Botanical atlas
Honewort
Cryptotaenia canadensis
This plant is kept in the atlas for identification and safety, not for use. Read the safety notes below before handling it, and keep it away from children, cats, and food.
Long before it had a place in kitchen gardens, honewort grew quietly in the shaded understory of eastern forests, where Native peoples including the Iroquois gathered it both as food and as medicine. Root infusions were traditionally taken for stomach upset, while washes made from the plant were used on skin troubles and minor wounds. It shares a lineage with mitsuba, the beloved Japanese herb, and in that sense honewort has been feeding and tending people on two continents for generations, even if few cooks today know its name.
Safety.
Honewort belongs to the carrot family, which includes deadly plants like poison hemlock and water hemlock, so never gather or eat it without expert identification. Those allergic to carrots or celery should also use caution.
Our sister app HerbLens identifies honewort from a photo and keeps its full botanical portrait: growing guide, harvest notes, and look-alike warnings.
View on HerbLensHerbSense shares traditional herbal knowledge for education, not diagnosis or treatment. Herbs can interact with medicines and conditions. Speak with your doctor before acting on anything here, and seek care promptly for anything severe, sudden, or worsening.