Chapter 1.2.
1.2 - Tea-Trailing Wild Blackberry
Anna Collins, University of Guelph, Canada
Suggested citation for this chapter.
Collins, A. (2022) Labrador tea. In The Student Encyclopedia of Canadian Indigenous Foods. Editor, M.N. Raizada, University of Guelph, Canada. http://www.firstnationsfoods.org/
Background introduction
The tea-trailing blackberry has been an important part of indigenous culture for many years. The indigenous people used all parts of the blackberry plant, and each part had a specific use, this included being used as a food source and for spiritual rituals (Johnson, 2000). This plant was consumed in a variety of ways, and it had many benefits to humans and animals (Johnson, 2000). Although there are a lot of benefits of the tea trailing blackberry there are limitations when it comes to the growth of the plant and how it is wild and low yielding (Johnson, 2000).
Description
The tea-trailing blackberry is a native perennial species, it is a low trailing shrub that has a spikey stem with discouraged the berries from the plant to the animal (Johnson, 2000). The berries on the plant are sweet and juicy and are around 1-1.5 cm long, the colour varies from red to black depending on the specific species of the plant (Johnson, 2000). These berries are produced in sunny areas from April to August (Johnson, 2000). This wild tea-trailing blackberry was generally found in dry forest areas in British Columbia and Southern Vancouver Island (Hutchens, 1973). As well as down the coast to Northern California to middle elevations in the mountains in Central Idaho (Johnson, 2000). Refer to the photo above that shows the tea trailing blackberry.
Association with indigenous people
The tea-trailing blackberries were eaten by a variety of Indigenous group on the Vancouver Island. The Salish group which was located on the Southern East part of the island consumed the blackberries fresh, dried, and mashed (Turner & Bell, 1971). The Saanich people who were located near the Salish people used the vines of the blackberry plant over and under steam cooking pits and the berries of the plants were used for ritual scrubbing (Johnson, 2000). The Saanich people as well as the Salish people also used the dark blackberry for purple staining (Johnson, 2000). Many other indigenous groups consumed these berries fresh, or mashed and dried into cakes, these groups include the Straits Salish, Halkomelen, Squamish, Sechelt, Comex, Nootka, and South Kwakiutt (Johnson, 2000). The different indigenous group have many different uses for all parts of this plant, but the main reasons were for medicinal uses and for consumption. Refer to the image above showing where these indigenous groups are located on the Vancouver Island the red circle shows where the tea-trailing blackberry was the most prevalent and where the dry forested area where the native berry grew (Kuhnlein & Turner, 2020).
Consumption
The tea-trailing blackberry was consumed by being eaten fresh, mashed, dried, and the leaves, stems and roots were used in teas for medicine (Hutchens, 1973). There was not much processing required for these berries they just needed to be harvested from the plant (Johnson, 2000). The root of the plant was cleaned and sometimes peeled and then it either got dehydrated or boiled to be in use right away (Kuhnlein & Turner, 2020). The preservation of most parts of this plant were either done by the sun, wind, or getting heated over a fire (Kuhnlein & Turner, 2020). Along with preserving the blackberries dehydration also allowed for easier transportation due to the product becoming lighter (Kuhnlein & Turner, 2020). This was important for trade throughout the indigenous communities (Kuhnlein & Turner, 2020).
Benefits
The blackberries are an important food source for humans and animals. These blackberries are not only a food source but are also good for health. The blackberry family are good antioxidants because they contain anthocyanins (Ivanovic, 2014). Antioxidants help protect cells against free radicals which protects from a variety of diseases including heart disease and cancer (Ivanovic, 2014). The blackberries also contain a variety of vitamins and minerals that are essential for humans and animals (Ivanovic, 2014). The leaves and the roots of the plant also had health benefits when made into a tea, and these health benefits were discovered by the indigenous group son the Vancouver Island. The health benefits from this tea include treating diarrhea, stomach pain, back pain, fever, and sores in the mouth (Weber, 2021). The blackberry plant has this ability due to the high levels of Vitamin C, hydrolysable tannins and flavonoids in the leaves and roots (Wang & Lin, 2000). The blackberry had many benefits to people and animals and these benefits were first noticed by the Indigenous people and many of the traditional health uses are still in use today with certain herbal medicine practices.
Limitations
The health benefits of tea-trailing blackberries outweigh any potential negative effects. A negative effect could arise from consuming too many blackberries. Blackberries contain a high amount of fiber with around 8 grams per one cup, this fiber can cause bloating, gas, and constipation (Anderson et al, 2009). So, it important to eat the blackberries in moderation. There are more negative effects of this plant when it comes to the growth and cultivation. This plant is wild and very low yielding (Poling, 1997). This makes it difficult to domesticate and commercially grow this specific species of blackberry. Also, this plant is trailing so it requires more space to grow, and it is harder to harvest in comparison to erect blackberry plants (Poling, 1997). Overall, there are more benefits when it comes to health of people but when it comes to growing this plant more issues arise.
References
1. Anderson, J. W., Baird, P., Davis, R. H., Ferreri, S., Knudtson, M., Koraym, A., ... & Williams, C. L. (2009). Health benefits of dietary fiber. Nutrition reviews, 67(4), 188-205.
2. Hutchens, A. R. (1991). Indian herbalogy of North America: The definitive guide to native medicinal plants and their uses. Shambhala publications.
3. Ivanovic, J., Tadic, V., Dimitrijevic, S., Stamenic, M., Petrovic, S., & Zizovic, I. (2014). Antioxidant properties of the anthocyanin-containing ultrasonic extract from blackberry cultivar “Čačanska Bestrna”. Industrial Crops and Products, 53, 274-281.
4. Johnson, K.(2000) Trailing blackberry; Dewberry;Pacific blackberry.Retrived from http://web.pdx.edu/~maserj/ESR410/rubisursinus.html
5. Kuhnlein, H. V., & Turner, N. J. (2020). Traditional plant foods of Canadian indigenous peoples: nutrition, botany and use. Routledge.
6. Logan, B. (2017). Trailing blackberry [Photo ]. Vancouver Island, BC.https://gohiking.ca/plants /coastal-plants/wild-fruit/trailing-blackberries/
7. Poling, E. B. (1997). Blackberries. Journal of Small Fruit & Viticulture, 4(1-2), 33-69.
8. Turner, N. C., & Bell, M. A. (1971). The ethnobotany of the coast Salish Indians of Vancouver Island. Economic Botany, 25(1), 63-99.
9. Wang, S. Y., & Lin, H. S. (2000). Antioxidant activity in fruits and leaves of blackberry, raspberry, and strawberry varies with cultivar and developmental stage. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry, 48(2), 140-146.
10. Weber, J. T. (2021). Traditional uses and beneficial effects of various species of berry-producing plants in eastern Canada. Botany, (ja).