Bramble berries are members of the Aphanes, Fragaria, Potentilla, Rubus, and Sanguisorba genera in the Rosoideae subfamily of the rose family. They include some of the most familiar native edible fruits: strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries. The Rosoideae subfamily also includes roses. Other subfamilies within the rose family include pome fruits (such as apples and pears) and stone fruits (such as cherries and plums).
Because the native strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries have not been bred for maximum food production, their fruits tend to be smaller than the strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries sold in grocery stores. However, the taste is similar and in some cases arguably better than the fruits sold in grocery stores. In addition, many less familiar fruits taste just as good as the familiar ones. The Incredible Edibles page on the Las Pilitas Nursery website provides a guide to preparing unfamiliar native fruits and other edible plants.
Shrubs and Woody Vines
Pacific Blackberry
Pacific blackberry is a two- to three-foot-tall by twenty-foot-wide, white-flowering, deciduous vine that is native to Yuba County and typically grows at elevations below 4,500 feet. It can be distinguished from Himalayan blackberry and Eastern blackberry, both of which are invasive weeds, by the fact that its leaves have green undersides, not white, and its stems are round, not pentagonal. (See Donna M. Landerman's more detailed explanation below.) Pacific blackberry is most often found in canyons in central oak woodland, valley grassland, yellow pine forest, and riparian forest. It prefers full sun and is equally likely to grow in wetlands or non-wetlands. It attracts Western tanagers. Botanist Willis Linn Jepson collected Pacific blackberry along the Feather River west of Woodruff Lane in 1891.1
You can read more about it at the Theodore Payne Wiki, the Las Pilitas Nursery website, and USDA Conservation Plant Characteristics. You can find out where to buy it at the California Native Plant Link Exchange. You can see pictures of it at CalPhotos, Flickr, and Picasa.
Donna M. Landerman's column "A Drug Store in the Maidu's Back Yard," printed in the Territorial Dispatch on November 11, 2009, explains how to distinguish native blackberry bushes from invasive ones and how the Nisenan people traditionally collected and ate them:
| Blackberries, Wah'-sem-du. There are three different kinds of blackberries in the foothills, two introduced species and one native. The introduced ones are Himalayan blackberry and the Eastern blackberry. It's easy to tell these two from our native California blackberry. If the underside of the leaf is white, it's Himalayan. If the underside of the leaf is green, and stem is five-sided with large thorns, it's Eastern blackberry. If the leaf is divided into three parts and its underside is green, and the stem is round with many small thorns, it's Californian. |
| The Nisenan were just as fond of them as we are, collecting them in special baskets hung around the neck so both hands were free to pick. Berries could be dried, pulverized and formed into cakes or made into a refreshing drink. |
Western Raspberry
Western raspberry (Rubus leucodermis) laden with berries. Photo by queerbychoice. Western raspberry (also called whitestem raspberry) is a three- to five-foot-tall by ten- to twenty-foot-wide, white-flowering, sometimes climbing, deciduous shrub that is native to Yuba County and typically grows at elevations below 7,000 feet. It is most often found in canyons and on rocky slopes in yellow pine forest. It prefers full sun. It attracts Western tanagers.
You can read more about it at the Theodore Payne Wiki, the Las Pilitas Nursery website, and USDA Conservation Plant Characteristics. You can find out where to buy it at the California Native Plant Link Exchange. You can see pictures of it at CalPhotos, Flickr, and Picasa.
Perennial Herbs
Western Lady's Mantle
Western lady's mantle is an annual or perennial herb that is native to Yuba and Sutter counties and typically grows at elevations below 2,000 feet. It is found in central oak woodland and valley grassland.
You can see pictures of it at CalPhotos, Flickr, and Picasa.
Sticky Cinquefoil
Sticky cinquefoil (also called glandular five-finger) is a one- to two-foot-tall by two- to five-foot-wide, yellow-flowering, deciduous perennial herb that is native to Yuba and Sutter counties and typically grows at elevations below 12,500 feet. It is found in yellow pine forest and riparian forest. It prefers partial shade and moderate to good drainage. It is equally likely to grow in wetlands or non-wetlands.
You can read more about it at the Theodore Payne Wiki, the Las Pilitas Nursery website, and USDA Conservation Plant Characteristics. You can find out where to buy it at the California Native Plant Link Exchange. You can see pictures of it at CalPhotos, Flickr, and Picasa.
Woodland Strawberry
Woodland strawberry (Fragaria vesca) in a garden in Marysville. Photo by queerbychoice. Woodland strawberry is very common in Strawberry Valley and gives the town its name. It is a six- to eight-inch-tall, white-flowering, evergreen perennial herb that is native to Yuba County and typically grows at elevations between 100 and 6,500 feet. It is found in yellow pine forest. It prefers partial shade.
You can read more about it at the Theodore Payne Wiki and the Las Pilitas Nursery website. You can find out where to buy it at the California Native Plant Link Exchange. You can see pictures of it at CalPhotos, Flickr, and Picasa.
Western Burnet
Western burnet is an annual or perennial herb that is native to Yuba County and typically grows at elevations between 2,500 and 6,500 feet. It is found in yellow pine forest.
You can see pictures of it at CalPhotos, Flickr, and Picasa.
