#tamarack pine

[carbombrenee]

October on the Fens Oliphant, ON

[foragingincanadamb]

White Cedar

Find:it is most abundant in swamps, peaty bogs, and along streams and lake shores.

Description:It usually grows to about 50-65 feet high.The average length of its tree is about 30 feet.The diameter of an adult tree can be up to about 2 feet.It is a very slow-growing tree. Medium growth rate average 13-24 ″ per year.Its Burk color is pale brown, stringy, and fibrous in appearance. But when the tree becomes old and older,its bark color becomes reddish-brown to gray.It has evergreen leaves.This monoecious tree,Therefore,has two types of flowers in it (male and female flower).Its flower is 1/2 inch long,egg-shaped,and green.Their flowers are always in pairs of 2 to .

Edible  Parts and uses:Cedar baths, cedar cones best used fresh in my opinion. They keep some of the flavor dried.Syrups and Teas Just simmer 2 cups of fresh cedar in 4 cups of boiling water for about 10 minutes until the water becomes a golden color. Strain off the cedar and sweeten, to taste.

Black spruce(L) White spruce(R)

Find:It is frequently found in cold, poorly drained areas, such as swamps and bogs, along with sphagnum mosses and horsetails.Yards and parks.

Description:he black spruce tends to be a medium sized tree growing to about 20 m in height and usually less than 50 cm trunk diameter. It has short needles (1-2 cm) that are densely packed around the branch tips. They are a dull blue-green colour, giving the overall tree a dark blue-green appearance. In Manitoba, black spruce may be confused with two other conifers, white spruce and balsam fir. Balsam fir may be distinguished from both spruces by its flattened arrangement of needles, its smooth, resin spotted bark and its upward pointing cones which break apart when mature. The spruces have needles surrounding the branchlets, scaly bark on their trunks and have downward hanging cones which persist long after the seeds have matured.

Edible  Parts and uses:The needles are edible and most commonly used to make a hot tea.Spruce also has edible inner bark only to be eaten  in emergency situations  and it can hurt or kill the tree.The male pollen cones can be eaten in the spring, they have a mild taste and texture ranges from dense and moist to light and fluffy depending on what stage of development they are harvested in.

Jack pine

Find:boreal forests, tundra transition, dry flats, and hills and  sandy soils.

Description:

Edible  Parts and uses:Needle tea,Young cones,Inner bark,It can also be dried, then ground into a powder and used as a thickener in soups or can be mixed with cereal flours when making bread etc.Herbal steam baths. A tan or green dye is obtained from the needles.Pine pollen has a mild flavor, and if you use it in something like pancakes or cookies,

White pine

Find:Woods, especially on sandy drift soils or fertile well-drained soils, sometimes on river banks and rarely in swamps.Often forming dense forests

Description:Pinus strobus is an evergreen Tree growing to 20 m (65ft) by 5 m (16ft) at a fast rate.It is in leaf all year, and the seeds ripen in October.Leaf secretions inhibit the germination of seeds, thereby reducing the amount of plants that can grow under the trees.

Edible  Parts and uses:The needles are edible and most commonly used to make a hot tea.pine  Seeds raw or cooked.An acceptable candy is made by boiling the tender new shoots in syrup.There are no more details but inner bark is often dried, ground into a powder and then used as a thickener in soups etc or added to cereals when making bread.herbal steam baths.

Red pine

Find:Woods, especially on sandy drift soils or fertile well-drained soils, sometimes on river banks and rarely in swamps. Often forming dense forests

Description:The red pine can grow to be 35 metres tall, with a trunk 75 centimetres in diameter. Its shiny dark green needles grow in bunches of two and are between 10 and 16 centimetres long. The trunk of the red pine is usually slender and straight. It's called "red" pine because its bark is reddish to pink in colour.

Edible  Parts and uses:Internally resin is best used in a high percentage alcohol tincture. It is highly anti-bacterial and can be used in a mouthwash. You can also take it for those deep, old coughs and/or sinus infectionsYoung, male cones can be boiled and eaten, pine pollen can be used in a number of ways, and roasted pine seeds.Herb baths.

Tamarack pine

Find:boreal forests, tundra transition, dry flats, and hills and  sandy soils.

Description:The branches of the tamarack are somewhat feathery and clustered. They grow horizontal or slightly ascending. Twigs are orange to pink and they are hairless.The tamarack can reach to a height up to 15to23 metres.The light to pale green needles are soft and tightly clumped on side shoots in groups of 15 to 20, and are short,(1to2inch) long. The needles drop off in the autumn.

Edible  Parts and uses:Young needles, can eat them fresh, freeze them, or dry them. Both hot tea and Iced teas .Young, male cones can be boiled and eaten, pine pollen can be used in a number of ways, and herb baths.

Balsam fir

Find:Tamarack is usually found with black spruce on poorly drained soils,bogs and swamps.

Description:Tamarack is a small to medium-sized, upright, deciduous conifer. It is one of the few conifers to lose its needles each fall. It has a straight bole with a narrow pyramidal crown. Trees generally reach 15-25 m in height and 30-40 cm in diameter. The maximum age for tamarack is normally about 150 years. The needles are flattened above, keeled below and 2-5 cm in length, and occur in tufts of 15 to 60. They turn golden yellow and are shed in the fall. Mature, light brown, ovoid cones are 1-2 cm long. The young bark is gray, turning reddish-brown and scaly with age.

Edible  Parts and uses:The tender spring shoots are nutritious, and can be eaten when they are boiled. The inner bark (cambium layer) of the tamarack tree can also be scraped, dried and ground into a meal to be mixed with other flours. Fresh needles can be used to make tea.

Douglas Fir

Find:thrives in many environments including dappled shade and full sun, wet forests and dry open prairies

Description:Young Douglas-fir bark is smooth and grey-brown with gummy resin-filled blisters. The bark becomes very thick and deeply grooved with age, growing dark reddish-brown ridges.Needles are flat with a pointed tip. The upper surface is bright yellowish-green with a single groove down the centre; the lower surface is paler. The needles appear to stand out around the twig. Cones are 5 to 11 centimetres long, turning from green to grey as they mature. Three-pronged flowers are visible between each scale. Seeds are winged at the tip.

Edible  Parts and uses: Young needles, can eat them fresh, freeze them, or dry them. Both hot tea and Iced teas .Young, male cones can be boiled and eaten, pine pollen can be used in a number of ways, and roasted pine seeds.Also herb baths.