Beautiful to look at, but not to eat
By Carrie McClelland
Berry-picking season is upon us, and harvesting the bounty of the boreal forest has been important in the Yukon for thousands of years
Carrie McClelland is the lead education and outreach biologist with the Government of Yukon’s Department of Environment. Every year she picks many different berries, but few actually make it home.
Berry-picking season is upon us, and harvesting the bounty of the boreal forest has been important in the Yukon for thousands of years. Strawberries and raspberries start us off, followed by blueberries (often referred to as huckleberries in the Yukon), along with Saskatoon/serviceberries, soopolallies/soapberries and currants. Some lucky foragers might find elusive cloudberries while we build up to the grand finale of cranberry season. Harvesting berries is a family-friendly activity that not only gets us outside but also adds a delicious locally-grown dish to our tables.
Not all berries in the Yukon are safe to eat. The poisonous red baneberry (Actaea rubra) ripens from mid-July to mid-August and can grow right next to the delicious berry you’re harvesting. Baneberry is not bountiful in the Yukon, but it does grow here—particularly along trails where an overeager picker could find it easily.
What to look for
The baneberry plant grows about one metre tall with long, thin stems with leaves of groups of three at the end. The leaves are pointed with heavily-serrated edges, like an angry, aggressive maple leaf. The white flowers are quite elaborate and beautiful, very similar to Labrador tea flowers. They ripen into a cluster of 10 to 20 bright-red berries. The berries are oblong, like olives, not perfectly round.
The only berry that might be confused with the baneberry are soapberries. On a bountiful bush, shiny red soapberries can look like clusters. However, the soapberries grow all along the length of a woody stem, not just in a bouquet at the end. Furthermore, the leaves of soapberries are small and fuzzy ovals, extremely different from the baneberry.
Poison potential
A good guideline, when eating wild foods, is that if it doesn’t taste good, spit it out. While unknowingly eating a baneberry is difficult, as they are reported to be quite bitter and distasteful, all parts of the plant are poisonous and can make your stomach upset and cause heart complications if ingested. If you do consume a baneberry, contact Poison Control immediately for advice.
Baneberry is the only berry in the Yukon that can be fatal if ingested, so it’s crucial to learn how to identify it. If you are planning a berry-picking outing, it’s important to educate everyone in your group, especially children, about the dangers of baneberry. While baneberry is not commonly found, it is possible to come across them, making recognition important for a safe experience.
Harvest respectfully
When berry picking, remember to ensure that you have permission to travel and harvest on that land. Furthermore, many animals depend on the berries to survive. Share your berry patch with wildlife by not taking too much from one area and by respecting their space if they’re feeding. Berries are the seeds of the plant, so leave some behind to help the plant propagate and provide berries for years to come.
As always, take only what you need, and use everything you take.
Learn more about berries of the Yukon
The Wildlife Viewing Program often mentions berries and other edible plants on our Wild Discoveries guided nature walks. We’re hosting a Berry Interesting Walk at lunchtime on Tuesday, Aug. 5 at Bert Law Park (near Robert Service Campground) in Whitehorse. Visit yukon.ca/wild-discoveries for details on this and other free events.
