The following plants were eaten or used for some other food-related purposes by the Gitxsan and Wet'suwet'en peoples.
Traditional food preparation and storage methods
Plant common name (Latin name) |
Brief description of use: |
| Fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium) | The syrupy "marrow" was eaten. |
| Cow-parsnip (Heracleum lanatum) | Eaten raw as a green vegetable. |
| Highbush cranberry (Viburnum edule) | The berries were consumed. |
| Beaked hazelnut (Corylus cornuta) | Nuts were eaten and made into more easily preserved forms. |
| Western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) | The sweet cambium layer was used in numerous food-stuffs. |
| Red columbine (Aquilegia formosa) | The nectar was eaten as a candy. |
| Saskatoon (Amelanchier alnifolia) | The berries were both eaten fresh and preserved. |
| Soapberry (Shepherdia canadensis) | They were made into "Indian Ice Cream". |
| Prickly rose (Rosa acicularis) | The flesh of the rose hip was eaten. |
| Scouring-rush (Equisetum hyemale) | The sweet liquid was used in place of fresh water by hunters. |
| Skunk cabbage (Lysichiton americanum) | The leaves were used in storage and sometimes eaten. |
| Lance-leaved stonecrop (Sedum lanceolatum) | Eaten to freshen the breath after a meal. |
| Thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus) | The berries were eaten and the young shoots were used in stews. |
| Nodding onion (Allium cernuum) | Was used as a vegetable in stews or eaten raw. |
| Kinnickinnick (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) | The berries were sometimes used in soups. |
| Labrador tea (Ledum groenlandicum) | A tea was made of the leaves. |
| Bunchberry (Cornus canadenis) | The fruit of the Bunchberry plant was used as a thickening agent in berry rolls. |
| Ostrich fern Matteucia stuthiopteris) | The young growths of this plant were prepared a number of ways. |
| Lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia) | The cambium layer was eaten as a treat. |
| False Solomon's-seal (Smilacina racemosa) | The berries were a delicacy served only to chiefs. |
| Red elderberry (Sambucus racemosa) | Though reputedly poisonous, the berries were made into a type of jam. |
