Are You Berry Curious?
By Selena Eon, IATC Board Member
Trail snacks are locally abundant this time of year in the Issaquah Alps. If you’ve wondered what you can safely nom on and what you should avoid, be sure to read on for a selection of native “berries”! Be sure to carefully identify each plant until you are familiar with it, soon you’ll be nibbling along the trail with ease!
Author enjoying blackberries
Red huckleberries: Huckleberry shrubs love to grow in sun dappled forest, particularly from stumps or downed logs. They feature small oval leaves with small red berries growing on the underside of the leaves. Coast Salish used combs to remove the berries. This creative method makes sense, as it takes some effort to pick a supply of these berries. They’re delicious eaten as-is or in jellies or pies.
Red huckleberries, photo courtesy of Selena Eon
Salmonberries: Salmonberry shrubs can grow so tall they tower over the trail, and so lush they can grow into it. Some salmonberries have thorns, but most do not. Salmonberries love a nice mix of sun and shade. You can identify a salmonberry shrub by finding the end of a branch, fold back the very last leaf, the two leaves left near the end will look like a butterfly! Salmonberries are ripe once they are soft. Ripe salmonberries can be orange, salmon-pink, red, and even purple! Be sure to try all the colors. Salmonberries are soft and don’t travel well as they can turn into salmonberry mush in your container.
Salmonberries, photo courtesy of Selena Eon
Trailing Blackberries: Unlike invasive Evergreen and Himalayan blackberries that you’ll also find growing along many trails, our local trailing blackberries prefer to layer upon other plants. They have sage green cast to their stems, which may or may not have diminutive thorns. You’ll often see trailing blackberries without fruit, this is because a stand needs male and female plants to pollinate. Trailing blackberry fruit is easily recognizable as a blackberry.
Blackberries, photo courtesy of Selena Eon
Blackcaps: Rarely found in our forests are prized native blackcaps. They can grow as tall as a person, with a white/green cast to the upright stalks, and lush leaves. The fruit looks like a smaller raspberry, but deep purple when ripe.
Blackcaps, photo courtesy of Selena Eon
Thimbleberries: The thimbleberry features characteristically large soft leaves, sometimes used as “Nature’s Toilet Paper”. The thimbleberry itself is a soft, slightly fuzzy red raspberry-like fruit that doesn’t travel well.
Thimbleberries, photo courtesy of Selena Eon
Salal: Salal is one of the most common understory plants in our forests. Although not a berry, Coast Salish often included salal in berry mixes and other recipes. Salal is well known for use in jams, compotes and beverages. It’s easiest to hold the salal fruit’s individual stem and pick to avoid pulling the peel off and leaving the fruit behind, I eat the tiny stem piece although it does pull off easily.
Salal, photo courtesy of Selena Eon
Enjoy those trail snacks, see you on the trails!
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