Question for the edible plants experts and maybe an environmental specialist

jca21

jca21

Joined
Apr 12, 2006
Messages
3,188
So i finally got some time off and decided to go hiking.

along the way i encountered some interesting plants.

there were a crazy load of salmonberries around so i snacked on those while i hiked up the trail. i also came across blueberries (i think i identified them correctly), but didnt eat them as i wasnt sure (checked in my field guide when i got home).

shot of the blueberries(?):
IMG00045-20090627-1319.jpg


however, i did come across one berry that i couldnt find in my field guide and was wondering if some of the experts here could help me figure it out.

IMG00040-20090627-1114.jpg


IMG00041-20090627-1115.jpg


also i've been noticing a ton of these berries on my walks with my dog and couldnt find it in my guide as well.

IMG00039-20090625-1518.jpg


IMG00038-20090625-1514.jpg


i also came across these pea pod looking plants (covered in hair) while i was walking my dog.

IMG00037-20090625-1510.jpg


IMG00036-20090625-1510.jpg


sorry for the crappy cell-phone pics, my cameras out being borrowed :)

also my hike ended at a waterfall area and i noticed a very large amount of white foam gathering in the rocks, the water looked sort of scummy in places where the water wasnt flowing as fast.

IMG00042-20090627-1221.jpg


IMG00043-20090627-1221.jpg


i've drank water from this area (purified with a steripen) and havent gotten sick from it but i'd really like to know whats causing all this foam to appear.

thanks in advance

JC.
 
definitely blueberries.

Steer clear of the pea looking stuff, for some reason it tripped my "DO NOT EAT" flag in my head.
 
yeah i dont plan on eating the pea lookin stuff. was just curious as to what it was.
 
yeah, those do look like red elderberries now that i've looked it up. thanks RR
 
i didnt plan on eating the red elderberries, was just curious as to what it was. expanding my bushcraft knowledge and all :D

still curious as to whats causing that foam.
 
The foam could be just a high level of natural organic substance in the water - not necessarily bad. But if there's much industry or agriculture upstream of you, I'd be real careful about drinking it.

I used to live next to a river with tea colored water in northern Canada, which would get this kind of foam in some situations - but it was absolutely fine to drink, with no treatment.
 
its a waterfall on the side of a mountain. no industry/agriculture development around for miles.

the water is definetly tea colored like you described it grampa.

and i've drank the water a few times with no ill effects so i guess it is possible that there is a high concentration of organic matter in the water.

thanks for the tip
 
The 'tea color' is typically (at least down here) the result of tannins in the water. Tannic acid is found in quite a bit of organic matter. I am only a beginner in the enviro sci world, but I seem to remember being taught that, as organic matter like trees degrade, they release considerable amounts of tannic acid into the water.
 
thanks dougo, the info is appreciated.


anyone have any idea what the second set of berries i posted is?
 
jca21 said:
thanks dougo, the info is appreciated.


anyone have any idea what the second set of berries i posted is?
Click to expand...

This one?

IMG00040-20090627-1114.jpg


Or this one?

I could if I had my dichotomous key here at work, but I don't so I will try when I get home at 0800. If you have a chance to post clearer pics, it would help a great deal. Unless, of course, DOC CANADA chimes in. :D

IMG00038-20090625-1514.jpg
 
jca21 said:
yep,

the other one is red elderberries as identified by RR.

yeah it'd be really cool if doc can chime in. and unfortunatly i don't have any clearer pics to work with.
Click to expand...

Hey jca, I don't live in BC and you guys have your own bunch of plants, different than what we have here. However, your picture reminds me of Euonymus spp. (commonly referred to as Wahoo, and Burning Bush).

Some things that help: are the leaves opposite or alternate? (they look opposite in your picture), a good picture of the leaves showing the venation and the margin (leaf edge), size and shape of the leaves, size of the shrub/tree, is it woody or herbaceous, location of the fruit (in the axils or terminal), etc, etc. Not to be critical, but to identify a plant from a single picture, that isn't the best, can be problematic.

Doc
 
see this is exactly the kinda info i needed, being a noob at plants and all.

thanks doc, and everyone else who contributed. i think i'll head back to that trail sometime this week and snap more pictures with an actual camera.

cheers
 
jca21...you reference a field guide, does it have a dichtomous key in it? That is the most useful thing I have ever found...my ecology and botany professors required them
 
no unfortunatly it doesnt,

the guide i have is called "edible wild plants: a north american field guide" by elias and dykeman.

do you guys have any other suggestions for field guides?
 
I don't have a solid list off-hand, I will look online and see what I can come up with. One thing my prof told us was to get as specific as possible to our area of concern. North America is pretty broad, so you can expect a great deal to be left out. For example, when I did my ecology course in the Pacific Northwest a month or so ago, I had specific guides for the Redwood Forest, Oregon Coast, etc. I tried to get as narrow a focus as possible...
 
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