It's Berry Time in Maine

August 18, 2019

Speaking of "bounty around us," it's high berry season in Maine. You see pints of wild Blueberries for sale at farm stands along the roads everywhere.

Wild Blueberries in Maine

It's back-breaking work; wild Maine Blueberries are tiny and low to the ground, making it a challenge to pick more than a few. I was spoiled by the high-bush Blueberries I used to encounter while kayaking the lakes of New Hampshire: you could reach up and harvest berries by the handful, gobbling them down while paddling along.

Observing the plenitude of berries, I decided to pick as many different types as I could (with a goal of making fruit leather--another experiment in preservation--look for a future blog post). Also plentiful were Blackberries and Raspberries. Sadly, they were a bit dry and seedy--perhaps past their prime--so I left them behind.

But never fear: One thing you find in abundance in coastal Maine are Rose Hips!

Rosa Rugosa with its fruit, Rose Hips, along the rocky coast of Maine

Though all Rose Hips are edible, If I were living off the grid and relying on wild edibles, Rugosa Rose fruits would be one of my first go-to's.

Rose hips from Rosa Rugosa. Note the fragrant pink flower and the fruits the size of a quarter.

Large and chunky--full of vitamin C--easy to preserve through drying or jamming. So easy to harvest: I filled my hat in a minute.

I was pretty delighted at encountering all of these usual suspects. But as I was studying the ground for wild Blueberries, I began seeing some fruits that were not so familiar. . . .

Here's an equally low-growing plant, with even tinier and glossier leaves, bearing a bright red, hard fruit. Having lived in Southeastern Massachusetts for many years, I suspected I was seeing wild Cranberries. Research confirmed: Yes, wild Cranberries! They aren't fully ripe until later in September, so I picked a few and left the rest to continue propagating.

Here is another beauty growing in profusion alongside the roads in Downeast Maine: Bunchberries! Bunchberries feature a cluster of bright red fruit growing on a single stem with 4-6 leaves below, arrayed around the stem in circular fashion. The berries are wonderfully easy to harvest—grab the stem just below the fruit and pull. They're not very flavorful, and have a brittle, crisp (edible) seed that I find a little unpleasant. But Bunchberries are high in pectin, making a nice combo with other berries for jams and pies as a thickening agent.

The Bunchberries were prolific, but then I started seeing another berry: clusters of round black berries in "starbursts," three to a stem. The fruits seemed to grow near leaves that also grew three to a stem, and then divided into five leaflets. Once I began seeing them, I saw them everywhere. Talk about sneaky: the leaf stem is taller than the fruit stem, and since the leaf stem and fruit stems are separate, you wouldn't necessarily see them as the same plant.

Once I recognized the leaf structure, it was easier to find the fruits. I consulted the ever-handy Google, and determined that this was wild Sarsaparilla. Sadly, while the fruits are edible, they can cause stomach upset, so I picked only a few. While I'm wickedly curious, I also remember that "Curiosity killed the cat," so I try to be diligent with my research.

Here is my bounty for an hour or so of collecting. Clockwise from top left: Cranberries, Bunchberries, Rose Hips, Rock Tripe (definitely not a berry--more to come), Blueberries, and Bristly Sarsaparilla.

Hoping to share my attempt at making Fruit Leather, soon!