Poke (Phytolacca americana) isn’t found in Haliburton, Ontario, but it can be found to our south. It is very common the further south you go in North America. I’ve covered many plants in my immediate area and will continue to do so, but I’m also expanding our content to farther reaches of Ontario and eventually …
Eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis) isn’t in the wilds of Haliburton, Ontario. There is one recorded on iNat in Dysart et al, but I can guarantee it was planted there. It’s only truly native to Pelee island as far as Ontario goes and according to Vascan the species is extirpated. A few hundred miles south and …
Common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) is a widely recognizable edible and medicinal herb that is most common throughout the temperate regions of North America and Europe. Dandelion being easily identifiable is often the gateway plant to exploring foraging. It’s especially dandy for beginner foragers, being generally safe to eat and thanks to the entire plant being edible …
Dead nettles (Lamium spp.) look like stinging nettles before flowering, but they don’t have the sting, hence the dead. Some of the species could be confused with other mint family plants; a common example being henbit and purple dead nettle resembling ground ivy/creeping charlie. It won’t take long in a foraging meme group to find …
Common toadflax (Linaria vulgaris) has a much easier folk name to remember: butter-and-eggs. the flowers look just like the breakfast. Around Haliburton this nonnative plant is common on open sandy and gravelly ground. It’s got a lot of aggressive competition in these disturbed areas, but I usually find at least one when I’m walking down …
This isn’t the herb lungwort, which we’ll be covering next month. This is a very special lichen also called lungwort. Tree lungwort AKA lung lichen (Lobaria pulmonaria) wowed me the instant I saw it. This is a large distinct lichen, named after its pulmonary appearance. I first spotted it on a tree in damp woods …