In Chippewa, gajugens’ibug meaning “little-cat leaf”, catnip isn’t native to Ontario, but at least it’s not aggressive. It’s a surprisingly useful edible and medicinal plant, if you’re not pregnant. And whether or not you’re a cat. Catnip (nepeta cataria) is uncommon around Haliburton, but I find it around old farmsteads. It may also show up …
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In Anishinaabemowin, sasaapkwaanins, bergamot is also popularly known as bee balm. It’s a native edible and medicinal plant that’s frequented by pollinators (although that’s not why it’s called bee balm!) And it’s a mint, named after the similar tasting bergamot orange that flavors earl grey tea. Wild bergamot (monarda fistulosa) is rare here. It’s the …
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Does anyone have an Anishinaabemowin word for white sweet clover? Often called melilot, our sweet clovers are a settler imported edible and medicinal plant. But you’re going to need to be careful about mold. And you might want to report it. Around here white sweet clover (melilotus alba) is common. We also have yellow sweet …
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In Chippewa, ogini’minaga’wunj means rose hips or rose berries. Roses are both edible and medicinal. They have a global epicurean history that surpasses other herbs we’ve covered. A rosy pink Turkish delight may come to mind. Or your grandmothers beauty products. We have a handful of wild roses around Haliburton. All of our rose species are …
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In Chippewa, ga’gawan’dagisid meaning deceptive, common junipers “berries” aren’t as sweet as they appear. (I’m not actually sure that is why deceptive is the descriptive name.) But common juniper is still an edible and medicinal plant, especially popular in Northern Europe. In Haliburton, Ontario, you’ll find communis var. depressa Pursh. It’s been fairly common around here, especially …
Does anyone have an Anishinaabemowin word for mint? We’ll cover the edible and medicinal wild mint, peppermint and spearmint in this post. There are other mints I will cover separately: heal-all, catnip, wild bergamot, etc.! Wild mint (mentha arvensis) and peppermint (mentha x piperita) are listed in Haliburton Flora, with the native wild aka corn …
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