During the 2025 SFHS Heritage Tour, Nan and her daughter Kindra Papenfus traveled to Finland to trace their family roots. As a Master Gardener, Nan was particularly eager to explore Finland’s native flora, wild plant life, and local pollinators.
“My main purpose for visiting Finland was to find family.
I am a master gardener (affiliated with the University of Minnesota Extension), so I have a particular interest in native and pollinator plants. Of course, I was looking to see what grows in Finland, especially the wild plant life.
Woolly Burdock
A striking looking plant that grows wild is woolly burdock, which is similar, yet different, from the burdock that grows in Minnesota. The seed heads are striking to look at.
Ground Elder
Ground elder was growing profusely in the wild areas, and the flowers are very similar to the elderberry flowers we have here. But ground elder and elderberry are two entirely different plants from different plant families. The ground elder is known to be an aggressive and invasive weed. Nonetheless, it was pretty to look at in the rural landscapes.
Garden Lupine
Garden lupine was in bloom, and grew profusely in ditches and along shorelines. My distant cousin, Inna Vester, of Gamla Vasa, told me that it is forbidden to plant it in gardens, due to its extreme invasiveness.
Cinnamon Rose
We saw roses blooming everywhere we went. Outside the bed and breakfast where we stayed in Overmark were cinnamon roses, which I had never seen. They are native to forests in Siberia and northern Europe.
White Tailed Bumble Bees
There are varieties of clover that are very similar to what we have in North America. My husband is a beekeeper, and I had orders to watch for bee hives and honeybees. I didn’t see any. But I DID see many of these white-tailed bumblebees which are abundant in Finland but different than any we have in Minnesota.
For plant identification, I used the PlantNet app, which is very useful, but not always accurate, so please excuse any misidentifications!”
What are your favorite wild life plants?
