Seeds to watch for in the 2009-2010 exchange

[Rodger Whitlock]

Might be nice for those of who contribute to the seed exchange to say a few words about our more offbeat contributions, no?

Here's one of mine:

Sambucus caerulea

This is an elderberry with pale blue fruit, due to a dense bloom on the surface. Inside, they're as dark as any edible elderberry. I don't know if the fruit are edible or not.

It's a plant that is supposed to be much more common on the east side of the Cascade Mountains (i.e. in very dry territory). Heretofore, the only plants of it I knew on Vancouver Island were at Nanaimo , a sunny open site probably with thin soil that goes quite dry in summer. Yes, I've been known to pull over onto the shoulder and pick the berries in the past.

This past Tuesday I had driven to Nanaimo and on the way home found a fine specimen of Sambucus caerulea on the outskirts of Duncan, BC , a site that surprised me because it's quite cool and damp.  It was loaded with dense racemes of ripe fruit, so there will be plenty for anyone interested in such a thing.

No, it's not really a rock garden plant, not by any stretch of the definition, but some might be interested. In its own way, a well-fruited specimen puts on quite a show in the late summer and autumn before the birds eat the berries.

And who knows? Perhaps someone among our number is breeding elderberry cultivars.

[Stephenb]

We're a diverse lot, many with specialist interests, and certainly not limited to "rock garden/alpine plants". The first society I joined some years ago now was NARGS on the recommendation of a leading North American herbalist who told me that the seed list had many unusual hard to get herbs.  He was absolutely right! I would personally like to see your Sambucus caerulea seed listed (I saw this fruiting recently in the Uppsala (Sweden) botanics, see Flowering now thread shortly). Yes, it is edible, seems to be considered to be the best of the North American native elderberries and seems also to be officially a subspecies, Sambucus nigra ssp cerulea (see http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=SANIC5 )

[Lesley Cox]

It looks very attractive. I guess the blue is a "bloom" on the fruit?

[Rodger Whitlock]

It looks very attractive. I guess the blue is a "bloom" on the fruit?

Yes. The dense clusters of sky-blue fruit are very striking, as colorful as any flowering plant. I suspect that it's not all that uncommon along the east coast of Vancouver Island. There are other plants mostly found east of the Cascade Mountains (dry territory) that also crop up sporadically along the e. coast of VI, notably Ribes lobbii. Its flowers resemble nothing so much as those of a fuchsia. I'll have to go hunting - I was once shown one growing west of Victoria.

[Stephenb]

Ribes lobbii was offered in the SRGC list around 2004-5 - I have a couple of plants from those seed

[Susan]

Stephen, have you had fruit off them yet?  I was wondering what it tasted like.  I have just bought a plant and hopefully I have attached the photo of the flower.

Thanks,

Susan.

[Stephenb]

No, probably a couple of more years will do it if it survives...

The Gummy Gooseberry gets the following not very encouraging write-up in Turner's "Food Plants of Coastal First Peoples" (publ. Vancouver):
Generally considered to be unpalatable, but they were occasionally eaten by some native North American Indian tribes

The flowers look like they would be nice decoration on a salad though!

[Rodger Whitlock]

The Gummy Gooseberry gets the following not very encouraging write-up in Turner's "Food Plants of Coastal First Peoples" (publ. Vancouver):
Generally considered to be unpalatable, but they were occasionally eaten by some native North American Indian tribes

Bear in mind that famine was an ever-present threat to native peoples along the Pacific Coast. Though the practice was to prepare fish and fruits during the summer to sustain life during the winter, it was not uncommon for the stored supplies to run out before there was much new growth. Hence, during times of late winter famine, even the young shoots of Rubus spectabilis, the salmonberry, would be eaten. David Douglas got caught in such a famine in Oregon during his botanical explorations, one year.

When it's a choice between starvation and eating the unpalatable, the former wins hands down.

Also, Ribes lobbii is (as has been mentioned) more common in the dry territory east of the Cascades where there wasn't (couldn't be) the same dependence on marine wildlife - fish, seals, whales, et al - as along the coast proper. Although salmon runs went far, far up the rivers, I don't know to what extent the salmon were a major food source away from the saltchuck.

[Paul T]

Rodger,

You really do like your food to taste nice, don't you.  You'd choose starvation over unpalatable "hands down"!!   

Yes, I realise that it is a slight mistake, but it does bring a slight chuckle here to an otherwise murky and drizzly (but not decent rain of course, just murky and drizzly) afternoon!     Thank you kindly!!