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Oh man, the strawberries here in BC are incredible. They appear in the woods and various other areas, usually in small patches with relatively few berries. But

Oh man, the strawberries here in BC are incredible. They appear in the woods and various other areas, usually in small patches with relatively few berries. But they make up for their scarcity with flavour. It’s exceptional. If you head into any alpine terrain in mid September you will find endless huckleberry (red and black), bog and alpine blueberries, and various others. They’re all absolutely incredible. I head into the mountains (usually via Strathcona provincial park’s various southern access points) this time of year to collect buckets upon buckets for my freezer. Nothing in a store compares. Even fresh farmed blueberries, which are really nice here, are almost disappointing compared to the varieties that have grown along the slopes of the mountains. They’re such a treat. You do have to work for them, though.

xeromal 2y ago
I grew up in appalachia so our mountain produce is a little different but my favorite wild treat would be the muscadine (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitis_rotundifolia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitis_rotundifolia). A wild mountain grape that has a hard skin but fantastic flavor. We make wine and jam out of them too but I love just eating a whole basket. We also have wild blackberries and blueberries and we have a sugar cane type plant called sorghum that makes a really rich smokey syrup that goes great on biscuits.
- steve_adams_86 2y ago
  That's so fascinating! I know nothing about native species around there. Muscadine sounds awesome from reading about it. I'd love to have something like that around here. Sorghum is such a great food. I wish it was easier to access here as well. As a cereal it's incredibly nutritious, much more so than what's commonly available, but it's rare to see it in any form at all. "Rich smoky syrup" sounds nice too. Is it made from boiling the grains, or for the stalks/canes?
  - xeromal 2y ago
    To make it, you crush the stalks and then boil the juice until it has a consistency of molasses. https://imgur.com/a/yVTCvep https://imgur.com/a/yVTCvep Here's a pic I took of a jar I recently got from a neighbor. You should really try some muscadines. They're a great fruit in season and even frozen.
dendrite9 2y ago
From your reply to me up above I'd guess you've probably checked out the sundew bog next to Campbell lake? We did a couple of the short hikes this summer on a quick day trip exploring the island, next year we're going back to see more. The saprophytic plants near Karst creek were cool to search for too.
- steve_adams_86 2y ago
  No, I haven't! I had no idea they're there. Thanks for mentioning it! I don't have plans to go that way soon, but I will eventually. Do you know what the best season for them is? I'm guessing they're perennial and not great to check out in fall? This sounds awesome.
  - dendrite9 2y ago
    For the saprophytes I don't know if they have a seasonal pattern. Truly I don't know much about them at all. The sundews I grow tend to die back in the fall, so it might be coming to the end of their season soon. We were there in June. There are 2 species of sundews there that I saw, they look similar but if you get close to the ground you can see there are different heights/shapes and I think they tend to catch different insects as a result. Drosera anglica and rotundifolia. There's also pinguicula vulgaris that's carnivourous and has a purple flower. I want to say we saw sundews somewhere else on our trip, maybe out towards the coast like Ucluelet or Port Renfrew area?
    - steve_adams_86 2y ago
      I’ve been deep diving on this since your comment. Did you maybe see some at the bog near tofino? That’s a popular one in the general area of Ucluelet that seems promising. I have no idea why I hadn’t considered looking for these kinds of plants on the island, but thanks again! I’ve got heaps of places to check out over the next year or two. I’m absolutely stoked!
      - dendrite9 2y ago

xeromal 2y ago

I grew up in appalachia so our mountain produce is a little different but my favorite wild treat would be the muscadine (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitis_rotundifolia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitis_rotundifolia). A wild mountain grape that has a hard skin but fantastic flavor. We make wine and jam out of them too but I love just eating a whole basket. We also have wild blackberries and blueberries and we have a sugar cane type plant called sorghum that makes a really rich smokey syrup that goes great on biscuits.

steve_adams_86 2y ago
That's so fascinating! I know nothing about native species around there. Muscadine sounds awesome from reading about it. I'd love to have something like that around here. Sorghum is such a great food. I wish it was easier to access here as well. As a cereal it's incredibly nutritious, much more so than what's commonly available, but it's rare to see it in any form at all. "Rich smoky syrup" sounds nice too. Is it made from boiling the grains, or for the stalks/canes?
- xeromal 2y ago
  To make it, you crush the stalks and then boil the juice until it has a consistency of molasses. https://imgur.com/a/yVTCvep https://imgur.com/a/yVTCvep Here's a pic I took of a jar I recently got from a neighbor. You should really try some muscadines. They're a great fruit in season and even frozen.

dendrite9 2y ago

From your reply to me up above I'd guess you've probably checked out the sundew bog next to Campbell lake? We did a couple of the short hikes this summer on a quick day trip exploring the island, next year we're going back to see more. The saprophytic plants near Karst creek were cool to search for too.

steve_adams_86 2y ago
No, I haven't! I had no idea they're there. Thanks for mentioning it! I don't have plans to go that way soon, but I will eventually. Do you know what the best season for them is? I'm guessing they're perennial and not great to check out in fall? This sounds awesome.
- dendrite9 2y ago
  For the saprophytes I don't know if they have a seasonal pattern. Truly I don't know much about them at all. The sundews I grow tend to die back in the fall, so it might be coming to the end of their season soon. We were there in June. There are 2 species of sundews there that I saw, they look similar but if you get close to the ground you can see there are different heights/shapes and I think they tend to catch different insects as a result. Drosera anglica and rotundifolia. There's also pinguicula vulgaris that's carnivourous and has a purple flower. I want to say we saw sundews somewhere else on our trip, maybe out towards the coast like Ucluelet or Port Renfrew area?
  - steve_adams_86 2y ago
    I’ve been deep diving on this since your comment. Did you maybe see some at the bog near tofino? That’s a popular one in the general area of Ucluelet that seems promising. I have no idea why I hadn’t considered looking for these kinds of plants on the island, but thanks again! I’ve got heaps of places to check out over the next year or two. I’m absolutely stoked!
    - dendrite9 2y ago