Wild Bleeding Heart (Dicentra Wximia)
- Is a native, deer resistant perennial of which all parts are toxic in large quantities.
- The sticky seeds are dispersed by ants who will carry them far away from plant. Great for rock and shade gardens.
- After flowering this plant will disappear until next spring.
Vanilla leaf (Achlys triphylla) or Deer’s foot
- When dried, the plants are strongly aromatic and smell of vanilla. Native tribes of BC used it as an insect repellant.
Hooker’s Fairy Bells (Disporum hookeri)
- This shade loving plant is deer resistant. It will have orange red berries in the fall which are edible but bland. A favorite of, robins, towhees rodents and grouse.
- Members of this family include tulips!
- Some nurseries offer these for sale and these are wonderful substitutes for non-native invasive ground covers such as Vinca and Ivy.
False Solomon”s seal (Marianthemum Stellatum)
- Solomon’s seal is a favorite food for bears and livestock. Powdered root helps to clot blood.
- Young shoots and green parts of young plants are edible, best when cooked. The berries are high in vitamin C and were traditionally stored in grease.
False lily of the valley (Maranthemum dilatum)
- Native peoples used the berries for food. The roots and leaves were used medicinally. Berries are small but pretty white marbled with red. This native
- Plant can quickly crowd out other native plants. Pounded leaves were used to heal cuts and used for sore eyes.
Avens (Geum urbanum)
- This native, a member of the rose family, has yellow buttercup like flowers. The roots of avens taste and smell like cloves, natives used the dried roots to make a tincture, to heal inflammation in the mouth and for digestive issues. This plants has many medicinal uses. The seeds are small burs that cling to clothes and animals for dispersal.
Indian Plum (Oemleria cerasformis) or osoberry
- This native fast growing shrub is an important first nectar plants in late winter for bees, hummingbirds and moths. And the bark was used as a TBC remedy and a mild laxative. The berries are edible but have a large stone. Fox, coyote and deer disperse their seeds. Their roots resist erosion. Natives only ate small quantities of the fruits since they contain small amounts of hydrogen cyanide.
Wild hyacinth (Hyacynthoides non-scripta) or or bluebells
- Native to England, this is a perennial bulb and sweet scented. It is a favorite of bumblebees and other insects. The sap of this plants was used as an adhesive and medicinally as a diuretic and styptic.
- This plants is resistant to deer and rodents. Cows, horses and humans can be poisoned if this plants ingested.
Lady fern (Anthyrium Fillix-femina)
- Native upright perennial fern. The young fiddleheads are edible and are said to taste like asparagus and are cooked or steamed. The leaves were traditionally used as a covering for food like todays wax paper. The leaves are diamond shaped, starting smaller at bottom of stem, then widening and narrowing at the top.
Spiny wood fern. (Dryopteris expansa)
- This non-native spreading clumping fern has pineapple like appearance. This was an important starchy staple for many First Nations. Leaves are triangle shaped, wide at bottom and narrowing to top. The roots contain fillicin, a substance that paralyzes tapeworms and other internal parasites. This fern looks like Lady Fern unless you compare the triangular shape of its leaves.
Yellow Arch angel (Lamiastrum galeo obdolon)
- This invasive but pretty perennial groundcover is related to the mint family. This plant escaped from gardens and hanging baskets that were tossed. It will out crowd native plants and garden plants if you let it. Dispose of plants in green bins NOT compost piles!! The city landfill’s high heat composting methods will destroy it effectively. Medicinally used as a tea to cleanse the blood, aid with sleeplessness and help with female problems and bladder issues in the elderly. Flowers are used for digestive troubles. Compresses from leaves for ulcers and varicose veins. Bees love the flowers! Yellow lamium is edible cooked from root to (leaves and flowers) tips!