Purple-flowered raspberry (rubus odoratus) is common around Haliburton county, Ontario. You’ll typically find this edible and medicinal shrub on bushy roadside banks in sandy, gravelly and rocky ground. It’s a shrubby thornless raspberry that looks like a maple (due to the shape of its large leaves) and a rose (showy pink-purple flowers) more so than a bramble. …
In Chippewa, ne’bagandag’ meaning “it is one-sided”. Yew is an important shrub to know if you’re going to forage conifers. It’s trendy to make teas out of evergreens like spruce or cedar, but just a cupful of fresh yew leaves can actually kill you. While parts of yew have been used both for edible and medicinal …
In Chippewa, odiga’dimanido’ refers to prairie redroot, New Jersey teas close relation. Both have red roots and thus redroot as a folk name. They have the same uses and host the same caterpillars. This edible and medicinal plant will certainly end up in our pollinator series for the Wood Folk Diaries! The shrub New Jersey tea …
In Chippewa, name’wuskons, selfheal or heal-all is another edible and medicinal wild plant from the mint family. It doesn’t really heal-all, but it’s still a well rounded astringent plant with many uses. We have a mix of European and native selfheal in Ontario. Common around Haliburton, you’re most likely to find it in your lawn. …
These edible and medicinal fleabane are smaller daisies, that bloom earliest of daisies here, and they are quickly raggedly looking. From all that you can probably figure out why they’re called eri (early) and geron (old man) in greek. Around Haliburton, we have common fleabane, rough daisy (erigeron strigosus) – more likely found at rocky …
In Chippewa, guzigwa’kominaga’wunj, referring to the shad fish spawning when the serviceberry blooms. The English name serviceberry has origins related to when one can finally have funeral services/burial for winters dead. They’re also called juneberries even though you’ll be waiting until the end of June or later for ripe berries. Here around Haliburton, Ontario you’ll …