I found them growing in singles off low-lying plants, like aqpiks, not on canes, like raspberries and blackberries, nor on bushes, like blueberries and cranberries. And although very ripe, they took the sepals with them when I plucked them, unlike raspberries, that let them go and come to you ready for eatin'. They are also shiny, like blackberries, not fuzzy, like raspberries.
They were absolutely indescribably delicious! The best berries I had ever had. Only about ten of them were ripe, and I wolfed down almost all of them before realizing I didn't have my camera and wanted to save some for identification. I brought these three home and then to my neighbors. As I was talking to the wife, the husband, who is Inupiat, glanced briefly across the room and asked, "Are they delicious? The most delicious berries you've ever tasted?" I said, YES! He responded, "Oh, I know what those are. They are hard to find. We always called them dewberries, although I know that that's wrong, but that's what we called them." Sure enough, I google image 'dewberry' and find another plant. I love his identification methodology though. The most delicious berry on earth? Yes, that's the one!
I MUST FIND MORE! I MUST HAVE THEM ALL!!!
11 comments:
Nagoon berries?
Ohfergoodnessakes did you take a picture of the rest of the plant?
I agree with your fish friend - after googling images of "Alaska native red berries" I think you've got nagoon berries there.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubus_arcticus
Yes! That must be it! The photos totally match! And: "Many consider it to be one of the tastiest fruits in the world: for instance in Russian its name is the 'berry of kings'." :)
Sorry, no photo of the whole plant right now since I didn't have my camera with me at the time. :(
Yay! And I will definitely go back there and dig one up and plant it in my yard. At the time I was talking to my neighbor about what we should do with our precious three berries to get them to grow, it took several minutes for the light bulb to ping in her head, and she burst out, "Go dig one up!" In *my* head, of course, light bulbs very seldom ping. :)
If you must try the wild and unidentifiable stuff, please feed to MILLIE FIRST. If you don't want to risk Millie's life, why do it to yourself? Do you worth less than Millie?
How did you know they were not poinous? The general rule: the prettier it is, the more poisonous it might be. The mushroom is a typical example.
When birds and squirrels don't eat them, especially if they taste so good, not because they didn't see them, because they have better survival instincts than ours.
Mmmm, it might be better to mark the lovely little plants with a piece of yarn or surveyor's tape or something for now... I think if you try to transplant them while they're still alive and active you might be disappointed. But...they are related to all those other amazingly sturdy berries/roses!
Yeah I must admit that was pretty daring of you to put them in your mouth without knowing what they were!
"How did you know they were not poinous [sic]?"
All berries in that family (little bunches, like raspberries or blackberries) are edible.
"The general rule: the prettier it is, the more poisonous it might be. The mushroom is a typical example."
Yes, that is a good general rule, but there are exceptions that are both very safe and could save your life one day. Even if you live in the city your whole life, you never know.
"When birds and squirrels don't eat them, especially if they taste so good, not because they didn't see them, because they have better survival instincts than ours."
That's not true at all. There are thousands of acres of blueberries and cranberries and salmonberries around here, so thick you can rake them out of the bushes like a bear. There are more berries than animals to consume them. Enough berries to fatten grizzlies, who are mostly vegetarian, for the whole winter.
Thank you for your concern though!
FF: When can I dig one up then? Not when the ground is frozen, surely?
By the way, I know you were sort of joking about feeding it to Millie first, but using animals to test for toxicity is a terrible idea. We have different tolerances to different chemicals and what may harm us may not harm them, or vice versa.
Knowledge is more important than anything.
If the leaves die off before the ground freezes, that would be the best time to dig them up. I think the leaves will go quickly after the plant has spent a load of energy on making berries/seeds. Try to get as much of the roots as possible then pot them but leave them outside for the winter, they probably need the cold to regrow since that's what they do in the wild.
Nagoon berries are a serious prize down here in the warm damp part of the state too! I wonder when they spread that far north.
I will do that! Thanks! I already have a spot picked out for them where my land is low, damp, and boggy, which should match their preferred habitat. It would be SO AWESOME if they took off. THE BERRY OF KINGS! MinemineminemineallMINE!!!
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