Miniature wild apples brighten nature trails

Island Wild for Fri. Oct. 23, 2009

Our native Pacific crabapple (Malus fusca or Pyrus fusca), resembles a dwarf crabapple with almond-sized edible fruit. Photo by Christine Scott.

Red, green or gold … apples just naturally seem to belong amidst the warm colours of autumn. And whether we’re bobbing for this tasty fruit at a fall fair, wrapping them in caramel or baking them up in a pie, there’s no question that October is apple time.

The sweet, white-fleshed, fist-sized beauties we know today are a far cry from their wild ancestors. Without delving into the scientific aspects of pomology, early wild apples were only cherry-sized – and a bit sour – but early civilizations turned this “wild child” into one of the most sought-after fruits on earth through grafting and experimentation.

Meanwhile, far away across the sea, and shrouded in the mists of time, aboriginal peoples living along Canada’s west coast discovered their own wild crabapple thousands of years ago.

Our native Pacific crabapple (Malus fusca or Pyrus fusca), resembles a dwarf crabapple with almond-sized edible fruit. A delightful little “pomme” in every aspect, from its perfect mini-seeds to its colour and shape, the indigenous little crabapple likely resembles the diminutive ancestors of today’s cultivated apples.

The miniature egg-shaped apples became a vital food staple and trade item for coastal peoples, who harvested them in early fall and stored them in water-filled cedarwood boxes. So valuable were these vitamin-rich fruits that such a box could once be traded for 10 Hudson’s Bay blankets.

Along with western red-cedar and salmon, Pacific crabapple still holds its place as a keystone species for Pacific Northwest coastal peoples. It was so essential to the Gitga’at of B.C.’s northwest coast that they identified and named at least six different varieties.

The place to search for our wild crabapple is alongside estuaries and streams, where it forms shrubs to small trees from 2 to 12 m (6.5 - 40 ft.) tall. Thorn-like spur-shoots line the branches, sometimes fooling people into thinking they’ve found a hawthorn tree. The green leaves with toothed edges and pointed ends of this deciduous species turn to red, yellow or orange in the fall, and adding to the colour of our native landscape.

Come springtime, flat-topped flower clusters with an apple-blossom scent appear, followed in late summer by bunches of oval to cylindrical fruits (10-15 mm long) dangling from long red stalks. At first the fruits are green, turning yellow, pink or purplish-red. Fully ripe, this refreshing trailside treat tastes pleasantly tart.

Out in the woods, holding a cluster of little wild apples in hand, it’s hard not to dream of apple pie. But while two pounds of domestic apples make one 9-inch pie, it would take hundreds of these wee “pommes” to fill one pie shell.

Perhaps the moral of this story could be that our indigenous Pacific crabapple is best sampled fresh, leaving most of the fruit on the tree for birds and beasts. It’s important to always be mindful of the ethical use of native plants, and to think back several millennia to a time when aboriginal coastal peoples carefully tended these most valuable of their fruit trees.

Email Island Wild and Christine at: wildernesswest@shaw.ca.

A bush-whacking visit to fungi heaven Oct. 16, 2009

Island Wild for Fri. Oct. 16, 2009

Boletes (most of them edible) resemble a hamburger bun on a thick stalk. Photo Christine Scott

I thought it would be an easy walk in the park. Instead, I found myself crashing through the bush, shoulder-deep in salal and huckleberry shrubs, brushing cobwebs from my face as I tried to keep my footing on wet, moss-covered rocks and roots.

Such is the lot of a serious mushroom hunter, and on a Saturday morning in early October, some 20-plus fungi aficionados took part in a mushroom walk led by veteran mushroom man Sequoia Lesosky. We were looking for killers and lobsters and kings and queens…and seeking to tell them apart.

We headed into Campbell River’s Beaverlodge Forest, just kitty-corner to the Hilchey-Dogwood intersection, at first along a well-worn pathway…then off-trail and deep into fungi heaven.

“Mushrooms,” Lesosky explained, “are the fruiting body, much like the apple on an apple tree.” The mushroom we see – the fruit body – is only the reproductive part of the fungus organism.The vegetative state of fungi are thread-like structures called mycelia, hidden deep within soil, bark or moss.

Almost instantly, our guide finds an innocuous-looking white mushroom called Destroying Angel (Amanita virosa) – a deadly species which, if ingested, will kill in 24 hours. Lesosky warns it is very common locally. The stem at the base is bulbous and enclosed in a baglike volva…a distinguishing feature of the deadly Amanita family.

Our ultimate quarries though, are the edible varieties, primarily the bright orange-red, seafood-scented lobster mushroom (Hypomyces lactifluorum). Unique and unmistakable, lobsters grow in patches, peeking out from under a moss carpet under old-growth or second-growth forest.

Lobster mushrooms usually begin life as white russula or lactarius mushrooms. Under certain conditions, a mold-like parasitic fungus completely covers its host mushroom with a vivid orange-red coating that obliterates the gills. It’s considered a meaty and prime edible, but care must be taken to assure the host species. But waste no time: according to Lesosky, the lobsters “Come up fast and go bad fast.”

Another sought-after edible, the boletes, feature a spongy underside with round pores instead of gills (the Dutch call them “squirrels’ bread”). Looking every bit like a hamburger bun on a thick stalk, boletes (porcini) are easy to identify and represent the safest mushroom family to find and eat. King and queen bolete flesh retains its white colour when cut. Dreams of creamed porcini on toast fill the air…or at least imaginations.

Most mushrooms are symbiotic with certain trees, and can usually be found beneath them. Short-stemmed russulas and coral mushrooms, for example, love to live beneath fir trees.

Long ago, aboriginal groups realized the value of mushrooms and utilized them in various ways. Even the humble, woody polypore of “artist’s conk” fame was once dried and used to carry fire or to make dye.

In autumn, edible mushrooms in a variety of shapes and sizes hide in every forest: boletes, cauliflowers, chanterelles, chicken-of-the-woods, oysters and even a cup-shaped fungus called orange peel.

According to Lesosky, this fall should turn out to be a very good mushroom season. Good places to forage include: Crown Land, Loveland Bay, Beaverlodge Lands and the Snowden Forest. Seek permission if foraging on inactive woodlots. Safety hints: Always use a compass; carry a lighter (to make fire) and a knife.

Annual bruin invasion: Oct. 9, 2009

Article by: Christine Scott
Photo by: Jim Dubois

Attracted by the irresistible stench of countless spawned-out salmon carcasses, Coastal Black Bears become a common sight throughout October as they feast alongside local riverbanks. And where one bear appears, more can be expected…often with cubs in tow.

Every year at this time, despite the fact that most human-bear conflict is almost entirely preventable, local conservation officers brace for hundreds of reports related to bear sightings in residential areas.

Thankfully, the number of bear complaints is lower this year compared to previous years. Ben York, Field Supervisor, B.C. Conservation Officer Service, advises this is due in large part to high numbers of Pink salmon keeping the furry beasts happy and well-fed down by the rivers.

According to York, it’s highly desirable for “Ursus americanus” to keep a natural fear of people. If these dangerous wild animals wander into a yard, York advises homeowners to “Throw rocks, yell, frighten the bear away … but from a safe place and at a safe distance.”

During the autumn season, the chunky mammals do all they can to fatten up, requiring 10,000 calories a day before hibernation begins. Bruin activity usually slows down by the end of October when they’ve packed on enough lard to den down for the winter. However, on Vancouver Island, bear complaints may continue well into November.

In spring and summer, local forests produce sufficient wild food for bears to forage on. By October, blackberries and red huckleberries have shriveled and dried, so bears switch to salal and Oregon-grapes, while slowly moving down to lower elevations.

Bears consider fruit to be a natural food source, so communities with abundant domestic fruit trees can expect more than their share of furry backyard visitors. Once wild animals learn how to access human food, they'll overcome any obstacle to get it. On Perkins Road in Campbell River north, a black bear has broken down the same fence section ten times in the past three years.

Sadly, bears face almost certain misery and death when they lose their fear of humans and become “habituated.” The first line of defense is reducing bears' access to non-natural food sources by proper management of attractants. In “bear-tolerant” communities such as Whistler and Revelstoke, bears still exist but far fewer bears have been destroyed because programs are in place to reduce attractants.

Household garbage is the single biggest killer of bears. To bear-proof backyards, put garbage out the night before scheduled pickup day. Stow sealed garbage cans where bears can’t access them. Pick all fruit and store inside. Keep pet food indoors. Double-wrap disposable diapers (one of bears’ favourite things to eat). Scrub down BBQ grills.

New amendments to the province’s Wildlife Act regarding appropriate waste containment call for fines up to $50,000 for failing to comply with a citation to cease providing food for dangerous wildlife.

Learn more about the “bear problem” (in reality, a “people problem”) online at: www.env.gov.bc.ca/cos/info/bearaware. Access Bear Smart community programs: 250-266-BEAR (2327). Report bear conflict to Ministry of Environment’s 24-hour Emergency Co-ordination Centre: 1-800-663-9453.