Coastal BC Plants: Salmonberry

Salmonberry

Salmonberry buds ready to burst forth.

There are signs everywhere when spring arrives. On a quad ride we found beautiful bright pink (sometimes purple) salmonberry flowers just starting to open.

Soon they will bloom and the green leaves will emerge. Later they will have ripe orange-red berries to nourish humans and animals alike.

A lone salmonberry bush next to a creek.

Salmonberry plants (Rubus spectabilis) make a rambling bush up to four feet tall. They can make a huge wall of brambles if the conditions are right. This one on a rock riverbank is a standalone. They have small thorns, especially towards the bottom of the branches.

A ripening salmonberry.

The sawtooth edged leaves come in sets of three. The fruits come in yellow, salmon and dark red raspberry-like berries. You will find them in coastal regions from California to Alaska. First Nation people used the roots, leaves and berries for medicinal purposes and as a food source.

The berries are juicy, but sometimes bland in flavour. But that doesn't matter to the forest dwellers.

A ripe Salmonberry ready for eating.

As an early flowering and fruiting plant, it's a favourite with birds and animals. Hummingbirds are attracted to the brilliant flowers, small animals enjoy the tender leaves, and of course the bears love the ripe fruit after a long winter's nap.

I remember picking and eating Salmonberries as a child on camping trips with my parents. Those would have been California Salmonberries. Now I get to enjoy their British Columbian relatives. Do you have any fond Salmonberry memories? -- Margy