Salmonberry picking
Orcas swim for Salmon, I run for Salmonberries. You’ve probably heard of blackberries and raspberries but have you ever heard of a salmonberry. It might seem fishy, but it tastes like anything but. Salmonberries (Rubus spectabilis) inhabit the western coast of North America from southern Alaska down to northern California. Just like our other Rubus friends – like raspberries and blackberries - it has composite berries that are oh so sweet. Does it taste like Salmon? No! The colors of the berries lend its name as well as possibly its blooms The berry color runs from a bright yellowish orange to a dark red almost like a red raspberry and one of the in between colors looks exactly like delicious wild caught salmon meat hence the name salmonberry. They do taste delicious. Depending on how ripe they are they can taste tangy like a new raspberry or very sweet like a strawberry. I like the ones that aren’t so ripe that they fall on their own but come off easily when you pick them – yum!
The many colors of Salmonberries on the bush
Wanna know a secret? Here in the San Juan Islands they’re just starting to be ready! I like finding them along the trails in English Camp as a great mid-hike snack, but salmon berries love moist to wet areas both in forests and disturbed areas. Better look for them and get them quick before they’re gone, but don’t be too greedy because piling up these fragile berries too much will crush them all into a gross mushy substance. Currently if there are shrubs around they should be easy to spot as the grow in thickets and look for three serrated leaflets and of course the salmon colored berries. Happy Hunting!
Fun fact: Local PNW tribes associated the Salmonberry collection time with the arrival of the Swainson’s thrush (one of my favorite bird calls of all time) and call that bird Salmonberrybird in their own languages.
Naturalist Erick