Berries Berries Berries
July 14, 2009
In the Pacific Northwest there Are a number of different types of berries. The first berry to appear is the salmon berry. Usually it starts producing new new leaves or shoots ( which are known to be Edible) In March or April soon afterwards beautiful flowers appear within a few weeks of the flowers appearing Some berries begin To form—They look similar to Raspberries– however if you wait until they are red like a raspberry until you Eat them then they are way overdone –In fact they will be bitter. They should be and when they are the color of salmon. That’s how they get their name. As we live on a mountain spring comes later as you move up the mountain-so the first Berry available to the Bears Is the salmon berry and if the eat the salmon berries and slowly move up the hill they will ripen as they move up the hill.
The next Berry to ripen at sea level Is the huckleberry is a red berry which is a member of the blue Berry family ( vaccium ) And is distinguishable by its extremely Square stem the stem is so square that you can feel it clicking If you roll it between your fingers—In fact all members of the vaccium family Have some square like nature to their stems It is A distinguishing characteristic of the genus—Though most perceptible with the huckleberry. There are literally thousands upon thousands of huckleberry plants per acre in the lower levels of the coastal rain forest on the North Shore of Vancouver .The location of the Berry on the underside of the leaves Makes it very easy for a bear to scrape the berries using his claws– in fact I have a berry picker which is very similar in design to bear claws I believe that this is an example of co-evolution the plant and the animal are dependent upon one another the vast numbers of berry plants throughout the coastal rainforest a result of the Bears leaving scat as fertilizer Laden with seeds. Also you’ll find many tree stumps with huckleberries growing out of the tops I believe these are the result of birds eating the berries and doing their business on top of a tree stump.
The next berry to ripen
in the succession is the salal Berry–
is
a wonderful berry that covers the forest floors and grows and clumps of 4 to 10 berri
es on A Stick. I believe this berry has a lot of pectin In it. It is very good for mixing with other berries for jam. It also tastes Delicious by itself Kind of “mealy “ But slightly sweet.
- salmon Berries huckleberries and Indian Plum
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July 9, 2009
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*1 child per adult
Valid for “ NorthVan GreenTour” and “Vancouver Eco Tour”
Offer Valid till end of July, 09
*1 child per adult
Valid for “ NorthVan GreenTour” and “Vancouver Eco Tour”
Offer Valid till end of July, 09