In Ojibwe, makominagaawanzh, mountain ash 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. Sorb apples for short. When Haliburton Flora was compiled, mountain ash (sorbus Americana) was fairly common on wet or moist lakeshores, and roadsides with shrubs …
Continue reading “Mountain-Ashes – Sorbus SPP.: Rose Tree of Edible & Medicinal Wild Plants”
In Ojibwe, wiinizik, yellow birch has a lot in common with other birches, but along with black/sweet birch (which isn’t in Haliburton) yellow birch has a subtle wintergreen scent and taste, making it one of the few wintergreen-y edible and medicinal plants around Haliburton. Yellow birch is common around Haliburton in tall mixed woods. I notice …
In Chippewa, wadub, alder is a highly astringent edible and medicinal wild plant. Its usage is similar to oak. Alder means red in German, so named because the bark makes your saliva red. But don’t go nibbling on the bark now – it’s emetic (it will make you throw up!) Speckled alder (alnus rugosa) as listed …
Continue reading “Alder – Alnus SPP.: Oak-like of Edible & Medicinal Wild Plants”
In Ojibwe, bagesaanaatig means plum tree. This edible and medicinal plum tree used to be widespread throughout Ontario. The stones were dropped along trails and around villages, wrapping the world in a plum thicket. But now Canada plum is uncommon here, which is surprising as wildlife loves to gobble up the fruit, so you’d think it …
Continue reading “Canada Plum – Prunus Nigra: Scorned of Edible & Medicinal Wild Plants”
In Anishinaabemowin, miiaatikwek piniik, spring-beauty is one of our first spring flowers. It’s a small, striped edible and medicinal ephemeral and one of our first available bee foods. It even has its own specialist bee, the spring beauty miner. You might see non-natives like crocus and coltsfoot bloom first in the spring, before our bees even …
Does anyone have an Anishinaabemowin word for wood sorrel (oxalis spp.)? Like red osier berries, wood sorrel is a sour edible to spice up your culinary adventures. It’s almost as easy of an edible and medicinal wild plant to find as dandelion. We have at least two fairly common sorrels. Firstly, mountain wood-sorrel (oxalis montana), …
Continue reading “Wood Sorrel – Oxalis SPP.: Sourgrass of Edible & Medicinal Wild Plants”
