This week, I took a walk with my family at East Sooke Park for Family day. We went to the Aylard Farm entrance. East Sooke Park is on the unceded traditional territories of the T’Sou-ke and SC’IȺNEW Nations. This park is one of the most beautiful parks on the southern part of Vancouver Island. I didn’t see them this time, but I have seen whales multiple times here. The name SC’IȺNEW means “The Place of the Big Fish” and the name T’Sou-ke comes from the Stickleback fish that live in their area. There are many trails through East Sooke Park, some that may take you hours to complete.

The plant of the week is Oregon Grape, also known as SENI,IȽĆ for the plant and SENI for the berries. The Oregon Grape is easy to identify due to shiny leaves that have sharp teeth. The branches are usually red/brown. It is not currently flowering nor producing many berries, although that should start fairly soon. The yellow flowers grow in clusters and will be close to the dusty blue berries that look similar to a grape but smaller. They are found in dry forests and rocky outcrops.

There are many uses for the Oregon Grape plant. This paragraph will discuss its culinary uses such as harvesting their berries in early summer to early fall. You can use the berries to sweeten jams or pie fillings. Oregon Grape plants can be used to make different dyes for clothing and such. Their berries can be used to make purple dye and their roots (shredded) and inner bark of the stem can be used to make yellow dye.

The Oregon Grape has many medicinal uses as well. Traditionally, some Indigenous nations have used the berries to treat poisonings such as paralytic shellfish. You would eat the berries from the earliest symptoms until your symptoms go away. To aide with digestive problems, the root can be made into a bitter tea to ease digestive problems. One medicinal use I find particularly fascinating is that you can use the tea from the bark of the main stem or roots of plants that have a single red leaf on the stem to make a tea that helps with elevated blood sugar. Although you might end up with a yellow tone on your skin for a short while.

Here is a recipe for Oregon Grape Jelly that I found online and will be making once they are in bloom.

Oregon Grape Jelly (makes 6 half pints)

3-5 lbs of washed, stemmed Oregon grapes (this is roughly equal to about 2 quarts of berries)
3 cups of water
5 cups of sugar
1 pkg of liquid pectin

Crush the grapes and add the water. I use a hand blender on low. Do not over mix, or it may alter the natural pectin in the fruit, making it frothy. Boil for 10 minutes, mashing the berries a bit. Place the mixture in a colander lined with cheesecloth. Let this drain a few hours, or until you have about 4 cups of juice. Discard the debris and cheesecloth. Mix the juice with the sugar and bring to a rapid boil. Add the pectin. Return to a full boil for one minute. Place into warm sterilized jars, place the lids on, and put the jars into a boiling water bath for 10 minutes Remove the jars from the water and let set overnight.