Wild Food

The pacific northwest strawberry.

The pacific northwest strawberry.

Vanilla Leaf - nature’s bug repellant

Miner’s Lettuce - the lettuce of the Salish Sea

Salmonberry flavours range from bright, fruity, and citrusy to deep and earthy.

Qwa’pulhp is one of the most powerful and widely respected medicinal plants found along the B.C. coast.

This common aquatic plant is a staple food for many Coast Salish Nations.

Camas is native to the endangered Garry Oak ecosystem, primarily found in the Gulf Islands and southern Vancouver Island.

Historically used by Coast Salish Peoples for medicinal purposes, though it can be toxic if not prepared properly.

Nodding Onion (Allium cernuum) is a native perennial herb with slender, grass-like leaves and drooping clusters of pink to white bell-shaped flowers. Found in open woods and rocky slopes, it emits a mild onion scent.

Labrador tea holds deep cultural and medicinal significance among Coast Salish peoples. Traditionally, it has been used as a remedy for colds and sore throats. The leaves are often brewed into a tea, valued for it’s healing properties.

Turkey tail mushrooms are small (1-4 inch) shelf mushrooms that grow from decaying deciduous and conifers logs. The tops of their caps are hairy but smooth, and beautifully striped with just about any colour!

Overall Shaggy Parasols are delicious and one of my favorite edible mushrooms. They have a beautiful texture and flavor, almost meaty, and are of course filled with vitamins and minerals from the forest.

The oyster mushroom arranges itself as shelves growing off dead trees, usually deciduous, Red Alder (Alnus rubra) being the most common host in the Salish area environments.

Morels are a fire-loving fungi, meaning you will likely find them in burnt forests most abundantly in the spring following a summer fire season, however, it is possible to find them outside of burns in the spring.

You will find chanterelles growing from the ground, in a variety of different shapes and sizes but usually with caps 2-6 inches in size. They may be bright yellow-orange (Cantharellus cibarius) or white-soft pink (Cantharellus subalbidus).