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…]
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…]
Trout lily (Erythronium americanum), widespread in my area of Ontario, is one of the first edible and medicinal plants to come up in the Spring. But it doesn’t stay for long! A spring ephemeral (which means it springs up and then goes away far too quickly), trout lily’s leaves have the mottled appearance of its … [Read more…]