PEI has wildflowers that are beautiful, edible, and ecologically important. Today we have an example that’s all three, and flowering now: Fireweed (Chamaenerion angustifolium)! Fireweed can be found across the Island, blooming in vacant urban lots, along rural roads and fields, and among forests impacted by 2022’s Hurricane Fiona. While it gets its name from an ability to recolonize land following wildfire, it doesn’t need fire to appear: any disturbance will do. Fireweed i

Some PEI plants are inextricably linked with people – not only in how the species arrived here, but also in their ongoing social and cultural value. I can think of no better example than the Common Lilac (Syringa vulgaris). Lilacs are not native to North America but were among the earliest flowers brought by European settlers. Considering the harsh conditions and limited space on ships crossing the North Atlantic in the 17th century – not to mention the utilitarian worldvie

The Rose Family gives PEI so many beautiful and delicious plants: Apples, Blackberries, Chokeberries, Chokecherries, Raspberries,...

I’ve been enjoying the first berries of the season here on PEI. No not Wild Strawberries, though a quick glance at a handful might fool...