WPCIB Nature Trail

Wet Forest; IDFxh 07

As you drop down off the ridge, you will begin to feel some cooler, damper air. You are entering a different ecosystem, called an IDFxh 07. The 07 means that the area is much more wet than the usual forest; this is because of an underground river.

The plants that let you know that there is water here - even if you don't see it - are the paper birch tree (Betula papyrifera), thimbleberry (Rubus parvifolium), and wild sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis). You do see the water at the surface in the form of a bog, by which the trail will pass. Here you will find water hemlock (Cicuta douglasii). Caution: this plant is extremely poisonous - please do not touch it.

Common: Red-oisier dogwood
Latin: Cornus cericea
Secwepemc: tseqwtseqweqwelqw

The berries were gathered from August to October. The berries are very bitter, and were often mixed with sweeter berries, such as saskatoon, and mashed. This would be eaten fresh or dried into cakes. The leaves were dried and smoked, used as a tea, or as a mouth freshener. The branches were used as skewers for drying meat and salmon, and in cooking pits. The bark was used as a smudge, and as a poultice.

Common: Thimbleberry
Latin: Rubus parvifolia
Secwepemc: stekw'malhp

Thimbleberry berries ripen in early to mid-summer. The berries are sweet, but as they have a high water content, they were not usually stored for winter use. The soft, spring shoots were peeled and eaten like celery. The leaves were used to line cooking pits, and could also be used as toilet paper.