Tag Archives: fruits

Blueberries

There are 9 species of blueberries / huckleberries in California. Some ripen mid-summer to late September, and others ripen from early fall through mid-winter.

The sweetest and juiciest are found in full sun. These fruits were a favorite of the California Indians, who would make long treks to choice picking grounds. They would dry the berries, mash them, and form cakes of them for storage. They were also often used mixed with dried and powdered venison jerky and melted suet fat to form pemmican; the original energy bar.

Blueberry fruits also make excellent blue / purple dye.

California Foragers's photo.
California Foragers's photo.
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The Useful California Bay Laurel Tree

Ringtail Cats

NAMES AND TAXONOMY

California Bay Laurel

Umbellularia californica (Hooker and Arnott) Nuttall

Also called the bay laurel, bay, California laurel, Oregon myrtle, myrtlewood (name used for wood used in furniture, carvings, and other products), pepperwood, and peppernut (the latter two from the aromatic wood and nuts), and headache tree (from its ability to cause and relieve headache with its aroma).

It is the only member of its genus, which was widespread in the Pliocene.

In the august family Lauraceae – the same family as the commercial avocado, the sweet bay from which comes the commercial cooking spice (commonly sold in whole-leaf form), and the laurel tree common in many mythologies, often featured as a symbol of peace and victory (ancient Olympic games champions were crowned with a laurel wreath, and the pigeon on Noah’s arc returned bearing laurel leaves, indicating the floodwaters had receded and land was nearby). The most…

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