Does anyone have an Anishinaabemowin word for motherwort? Here’s an edible and medicinal wild plant that I wish was native to Ontario. It’s so popular it has made its way all around the world. Motherwort is uncommon here, yet it spontaneously showed up in my brush pile beside my driveway one year. It does have …
Does anyone have an Anishinaabemowin word for coltsfoot? Coltsfoot is another settler import to North America with a longstanding edible and medicinal history. But keep reading because things have gotten complicated due to health concerns about one of the constituents. Coltsfoot has gone out of vogue for a couple reasons. Firstly, antihistamines and new cough …
In Chippewa, wabos’odji’bik meaning “rabbit root”, wild sarsaparilla is a prized edible and medicinal herb. And not just for the rootbeer. (Though that’d be enough for me!) Wild sarsaparilla’s folk names include rabbit foot and wild licorice. In some of my herbal books, it’s called spikenard instead. But there are many plants called spikenard. There’s …