You may think of summer as peak season for PEI’s wild berries, but a few tasty treats are at their best this time of year. One of my fall favourites is Wild Lily-of-the-Valley (aka Canada Mayflower, Maianthemum canadense). Wild Lily-of-the-Valley is NOT the same as the popular garden plant of the same name. The sweet-smelling European Lily-of-the-Valley ( Convallaria majalis ) contains toxic cardiac glycosides that can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, and irregular heart

Welcome back to Mushroom Monday, your weekly look at some of PEI’s fascinating fungi. Today’s species is one I’ve known about for decades...

Most Islanders are familiar with Poplar (aka Trembling Aspen, featured last week), and many know of its relative, Large-tooth Aspen. But...

Welcome back to Mushroom Monday, your weekly look at some of PEI’s fascinating fungi. Today, it’s one of the most common and widespread...

One of PEI’s most common trees is Poplar, aka Trembling Aspen ( Populus tremuloides ). The ‘trembling’ name comes from the habit of this...

Welcome back to Mushroom Monday, your weekly look at some of PEI’s fascinating fungi. This week we have the interesting, toxic, and...

Welcome back to Ask a Naturalist, your own personal Google for information on all things natural on PEI. I recently received this...

Welcome back to Mushroom Monday, your weekly look at PEI’s fascinating fungi. We’re staying with the Polypore group for another week to...

Most people have never seen PEI’s rarest native tree in person, and some have never even heard of it. Meet the beautiful Ironwood (...

Welcome back to Mushroom Monday, your weekly look at some of PEI’s fascinating fungi. The dry weather has made it a poor year for most...

It may not be majestic, but it’s PEI’s rarest native conifer and has an adaptation unlike any of our other trees. Meet Jack Pine ( Pinus...

Welcome back to Mushroom Monday, your weekly look at some of PEI’s fascinating fungi. Today it’s the common, beautiful, and...

Today’s PEI animal is a good example of why you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. This ominous-looking insect is the harmless and...

On PEI, September means a few things: the end of summer, the start of school, and the return of Mushroom Mondays! Over the past couple of...

Late summer is such a wonderful time on PEI. Warm days and comfortably cool nights, water temperatures perfect for swimming, and an...

Many of PEI’s wild animals are more often heard than seen – none more so than Cicadas. Most of us immediately recognize their...

Some PEI plants are revered while others are reviled, but today’s plant is both. Meet Common Milkweed ( Asclepias syriaca ). Our Island...

Too often, I hear people say that PEI is geologically dull. Sure, our bedrock is all sedimentary sandstone (except for the igneous Iron...

Have you ever run into an acquaintance you haven’t seen in a long, long time? The person looks unfamiliar at first, then something dawns,...

PEI’s dry summer has made for poor mushroom hunting so far. My go-to spots have yielded just a handful of edible Chanterelles and Meadow...