Wild Strawberry Fruit & Leaves

Wild strawberries (wažúšteča, wažíšteča, or Fragaria vesca) in July, growing in an oak forest on Standing Rock. While most of the prairie is too dry for strawberry plants to survive, they can still be found in the small oak forests that grow on some of the wetter hillsides. Wild strawberries (sometimes known as “alpine strawberries,”

Uŋkčéla wanáȟča

If you haven’t spent much time on the prairies of North Dakota, you might be surprised to learn that we have five cactus species that are indigenous to the area. I believe that this one is either Opuntia polyacantha or Opuntia cymochila, a Prickly Pear species. The Lakota names I’ve heard for Prickly Pear are

Wípažukȟa — Juneberries (in June!)

Last summer (2023), a rare thing happened — the Wípazukȟa (Amelanchier alnifolia — called Juneberry, Saskatoon Berry, and Serviceberry in English) actually started ripening in late June. One of the Lakota names for the moon/month that occurs around what the Roman calendar calls June is Wípazukha-Wašté-Wi, the Moon When The Juneberries are Good (ripe). I’ve

Late Fall Weeds: Mallow & Dandelion

Last October when I was visiting some relatives, I felt my phone sliding out of my pocket. Before I could turn around, I heard a giggle, and little footsteps running away. My first-grader niece decided to “borrow” my phone, and took several thousand pictures. Many of them were blurry, or of her making silly faces,

Backyard Salad: Dandelions and Goldenrod

Edible wild greens are one great thing about spring. A lot of plants, both natives and immigrant plants, produce tender, edible shoots in early spring. Many of these same plants, later in the season, will become too bitter for most people’s palettes. But when they first emerge (likely April/May, depending on your location, but also

How to Identify Young Waštémna

When they are first learning about medicinal plants, a lot of people only recognize them when they look exactly the way they look when they are most commonly harvested. While it usually makes sense to wait until the proper time to harvest a plant, sometimes emergency situations (such as an illness, and lack of access

Waȟčázi Iyéčheča — Salsify in June

Waȟčázi iyéčheča, aka Salsify, aka Tragopogon dubius, seen on Pine Ridge Reservation (near Kyle, SD) in June. The Lakota name of this plant, waȟčázi iyéčheča, basically means that it looks like a dandelion. Later in the summer, when you see what looks like a giant dandelion with a fuzzy ball of seeds waiting for the

Waȟpé Tȟáŋka/Burdock: Weeds in Winnipeg

Last July, I saw this impressive Waȟpé Tȟáŋka (Burdock/Arctium minus) plant growing out of a truck that had obviously been parked a long time in a back lane in Winnipeg. Burdock is native to Eurasia. Montana State University Extension Office says it was introduced in the 1600s, and is now in almost every US state

Harvesting Waȟpé Waštémna Sustainably

The time when most people harvest Waȟpé Waštémna (Monarda fistulosa, aka Beebalm, aka Wild Bergamot, aka Horse Mint, aka Elk Medicine) is in July, when the flowers are in full bloom. If you harvest carefully, the plant will have the ability, and enough time, to grow a second flowerhead and produce seeds before the cold

Commercial Pteíčhiyuȟa Cough Syrup…from Italy?!

I recently visited a Whole Foods location that was shutting down. I normally try to avoid Whole Foods because of their anti-union stance and other ethically questionable practices, but they had a 50% off sale on all their remaining products, so I went to check out their herbal supplements section. This cough syrup from Italy