Chapter 4.8
4.8 The wild lily-of-the-valley (Maianthemum canadense and M. dilatatum)
Marshall Ponte, University of Guelph, Canada
Suggested citation for this chapter.
Ponte,M. (2022) Fleshy Fruits. In The Student Encyclopedia of Canadian Indigenous Foods. Editor, M.N. Raizada, University of Guelph, Canada. http://www.firstnationsfoods.org/
Introduction
The wild lily-of-the-valley (Maianthemum canadense and M. dilatatum), seen in Figure 1.0, are a type of fruit bearing plant found in central and western North American provinces with a long history alongside local Indigenous communities (Kuhnlein & Turner, 2020). They are most commonly found in British Colombia, Alberta, Newfoundland and Laborador, shown in Figure 2.0 (Kuhnlein & Turner, 2020). The wild lily-of-the-valley bears red fruit in early September that can be eaten fresh, scalded, and eaten with sugar or stored in fish grease for preservation (Norton, 1981). Historically, the wild lily-of-the-valley fruit was commonly foraged and casually consumed by hunters and children alongside other fruits grown in its vicinity (Carter, 2005). Berries were often blanched over a fire, mixed with other fruits like salal and dried in cakes (Turner, 1975). While the berries served as a part of Indigenous communities’ diets, it was only one of many different foraged fruits, and primarily consumed as a casual treat, rather than a primary food source (Carter, 2005).
Wild Lily-of-the-Valley as a Food Source
Indigenous communities have seen massive dietary changes in the past hundreds of years, initially consisting of berries, fish, game, and plants, the diversity of available food has increased (Blanchet et al, 2021). With the increase in availability, the less energy efficient and nutritious foods have phased out of the routine diets including the small berries of the wild lily-of-the-valley (Kuhnlein & Turner, 2020). Historically, groups of British Columbia, namely the Kwakwaka'wakw, Nuxálk (Bella Coola), The Squamish, Nuu-chah-nulth (Westcoast) and Haida would eat the fruit of the M. dilatatum species throughout the late summer when the berries where ripe and red (Carter, 2005). In mid summer, the Fisherman Lake slave of the Northwest Territories and the Potawatomi of the Great Lakes would pick the unripe berries for blanching, or drying to make teas (Kuhnlein & Turner, 2020). The wild lily-of-the-valley was used to the greatest extent by the Haida Nation (Turner, 1975). The Haida nation is an Indigenous community that is in Haida Gwaii, an Archipelago off the British Columbia west coast in Canada shown in figure 3.0 (Jaadee, 2019). The Haida nation has sustained off many diverse sources for the past centuries surviving off mainly game, fish, and plants with a small portion of their diet consisting of berries, and a small portion of the berries foraged from the wild lily-of-the-valley (Jaadee, 2019). While the foraged berries were not a key source of sustenance and protein, they do contain many healthy nutrients such as fiber, magnesium, vitamins C and K, and potassium which are vital to the health of the human body (Nile & Park, 2014).
Wild Lily-of-the-Valley Foraging
The berries of the wild lily-of-the-valley could be foraged and cooked when hard in early August, but are most desirable when ripe in late August or early September (Lamont, 1977). The Kaigani Haida of Alaska would collect folded leaves of the M. dilatatum species in early spring, then boil and eat them as greens (Norton, 1981). The wild lily-of-the-valley favors moist woods and thickets, often forming carpets along the ground (Marie-Hélène et al, 2015). These large, localized sites of the plant make foraging them highly effective since there are usually many berries and leaves in a small distance (Marie-Hélène et al, 2015). Foraging berries from the wild lily-of the-valley was often done by hand, or with the use of comb-like tools made of bone that were made for berry collecting (Kuhnlein & Turner, 2020). A wide assortment of woven burden baskets was used to store and transport foraged goods, baskets made from birch-bark where highly effective in this regard (Kuhnlein & Turner, 2020).
Cultural significance of The Wild Lily-of-the-Valley
The wild lily-of-the-valley has seen a long history alongside the cultures that inhabit British Colombia, as one of many traditional Indigenous plant foods that were foraged and relied on for nutrients (Kuhnlein & Turner, 2020). The deep respect Indigenous cultures harbor for the land that provided them with vital resources is reflected in their practices of documenting the details of traditional foods so that younger generations may understand the significance of their roles in Indigenous history (Kuhnlein & Turner, 2020). Not only are the nutritional benefits of these plants important to Indigenous communities, but the cultural and spiritual connections between them play a key role in upkeeping the traditions of their older generations (Kuhnlein & Turner, 2020). One myth from the Haida nation tells of a feast made up of the berries from the wild lily-of-the-valley, crab-apples, highbush cranberries, salal berry cakes, lupine root cakes and ooligan grease that was prepared for supernatural beings (Kuhnlein & Turner, 2020). With the increase of readily available packaged and processed foods many of these traditional food items are being forgotten or neglected by younger generations within Indigenous communities (Kuhnlein & Turner, 2020). These foods provide readily available important nutrients that are beneficial to health, with excessive amounts of unhealthy food being consumed in today’s diet, healthy, natural foods are increasingly important to maintain the balance that the human body needs. (Kuhnlein & Turner, 2020).
Limitations of The Wild-Lily-of-the-Valley
The wild lily of-the-valley bears only a small portion of berries throughout the summer, and while it grows in clusters, the small sizes and lack of nutrition provided from the berries alone make them a less than suitable food providing plant when it comes to nutritional needs (Norton, 1981). Additionally, the wild lily-of-the-valley shares a close resemblance to the similarly named lily of-the-valley (Convallaria majalis), shown in Figure 4.0, although the lily of the valley is an extremely dangerous and poisonous plant that can induce vomiting, nausea, skin rashes, alterations to heart rhythm and death (Wexler, 2014). Ingesting both the leaves and the berries of the lily of-the-valley will induce these inflictions, but individuals who ingested the leaves have shown much more intense side effects. (Wexler, 2014). The lack of available knowledge about the distinction between the two plants causes a dangerous amount of uncertainty towards knowing what berries and leaves are safe to forage and what to completely avoid ensuring one’s safety (Kuhnlein & Turner, 2020).
References
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