kids encyclopedia robot

Wild edible and medicinal plants of British Columbia facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts


Salal (Gaultheria shallon) Leaf and Flowers
Salal berries are a widely used fruit on the British Columbia coast. Salal berries were traditionally picked in late summer and eaten fresh or dried into cakes for winter

Many wild plants in British Columbia can be eaten or used as medicine. First Nations peoples have traditionally used these plants for thousands of years. They include seaweeds, roots, shoots, berries, and mushrooms. Many of these plants are still used today.

A Look Back: How Plants Were Used

Before European settlers arrived, native plants were a huge part of the diet for First Nations peoples in British Columbia. These plants were not just food; they were also important for ceremonies and trade.

Seaweed: Food from the Ocean

Seaweed has always been a very important food for many First Nations peoples along the coast of British Columbia. Families still visit the same seaweed beds that their ancestors used for thousands of years.

Gathering Seaweed

One popular type is dried red laver (Porphyra abbottiae Krishnamurthy). People usually gather a lot of laver in the spring, often in May. The exact time depends on the location and type of seaweed. Younger plants are best because older ones become too tough.

Traditionally, women gathered seaweed from canoes. They would pull seaweed from rocks until their canoes were full. Back on the beach, they piled it up, covered it, and then dried it on cedarwood frames for a few days. Sometimes, it was dried for one day and then moved to a smokehouse to finish. Lightly smoked seaweed had a special flavor!

Preparing Seaweed for Winter

The Kwakwakaʼwakw people had a special way to prepare red laver. They would cover the harvested seaweed and let it sit for 4-5 days. Then, they pressed it into wooden frames and dried it in the sun. These dried cakes were stored in cedar-wood boxes. They added layers of chiton juice and young red-cedar branches. The box was weighted down and left for about a month. This process was repeated four times! Finally, the cakes were stored for winter.

During winter feasts, these seaweed cakes were torn into strips, chopped, and boiled with water. Often, eulachon oil was added. The Haida people used a similar method, letting the seaweed ferment for a few days before drying it. Dried seaweed cakes were boiled or used in soups and stews. Today, a simpler way is to spread seaweed on rocks in the sun to dry. It's then broken into small pieces and stored. People eat it dry as a snack or cook it with other foods like fish or animal fat. Dried seaweed is also often traded between families and communities.

Roots, Sprouts, and Leaves

While berries and seaweeds are popular, root vegetables were also very important to First Nations food systems. They were used for food, ceremonies, and trade.

Honoring the Roots

Some nations held a special First Roots ceremony. This showed respect for the roots before the community started digging for them. Large amounts of roots were dried and traded. They were also kept as a "back-up" food during times when food was scarce.

For example, during summer, Stʼatʼimc, Nlaka'pamux, and Secwépemc women would dig the corms (like bulbs) of the yellow glacier lily (Erythronium grandiflorum). Families could gather over 2,000 pounds! These corms were cleaned and then steamed or cooked in a pit. Many yellow glacier lily roots were dried for later use or for trade.

Camas was another important root food in Southern BC. People from the Interior got camas through trade with communities in what is now northern Washington. Large camas beds on southern Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands were kept clear of other plants by regular clearing and burning. For the Kwakwakaʼwakw village of Haada, trading root vegetables like springbank clover (Trifolium wormskioldii) and silverweed was a big part of their local economy.

Arctostaphylos-uva-ursi
Kinnikinnick,(bearberry) leaves and berries

Berries: Sweet Treats from Nature

For thousands of years, over 30 types of berries have been gathered in British Columbia. They ripen from early summer to late fall, depending on the type and location. Berries were a key part of traditional knowledge. First Nations peoples knew when berries were ready by watching animals and plants. For example, the blooming of the wild rose told the Nlaka'pamux that soapberries were ready. The song of the Swainson's thrush meant salmonberries were ripe for many coastal groups.

'Indian Ice Cream'

Soapberries are very special and have a lasting taste. They contain natural chemicals called Saponins that allow them to be whipped into a frothy 'ice cream'. This was traditionally eaten in British Columbia. This 'Indian' ice cream was sometimes mixed with dried meat or served alone. Today, soapberries are even mixed with sugar and carbonated water as a natural soda. Berries are full of good things like vitamin C, fiber, and carbohydrates.

Common Berries Harvested

Here are some berries traditionally gathered in different parts of BC:

Fungi: Mushrooms and More

Puffball fungai
Puffball mushroom releasing spores. In the Sechelt language, Shashishalhem, their name translates as "star-excrement".

Even though there are many kinds of edible mushrooms in British Columbia, First Nations peoples on the Northwest Coast didn't eat many of them. Some coastal languages, like Haida, didn't even have a general word for "mushroom." In the Nuxalk language, the word for mushrooms means "hats-on-the-ground."

Special Mushroom Names

Sometimes, 'puffballs' are linked to stars. In the Sechelt (Shíshálh) language, their name means "star-excrement." In other areas, like among the Nlaka'pamux people, puffballs are linked to ghosts.

Puffballs and some tree fungi (polypores) were used as medicine by Interior Salish and other peoples. The Interior Salish did eat about six different types of mushrooms. Some Chilcotin people also ate certain types.

Why Not More Mushrooms?

It might seem surprising that so few mushrooms were eaten, especially since there are so many different kinds. One reason could be that it's hard to tell which ones are safe to eat and which are poisonous. However, First Nations peoples who did eat mushrooms knew about and had names for poisonous types. For example, the Nlaka'pamux people knew a group of "bad mushrooms." One was called "hole-in-the-top." They said if you ate it, your stomach would "swell up," and the only cure was to eat bear's grease.

Scientists have studied edible mushrooms in the Interior Salish area of British Columbia. They have confirmed four traditionally used species:

  • Cottonwood mushroom (Tricholoma populinum)
  • Oyster Mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus)
  • Pine mushroom (Tricholoma magnivelare)
  • Red Waxy Cap/Larch Waxy Cap (Hygrophorus speciosus)

Other types eaten by BC First Nations peoples include: Chanterelle (Cantharellus cibarius), Shelf Fungus (Ganoderma applanatum), Slippery-top (Hygrophorus gliocyclus), Morel (Morchella spp.), Jelly fungus (Tremella mesenterica), and St. George's mushroom (Tricholoma gambosum).

Some Safe Wild Mushrooms in British Columbia

Here is a list of some wild mushrooms considered safe to eat in British Columbia:

  • apricot jelly mushroom
  • bear's head tooth mushroom
  • black mole
  • blue chanterelle
  • cauliflower mushroom
  • chicken of the woods
  • comb tooth mushroom
  • common puffball
  • fairy ring mushroom
  • golden chanterelle
  • hedgehog mushroom
  • hexagonal-pored polypore
  • horn of plenty
  • horse mushroom
  • ink cap
  • jelly ear
  • king bolete
  • larch bolete
  • lion's mane
  • lobster mushroom
  • meadow mushroom
  • mica cap
  • oyster mushroom
  • red cracked bolete
  • rosy gomphidius
  • saffron milk cap
  • scaly hedgehog
  • shaggy mane
  • slimy spike cap
  • western giant puffball
  • yellow swamp russula
  • yellow-gilled russula

Most Common Traditional Plants

Here are some of the most important traditional plant foods used by First Nations peoples in British Columbia:

kids search engine
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
Wild edible and medicinal plants of British Columbia Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.