In Chippewa, bima’kwud meaning “twisting around”, American bittersweet is much less edible and medicinal than our usual featured plants, but the berries on this vine are stunning in the fall and winter. Cheers to our 100th plant! Is it bittersweet? Yes and no. Is it very edible and medicinal? Nah. The berries are poisonous, although that’s … [Read more…]
Joe-Pye weed (Eupatorium maculatum) grows well along ponds, wetlands and streams, but any damp sunny area will do. It is one of the pollinator all-stars of edible and medicinal plants. Joe-Pye weed is common around Haliburton in low wet areas by ponds, marshes, streams, and even damp ditches. One spontaneously appeared by my rain barrel … [Read more…]
Bluebead lily (Clintonia borealis) has toxic berries, but it’s still an edible and medicinal wild plant. It’s gorgeous too, with pretty yellow flowers and stunning blue berries that form a gradient and marbled cluster of blue as they ripen. Corn lily AKA bluebead lily is common around Halliburton in deciduous or mixed woods on moist … [Read more…]
Mountain ash (Sorbus spp.) isn’t a true ash tree, but a rose family tree. It’s one of a few edible and medicinal plants with berries that look like tiny apples. A larger version of hawthorns tiny apples. Mountain-ashes are called sorb apples for short. When Haliburton Flora was compiled, mountain ash (Sorbus americana) was fairly … [Read more…]
Honeysuckles (Lonicera spp.) are sometimes poisonous, sometimes edible and sometimes medicinal. But always a favorite of nectar seekers like the ruby-throated hummingbird along with all-stars like scarlet bee balm and cardinal flower. Some human folks seek the nectar too. The most abundant native honeysuckle here is American/Canadian Fly (Lonicera canadensis), which likes openings in deciduous … [Read more…]
Yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis) has a lot in common with other birches. Along with black/sweet birch (which isn’t in Haliburton) yellow birch has a subtle wintergreen scent and taste, making it one of a handful of wintergreen-y edible and medicinal plants around Haliburton. Yellow birch is common around Haliburton in tall mixed woods. I notice … [Read more…]