>>590696Beebalm (aka Oswego): a frilly red or purple flower with a prickly heart and fuzz-covered leaves. Purple variant grows in savannas and areas of partial sunlight, red variant is much larger and grows in meadows and full sunlight throughout the Great Lakes region, expanding south and east as well into areas with less hills or mountains. It's leaves and petals make a very, very mild lemon flavor tea which actually has all of the same benefits as coffee except for the caffeine, but is still packed with antioxidants and is a slight laxative.
Coneflower (Echinacea): another distinct flower, petals sharp, thin, and stiff, colors ranging from yellow, periwinkle, purple, white, and pink. It grows all throughout the more wet temperate regions of the USA and Canada, in flat forests, meadows, and savannas. It is commonly used in supplements for its stomach and throat soothing properties, and heavy in antioxidants.
Black Eyed Susan: yellow flowers with striking black centers, growing in thick groves along about the same range as Coneflower. The roots can be eaten and used for tea, and are rich in many vitamins and essential nutrients typically found in root vegetables.
Manzanita: a sturdy shrub that grows all throughout the semi-arid and scrubby regions of the west as long as there are hills or mountains. It is most easily identified by its plastic-like red bark and pale green leaves. It grows small red berries which taste like some kind of sour candy version of a red apple, and are used to make jam and tea, which the latter can be done with the leaves as well. The berries are better of course. It has a minor numbing anesthetic property to it.
Lemonadeberry: A dense, dark green shrub that grows in coastal hilly regions in the west. It's pinkish-red, corn-kernal shaped berries, when ripe, taste just like lemonade, and were popularly used as a treat when made into tea by the local native Americans.
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