Most false bindweeds (calystegia spp.) you’ll find in Ontario are nonnative and not very edible or medicinal. However, some false bindweeds have been used for food around the world. False bindweeds (calystegia spp.) are very similar to related “true” bindweeds (convolvulus spp.) and are sometimes categorized with them and swamp dodder (cuscuta gronovii). But our …
As far as medicago spp. go, alfalfa takes the edible and medicinal plant spotlight. Black medick (medicago lupulina) is a less potent version of alfalfa, an invisible sibling that gets no mention in my herbal library. Black medick (medicago lupulina) is uncommon around Haliburton, Ontario. Patches can be found trailside, along roadsides and in other …
Bladder campion (silene vulgaris) isn’t named after medicinal usage for the bladder. It’s named after the bladder shaped nectary behind its petals. Due to this shape some call it cowbell. Its absence in my foraging library is baffling, as it’s a surprisingly popular edible in the Mediterranean region that even has its own festival. You …
Agrimonies (agrimonia spp.) are another oft overlooked edible and medicinal herb. Starting around medieval times common agrimony was a popular heal all. For sometime it was available at apothecaries or pharmacies. Despite its decline in popularity it is still used by herbalists today. Like the lettuces we posted two weeks ago, most agrimonies found in …
In Chippewa, odjici’gomin refers to Canada wild lettuce (lactuca canadensis), one of many edible and medicinal wild lettuces (lactuca spp.) you’ll find in Ontario. They are often confused with chicory, dandelion or sow thistles, but fortunately these tall wild lettuces have no poisonous lookalikes. Although, at a glance rattlesnake roots have a similar look and height. …
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. …