"3. Name five native edible plants in your region and their season(s) that they are available."
You would have a tough time being a vegetarian in my neck of the woods, if you depended only on wild plants. Most of the tribes subsisted on meat, supplemented by plant foods for variety. Here are five of the native plants used for food in the Helena area. (Although Montana huckleberries are famous, I didn't choose them because they are in more moist areas of Montana).
1. Late May-June: BITTERROOT (Lewisia rediviva)
The season of gathering roots and berries started with the Bitterroot, which is also Montana's state flower. The Montana Salish (Flathead) called May the Bitterroot Moon. Bitterroot was western Montana's most important root crop. The Bitterroot Valley and Bitterroot Mountains were named for this plant.
There was traditionally a First Roots Ceremony which had to be held in early May before any of the first bitterroot plants were gathered, and this ceremony was led by the women. Women were in charge of the plant gathering cycle, as men were in charge of the hunting. Special tools were used to dig the roots. They had to be dug before they bloomed in early June so they were hard to see unless you knew what you were looking for (see the rosettes, above; by the time it blooms, it is too late).
Bitterroot, like its name indicates, was not very palatable to Euro-Americans, including Lewis and Clark who found it nauseous and bitter. But it was very tasty and valuable to the Indians. One fifty-pound sack was the ration for one person to get through the winter, and was worth one horse. They were eaten boiled or steamed, and also were used for medicine.
Bitterroot was probably the most important indigenous plant food in the Helena area, as it preferred the dry rocky soil of hills and valleys.
2. June: CAMAS (Camassia quamash)
The Montana Salish (Flathead) also relied on camas, much like their Coast Salish relatives. But camas was much larger and more common further west in moister areas, west of Lolo Hot Springs. I have seen them in some of the higher elevations around Helena. Lewis and Clark ate camas, and found it more palatable than bitterroot.
Camas plants have a bulbous root that is usually ready for harvest in June. Camas bulbs are baked with black moss in earthen pits for three days. After baking, the bulbs were dried and stored for later use. Baked camas is delicious and has a licorice like flavor. During this time people would also be making bark baskets from cedar and birch trees. The baskets would be used for berry picking. Tipi poles would be cut now, as the bark would peel easy. When the wild roses were in bloom, the people would know that buffalo would be nice and fat. Salish hunting parties would then travel to the plains country for their summer buffalo hunt. http://www.anamp.org/culturally/pdf/elem_weather.pdf
I have seen a June field of camas up on the Continental Divide, in moist meadows on one of the passes that the Salish people used to use, back when I worked for the Helena National Forest as an archaeologist in the 1990s. I saw some of the places where they roasted them in stone-lined pits but I have never tasted camas, nor bitterroot.
CAUTION!: It is very easy to confuse Camas with its poisonous relative Death Camas; the Indians are often said to have waited for the flowers, as this is the most certain way to distinguish the two, which often grow right next to each other (camas has blue flowers, death camas white flowers).
3. Late July-August: CHOKECHERRY (Prunus virginiana)
Now I have eaten a lot of chokecherries. The fruit is pretty good but the seed is what makes you "choke," as it is so bitter. It makes really nice jelly. But you really don't eat many raw as they just aren't sweet enough to balance off the bitterness of the pit.
The fruit of choke cherry is edible, raw or cooked. Very harsh, it is normally used in pies, jellies etc. Dark and juicy, it is sometimes edible raw when fully mature. The seed can contain high concentrations of hydrogen cyanide, a poison that gives almonds their characteristic flavor. This toxin is readily detected by its bitter taste. It is usually present in too small a quantity to do any harm, any bitter seed or fruit should not be eaten. In moderate to larger quantities hydrogen cyanide can cause respiratory failure and even death. The bark and twigs can be used as a tea substitute. (http://montana.plant-life.org/ - Prunus virginiana
Chokecherry is also medicinal and we used the wood to make tripods for tipi backrests when I was little. It grows in various places in the neighborhood and people don't seem to make much use of it, as there are plenty of "cherries" to nibble on when it is the season.
4. May-June: ARROWLEAF BALSAMROOT (Balsamorhiza sagittata)
I have written about the Balsamroot before, but you learn by repetition, so I want to mention this plant-ally again.
While primarily medicinal, it was also used for food: the inner part of the young immature flower stems; some roasted and ate the roots, and some ate the seeds as well. I can personally vouch for the astringent "turpentine-y" balsam flavor: edible but stout, and more medicinal than tasty.
5. August-November: PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS (Opuntia polyacantha)
Our valley was named the Prickly Pear by Lewis and Clark when they passed through the area. One of our two major creeks is still called the Prickly Pear. The season of the "pears" themselves is in late summer through early winter. I have not eaten them. Some people make jelly from them.
Pricky-pear cactus fruits were widely used for food, either raw or dried for storage. Most of the spines were removed by sweeping piles of fruit with sagebrush branches or by burning the spines off. The spines that remained were picked off with fingers protected by deerskin tips. The fruits were first split to remove the seeds, and then eaten raw or cooked in stews and soups, which they thickened. Raw cactus stems taste like cucumber, but they were usually eaten only when there was a shortage of food. Settlers boiled them to remove the spines, and then fried the pulpy interior. They were also dipped in a syrup made from boiling sweetcorn seeds and then eaten. The seeds can be dried, parched and ground into a meal, then added to flour and used in making cakes etc. When forage was limited, the spines were singed off and cactus stems were fed to livestock. (http://montana.plant-life.org/species/opun_poly.htm)
When I was growing up, there was a large tract of undeveloped land behind us down by Custer Ave. that we called "the Field." Walking through it at night or running carelessly, many is the time I was jabbed by the prickly pears there. Although it was painful, I soon learned to mostly avoid them, almost by instinct in mid-flight. It was a glorious place to run, with the company of meadowlarks and kildeer who nested there, along with "gophers" (actually ground squirrels), white sage and rabbitbrush.
Now the Field is mostly gone, carved up by streets, gas station-casino, laundromat, liquor store, ranch supply, and residences, including public housing. All the prickly pears are gone, true, but I wouldn't mind being jabbed once in a while if it meant hearing the meadowlarks singing again, which are also gone from the "ex-Field."
SOURCES:
http://montana.plant-life.org/
Montana Native Plants and Early Peoples, by Jeff Hart. Helena: Montana Historical Society Press, 1976/2007.
Credit for online images to original posters
1. Late May-June: BITTERROOT (Lewisia rediviva)
The season of gathering roots and berries started with the Bitterroot, which is also Montana's state flower. The Montana Salish (Flathead) called May the Bitterroot Moon. Bitterroot was western Montana's most important root crop. The Bitterroot Valley and Bitterroot Mountains were named for this plant.
There was traditionally a First Roots Ceremony which had to be held in early May before any of the first bitterroot plants were gathered, and this ceremony was led by the women. Women were in charge of the plant gathering cycle, as men were in charge of the hunting. Special tools were used to dig the roots. They had to be dug before they bloomed in early June so they were hard to see unless you knew what you were looking for (see the rosettes, above; by the time it blooms, it is too late).
Bitterroot, like its name indicates, was not very palatable to Euro-Americans, including Lewis and Clark who found it nauseous and bitter. But it was very tasty and valuable to the Indians. One fifty-pound sack was the ration for one person to get through the winter, and was worth one horse. They were eaten boiled or steamed, and also were used for medicine.
Bitterroot was probably the most important indigenous plant food in the Helena area, as it preferred the dry rocky soil of hills and valleys.
2. June: CAMAS (Camassia quamash)
The Montana Salish (Flathead) also relied on camas, much like their Coast Salish relatives. But camas was much larger and more common further west in moister areas, west of Lolo Hot Springs. I have seen them in some of the higher elevations around Helena. Lewis and Clark ate camas, and found it more palatable than bitterroot.
Camas plants have a bulbous root that is usually ready for harvest in June. Camas bulbs are baked with black moss in earthen pits for three days. After baking, the bulbs were dried and stored for later use. Baked camas is delicious and has a licorice like flavor. During this time people would also be making bark baskets from cedar and birch trees. The baskets would be used for berry picking. Tipi poles would be cut now, as the bark would peel easy. When the wild roses were in bloom, the people would know that buffalo would be nice and fat. Salish hunting parties would then travel to the plains country for their summer buffalo hunt. http://www.anamp.org/culturally/pdf/elem_weather.pdf
I have seen a June field of camas up on the Continental Divide, in moist meadows on one of the passes that the Salish people used to use, back when I worked for the Helena National Forest as an archaeologist in the 1990s. I saw some of the places where they roasted them in stone-lined pits but I have never tasted camas, nor bitterroot.
CAUTION!: It is very easy to confuse Camas with its poisonous relative Death Camas; the Indians are often said to have waited for the flowers, as this is the most certain way to distinguish the two, which often grow right next to each other (camas has blue flowers, death camas white flowers).
3. Late July-August: CHOKECHERRY (Prunus virginiana)
Now I have eaten a lot of chokecherries. The fruit is pretty good but the seed is what makes you "choke," as it is so bitter. It makes really nice jelly. But you really don't eat many raw as they just aren't sweet enough to balance off the bitterness of the pit.
The fruit of choke cherry is edible, raw or cooked. Very harsh, it is normally used in pies, jellies etc. Dark and juicy, it is sometimes edible raw when fully mature. The seed can contain high concentrations of hydrogen cyanide, a poison that gives almonds their characteristic flavor. This toxin is readily detected by its bitter taste. It is usually present in too small a quantity to do any harm, any bitter seed or fruit should not be eaten. In moderate to larger quantities hydrogen cyanide can cause respiratory failure and even death. The bark and twigs can be used as a tea substitute. (http://montana.plant-life.org/ - Prunus virginiana
Chokecherry is also medicinal and we used the wood to make tripods for tipi backrests when I was little. It grows in various places in the neighborhood and people don't seem to make much use of it, as there are plenty of "cherries" to nibble on when it is the season.
4. May-June: ARROWLEAF BALSAMROOT (Balsamorhiza sagittata)
I have written about the Balsamroot before, but you learn by repetition, so I want to mention this plant-ally again.
While primarily medicinal, it was also used for food: the inner part of the young immature flower stems; some roasted and ate the roots, and some ate the seeds as well. I can personally vouch for the astringent "turpentine-y" balsam flavor: edible but stout, and more medicinal than tasty.
5. August-November: PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS (Opuntia polyacantha)
Our valley was named the Prickly Pear by Lewis and Clark when they passed through the area. One of our two major creeks is still called the Prickly Pear. The season of the "pears" themselves is in late summer through early winter. I have not eaten them. Some people make jelly from them.
Pricky-pear cactus fruits were widely used for food, either raw or dried for storage. Most of the spines were removed by sweeping piles of fruit with sagebrush branches or by burning the spines off. The spines that remained were picked off with fingers protected by deerskin tips. The fruits were first split to remove the seeds, and then eaten raw or cooked in stews and soups, which they thickened. Raw cactus stems taste like cucumber, but they were usually eaten only when there was a shortage of food. Settlers boiled them to remove the spines, and then fried the pulpy interior. They were also dipped in a syrup made from boiling sweetcorn seeds and then eaten. The seeds can be dried, parched and ground into a meal, then added to flour and used in making cakes etc. When forage was limited, the spines were singed off and cactus stems were fed to livestock. (http://montana.plant-life.org/species/opun_poly.htm)
When I was growing up, there was a large tract of undeveloped land behind us down by Custer Ave. that we called "the Field." Walking through it at night or running carelessly, many is the time I was jabbed by the prickly pears there. Although it was painful, I soon learned to mostly avoid them, almost by instinct in mid-flight. It was a glorious place to run, with the company of meadowlarks and kildeer who nested there, along with "gophers" (actually ground squirrels), white sage and rabbitbrush.
Now the Field is mostly gone, carved up by streets, gas station-casino, laundromat, liquor store, ranch supply, and residences, including public housing. All the prickly pears are gone, true, but I wouldn't mind being jabbed once in a while if it meant hearing the meadowlarks singing again, which are also gone from the "ex-Field."
SOURCES:
http://montana.plant-life.org/
Montana Native Plants and Early Peoples, by Jeff Hart. Helena: Montana Historical Society Press, 1976/2007.
Credit for online images to original posters