Shinleaf AKA white wintergreen (Pyrola elliptica) is overshadowed in foraging and herbal medicine by its relations wintergreen and to some extent its cousin pipsissewa. It’s not used by foragers that I know of, and it’s a weaker medicinal than American wintergreen. I might have waited to cover this one, except it’s so common in the … [Read more…]
Water smartweed (Persicaria amphibia syn. Polygonum amphibium) is another edible and medicinal plant from the buckwheat family. It is native to Ontario and has the showiest flower of all our local smartweeds. Water smartweed (Persicaria amphibia syn. Polygonum amphibium) since the compilation of Haliburton Flora got a new genus, Persicaria. It’s common here in wet ditches, shoresides and banks, and … [Read more…]
Variegated pond-lily is not just an edible and medicinal plant to the 2-leggeds, but a favourite of aquatic wildlife. It’s also visited by many pollinators. Variegated or yellow water-lily (Nuphar variegata) is common here in gently flowering shallow waters, up to a few metres deep. There was one small yellow water lily (Nuphar pumila) spotted … [Read more…]
White water-lily (Nymphaea odorata) is one of our stand out edible and medicinal aquatic plants. The flower itself is widely recognizable: a lotus. Around Haliburton we have white water-lily (Nymphaea odorata) and the yellow ones you spot should be variegated (Nymphaea varigeta). In Haliburton Flora, there is one rare account of another sort of yellow … [Read more…]