Edible Wild Berries

By: Robert Penziol

High in antioxidants, vitamins, and nutrients Organically grown, not genetically

engineered Survival

Benefits

Appears in late summer and autumn

Ripe berries are black Grow on a bush Toothed, thorny,

compound leaves Clustered berries Small drupelets No poisonous

look-alikes

Blackberries/Dewberries

Yellow, white, purple, red, black No branches Bent over cane (stem of the plant)

Toothed, hairy leaves Clustered berries Small drupelets Prevent cancer

Rubus idaeus - Raspberries

Rubus spectabilis - Salmonberries

Large flowers Yellow, orange or deep

red Small drupelets Resembles a large

yellow to orange-red raspberry 1.5–2 cm long 

Ripen June to August

Rubus parviflorus - Thimbleberries

Can be found at high altitude Larger, flatter, and softer than raspberries Dark red Patches of deciduous forests Eight inches diameter, hand-shaped leaves Later in the summer or into early autumn

Yellow, green, purple, red, pink, white

Usually have thorns Tart flavor Size: pea-small egg

Ribes uva-crispa - Wild-gooseberry

Vaccinium parvifolium – Red Huckleberry

Grow on shrubs, rootstocks, runners or perennial plants

Red to dark blue berry, 8mm in diameter Ripen in late August Simple, toothed leaves

Amelanchier alnifolia- Juneberry

Shrub, often grows in colonies White flowers, 2-3cm across Purple fruit Ripen in early summer

Evergreen shrub Often only 1ft tall Toothed, waxy, dark, glossy

leaves White, fuzzy berries Purple when ripe

Gaultheria shallon – Salal

Mahonia aquifolium - Oregon grape

Evergreen shrub, similar to holly

Found in partly sunny to full shaded, woody areas

Leaflets in groups of 5, 9, and 13

Small yellow flowers Ripen in late summer and fall Berries are in blue-black

clusters, frosted appearance

Ribes nigrum - Currant

Ripen in late summer Bush appearing to be a clump of many

different stems Alternately-spaced, lobed, toothed, pale

green leaves Berries grow in clusters of chains Can be red or black

Red Baneberry

Poisonous Berries Ivy

Yew

Pokeweed

Found in Forests, meadows, riverbanks, abandoned

fields and rural roadsides

Black and blue berries - yes Red and white - no No guaranteed easy method Consult a guidebook for local berries Never eat a berry without absolute certainty