White Ash – Fraxinus Americana: Edible & Medicinal Uses of the Crafty Tree of Wild Plants

White Ash - Fraxinus Americana

White ash (Fraxinus americana) is a useful tree to know. In fact, it’s one of the top five trees Caleb Kinew Nini Musgrave @canadianbushcraft recommends knowing in our area. The other four being birch, cedar, spruce and basswood. The “white” refers to the pale underside of leaves, twigs, and bark, although it’s really more of …

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Burdocks Ft. Greater Burdock – Arctium Spp.: An Edible & Medicinal Wild Plant That’ll Stick With You

Burdocks Ft. Greater Burdock - Arctium Spp.

In Chippewa, wiisagibag meaning bitter leaf, also wiisagijiibik meaning bitter taproot and gi’ masan meaning big stickers. Common burdock is an edible and medicinal wild plant that will stick with you. It’s a favorite of mine! Burdock’s (Arctium spp.) folk names are predominately along the lines of burr-this or that-burr, like burrseed for instance. Which …

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Red Clover – Trifolium Pratense: Edible & Medicinal Uses of the Honey of Wild Plants

Red Clover – Trifolium Pratense

Red clover (Trifolium pratense) is honeylicious and this edible and medicinal plant is not just for honey bees! My favorite folk name for red clover is honey/honey-stalks, but it isn’t just honey bees that like this honey. Mammals like the opossum, snowshoe hare, eastern chipmunk, raccoon, striped skunk, and white-tailed deer are buzzing about it. …

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Jewelweed – Impatiens Capensis: Edible & Medicinal Uses of the Snappiest Wild Plant

Jewelweed - Impatiens Capensis

Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) is a snappy edible and medicinal herb, known for its exploding seedpods.  It’s handy to have around if you like clumsily rooting through wild plants like me, and end up grazing yourself with stinging nettle or worse – poison ivy. Jewelweed is so named because of the way the dew beads on …

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