moosewood, it’s not to be confused with striped maple. Like other … [Read more…]

Posted in: Edible & Medicinal Wild Plants Tagged: Adoxaceae (incl. Caprifoliaceae, p.pt.)/Moschatel family, Attracts pollinators, Black throated blue warbler, Brown thrashers, Butterflies, Cedar waxwings, Edible parts, Native to Ontario, Pine grosbeaks, Red-eyed vireos, Ruffed grouse, Swainson’s thrushes, White flowers

Tulip Tree – Liriodendron Tulipifera: Medicinal & Alternative Uses for a Tree Covered in “Tulips”

September 5, 2025 by Rachel of the Woods Leave a Comment
Tulip Tree - Liriodendron Tulipifera

Tulip tree AKA tulip poplar AKA arbre aux lis (Liriodendron tulipifera) is only native to parts of southern Ontario, so it’s near native in Haliburton and it’s not listed in Haliburton Flora. A stunner, the flowers really do look like tulips: My pictures on this page are from a tulip tree in my eldest sisters backyard … [Read more…]

Posted in: Edible & Medicinal Wild Plants Tagged: Alterative, American goldfinches, Anti-Inflammatory, Antiseptic, Attracts pollinators, Bees, Butterflies, Cardiovascular, Cotton-tailed rabbits, Deer mice, Diaphoretic, Full sun, Gray squirrel, Magnoliaceae/Magnolia family, Medicinal parts, Mice, Moist soil, Native to Ontario, Nervous, Northern cardinals, Pileated woodpeckers, Purple finches, Red squirrels, Reproductive, Ruby-throated hummingbirds, Stimulant, Well drained soil, White flowers, White-footed mice, White-tailed deer, Yellow flowers, Yellow-bellied sapsuckers

Common Hackberry – Celtis Occidentalis: Edible & Medicinal Uses of the Wartiest Tree

May 2, 2025 by Rachel of the Woods Leave a Comment
Common Hackberry - Celtis Occidentalis

Common hackberry (Celtis occidentalis) isn’t listed in Haliburton Flora, but this rapidly growing Ontario native can be found in the south. The bark, especially characteristic on younger trees, is unique: This plant is in the same family as hops and cannabis. While I’m writing this I noticed a thread in my native plants group asking … [Read more…]

Posted in: Edible & Medicinal Wild Plants Tagged: American crows, American robins, Antimicrobial, Brown thrashers, Butterflies, Cannabaceae/Hemp family, Cedar waxwings, Chipmunks, Common grackles, Digestive, Drought resistant, Eastern bluebirds, Eastern phoebes, Eastern towhee, Edible parts, European starlings, Evening grosbeaks, Fox sparrow, Full sun, Gray catbirds, Green flowers, Hermit thrushes, Integumentary, Mallards, Medicinal parts, Mockingbirds and mimics, Moist soil, Mourning cloak butterflies, Native to Ontario, Northern cardinals, Northern flickers, Partial shade, Pileated woodpeckers, Rabbits, Raccoons, Reproductive, Respiratory, Rusty blackbirds, Screech owl, Swainson’s thrushes, Tufted titmouse, Veery, Well drained soil, White flowers, White-tailed deer, Wild turkey, Wood ducks, Yellow-bellied flycatchers

Chokeberries – Aronia SPP.: Edible & Medicinal Uses of Choke Berries Not Choke Cherries

August 2, 2024 by Rachel of the Woods Leave a Comment
Chokeberries – Aronia SPP.

Todays plant is chokeberries (Aronia spp.), not the more popular chokecherries. Sometimes chokeberry shrubs are included in the genus Photinia instead of Aronia. Chokeberries are one of the less popular native shrubs. Even unheard of. These under-the-radar native shrubs are related to roses. The only species listed in Haliburton Flora is purple chokeberry (Aronia x … [Read more…]

Posted in: Edible & Medicinal Wild Plants Tagged: Astringent, Attracts pollinators, Bees, Black bears, Butterflies, Cedar waxwings, Cotton-tailed rabbits, Digestive, Edible parts, Found in edges of woods, Found in lakeshores or edges, Found in shrubby areas, Full sun, Laxative, Medicinal parts, Moist soil, Native to Ontario, Partial shade, Red foxes, Rosaceae/Rose family, Ruffed grouse, Sandy soil, Well drained soil, White flowers

Walnut – Juglans Spp.: Edible & Medicinal Uses of a Highly Prized Wild Nut Tree

December 3, 2023 by Rachel of the Woods Leave a Comment
Walnuts - Juglans Spp.

In Ontario, black walnut (Juglans nigra) and butternut AKA white walnut (Juglans cinerea) are our native walnut species. Around Haliburton we’re barely in range, with only a few black walnuts and butternuts noted on iNaturalist. Both species are more abundant to the south. There are a few nonnative Juglan species around Ontario too. As a … [Read more…]

Posted in: Edible & Medicinal Wild Plants Tagged: Alterative, American crows, Anthelmintic, Antibacterial, Antifungal, Antiseptic, Bats, Blue jays, Butterflies, Cathartic, Deciduous, Digestive, Dye, Edible parts, Found in clearings or old fields, Found in dry open roadsides, Full sun, Gray squirrel, Green flowers, Integumentary, Juglandaceae/Walnut family, Laxative, Medicinal parts, Native to Ontario, Northern cardinals, Pileated woodpeckers, Purgative, Red squirrels, Red-bellied woodpeckers, Screech owl, Squirrels, Trees and shrubs, Well drained soil, White-tailed deer

The Wood Folk Diaries: Volume 3, Chapter 20: Sulphurs Eat Their Peas

July 17, 2023 by Rachel of the Woods Leave a Comment
The Wood Folk Diaries: Volume 3, Chapter 20: Sulphurs Eat Their Peas

Dear Wood Folk, Lately, we’ve been covering a lot of overwintering butterflies, but this month’s sulphurs (colias spp.) are migrators. We have three species around Haliburton, Ontario, noted on iNaturalist. The clouded sulphur (c. philodice) is the species you are vastly more likely to see. It’s followed by the orange “alfalfa butterfly” (c. eurytheme) who … [Read more…]

Posted in: The Wood Folk Diaries Tagged: Attracts pollinators, Butterflies
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  1. Bonnie Dalzell on Wild Lettuces – Lactuca SPP.: Edible & Medicinal Uses of the Opium of Wild PlantsMay 31, 2025

    I am in Maryland in a rural area. Around 10 years ago I found a weird tall plant growing as…

  2. Eva Zdrava on False Bindweeds – Calystegia SPP.: Edible & Medicinal Uses of the Morning Glories of Wild PlantsMay 5, 2025

    I just read yesterday about Calystegia silvatica, That neither part of the plant extract showed any cytotoxicity to the normal…

  3. Margo Thompson on Quaking Aspen – Populus Tremuloides: Edible & Medicinal Uses of a Popple’r Wild PlantMay 4, 2025

    I can't believe I've lived with the trees all of these years and didn't know this!

  4. Teresa on Serviceberry – Amelanchier SPP.: Edible & Medicinal Uses of the Early Bloomer of Wild PlantsFebruary 24, 2025

    In my part of the world they are called saskatoons and we eat them raw by the handful, even gorging…

  5. Gary Nichols on Reed Grass – Phragmites SPP.: Edible & Medicinal Uses of the Roasted Marshmallow of Wild PlantsSeptember 7, 2024

    Hi, have you successfully made flour from the seeds of Phragmites?

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