Thimbleberry

Hul’q’umi’num: t’uqwum’
SENĆOŦEN: DEḰEṈ IȽĆ
Diitiidʔaaʔtx̣: ʔicsiycapt
Latin: Rubus parviflorus

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Description: A shrub growing up to 2.5 metres tall, it features bright green, maple-like leaves covered in soft fuzz that alternate up a smooth stem. The flowers are white with five petals. The bright red berries form a distinctive shallow dome.

Harvest and Sustainability: Young thimbleberry shoots are best harvested in early spring before they reach 30 cm tall. The berries ripen in late spring. Look for them in sunny, open habitats such as clearings, shorelines, roadside edges, avalanche tracks, or open red alder forests.

Uses: The young shoots can be eaten raw; simply peel the stems from the ground up to enjoy the soft, sweet center.

The berries are delicious fresh when they turn bright red, or they can be dried into cakes for winter storage.

The leaves can be brewed into tea, or dried, crushed, and applied as a poultice to burns to minimize scarring.

Additionally, boiled bark is traditionally used as an ingredient in soap making.