By Johnny Caryopsis
It's late afternoon, in the third week of July.
The temperature's 28C. The sun's high and there's not a
cloud in the sky. I stink of bug spray and BO, my hair's
matted with sweat, and my knees and back won't straighten
out properly for another 20 minutes. But I couldn't be
happier, because my pail is brim full of blueberries! Yes,
blueberries, the undisputed king of Manitoba's summer
fruits! A 4-litre pail in an hour, that's pretty good. Time
to head back to the cottage, then to the beach for a
refreshing dip.
The
"fruits" of my efforts!
For me, there's nothing that beats the
satisfaction of harvesting one of nature's great bounties,
in the form of wild fruits and berries. Forget
long-traveled, fancy-packaged, store-bought stuff. Give me
right-off-the-plant berries! Yes, I know, a wild strawberry
is only about the size of the tip of my finger, and wild
blueberries come in different sizes and you have to clean
the bugs, bits of leaves and unripe berries out of them. So
what! They're free, they're fun to pick, and they're
delicious. Say what you will about the size and shape, but
you can't beat wild berries for taste.
Heaven,
in my eyes!
Manitoba is blessed with a veritable smorgasbord
of summer fruits. Wherever you are in this province there's
one kind of fruit or another - and usually several - free
for the taking from June 'til September. Most of you, I
hope, are familiar with blueberries, at least. (Really, if
you're a Manitoban and have never picked blueberries, then
you haven't lived!) How about wild plum, saskatoon,
strawberry, raspberry, pin cherry, chokecherry, sand cherry,
gooseberry, wild black currant, high bush cranberry.....?
The list is quite a lengthy one and together they make up a
fruit and berry banquet, just waiting to be nibbled. Whether
you just like a quick taste sensation on a morning walk or
are into bagging bucketfuls for the freezer, Manitoba's
summer fruits are there for the taking. What's that you say:
"Leave them for the birds and bears!" Oh, please! Don't give
me that. The birds, bears, foxes, wasps, ants and all the
other critters have the whole forest to feed in. It's OK to
be a little greedy when it comes to berry picking. And if
people can get something they want from the land, leave it
the way it is, and come back year after year for harvest
after harvest, maybe they'll value their wild places a
little more. That can't be bad.
Enough
wild strawberries for a bowl of cereal!
So, here's a little primer on Manitoba's summer fruits. I put
together a list of the various wild fruits (and I'm using "fruit" in
the non-botanical sense, to mean a soft-bodied fruit like an apple or
plum) and berries available in our province, and some background on
the more familiar ones. But first, ...ooh, you guessed it...another
botany lesson!
FRUITS AND BERRIES
101
What is a fruit? What is a berry? I bet you think
you know this! Ha! As with all things botanical, common
everyday-English terms for plants and their parts have
little to do with the underlying biology. Botanists are
picky and they revel in jargon and unique terminology that
would make even a civil servant blanch. So here's some
definitions. You may want to refer to the flower structure
diagram below.
Ovary: The carpel is the female
reproductive organ in plants. It consists of a stigma, stalk
and ovary. The ovary is the structure at the base of the
carpel where the ovules (similar to eggs in animals) are
contained.
Seed: A structure, developed from the
mature ovule (after fertilization from a pollen nucleus),
comprised of a seed coat, an embryo and usually endosperm
(food for the embryo). Endosperm forms most of what we're
eating when we chow down on corn on the cob, a bowl of rice
or a loaf of bread (made from crushed wheat grains).
Fruit: Can be defined as simply as the
seed-bearing part of the plant. It is more commonly used as
a term to describe a mature ovary containing the seeds of
the plant. Botanically, "fruit" is a much broader term than
what it tends to define in common language. The pod of a pea
(the legume) is a fruit, as is the samara (a winged
seed-bearing structure) of an ash tree. Most of what we call
fruits are really berries, drupes or pomes. Fruits may be
"simple", where they develop from one carpel or several
fused carpels (examples would be blueberry or grape);
"aggregate", where each carpel from a single flower develops
into a separate part of the overall fruit (examples would be
raspberry or strawberry); and "multiple", where all the
carpels of more than one flower on a plant produce a single
fruit (an example would be pineapple).
Berry: A fleshy fruit comprised of one
to several carpels, each of which usually has many seeds.
The inner layer of the fruit coat, surrounding the seeds, is
fleshy. (Examples would be tomato, blueberry or grape.)
Drupe: A fleshy fruit comprised of one
to several carpels, each of which usually has a single,
large seed. The inner coat of the fruit is woody or stony
and fixed tightly to the seed. (Examples would be plum or
cherry; fruits with a "pit".)
Pome: A fleshy fruit where the fleshy
part is derived from the perianth, the structure that
normally surrounds the base of a flower. This is a
specialized type of fruit that only some members of the rose
family produce. (Examples would be apple and hawthorn.)
WHY DO PLANTS PRODUCE
FRUITS?
What purpose do fruits and berries serve? We know
they're good for us to eat, but how is that serving the
almighty master of all plant species, natural selection
(evolution). This answer is actually fairly simple and
straightforward. Just as plants produce showy and scented
flowers to enlist insects and other animals (bats,
hummingbirds, etc.) to aid in passing their pollen from one
plant to another, so too do they enlist the help of animals
to distribute their seeds. Plants invest considerable
amounts of energy and other resources producing fleshy
fruits to ensure that their seeds get eaten. Fruits and
berries are often eaten whole, especially by birds and
mammals, to which the fleshy part represents the desired
food object. The hard seeds contained within the fruit pass
through the animal's digestive tract unharmed and are
deposited far from the parent plant with a healthy dose of
fertilizer, to boot! There are many plants with seeds that
will not germinate unless they have passed through an
animal's gut. The physical and acid scouring that the seed
coat endures is necessary to prepare it to allow germination
to occur. This requirement for "digestive scarification" has
forged a bound between many plants and the animals that feed
on their fruits. Coevolution and synergy are everywhere in
nature. So, when you talk about what a bear does in the
woods, another euphemism might be "planting
blueberries"!
MANITOBA'S SUMMER
FRUITS
There are more than 40 species of native Manitoba plants that
produce edible fruits or berries. Most of these are obscure, uncommon
or not commonly used by people. Modern people make regular use of only
a handful of these species, though early aboriginal people likely made
use of them all. Here's a list of most, if not all, of the fruit or
berry bearing plants of Manitoba that are considered edible.
In the list, I've given the kind and size of fruit each plant
has. Most of our "fruits and berries" fit into one of the three latter
categories: berry, drupe or pome; but, of course, not all our fruits
nest so nicely into one or another categories. Where necessary some
additional definitions are included. Fruit sizes referred to below are
the largest diameter of the individual fruit: Small = 5-7 mm, Medium
= 10-20 mm, Large = 25-40 mm. The list is in taxonomic order; that is,
the families of plants are listed in ascending order of evolutionary
complexity. Within each family the species are arranged alphabetically,
by scientific name.
MANITOBA'S EDIBLE FRUITS AND BERRIES
|
Saxifrage Family
(Saxifragaceae)
- Wild Black Currant
(Ribes
americanum)
- - small black berry
- Skunkberry (Ribes
glandulosum)
- - small red berry
- Northern Black Currant
(Ribes
hudsonianum)
- - small black berry
- Swamp Gooseberry
(Ribes
lacustre)
- - small reddish-gold berry
- Northern Gooseberry
(Ribes
oxyacanthoides)
- - medium sized purple berry
- Swamp Red Currant
(Ribes
rubrum)
- - small red berry
Rose Family
(Rosaceae)
- Saskatoon
(Amelanchier
alnifolia)
- - small to medium, dark blue pome
- Eastern Serviceberry
(Amelanchier
sanguinea)
- - small to medium, dark blue pome
- Round-Leaved Hawthorn
(Crataegus
rotundifolia)
- - medium, red-skinned pome
- Long-Spined Hawthorn
(Crataegus
succulenta)
- - medium, red-skinned pome
- American Wild Strawberry
(Fragaria
vesca)
- - small, fleshy receptacle (see
below)
- Smooth Wild Strawberry
(Fragaria
virginiana)
- - small, fleshy receptacle (see
below)
- American Plum
(Prunus
americana)
- - large drupe with reddish skin
- Canada Plum (Prunus
nigra)
- - large drupe with reddish skin
- Pin Cherry (Prunus
pensylvanica)
- - small, bright red drupe
- Low Sand Cherry
(Prunus
pumila)
- - medium, purplish drupe
- Red-Fruited Choke Cherry
(Prunus
virginiana)
- - small, red drupe
- Black-Fruited Choke Cherry
(Prunus virginiana var.
melanocarpa)
- - small, black drupe
- Prickly Rose (Rosa
acicularis)
- - medium orange-red "hip" (a berry-like
enlarged calyx tube)
- Low Prairie Rose
(Rosa
arkansana)
- - medium orange-red "hip" (a berry-like
enlarged calyx tube)
- Smooth Rose (Rosa
blanda)
- - medium orange-red "hip" (a berry-like
enlarged calyx tube)
- Wood's Rose (Rosa
woodsii)
- - medium orange-red "hip" (a berry-like
enlarged calyx tube)
- Stemless Raspberry
(Rubus
acaulis)
- - medium red berry formed from many
fleshy drupelets
- Cloudberry (Rubus
chamaemorus)
- - medium orange berry formed from many
fleshy drupelets
- Wild Red Raspberry
(Rubus
idaeus)
- - medium red berry formed from many
fleshy drupelets
- Dewberry (Rubus
pubescens)
- - medium red berry formed from many
fleshy drupelets
- Western Mountain Ash
(Sorbus
americana)
- - small bright orange berry in tight
bunches
Grape Family
(Vitaceae)
- Riverbank Grape
(Vitis
riparia)
- - small dark blue to black berry in
grape-like clusters
Cactus Family
(Cactaceae)
- Purple Cactus (Mamillaria vivipara)
- - large fleshy green berry
Oleaster Family
(Elaeagnaceae)
- Buffaloberry
(Sheperdia
argentea)
- - small red drupe-like fruit
- Canada Buffaloberry
(Sheperdia
canadensis)
- - small red drupe-like fruit
Ginseng Family
(Araliaceae)
- Wild Sarsaparilla
(Aralia
nudicaulis)
- - small black berry in spherical
clusters
Dogwood Family (Cornaceae)
- Red-Osier Dogwood
(Cornus
alba)
- - small white drupe in tight bunches
- Bunchberry (Cornus
canadensis)
- - small white drupe in tight bunches
Heath Family
(Ericaceae)
- Bearberry
(Arctostaphylos
uva-ursi)
- - small red berry
Huckleberry Family
(Vacciniaceae)
- Swamp Cranberry
(Oxycoccus
palustris)
- - small dark red berry
- Low Sweet Blueberry
(Vaccinium
angustifolium)
- - small dark blue berry
- Dwarf Bilberry
(Vaccinium
caespitosum)
- - small dark blue berry, in small
clusters
- Common Blueberry
(Vaccinium
myrtilloides)
- - small dark blue berry, in small
clusters
- Bog Whortleberry
(Vaccinium
scoparium)
- - small red berry
- Dry-Ground Cranberry
(Vaccinium
vitis-idaea)
- - small dark red berry
Potato Family
(Solanaceae)
- Prairie Ground Cherry
(Physalis
virginiana)
- - medium orange berry
Honeysuckle family
(Caprifoliaceae)
- Western Snowberry
(Symphoricarpos
occidentalis)
- - small white berry, in small
clusters
- Low-Bush Cranberry
(Viburnum
edule)
- - small red drupe
- Nannyberry
(Viburnum
lentago)
- - small black drupe
- High-Bush Cranberry
(Viburnum
opulus)
- - small red drupe
|
MORE ON OUR FAVOURITE FRUITS
Of the more than 40 fruiting plants listed above
it's easy to single out a few that most of us recognize and
that draw the most attention come pickin' season. While the
king of the hill is undoubtedly the blueberry, most of us
would also be familiar with raspberry, strawberry,
saskatoon, pin cherry and choke cherry. But, how much do you
really know about these berries and the plants that produce
them? Well, hopefully, by the time you've finished this
article, you'll know a bit more. While it's true that
greater knowledge may not make the berries taste any better,
it may help you to better appreciate the plants that make
these summer treats for us.
The fruits detailed in this section are the most
sought-after of our summer fruits. A tip to bear in mind
when you're after any of these fruits is to stick to
openings or the forest edge. Plants need energy, in the form
of sunlight, to make lots of flowers, seeds and fruits. The
shade of the forest canopy greatly reduces the productivity
of all these plants. The forest edge, along trails, or
wherever the plants have better access to sunlight will be
the best place to hunt for fruits and berries. Large scale
removal of the larger trees in a forest, by fire or logging
can greatly improve the fortunes of berry pickers.
Sorry, but I didn't include any recipes for jams
and jellies. There are lots of resources out there on this
subject, though. A particularly good one is the book:
Edible Wild Fruits of Canada by N. Turner and A.
Szczawinski, published in 1979 by the National Museum of
Natural Science, Ottawa.
Our Favourites:
IN CLOSING
As I mentioned earlier, berry picking is a good
thing. It gets us in touch with the land and reminds us
that, ultimately, all our food comes from the land.
Nowadays, most of us pick for fun, but there was a time when
all our ancestors harvested wild fruits to help stay alive.
So take your kids out berry pickin'! Get them in touch with
the land, and teach them to respect the land, that which
gives us all life.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Some of the information in this article
was drawn from the following publications.
Budd's Flora of the Canadian Prairie Provinces,
by J. Looman and K. Best. 1987. Research Branch,
Agriculture Canada Publication 1662.
Biology of Plants, 2nd Edition. 1971. By P. Raven,
R. Evert and H. Curtis. Worth Publishers, Inc.
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