Honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos) is not listed in Haliburton Flora, as it’s another southern Ontario native. And even there it is rare. The tree has rather nefarious looking clusters of large thorns. And memorable large, brown boomerang shaped seed pods. Where I grew up, quite a ways south of Ontario, honey locust had filled a …
Northern bayberry (Morella pensylvanica syn. Myrica pensylvanica) isn’t listed in Haliburton Flora and despite the name is more abundant to the south. Its relation sweet gale/ bog myrtle is more common in our area. It’s native to Ontario but may be closer to near native in cottage country. Edible Uses of Northern Bayberry As the …
Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum) tends to grow in clusters making for a charming, miniature (~2ft tall) umbrella forest. It’s easy to identify. It’s not listed in Haliburton Flora, being mostly a southern Ontario native. Edible Uses of Mayapple The edible ripe late summer fruits are dull yellow, without any hint of green, with a melon-like sweet …
Lesser celandine (Ficaria verna) is not listed in Haliburton Flora, nor would we want it to be. It’s very invasive and can quickly carpet a wetland, choking out the native plants. My sister lives near a park where the entire riverbank for a hundred feet or more – the whole floodplain – is filled with …
There are a couple strawberry look-a-likes that aren’t the real thing. Many of them are called “barren” strawberry. Then there’s our title mock strawberry (Potentilla indica syn. Duchesnea indica). This mock strawberry is actually a cinquefoil species. It’s not listed in Haliburton Flora, but it can be found in Ontario and especially southern Ontario. These …
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 …