Northern maidenhair fern (Adiantum pedatum) is the only maidenhair fern in Ontario, Canada. You’ll find it in deciduous or mixed woods in leaf covered hummus. I find it deep in woods that humans haven’t touched too much. It’s a good sign of that (humans not disturbing an area much) when you see it in the …
The polypody ferns (Polypodium spp.) used to include maidenhair (next month’s feature plant), lady fern and wood ferns amoung other ferns. But the family has been narrowed down to 31 polypody species presently (2024). Rock polypody (Polypodium virginianum) is the most prevalent in Ontario, Canada by far. It’s common on rocky banks and rocky outcrops …
Red elderberry or red-berried elder (Sambucus racemosa) is not as edible and medicinal or renown as its relative common elderberry is. But it wins in another area. It’s a wildlife favourite. As soon as the berries are ready, birds flock to this shrub and clear them out quickly. Its early blooms attract pollinators too. And …
Heartleaf foamflower AKA creeping foamflower (Tiarella stolonifera syn. cordifolia) is native to Ontario and found on leafy hummus in deciduous or mixed woods. The leaves resemble miterworts, making one of the folk names false miterwort. I spot foamflower on the roadsides often, and mitrewort more on rocks in streams and deeper in the woods. I …
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 …
Todays plant is chokeberries (Aronia spp.), not the more popular chokecherries. Sometimes chokeberry shrubs are included in the genus Photinia instead of Aronia. Chokeberries are one of the less popular native shrubs. Even unheard of. These under-the-radar native shrubs are related to roses. The only species listed in Haliburton Flora is purple chokeberry (Aronia x …