Silverberries – Elaeagnus SPP.: Edible & Medicinal Uses of the Mealy Sour Berry

Silverberries – Elaeagnus SPP.

American silverberries or wolf-willow (Elaeagnus commutata) is Ontario’s native mealy sour silverberry shrub. It does somewhat resemble willow. There are several nonnatives around too. Japanese silverberry AKA Autumn olive (E. umbellata) is invasive around Ontario, especially to the south. I have spotted them in the wild to the south. In cottage country, it’s more of …

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Lady Fern – Athyrium Filix-femina: Edible & Medicinal Uses of an Alt Fiddlehead of Wild Plants

Lady Fern – Athyrium Filix-femina

Lady fern (Athyrium filix-femina) is another edible fiddlehead in Ontario. It is tricky to tell the edible and medicinal ferns from the entirely toxic and even poisonous ones. And then even the edible ones are often toxic if not prepared correctly. Lady fern (Athyrium filix-femina), called upland lady fern in Haliburton Flora, is common here. …

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New Jersey Tea – Ceanothus Americanus: Edible & Medicinal Uses of the Redroot of Wild Plants

New Jersey Tea – Ceanothus Americanus

New Jersey teas close relation to prairie redroot. Both have red roots and thus redroot as a folk name. They also 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! (Here is the link to that diary!) …

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Ragweed – Ambrosia Artemisiifolia: Edible & Medicinal Uses of the Sneeziest of Wild Plants

Ragweed – Ambrosia Artemisiifolia

Oh, ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia). This maligned plant while rare-ish in Haliburton and considered a “weed” in this part of Ontario is actually native to North America. It’s at least as valuable to a swath of wildlife as it is likely to cause a human to sneeze. You might find ragweed here along a roadside or …

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Alder – Alnus SPP.: Edible & Medicinal Uses of the Oak-like of Wild Plants

Alder – Alnus SPP.

Alder (Alnus spp.) is a highly astringent edible and medicinal wild plant. Its usage is similar to oak. Alder means red in German, so named because the bark makes your saliva red. But don’t go nibbling on the bark now – it’s emetic (it could make you throw up!) Speckled alder (Alnus rugosa) as listed …

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