Willow (Salix spp.) is an edible, mostly medicinal and heavily utilized plant. Its powerful component salicin was synthesized to make the well known OTC medicine Aspirin. “Sal lis” means “near water”. And our many Haliburton waters are surrounded by salix species! The marshes I visit for birding and herping are filled with a wide variety … [Read more…]
“Balm of Gilead” can be made from various poplar buds including quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides), a common edible, medicinal and useful tree in our area. Last month we talked about balsam poplar. But quaking aspen was my first ID’d poplar. I noticed a set of trees on the one-acre wood that softly trembled in the … [Read more…]
Balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera) is often used to make the ever-popular Balm of Gilead. Poplar is a common wild edible, medicinal and useful tree in our area. (And some people think it’s trash! Cottonwoods to the south fill the spring air with fluff, which tends to get on peoples nerves for some reason.) Next month … [Read more…]