Sweetgale AKA bog myrtle (Myrica gale) is edible and medicinal, but it can induce an abortion. So excited moms-to-be will want to stick with enjoying its beauty and the beauty of the gorgeous moths who use it as a host plant. Sweetgale AKA bog myrtle (Myrica gale) is common in central Ontario, in shores and … [Read more…]
Hop clovers (like Trifolium aureum) round out our few featured clover plants. We’ve covered red, then white and their hybrid alsike. The yellow or golden hop clover is edible like its relations. Large hop clover (Trifolium aureum) is barely mentioned in my herbal library. Red and white clover are the popular clovers. Perhaps one reason … [Read more…]
Alderleaf buckthorn AKA Alder-leaved buckthorn (Endotropis alnifolia syn. Rhamnus alnifolia) is Ontario’s only native buckthorn. Sadly it’s much rarer than the very aggressive nonnatives. It has seen some edible and medicinal usage. I had to change the Latin name with the times in the images and text here, but the older synonym will stay in … [Read more…]
Currants (Ribes spp.) are spattered everywhere around Haliburton county, Ontario. Gooseberry was covered earlier this year and is also a Ribes. Here we’re covering the rest of our local currants. And there are many currant species, and they are all lookalikes. But these edible and medicinal shrubs aren’t the same “currant” you find dried like … [Read more…]
In Anishinaabemowin, wiingashic/wiingashk syn. bashkodemashkosiw, sweetgrass is one of the four sacred medicines in their traditions. The other three are asemma (tobacco), bashkodejiibik syn. mashkodewashk (sage), and giizhik (cedar). It’s a sacred herb in the traditional spirituality of various first nations across the Americas. And it’s holy grass in Europe too. Its previous genus, Hierochloë is a … [Read more…]
Cleavers (Galium aparine) is a widely popular edible and medicinal plant, but there are over a dozen bedstraws in our neck of Ontario to confuse them with. Bedstraws (Galium spp.) include the most notable cleavers (G. aparine), which will be the star of this feature. When I mention “cleavers” in this article it’ll always be … [Read more…]