Thimbleberry
Halq’emeylem Name
T’qwem
Pronunciation
Latin Name
Rubus parviflorus Nutt.
Pronunciation
About Thimbleberry
The thimbleberry is indigenous to western North America, growing in temperate regions from the south of Alaska to Mexico and as far east as the Great Lakes. (Wikipedia, 2019) The plant has small white flowers in Spring. While visually very similar to the raspberry and salmonberry, the thimbleberry does not have thorns. The small (~1 cm) berries ripen in summer turning a bright red when ripe. The very sweet berries are fairly dry compared to other fruit making them easier and quicker to preserve than other types of indigenous berries (SFU Halkomelem Ethnobiology, 2020). CH
Connections
Shakespeare
Indigenous Knowledge
Stó:lō and other Peoples harvest both the berries (Summer) and young sprouts (early Spring). The large maple shaped leaves were also used to remove slime off the harvested salmon during butchering in the summer through autumn (SFU Halkomelem Ethnobiology, 2020). CH
Gallery
References
Sound: Halq’emeylem language pronunciation by Ts’áts’elexwot (Elizabeth Herrling), Stó:lō Shxwelí, Halq’méylem Language Program, https://stoloshxweli.org | Latin binomial nomenclature pronunciation by Alan Reid
Images: Ruth Hartnup | waferboard | Bob Jenkins
Integrated Taxonomic Information System. (n.d.). Rubus parviflorus Nutt.. Retrieved from https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=25007#null
Simon Fraser University Halkomelem Ethnobiology Web Site. (2020) Thimbleberry. Retrieved from https://www.sfu.ca/halk-ethnobiology/html/plants/thimble.htm
Wikipedia. (2019). Rubus parviflorus. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubus_parviflorus.
Wikipedia. Rubus parviflorus 9481.JPG. Retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rubus_parviflorus_9481.JPG.
