Apart from being edible — and delicious at that — dried spores were used as diaper rash “talcum powder” by the First Nations of BC. Spores were also found to staunch bloodflow when placed on a wound. At one time the brownish spores were used as a photographic flash powder. A large puffball can contain as many as 7500 billion spores. If each of these spores were to grow to maturity the next generation would form a fungus colony some 800 times the size of the earth.
Illustration by Manami Kimura
Giant man-eating extraterrestrials? No, but you got the carnivorous part right. Tiny, insect chomping Sundew inhabit swamps and bogs, attracting bugs and keeping them interested with sticky secretions. Not only well-adapted to dissolving gnats, indigenous peoples of the coast put sundew to work dissolving corns and warts much like a product from Dr. Scholls. While Europeans considered the sundew to be a potent potion when fishing for romance, the Haida summoned its powers to reel in the really, big ones.
Illustration by Manami Kimura
Since the Dogwood is the provincial flower in British Columbia, “bunch berry,” is a protected species. Following pollination and fruiting, dwarf dogwood produces a bunch of bright red berries, hence the name. Bunch berry berries are edible either raw or cooked though they are not particularly tasty. They have further been used both internally and externally to counteract natural toxins from mushrooms, poison ivy and even bee stings. Dwarf dogwood is a perennial and a perennial favourite with hikers as this low ground cover will be found along most forested footpaths on the coast. The white petal-like mane surrounding the central flower are actually specialized leaves called bracts.
Illustration by Manami Kimura
Packing fresh veggies along on the trail may be impractical due to weight or time considerations. Widely-available nodding onion imparts a welcomed taste of green to almost any dish except granola perhaps. Both white bulb and green stalk can be used like green onions or chives. Rubbing the crushed bulbs on exposed skin is said to keep mosquitoes, black flies and maybe even your travelling companions away. Nodding onion is commonly available throughout the province though toxic death camas looks deceptively similar to nodding onion to the uninitiated. To verify, crush a bit of the plant. Only the edible species gives off an unmistakable onion smell.
Illustration by Manami Kimura
What drives the home gardener mad is good news for the outback-bound as common plantain is common indeed. Young leaves can be eaten as is, like lettuce, while the more mature ones benefit from steaming or boiling like kale or spinach. Chop and season before eating. Common plantain is a good trail-side source of vitamins C, A and K. Much like aloe, a poultice of crushed plantain leaves is said to be a beneficial treatment for burns and insect stings.
Illustration by Manami Kimura
Forgot the tea bags and dying for a cuppa? Look around the camp. Chances are your drippy socks are draped over a Labrador tea bush. Steep the leaves, but not the socks, in boiled water for a tea that was enjoyed by more North American Indians than any other kind. Don’t actually boil the leaves however as boiling releases a chemical called ledol which has a number of unpleasant side effects. Pregnant women should avoid Labrador tea altogether. As a mild narcotic, Labrador tea was also an essential ingredient in kinnikinnik, a tobacco-less smoking mixture used by native groups throughout much of North America.
Illustration by Manami Kimura
Trees clustered together in the sub alpine stand a much better chance of surviving the harsh conditions. Called krumholtz, these tree islands are miniature ecosystems unto themselves, providing mutual protection against the elements while acting as a catch basin for moisture. A krumholtz provides habitat for lesser plant species as well as insects, birds and mammals big and small. Usually trees in the krumholtz, German for “crooked wood,” are old if not ancient, stunted by a short growing season, harsh weather and a paucity of nutrient-rich soil. Branches tend to flourish on the downwind side only.
Illustration by Manami Kimura
Roll in a patch of stinging nettle and you’ll think it’s a spelling mistake. Nettle’s stinging needles, as wispy as whiskers, are hollow and filled with formic acid which can cause burning, even blistering. Though aboriginal medicinal uses were various, the principle technological use was as a source of hemp-like fibre for making thread and string. Stalks were picked late in the year when prickles had largely dropped off. Fibres were separated by rubbing or beating and then spun into thin threads. Those in turn could be braided to form thicker, stronger twine for weaving fine cloth, making fish nets and fishing line and, rarely, string bikinis.
Illustration by Manami Kimura
This budding celebrity is popular enough to have been immortalized on license plates in four American states and one Canadian province, Alberta. Even before the Euro-invasion wild roses and their fruit, called “hips,” were a mainstay in the medicine chests of nearly every nation on the continent. Whether a cure-all or just sound nutrition, rose hips are indeed generously endowed with vitamin C as well as beta-carotene, vitamins E, B and K. While rose hips are widely available as commercial herbal teas and jams, the tough outer rind can be chewed as is at trailside. Just peel and separate from the seeds, prior to chomping. Add wild rose petals to outback salad for both colour and delicate flavour.
Illustration by Manami Kimura
Though not in themselves palatable, skunk cabbage leaves had a zillion uses around the aboriginal kitchen. The unusually large leaves were ideal for lining and covering containers, lining steam pits, making fruit leather and sun drying seafood. Bears are known to bung themselves up by ingesting copious quantities of mud just prior to settling in for that long winter nap. Come springtime they seek out the laxative properties of skunk cabbage to — stand back — flush the system.
Illustration by Manami Kimura