Plant of The Week

Cat’s Claw (Uncaria tomentosa) is a vine with claw-like thorns curling out from its stem. The plant utilizes it to hook itself and climb higher up into the canopy in its rainforest home. It can climb trees that are as…

Butterbur (Petasites hybridus) is an herbaceous perennial wildflower thriving in wetlands. It bears distinctive pink tasseled flowers similar to a mushroom. The flowers emerge before the leaves in spring. Butterbur has giant leaves traditionally used to wrap butter in warm…

Common chickweed (Stellaria media) is a common mat-forming medicinal garden weed. It is one of the first weeds that sprout in spring, making it a cool-season annual plant. Chickweed seeds were traditionally used to feed birds and that was how…

Common agrimony (Agrimonia eupatoria) is an herbaceous plant of the Rosacea family cultivated for its medicinal benefit. It is considered an “all-heal” plant for many illnesses and is widely used in traditional medicine. Agrimony has a deep root in folklore…

Red Clover (Trifolium pratense) is one of the familiar weeds thriving in all kinds of grassy areas. It can easily escape cultivation, making it a disruptive common weed. But, red clover is also a valuable plant with many medicinal and…

Juniper (Juniperus communis), often referred to as Juniper berry, is interestingly not a berry. It is a member of the Cupressaceae family or cypress family. Its fruit is actually its tiny pine cones growing out of the Juniper bush. Juniper…

Yaupon Holly (Ilex vomitoria) has played an important role in Native Americans’ lives for over a thousand years. It is a perennial, evergreen shrub that is native to southeastern North America and is one of two endemic American holly plants…

Horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) is a flowering tree often found lining city streets and landscaped gardens. Its name was derived from the tree’s horseshoe-shaped twigs that remain once the leaves fall off. The conkers of nuts were also used as…

Mustard (Brassica alba) is a plant from the cabbage family grown for its seeds and green tops. Mustard is one of the leading spices worldwide, with its paste popularly used for flavoring hotdogs and hamburgers. It is also a favored…