A Story of Three Berries
July 29, 2022
We took scenic Highway 1 up the coast to the 17-Mile Drive on the Monterey Peninsula.
In Monterey we visited Cannery Row and the Monterey Bay Aquarium. High points of this aquarium are the structure itself (in certain sections you feel as if you are standing inside the ocean with waves crashing over you), the giant Kelp Forest and the Deep Sea exhibit with its bioluminescent creatures.
We also spotted a whale from the observation deck breaching and blowing air from its blowhole.
And along the way we picked some berries.
Arbutus unedo
STRAWBERRY TREE
An evergreen shrub native to the Mediterranean and western Europe that grows between 13-23 feet tall. The twigs are reddish-brown and may have small hairs. On mature specimens, the trunk bark is grey-brown that peels to reveal a cinnamon-colored inner bark.
It has long, laurel shaped, green leaves that are glossy on the upper side and dull on the underside with a serrated margin.
Its flowers are small, white, and bell-shaped. The round, textured fruit is delicate and easily damaged. Yellow when unripe, it transitions to bright red when fully ripe. The taste is definitely sweet and juicy but not particularly flavorful.
TRADITIONAL USES & HERBAL BENEFITS
Traditionally, strawberry tree fruit has been used as an antiseptic, diuretic and laxative. Similarly, the leaves have also been used as an antiseptic and diuretic, as well as an antidiarrheal, astringent, detoxifying and antihypertensive agent.
In the lab, various components of the tree have yielded in vitro antibiotic, antifungal, anti-parasitic, antiaggregant, antidiabetic, antihypertensive, anti-inflammatory, antitumoral, antioxidant, and spasmolytic properties.
Prunus illicifolia
HOLLY LEAF CHERRY
Native to western California, this small evergreen shrub is not a true cherry, but rather a member of the rose family (Rosaceae).
It has dark grey, smooth bark and the spiny toothed, or holly-shaped, leaves are a glossy dark green on top and lighter underneath.
Feathery blooms of white flowers appear in the spring from which red to blue-black fruit develop. The fruits have a very large, smooth pit and very little flesh so are better for juicing. The pulp itself is sweet but the skin of the fruit is slightly sour. The taste of the juice is very reminiscent of true cherries.
TRADITIONAL USES & HERBAL BENEFITS
There is documentation from the Spanish in the 1700s of native Californian tribes eating fresh and dried holly leaf cherry fruits. They also ground the pits into a meal used for baking. NOTE: There is cyanide-forming compounds in the pits and leaching is required before they’re safe to eat.
Additionally, infusions of the bark, roots and sap were used to treat coughs and colds.
Pyracantha coccinea
SCARLET FIRETHORN
An evergreen shrub also from the Rosaceae family with stiff, thorny branches and glossy, oval, green leaves with serrated margins.
Originally ranging from southwest Europe to southeast Asia, it is now listed as an invasive species in California.
In the spring, white flowers emerge in drooping clusters and orange-red berries appear in the fall.
The berry has numerous small seeds and very little pulp. Like the holly leaf cherry, the seeds contain cyanogenic glycosides.
The berries taste astringent, faintly apple-like (although others say cranberry), but otherwise unremarkable. The berries I had harvested needed additional liquid and sweetener to make them more palatable.
TRADITIONAL USES & HERBAL BENEFITS
While the fruit is edible and is used to make jellies and syrups, there are no known medicinal uses.
RECIPE: DISAPPOINTMENT
My initial thought was to make a three-berry syrup. I warmed the berries each separately in a saucepan with the juice of a foraged California orange.
Then I used a wire-mesh strainer to remove skins, seeds and pits. I added sugar and, after tasting, combined the three juices to cook down on the stovetop. Unfortunately, I was multi-tasking, and in the brief time the syrup was left unattended, the sugars caramelized and then burned.
The three-berry syrup became a bitter, sticky failure.
Even though I don’t have a successful recipe to share, working with these three berries underscored two observations.
One, foraged foods exist on a continuum that ranges from barely palatable edibles, typically designated as famine food, to choice wild edibles that may even appear on menus at posh urban eateries.
Two, like most food, the method of preparation is significant. For instance, the firethorn berries were bland with a mealy texture from the numerous seeds. Fresh they were unappetizing, although edible. But cooked with a little orange juice and sugar, a pleasant bright-colored firethorn juice was born.
References
Arbutus unedo. (2022, July 20). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arbutus_unedo
California Native Plant Society. (n.d.). Hollyleaf cherry: Prunus ilicifolia. Calscape. https://calscape.org/Prunus-ilicifolia-()
Deane. (n.d.). Pyracantha jelly and Santa’s belly. Eat the weeds. https://www.eattheweeds.com/firethorn-pyracantha-coccinea-2/
Fern, K. (2021, July 30). Prunus ilicifolia. Temperate Plants database. https://temperate.theferns.info/plant/Prunus+ilicifolia
Gardenia. (n.d.). Arbutus unedo (strawberry tree). https://www.gardenia.net/plant/arbutus-unedo-strawberry-tree
Morgado, S., Morgado, M., Plácido. A.I., Roque, F. & Duarte, A.P. (2018, October 28). Arbutus unedo L.: From traditional medicine to potential uses in modern pharmacotherapy. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 225, 90-102. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2018.07.004. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29981432/
Natural Medicine Herbs. (n.d.) Herb: Firethorn. http://www.naturalmedicinalherbs.net/herbs/p/pyracantha-coccinea=firethorn.php
North Carolina State Extension. (n.d) . Pyracantha coccinea. https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/pyracantha-coccinea/
Pyracantha. (2022, June 29). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyracantha#:~:text=Species%20of%20Pyracantha%20are%20considered%20to%20be%20invasive,Victoria%2C%20the%20ACT%20and%20New%20South%20Wales.%20
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Services. (n.d.). Hollyleaf cherry Prunus ilicifolia (Nutt. ex Hook. & Arn.) D. Dietr. https://plants.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/plantguide/pdf/pg_pril.pdf
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