Dead Nettles (Incl. Henbit) – Lamium SPP.: Edible & Medicinal Uses of Stinging Nettles Lookalike

Dead Nettles (Henbit) - Lamium SPP.

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 …

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Skullcaps – Scutellaria SPP.: Medicinal Uses of the “Perfect Nervine” of Wild Plants

Skullcaps - Scutellaria SPP.

All six species of skullcaps (Scutellaria SPP.) presently noted in Ontario on iNaturalist are native plants. The main two being the common/marsh skullcap (Scutellaria galericulata) and side-flowering/mad-dog (Scutellaria lateriflora). You can find them in wet shores, swampy areas in the woods and sometimes on sandy roadsides. These two common skullcaps around Haliburton are used similarly …

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Wild Thyme – Thymus SPP.: Edible & Medicinal Uses of the Five-star Kitchen Herb

Wild thyme – Thymus SPP.

It may surprise folks that basic kitchen herbs and spices have any medicinal value. Thyme (thymus spp.) is actually a powerful medicinal herb for respiratory issues and more. Wild thymes (thymus spp.) have one species noted in Haliburton Flora: mother of thyme (t. praecox). The few specimens were found on an open hillside and in …

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Carpet Bugle – Ajuga Reptans: Edible & Medicinal Uses of the Blue Mint of Wild Plants

Carpet Bugle - Ajuga Reptans

The bright blue flowered carpet bugle (ajuga reptans) is another nonnative, edible and medicinal mint that can be found around Ontario. Carpet bugle (ajuga reptans) isn’t listed in Haliburton Flora. There are similar named plants: carpetweed, multiple bugleweeds, etc. It’s another nonnative mint that has since spread here. The first time I saw it, I …

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Water Horehounds – Lycopus SPP.: Edible & Medicinal Uses of the Culvert Mint of Wild Plants

Water Horehounds - Lycopus SPP.

In Chippewa, ande’gopin meaning “crow plant” refers to rough bugleweed, a lycopus you can find in parts of Ontario. Also known as water horehounds, these edible and medicinal plants are one of the least minty of the mint family. Water horehounds (lycopus spp.) can be found, as the name suggests, in wetlands, damp meadows and stream …

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Giant Hyssops – Agastache SPP.: Edible & Medicinal Uses of the Hummingbird Mint of Wild Plants

Giant Hyssops - Agastache SPP.

In Chippewa, weza’wunuckwuk meaning “yellow plant”, referring to yellow giant hyssop, we have a few native agastache in Ontario. Rarely seen in the wild, they are a popular addition to pollinator gardens and they also have edible and medicinal uses for humans! Giant hyssops (agastache SPP.) are absent from Haliburton Flora although a few are native …

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