Red Whortleberry also known as Red Huckleberry
Ericaceae (Heath Family)
Erect shrub to 12 feet tall bearing bright green strongly angled branches. Leaves are alternate, mostly deciduous (but with a few persistent) and a little over an inch long with smooth edges. Flowers are bell- or urn-shaped about 5mm, and single in leaf axils. The connate petals are 5-merous, with 10 stamens, subtended by a small calyx. The anthers are awned. The fruits are bright red round berries 6-9 mm across.
Habitat
Red Whortleberry is found in coniferous forests, often at forest edges or under canopy openings, in soils rich in decaying wood, often on stumps or logs where birds have deposited their seeds.
Uses
These berries were an important fruit for coastal peoples. They were used by virtually all within the range of the plant, and were eaten fresh. Some people harvested the berries by clubbing the branches on the hand and letting the ripe berries fall into a basket. Like other fruits, they were often eaten with some type of oil or animal/fish grease, and were often mixed with other berries such as salal. Some First Peoples smoke dried the berries using the branches of the bush as part of the fuel. Sometimes the fruits were dried singly like raisins, mashed and dried into cakes for winter use, or stored soaked in Grease or oil. The juice, though watery, was consumed as a beverage to stimulate the appetite or as a mouthwash.
The leaves and bark were used in a decoction that was gargled for sore throats and inflamed gums. Some tribes used the leaves for tea (Gunther, 1981). The fruits were also used as fish bait in streams.
[Hichcock & Cronquist, 1990; Kuhnlein & Turner, 1991; Pojar & MacKinnon, 1994]
