the local is the only universal

This large Eastern Cottonwood is one of the oldest trees in Toronto’s High Park. Located on the northern shore of Lake Ontario, the park contains some 58 indigenous burial and/or ceremonial mounds–all unmarked. The tree, about 6.5 metres in circumference, towers near some of them. The tree gets few visitors because of its location adjacent a rarely travelled forest path.

Those who do come by tend to ignore it. But for those who take the time to stop, a moment of quiet reflection under its boughs is rewarded. The Cottonwood has a long history of use in traditional medicine as an antimicrobial and to reduce pain and inflammation. This tree or its ancestors may have been a source of medicines for indigenous peoples who lived in the area for millennia up until the 19th Century.