Common Name:<\/p>\n<\/td>\n
Wild Mountain Huckleberry<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Vaccinium membranaceum<\/em>, commonly known in the Pacific Northwest area of the United States as the wild mountain or black huckleberry, is a staple food and medicinal plant relied upon and revered by many indigenous populations for countless generations.\u00a0 Wild mountain huckleberries preserve extremely well, have ample nutritional content, and thus were essential to surviving food scarcity during winter months.\u00a0 Additionally, the late summer harvest season culminated in important community gatherings that allowed extended families to reunite with each other once a year (Hummer 2013).\u00a0<\/p>\n In fact, the Indian Heaven Wilderness area located between Mt. Adams and Mt. St. Helens is named so because of its profuse huckleberry fields.\u00a0 This region includes an ancient horse racing track used for entertainment purposes to bide time\u00a0while\u00a0indigenous peoples\u00a0dried their huckleberries\u00a0on rocks in the sun or over fire pits.\u00a0\u00a0To view\u00a0the U.S. Forest Service’s description of the Indian Heaven Wilderness horse race track along with\u00a0information about nearby\u00a0huckleberry fields and hiking trails please click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n An\u00a0indigenous woman diligently drying her impressive wild mountain huckleberry harvest over a fire pit in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. (Photo from Wikimedia Commons)<\/p><\/div>\n Fifteen different\u00a0flavonoid compounds called anthocyanins have been detected in V. membranaceum <\/i>with chrysanthemin\u00a0being the most abundant (Lee et al. 2004).\u00a0 Anthocyanins\u00a0have powerful antioxidant properties and they occur in numerous flowers, fruits, and vegetables.\u00a0 These water-soluable pigments range in color from red, blue, and purple.\u00a0 They are produced\u00a0in late\u00a0summer and\u00a0stored in the sap cells of leaves until\u00a0a variety of environmental conditions prompt them to be released throughout all plant tissues.\u00a0 Research about the functions of anthocyanins indicates they protect and repair plant tissue from damage caused by\u00a0UV light, temperature fluctuations, and feeding animals (Lee\u00a0and Gould\u00a02002).\u00a0 The presence of anthocyanins\u00a0are easily observed in the\u00a0purple hues of the wild huckleberry fruit and in the coloring of leaves which shift from green to red as a fruiting season progresses.<\/p>\n The molecular structure of cyanidin 3-glucoside, also known as chrysanthemin, the most abundant anthocyanin found in wild\u00a0mountain huckleberries. (Produced\u00a0via\u00a0MolView)<\/p><\/div>\n Curiously, the wild mountain huckleberry has been shown to contain less anthocyanins than Vaccinium ovatum<\/em>, a coastal\u00a0species commonly known as the evergreen huckleberry.\u00a0 This striking disparity in antioxidant content seems inconsistent with the bland and timid flavor profile of evergreen huckleberries.\u00a0 Anthocyanins are odorless yet they contribute to taste.\u00a0 However, anthocyanins appear in particularly high concentrations in the skin of fruits.\u00a0 Since evergreen huckleberries are smaller than wild mountain huckleberries their fruits have a higher ratio of skin content hence the\u00a0greater presence of anthocyanins (Lee et al. 2004).<\/p>\n Moreover, the contrast in delectability between these two\u00a0huckleberry species\u00a0is reflected by a huge difference in their market pricing.\u00a0 No\u00a0one has bothered investing resources into domesticating evergreen huckleberries for their fruits.\u00a0 Evergreen huckleberries grow easily in an assortment\u00a0of conditions and their commercial value is based\u00a0more on being used as an\u00a0ornamental plant rather than as a culinary delight.<\/p>\n Currently,\u00a0V. membranaceum <\/i> is considered an important regional commodity.\u00a0 In the state of Montana alone\u00a0wild mountain\u00a0huckleberries provide $1 million worth of commerce and they\u00a0contribute to foraging and tourism economies in Idaho and Washington\u00a0(Richards et al. 2006).\u00a0 Continuing\u00a0the tradition\u00a0of bringing communities together,\u00a0festivals devoted entirely to celebrating\u00a0these precious berries\u00a0are held annually in Donnelly, ID and Bingen, WA.<\/p>\n Wild mountain huckleberries\u00a0are\u00a0cherished primarily because they are exceptionally delicious whether eaten fresh or prepared.\u00a0 Their flavor is robust, equally tart and sweet, and features complex mineral tones and savory dimensions that can verge on tasting peppery depending on the exact specimen being enjoyed.\u00a0 Gourmet restaurants serving locally\u00a0harvested wild foods offer seasonal huckleberry dishes for a very steep price.\u00a0 More importantly, the wild mountain huckleberry is a highly coveted ingredient because domestication of V. membranaceum<\/em> has proven to be an elusive, fruitless pursuit.\u00a0 To learn more about recent attempts to domesticate wild mountain huckleberries please click here<\/a> and here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Behold!\u00a0In addition to the purple pigments of anthocyanins, wild mountain huckleberries can also\u00a0feature a golden dust in the shape of a pentagon. (Photo by Heather Stewart)<\/p><\/div>\n A major consideration in the riddle as to why the wild mountain huckleberry refuses to be grown methodically on a farm at the behest of humans might reside in the fact that its ideal growing range is at an elevation of 4,000 to 6,000 feet (Barney 2003).\u00a0 The plants also prefer highly acidic soil which is perhaps why\u00a0they prosper in the Cascade Mountains where such soils are\u00a0plentiful due to volcanic activity.\u00a0 Able to withstand immersion in a mountain snowpack for over six months,\u00a0V. membranaceum<\/i>\u00a0can be\u00a0extremely resilient and was one of the first plants to begin growing\u00a0within the Mt. St. Helens blast zone following the catastrophic 1980 eruption.<\/p>\n Another\u00a0factor\u00a0challenging the\u00a0domestication of wild mountain huckleberries could be the unique\u00a0relationship between fungi and plants called mycorrhizal associations.\u00a0 Plants and fungi growing in tandem benefit from these associations because they facilitate access to nutrients in the soil. There are only six known mycorrhizal associations. Among these\u00a0one is\u00a0specific to the Ericaceae plant family to which\u00a0V. membranaceum<\/i> belongs and it is called ericoid mycorrhizae.\u00a0 Research into the agricultural implications of ericoid mycorrhizal associations\u00a0on the wild mountain huckleberry is essentially nonexistent and might provide crucial insights\u00a0for\u00a0mastering\u00a0cultivation.<\/p>\n To\u00a0many people raised in the Pacific Northwest wild mountain huckleberries have a mythical status.\u00a0 Without the adventure required in acquiring them, wild mountain huckleberries\u00a0would not have the same eminence.\u00a0 In order to find out why\u00a0these berries\u00a0are so remarkable\u00a0you must first convince a huckleberry hound to bring\u00a0you on an arduous journey\u00a0to\u00a0a remote and\u00a0confidential location of\u00a0a\u00a0prized berry patch.\u00a0\u00a0High up in the thin mountain air with the summer sun beating down, you must brave\u00a0competing with bears\u00a0craving the same\u00a0bounty and\u00a0suffer constant intrusions\u00a0from horseflies hungry for your\u00a0blood.\u00a0 All the while you must laboriously\u00a0pick each individual berry while resisting the urge to eat them immediately.\u00a0 Once you endure these great lengths and finally taste a freshly plucked wild mountain huckleberry for yourself you\u00a0could become enchanted with huckleberry fever.<\/p>\n The purple palmed plight of an avid huckleberry harvester (Photo by Heather Stewart)<\/p><\/div>\n Barney, DL. 2003. Prospects for domesticating western huckleberries<\/span>. Small Fruits Review, 2(1), 15-29.<\/p>\n Hummer, KE. 2013. Manna in winter: Indigenous Americans, huckleberries, and blueberries<\/span>. HortScience [Internet], [Cited 10 March 2017] 48(4), 413-417. Available from https:\/\/hort.purdue.edu\/newcrop\/pdfs\/hummer-hortsci-48-2013.pdf<\/p>\n Lee, DW, Gould, KS. 2002. Why leaves turn red<\/span>. American Scientist, 90(6), 524.<\/p>\n Lee, J, Finn, CE, Wrolstad, RE. 2004. Comparison of anthocyanin pigment and other phenolic compounds of Vaccinium membranaceum<\/em> and Vaccinium ovatum<\/em> native to the Pacific Northwest of North America<\/span>. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry [Internet], [Cited 10 March 2017] 52(23), 7039-7044. Available from https:\/\/www.ars.usda.gov\/ARSUserFiles\/37108\/PDF\/2004JAgricFoodChem52_7039_7044.pdf<\/p>\n Richards, RT, Alexander, SJ. (2006). A social history of wild huckleberry harvesting in the Pacific Northwest<\/span>. US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. Vol. 657. [Internet]. [Cited 10 March 2017]. Available from http:\/\/www.arlis.org\/docs\/vol1\/65546845.pdf<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Wild Mountain Huckleberry of Western North America Is A Treasured Wild Food & One Of Nature’s Best Kept Secrets<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4224,"featured_media":724,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[21,43],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/plantchemeco\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/707"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/plantchemeco\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/plantchemeco\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/plantchemeco\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4224"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/plantchemeco\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=707"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/plantchemeco\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/707\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/plantchemeco\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/plantchemeco\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/plantchemeco\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/plantchemeco\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"An](\"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/plantchemeco\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/271\/2017\/03\/HuckleberryHarvesting-1-1024x659.jpg\")
Anthocyanins, Colorful Antioxidants<\/h3>\n
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Exclusively Wild, Resistant to Domestication<\/h3>\n
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References<\/h3>\n