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| Practical ecological knowledge for the temperate reader. |
Salmonberry - Rubus spectabilis
- Family: Rosaceae (Rose family) [E-flora]
Description
Origin Status: Native [E-flora]
Similar Species:
General:
Medium to tall shrub, 1-4 m tall, from extensive rhizomes, often thicket-forming; stems erect to arching, unarmed to strongly bristly, especially below, the bristles short and straight; bark yellowish-brown, shredding.[IFBC-E-flora]
Leaves:
Alternate, deciduous, pinnately compound, 7-22 cm long; leaflets 3, egg-shaped, 3-15 cm long, shallowly lobed and double-saw-toothed, sharply long-pointed at the tip, greenish on both surfaces, smooth to sparsely hairy above, paler and hairy on the veins beneath; stipules linear, 5-10 mm long.[IFBC-E-flora]
Flowers:
Inflorescence of mostly 1 or 2 stalked, nodding flowers on short, leafy, lateral branchlets; corollas rosy red to reddish-purple, bowl-shaped, the petals 5, spreading, elliptic to egg-shaped, 10-25 mm long; calyces hairy, 5-lobed, the lobes lance-egg-shaped, spreading, 7-15 mm long; ovaries superior; stamens 75 to 100.[IFBC-E-flora]
Fruits:
Drupelets, smooth, more or less coherent in a yellow or salmon to dark red cluster that falls intact from the semi-fleshy receptacle (raspberry-like), the berries 1.5-2 cm long.[IFBC-E-flora]
USDA Flower Colour: Purple
USDA Blooming Period: Early Spring [USDA-E-flora]
Habitat: Moist to wet forests, swamps and streambanks in the lowland and montane zones.[IFBC-E-flora]
Range: common in coastal BC; N to AK and S to CA.[IFBC-E-flora]
Western N. America - Alaska to California. Occasionally naturalized in Britain[17].[PFAF]
Ecological Indicator
"A shade-tolerant/intolerant, submontane to subalpine, Asian and Western North American deciduous shrub distributed more in the Pacific than the Cordilleran region. Occurs in hypermaritime to maritime cool mesothermal climates on very moist to wet, nitrogen-rich soils: its occurrence increases with increasing precipitation and decreases with increasing elevation and continentality. Very common on water-receiving (floodplain and seepage) and water-collecting sites; tolerates fluctuating groundwater tables. Often dominant in early-seral communities where it hinders natural regeneration and growth of shade-intolerant conifers. Usually associated with Alnus rubra, Athyrium filixfemina, Lysichitum americanum Oplopanax horridus, Rubus parviflorus, and Tiarella trifoliata. A nitrophytic species characteristic of Moder and Mull humus forms." [IPBC-E-flora]
Edible Uses
Salmonberries as well as young stem sprouts were popular delicacies for most Native Americans in the coastal areas of the Pacific Northwest and northern California.[Berries]
- Fruit: Can be harvested as early as May in some areas. Seldom preserved. Frozen, canned, or made into jams and jellies. [Turner, Kuhnlein] Fresh and dried. [Berries] Usually served with oil or ooligan grease to prevent constipation. [Turner, Kuhnlein]Raw, cooked or dried for later use[1, 2, 17, 85, 101, 183]. Juicy with a very good flavour[182, 183]. The fruit can be made into jams and jellies[257]. This species is not of much value in Britain, it does not fruit freely in the cooler summers of this country and the fruits do not always develop their full flavour[11]. The fruit can range in colour from yellow, through orange to red, it is about the size of a cultivated raspberry but is rather inferior in flavour and often has a distinctive bitterness, especially in cooler summers[K]. Another report says that it fruits freely in Britain[182]. [PFAF]
- Properties: "The berry is moderately sweet and highly perishable." They "...were eaten fresh as they are too watery to dry with any success." [Jones TDFB]
- Preservation: "...boiled, mashed, and dried in cedar wood frames for winter use. The resulting cakes were rolled up and stored in wooden boxes (Brown, 1969; Cranmer, 1969)." [Turner&Bell2] The berries were seldom preserved, since they are quite watery and do not dry well. [Turner, Kuhnlein]
- Shoots: Young shoots widely eaten. Harvested from April to early June. [Turner, Kuhnlein]
Peeled and eaten raw or cooked like asparagus[11, 101, 118, 183, 257]. [PFAF] They are snapped off with the fingers before they become woody, then peeled, and eaten raw or, more commonly cooked by steaming or boiling. Tied in bundles and pit cooked. They were usually eaten with seal oil or ooligan grease, and, more recently, with sugar, often as an accompaniment to salmon or meat. [Turner, Kuhnlein] They peeled and ate the raw sprouts for a juicy snack or steam cooked them in a pit and served them with dried salmon. Salmonberry sprout feasts were common in spring. Participants would sing and dance on the beach while waiting for the sprouts to cook. [Berries] "Like R. parviflorus, the sprout, a good source of vitamin C, was peeled and eaten fresh and also stored in grease." [Norton KaigHaida]
- Preparation: Salmonberry was thought to be constipating if eaten in quantity, therefore grease was eaten with it. [Norton KaigHaida]
- Harvesting: "Sprouts were eaten by all of the Island Indians. They were gathered in the early spring, and were usually the first fresh food of the season. [Turner&Bell1] They are harvested in the spring as they grow above the soil and whilst they are still tender[161]. [PFAF]
- Leaves: Boiled with fish as a flavouring.[Turner, Kuhnlein] The leaves are used as a tea substitute[183]. [PFAF]
- Cooking Tool: Leaves used to line baskets, wipe fish, and cover food in steaming pits. [Turner, Kuhnlein]
- Flowers: Raw.[172] [PFAF] Flowers eaten raw, added to salads. [EMNMPV.8]
Other Uses
- Dye: A purple to dull blue dye is obtained from the fruit[168]. [PFAF]
- Hair: Salmonberries were pulverized, mixed with fish oil, and rubbed on the hair. [Turner&Bell1]
- Misc: The hollowed stems are used as pipes[99]. (The report does not specify what type of pipes) [PFAF]
- Wood: The wood was sometimes used for making arrow shafts (Boas, 1935). [Turner&Bell2]
Medicinal Uses
- Leaves & Bark: Natives used decoctions of salmonberry bark and leaves to treat stomach problems, disinfect wounds, and decrease labor pains. They applied chewed leaves and bark to burns and toothaches. The Kwakuitl applied chewed sprouts to the head of a child to make the youngster grow. [Berries]
- Leaves:A poultice of the chewed leaves has been used as a dressing on burns[257]. [PFAF] leaves are used to help ill children relax and sleep at night.[Chu PP]
- Root: A decoction is used in the treatment of stomach complaints[257]. Bark used "...as a remedy for indigestion caused by eating too much salmon." [Turner&Bell1] A decoction has been used to lessen the pains of labour[257]. [PFAF]
- External Use:
- The powdered bark has been used as a dusting powder on burns and sores[257]. A poultice of the bark has been applied to wounds and aching teeth to ease the pain[257]. A poultice of the chewed bark has been used as a dressing to relive pain and clean burns and wounds[257]. [PFAF] "For sores and burns, the bark was hammered with a stone, and the resulting powder was sprinkled on the skin (Boas, 1930)" [Turner&Bell2]
- Unspecified Part: Used to treat Skin infections and slow healing wounds [Ramzan PESR]
Phytochemicals
"...has epicatechin and the procyanidin dimer B-416 as the major flavanoid components. The hydrolyzable tannins of salmonberry have not been described, so we can't yet compare these compounds." [Chu PP]
Nutritional
R. spectabilis contains 29.58mg of ascorbic acid per 100g edible portion. The berries contain 3.73 calories, 0.35g of protein, 0.59g carbohydrate, 0.01g ash, 0.05g lipid, 2.25mg calcium, 0.05mg iron, 1.91mg magnesium, 0.05g zinc and 3.71mg ascorbic acid per g dry weight. [Norton KaigHaida]
Activities
- Leaves & Root: Astringent[172]. [PFAF]
- Root: The root bark is analgesic, astringent, disinfectant and stomachic[257]. [PFAF]
Cultivation
It is in flower in April, and the seeds ripen from Jun to July. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects.Suitable for light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very acid soils.
It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil.[PFAF]
"In British Columbia for example, on rich alluvial sites, a delay
of 1–2 years in establishing a conifer crop such as Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) can result in dense thickets of salmon berry (Rubus spectabilis), greatly reduced timber yields
and/or a need for expensive silvicultural rehabilitation treatments." [Northcote FF]
"Like R. parviflorus, the plant is recognized as an opportunistic species
able to take over quickly in places which are cleared either by humans or some natural occurrence,
such as windfalls." [Norton KaigHaida]
Harvesting: "Salmonberries (Rubus spectabilis) were collected in a light but well made wooden box, which was carried on the back with a forehead strap. Most berry-picking baskets were made in three different sizes: a large
"swallowing basket" which was placed on the ground; a medium or "middle-one" which was carried on the back; and a small
"front basket" which was hung around the neck. The picker would keep filling her front basket and emptying it into the
swallowing basket and the middle one until they were full, and would then refill the front basket before returning home."[Turner&Bell2]
References
Page last modified on Monday, December 30, 2019 7:14 PM
