Description

Vaccinium vitis-idaea 

Low-creeping, vine-like dwarf-shrub with red, edible berries

Height: 0.05m

Edible: Y

Medicine: N

Other Uses: N

Poisonous: N

Soil: Well-draining, rich in organic matter

Watering: Plenty

Sun: Do well in partial shade. To encourage larger crops, plant in full sun

Usually found at: Along the coast in a variety of habitats, including bogs

Pollinators & wildlife: Bumblebees

Ornamental: Ground cover

 

Leaves: About 1 cm long, wide spaced, tiny black dots on lighter underside

Flowers: Produce flowers in the spring, with a second flowering in the summer. The flowers are bell-shaped, white to pale pink, 3–8 mm.

Berries: The fruit is a red berry, 6–10 mm across, with an acidic taste, ripening in late summer to autumn

First Nations uses: Highly important food for the Dena’ina, Tlingit, Kaigani Haida, Haida, Nisga’a, Gitksan and other northern peoples. The coastal people of the Northwest coast usually cooked the berries and served them in oolichan grease or oil. They were also eaten fresh as a snack or thirst quencher. They were stored fresh in moss or by drying into cakes. The Fraser River valley was a prime area for harvest and the Halq’emeylem used to trade them to Vancouver Island and elsewhere. The berries were associated with high rank by Sechelt people.

 

Note: Native plant sales are pick-up only at Suwa’lkh School (1432 Brunette Ave in Coquitlam). Email suwa’lkh@freshroots.ca for more information.