We had to go to the coast recently so we took the opportunity to reconnect with a few leafy friends and remind ourselves of the green abundance of that place. I'll share with you some of my favorite edibles we found on the way.
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| Redwood Sorrel |
Redwood Sorrel (Oxalis oregana) was literally carpeting the dark forests of Oregon. The leaves, which look like clover leaves, can be eaten raw and have a very strong tangy sour taste. As is often the case, this is because the plant contains oxalic acid, which can be potentially harmful if eaten in large quantity. Eaten in moderation, the plant doesn't represent a danger as many common garden plants also contain oxalic acid, including spinach, rhubarb, several members of the cabbage family, and many others.
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| Western Hemlock Tips |
Western Hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) leaves can be eaten fresh when they're still young and tender, like those of Douglas Fir.
The cambium layer was also traditionally scraped and cooked, then dried in the form of cakes for future use. I don't have a lot of experience with this but I did try it once. Apparently, there is a short window of opportunity when the sap is just rising and the bark comes off the tree easily but before it becomes bitter. The best part is from the top of the trees (or from young trees), where the sugars are concentrated in the spring time. I only tried the cambium fresh from the bottom of an older tree and it definitely was too bitter to be tasty, though it was indeed edible.
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| Ribwort |
Like its cousin the common plantain, Ribwort (Plantago lanceolata) is commonly used as a medicinal plant but its leaves can also be eaten when they're young before they become tough and stringy.
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| Sea Plantain |
Another plantain we saw growing out of the rock right on the beach is Sea Plantain (Plantago maritima). Its leaves are a lot more fleshy than the other plantains and they were somewhat tough, which I didn't enjoy very much. I ate one leaf raw but didn't go for another one. In all fairness, that might have been due to the fact that the leaves were probably pretty old as the plant was already going to seed. They may be better when they're young. Still, the salty flavor was interesting.
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| Salmonberry |
Berries were also abundant and I always think of Salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis) as the most representative berry bush of the coastal area. The berries are reminiscent of watery raspberries and are plentiful. Earlier in the year, the young green shoots can be peeled and eaten raw. They are quite good and tender when they're young but become too tough later on.
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| The first ripe blackberry! |
In the same genus are the blackberries. Though commonly scorned for their invasiveness and impenetrability, they do offer very tasty berries. Himalayan Blackberry (Rubus discolor) and Evergreen Blackberry (Rubus laciniatus) can form dense thickets while Trailing Blackberry (Rubus ursinus) is a little more subdued and offers slightly smaller berries.
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| Unripe Trailing Blackberry |
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| Salal |
Salal (Gaultheria shallon) is probably the tastiest of the native berries and grows abundantly in dense shrubs. The fleshy sepals forming the fruits can be a little weird-looking and make the berries quite fleshy but they remain a favorite of mine.
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| Evergreen Huckleberry |
Another one of my favorites is Evergreen Huckleberry (Vaccinium ovatum). Unfortunately, they were not ripe yet. They ripen later in the fall and can remain on the bushes until December.
The Red Huckleberry (Vaccinium parvifolium), though, was ready to be eaten and they were quite good too!
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| Red Huckleberry |
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| False Lily of the Valley |
The berries of False Lily of the Valley (Maianthemum dilatatum), though weirdly mottled when unripe, eventually turn bright red and I like to eat them though they're watery with big seeds. They're very similar to False Solomon's Seal, which now officially shares the same genus name as False Lily of the Valley.
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| Red Elderberry |
The last berry bush we ran into was Red Elderberry (Sambucus racemosa). On the Oregon Coast I had never seen red elderberry trees so big and so prolific!
Unlike the blue and black elderberry varieties, red elderberry does not taste very good and is best mixed with other foods.
Eating them raw will likely make you very sick so make sure to cook them before consuming them.
All the other parts of the tree, except the flowers, are considered toxic so treat them with respect and dry the stems correctly if you ever want to make flutes with them, which was a common thing to do in many cultures.
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| Bullwhip Kelp |
At the beach we found this Bullwhip Kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana), which offers very tasty foods. The fronds (leaves) can be dried and eaten and the stipes (the long hollow tubes under the water) are also great. We pickle them and serve them as appetizers and they're usually a big hit! Read Rosalee's post about it for more information and the kelp pickles recipe.
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| Licorice Fern |
Roots are also an important aspect of wild foods. I really like the
taste of licorice (I actually brush my teeth with licorice root sticks;
the real stuff, not the processed red crap in stores!) and I love to
chew on the rhizomes of the Licorice Fern (Polypodium glycyrrhiza), which tend to grow on deciduous trees.
Just remove the little rootlets from the main rhizome and take a bite. Just like the name indicates, it has a very strong licorice flavor. It's great as a tea as well and is used extensively for colds and sore throats.
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| Licorice Fern Rhizome |
Finally, I'll leave you with two plants I don't have any experience with, which I don't like to do but their cultural role has been so important on the coast that I can't possibly pass them up.
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| Springbank Clover |
Springbank Clover (Trifolium wormskjoldii) was a very important food crop that was carefully managed. The white rhizomes were dug up in early spring or late fall and cooked in steam pits.
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| Pacific Silverweed |
Pacific Silverweed (Potentilla pacifica) was another very important root vegetable. Their brown-skinned rhizomes were dug in early spring or late fall and were also steam-cooked to remove their bitter flavor.
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| Here is the silvery underside of the leaf, hence the name |
Both of these plants are generally associated because they grow in the same habitat, as shown in the picture below, and were carefully tended in large gardens along the coast. Today, tribal people are reviving this ancient practice as much as they can, as described in the following article.
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| Silverweed and Springbank Clover growing side by side |
If you liked this post, you may be interested in the following:
- Edible Spring Plants of the Inland Pacific Northwest
- Fall Edible Plants of the Inland Pacific Northwest
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