Gooseberry: Black

Black Gooseberry (Ribes lacustre)

2009 August 10

I have mostly found the Northern Gooseberry in our area but have found the odd bush of Blacks. Click on the picture and notice how prickly the berries are ... Northern Gooseberries are smooth.

These can be eaten fresh or cooked into jams and jellies. Be careful picking them though, because the spines can cause an allergic reaction in some.

Saskatoon

"Saskatoon, Service Berry or June Berry" (Amelanchier alnifolia)

2008 April 13

2008 May 5

2008 May 16

2008 May 18

2007 May 24

2007 June 17

2007 June 19

2007 July 20

2007 July 20

These add a really nice flavor to blueberry pie ... kind of perks up the blandness of blueberries. When I was a VERY young 'un and lived up in Taylor flats ... we not only had to pick buckets full of these berries in the summer but we practically lived on them through the winter. They were our fruit, but I can't call them my favorite food. I'm sure they are VERY good for you.

Hoofed animals browse on the Saskatoon bush in winter/spring and birds eat the berries. Native peoples ate these berries fresh, dried in cakes or dried like raisins. The plants can get as high as 4 meters tall! Sampling berries as I walked around the lakes in 2007, I noticed quite a difference in flavors, depending on where they were growing. The juice has a mild laxative affect.

Oregon Grapes

"Oregon Grapes" (Mahonia nervosa)

2008 April 13th
Flower Bud

2007 May 12

2007 May 13

2007 August 6

2007 August 6

2007 August 6

I remember my Mom making Oregon Grape jelly so tried to make some last year (2006 from the tall growing variety from the coast). A very musky taste, a taste we weren't too fond of ... not a "make again" we decided! Reading about them now, I see that the First Nation's made a jelly from them to eat with meats ... now I could perhaps see this jelly as a paring with meat. The fresh berry is bitter to the taste but edible.

A bright yellow dye can be and was made from the inner bark of the stems and roots.

Gooseberry

"Black Gooseberry" (Ribes lacustre)

2007 October 10

2007 October 10

2007 October 10

I only discovered this shrub in the fall, as it's red foliage really stood out. I will have to be more observant come spring to get pictures of the flowers and then fruit ... it helps to know where a specimen is located.

The berries may be eaten fresh or cooked. The leaves were boiled by some peoples to make a menthol flavoured tea touted to be good for colds and diarrhea. The spines may cause an allergic reaction.