These plants are native to Ontario, Canada.
Boletes (Boletus spp.) are not necessarily a beginner mushroom. They are also one of the least edible looking, with a spongey surface of pores where you’d expect the gills. Many varieties of boletes are toxic and will make you sick. Most of these toxic boletes having red to orange pore/”mouth” structures and/or they cut and … [Read more…]
Oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus spp.) are one of the top foraged mushrooms in our area. They’re up there with choice morsels like morels, chanterelles and dryad’s saddle. In some areas oysters are the most popular wild mushroom bought at farmer’s markets and stores. You can find oysters on hardwood trees, especially living and dead elm. Our … [Read more…]
Hobblebush (Viburnum lantanoides syn. Viburnum alnifolium) is the most common viburnum around Haliburton, Ontario. It’s easy to find along roadsides and in thickets on the edges of woods. Like some of our other shrubs, you may find it nonblooming in the understory. Sometimes called moosewood, it’s not to be confused with striped maple. Like other … [Read more…]
Butterflyweed AKA butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa), not to be confused with the invasive bush (Buddleja spp.), is a native milkweed in Ontario. Although some milkweed species are edible, butterfly weed is nowhere near the top of that list. Slightly edible with processing, and more along the lines of a starvation food, I’m skipping having a section … [Read more…]
Tulip tree AKA tulip poplar AKA arbre aux lis (Liriodendron tulipifera) is only native to parts of southern Ontario, so it’s near native in Haliburton and it’s not listed in Haliburton Flora. A stunner, the flowers really do look like tulips: My pictures on this page are from a tulip tree in my eldest sisters backyard … [Read more…]
Watershield (Brasenia schreberi) is common around Haliburton, Ontario in still or slow flowing waters up to 1 m deep. Like lilypads, the leaves float on surface. They may also be confused with some species of pond leaves. The underside of the leaves are coated in slime. Edible Uses of Watershield The young leaves when still … [Read more…]