Vaccinium species

I don't have anywhere nearby where I can pick the real Huckleberry (Vaccinium membranaceum), but we do have several closely related species in and around the high mountain meadows. The three species I describe in this post, which can be found in the same area, often growing intertwined, which is why they all described together here. All of these berries resemble the huckleberry in shape, that is, round with the characteristic blueberry-like belly-button on the end.

Vaccinium uliginosum var. occidentale

Vaccinium uliginosum var. occidentale has the closest resemblance to huckleberries, and is known by a variety of common names, including "western blueberry", "western huckleberry", "bog bilberry", or even "bog whortleberry". Personally, I am currently preferring the "bilberry" name, even though that name is more commonly used for Vaccinium myrtillus. The "bilberry" name is used for any blue Vaccinium berry which is smaller than the common huckleberry, and this is the most common one which fits that description in my area. This is a low shrub which is commonly found at the edge of wet meadows, with marsh plants growing on one side of the shrub patch and dry plants growing on the other. Some meadows will have a border of these shrubs growing nearly all the way around them. 

The branches are round and brown; the leaves are entire (i.e. not toothed) which distinguishes it from most other species in the genus; and the berries are blue and small (4-7 mm in diameter). The berries grow from the leaf axils, often singular, but are also found in clusters of 2-4. The flavor is not as good as real huckleberries, but still very good, both juicy and sweet. Collecting them can be rather hit-and-miss, because many bushes will have few or no fruit (perhaps having already been picked clean by wildlife), while occasionally a bush will be found with a lot of berries. 

Vaccinium scoparium

Vaccinium scoparium is a very small (3-5 mm), red berry, found growing as a green ground-cover under high mountain coniferous forests. The stems are green and angled, and much less shrub-like than most other species, and are described as "broom-like" because they grow a lot of branches close together and upright, so that you could pull up a plant and imagine using it as a broom. The most usual common name for these is "grouseberry", but it is also known as "whortleberry", "littleleaf huckleberry", and even "grouse whortleberry" (for those who prefer some sort of indecisive compromise in their names).

They are very wide-spread and common, but the berries are very small, with just a few per plant, so that picking any good quantity would like quite a while. They are so small that it's hard to get the taste from a single berry; it is much better to pick several and eat them all at once, so you can fully taste them. Nevertheless, despite the tiny size and need to search over a large area of plants, I personally like the flavor of these the best, out of the three berries described here, especially if I can find them in the very ripe stage where they start to turn purpleish. 

Gaultheria humifusa

Gaultheria humifusa is another similar berry, which I still feel comfortable including here, because of its close resemblance to berries in the Vaccinium genus. So close, in fact, that some botanists have included it in that genus, and Vaccinium humifusa is a recognized synonym for it. It has a relatively uncontroversial common name of either "Alpine Wintergreen" or "Alpine Spicywintergreen". 

Unlike the shrubby plants of Vaccinium, this plant hugs the ground, forming a sparse mat of leaves and red berries. It seems to prefer spots where the soil is too thin for other most other plants, but can also be found growing under the other species described here. It still has woody stems, but they are mostly under the surface, with just few leaves and a berry or two where the stem emerges. The berries are red, fading to white on the underside when less ripe. They are wider around than they are long, and about 5-7 mm in diameter.

The taste is similar to the other berries described here, sweet with a bit of tartness, but these are firmer and less juicy than the others. Even though they are a wintergreen, they do not seem to me to have a strong wintergreen flavor, although there may be a slight suggestion of that in the tartness side of the flavor. Some sources suggest eating the leaves, but when I tried them they were very tough, and did not have a very good flavor. 

Ribes montigenum

Ribes montigenum

Ribes montigenum has several common names associated with it. The name I prefer is Mountain Gooseberry, because it actually is a gooseberry and it grows in the mountains. And also because it is a good translation of the Latin name, which is often because it was known by a similar common name at the time the Latin name was assigned by modern botanists. It is also known as Alpine Prickly Current, but since gooseberries and currents are distinguished by gooseberries having prickles and currents being smooth, a prickly current is just a gooseberry. Another common name is Gooseberry Current, which is for indecisive people, and another is Prickly Gooseberry, which is redundant.

It is a fairly common shrub in the mountains, usually quite low growing, with 5-lobed leaves and branches densely covered in prickles. Even the fruit has prickles, but these are soft and do not interfere with eating at all. Current flowers have an unusual pattern: the sepals are large and showy (not green), while the petals are smaller, often only looking like fringes at the throat where the sepals spread out. The five sepals in this species are white or yellowish, and the small petals are red and kind of crescent-shaped. But the flowers only appear in the spring; most of the year you will just see the fruit. All currents and gooseberries have the dried, persistent sepals on the end opposite the stem, which may be long and beak-like if the flowers were tubular-shaped, but in this species is sometimes spreading and tuft-like, because the flowers are saucer-shaped.

The taste of these gooseberries is quite good. They are a rather tart when they first ripen to a red color. When they become fully ripe, they turn a slightly darker shade of red, and become much sweeter, often losing all the sourness they had when younger. I think these are one of the better wild currents. When I find a bush with plump and juicy, fully ripe and sweet berries, they are as good as Golden Currents (Ribes aureum), and one of the better berries in the mountains.

With their tartness, these berries make an excellent Mountain Gooseberry Pie. I combined 3 cups gooseberries, 2 grated apples, ⅔ cup sugar, and a bit of lemon juice and vanilla, then baked it in my wife's pie crust. I made a couple of pies, to compare different ways of making it. One pie just had the ingredients mixed cold, and for another, I boiled the filling for about 15 minutes first, in ¼ cup water, then added some flour to thicken. The berries are fairly sturdy, so they keep their shape well, rather than turning to mush when cooked. Both methods were yummy. And, they store well in the refrigerator, for at least a couple weeks. 

Pseudostellaria jamesiana

Pseudostellaria jamesiana

Although this is commonly known as Chickweed, this is not the Chickweed of herbal medicine fame. That chickweed is Stellaria media, while this chickweed is Pseudostellaria Jamesiana or formerly Stellaria Jamesiana. It is also known as James's Chickweed, or more appropriately for foraging purposes, tuber starwort, because it is the tubers we want.

The flowers are easily recognized by their two-cleft petals, over which the little black anthers are set off distinctly. The two-cleft petal are one of the reasons they resemble Stellaria media, but that chickweed's petals are much more deeply cleft, nearly to their base.  This species also has long, tapering opposite leaves.

The roots of this plant form little enlarged tubers at intervals, up to an inch long, but sometimes smaller and closer together. When raw these tubers are pretty tough, almost woody. But after cooking for 15 minutes (at 10,000 feet elevation, so your cooking time may vary), they became tender, and very potato-like in flavor. I would consider these one of the better roots if they were easier to dig up. On the upside, these flowers are blooming for quite a long time during the summer, so you can find them for a longer season than Hydrophyllum capitatum, which has a similar taste, but is easier to dig and collect in a significant quantity.

The digging of these roots presents a bit of an ethical conundrum, especially if you are ethical, and trying to minimize your impact on the wilderness. Because these roots travel horizontally, they are seldom directly underneath the flower, and often many inches away. So finding them requires digging up an area, rather than a small hole directly underneath the plant. I suggest finding a clump in an area with relatively few competitors. Grassy areas are hard to dig and separate useful roots from. I much prefer the soft ground under coniferous forests. Remember to only harvest where they are abundant, not where there are no other of the same plants around. Once you find a good clump in good ground for digging, you will need to dig up a small area under them to find the tubers, which are usually on horizontal roots about 1 to 4 inches deep. You should throw back some of them to allow the plants to regrow, especially if they have the tiny little growth buds attached to them. Always be sure to replace the dirt afterward, smooth it out, replace the ground litter, and make it look natural again, rather than leaving a disturbed area of ground.

Portulaca oleracea

Portulaca oleracea

OK, Purslane is not all that common a sight when wandering through the mountains, but it is a very common sight in the garden, where it seldom grows in anything but a wild state. Which is a bit unfortunate, since this is such a great tasting edible plant. It is also high in anti-oxidants and omega-3 fatty acids. Most gardeners will agree that it can be harvested in abundance without endangering the next year's growth.

When eaten raw, the fleshy leaves and stems are crunchy and pleasant tasting, with a slight lemony taste, which is a sign of oxalic acid. I discuss oxalic acid in the post on Rumex crispus, which has a lot more, but if you are nervous about that boogie man, cook your purslane in a change of water to get the soluble oxalic acid out, and avoid eating rubarb.

Our preferred recipe for purslane is to saute onion, garlic, and bacon in oil. Add zucchini, mushrooms, and the purslane, with a little water and let it steam for five minutes. Then add some pre-cooked and diced potatoes, salt, pepper, marjoram.

Rubus idaeus

Rubus idaeus

Wild Raspberries are not especially common in my mountains, but when they are found, they are one of the best and tastiest treats the mountains have to offer. How can you not enjoy a search though clump of prickly bushes when the reward is as sweet as this?

These are the same species as cultivated raspberries. Some of the cultivated varieties are bigger, but the taste is the same. The plant is somewhat similar to wild rose in appearance, but it has lots of smaller prickles, instead of scattered thorns, and of course, the berries should be familiar to everyone.

Raspberries seem to like a lot of water, but not a lot of competition. Since wet areas tend to have a lot of competition, this may explain why they are hard to find. I have found them, for example, on steep stream banks, and at the edges of rock slides down moist slopes.

The Latin name Rubus is similar to another group of berries named Ribes. So if you learn the Latin names, just try to remember that Rubus is the genus of raspberries, blackberries, and thimbleberries; while Ribes is the genus of gooseberries and currents.

Ribes hudsonianum

Ribes hudsonianum

Western Black Current is a common species of current bush in this area, with clusters of smooth black berries. There can be a large quantity of ripe berries, but unfortunately, the berries are quite bitter, have a bad taste, and are even slightly astringent. Also the leaves have a bad smell, which is not very strong, but quite noticeable when you are in a large patch of them.

Note that although this has a similar name, this is not the Black Current (Ribes nigrum) which is popular in Europe. There does not seem to be much published information on this species, so it would be hard to say if it is similar nutritionally to Ribes nigrum. Some sources note that it is edible, but few warn about the bitter taste. The taste of some species of currents is improved by cooking, but these are so bad tasting, that I doubt it will help.

Identification: The flowers of currents and gooseberries have a distinctive feature, which is hard to notice unless you look closely: the sepals are large and showy, but the petals are very small and easy to overlook. You can know that the show petal-like things are actually sepals because there are no greenish sepals under them. The true petals are very small and look more like a small fringe at the opening of the tube, or small moon-shaped appendages where the bell flares out; look closely and you will notice them. The flowers and leaves are very similar to Wolf Current (Ribes wolfii), but the fruit is quite different. The leaves are five-lobed, and the flowers are white, bell-shaped (many currents have tubular flowers), and grow in racemes. The fruit of Western Black Current is black and smooth, while the fruit of Wolf Current is blue and prickly.