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| August's red-striped berries of the Starry False Solomon's Seal |
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| June flowers |
The red-striped fruit of Starry False Solomon's Seal (
Maianthemum stellatum) reminds me that Christmas tree decorations are only a few months away. The little globose fruits feature red stripes in late summer. But as we inch towards fall and winter, the ripened fruits will turn to red and purple.
This little native forb tends to grow in wet places, like stream banks and avalanche chutes, where grizzly bears devour leaves and fruit both. Summer elk eat just the leaves while fall grouse will ignore the leaves and just eat the berries.
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| September fruit |
Up in British Columbia, the Nuxalk Indians also collected the ripe berries for food. The pea-size fruit is a good source of vitamin C, and has a bitter-sweet flavor, but it can be a laxative if eaten in quantity. Young leaves are edible cooked or raw, and the root has antiseptic and pain-relieving properties.
Not bad for a little native plant that's only 10" tall.
