# Berries in the Bighorn Mountains (blueberry? edible?) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 22, 2019, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/berries-in-the-bighorn-mountains-blueberry-edible/839072 "2019-08-22T17:18:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2019, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/berries-in-the-bighorn-mountains-blueberry-edible/839072/1 "2019-08-22T17:18:04Z")
I recently returned from a trip into the bighorn mountains and found several of these low plants with blue berries on them. I don’t know if they are a type of edible “Blueberries”, huckleberries, buffalo berries or what. So I place it here and ask. What kind of berries are these and are they edible? I didn’t eat one, but I peeled back the skin of one and tasted it, which I found to be sweet and pleasant. THe inner flesh and juice was also blue. [[Album] Bighorn Mountain berry ![](https://i.imgur.com/let0cYv.jpeg?fb "Bighorn Mountain berry") ](https://imgur.com/a/lTYiK4h) What is it? Can I eat it? ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2019, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/berries-in-the-bighorn-mountains-blueberry-edible/839072/2 "2019-08-22T17:38:24Z")
Looks an awful lot like [salal](https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/salal/growing-salal-plants.htm). Someone else should confirm, since I’m not an expert. Salal is edible. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2019, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/berries-in-the-bighorn-mountains-blueberry-edible/839072/3 "2019-08-22T18:02:32Z")
The salal berries that I am familiar with tend to be much darker blue, like a very dark navy blue that is almost black. And the leaves do not have the spikey points around the edges. And the opening on the end of these berries looks small and round. Salal has a kind of star or X opening and blueberries also have a larger star kind of opening. I think that what you have is Mahonia aquifolium, also known as Oregon Grape. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2019, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/berries-in-the-bighorn-mountains-blueberry-edible/839072/4 "2019-08-22T18:07:50Z")
I don’t endorse this web site, but it has a good picture of Oregon Grape, including the spikey leaves and small holes at the end of the berry. And yes, you can eat them. > **[What Is Oregon Grape?](https://www.verywellhealth.com/oregon-grape-benefits-4590368)** > > Learn what the research says about the safe and effective use of Oregon grape for treating skin conditions such as psoriasis, eczema, and more. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2019, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/berries-in-the-bighorn-mountains-blueberry-edible/839072/5 "2019-08-22T18:20:40Z")
Looks like Oregon-grape (dash emphasizes that it’s not a real grape). It’s a common ornamental in gardens. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2019, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/berries-in-the-bighorn-mountains-blueberry-edible/839072/6 "2019-08-22T19:36:58Z")
OK, looks like my guess was wrong. Not the first time I’ve made that error. And I had my doubts, because salal wasn’t native to the Rockies. Anyway, both salal and Oregon grape were commonly eaten by Native Americans of the Northwest. Also both are grown as ornamentals which means you now can find them in lots of places they didn’t originally grow. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2019, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/berries-in-the-bighorn-mountains-blueberry-edible/839072/7 "2019-08-22T19:51:51Z")
Yeah, looks like Oregon Grape. If it is, you can eat them raw, but you probably don’t want to. They’re sour and full of seeds. Most people would sweeten them to use them. You can make jams or jellies out of them, or crush them to make a lemonade like beverage. You can make wine out them, too. ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/berries-in-the-bighorn-mountains-blueberry-edible/839072/8 "2019-08-23T02:59:35Z")
Thanks for the help. The suggestion of Oregon grape allowed me to look a little closer. I don’t think it’s that species but it did lead me to other similar species generally called barberries. I think this one might be more likely creeping barberry [https://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/shrub/mahrep/all.html](https://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/shrub/mahrep/all.html) It seems a closer match in size and location. There are supposed to be seeds but since I didn’t eat one, I couldn’t tell. Also the Oregon grape link suggested that the berries were unpalatable, but my taste of one suggests it was sweet and tasty. I’ll look more into it, but the barberry family seems most likely ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/berries-in-the-bighorn-mountains-blueberry-edible/839072/9 "2019-08-23T03:09:53Z")
Could it be this? These are [bilberries](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilberry#/media/File:Lahemaa_mustikad.jpg). They are sweet and edible. The picture is of the European variety, but there are varieties that are present in North America. ---
**Author:** ![rat\_avatar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rat_avatar/32/255_2.png) [@rat\_avatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rat_avatar)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/berries-in-the-bighorn-mountains-blueberry-edible/839072/10 "2019-08-23T03:23:55Z")
> [@Sigene](#): > > Thanks for the help. The suggestion of Oregon grape allowed me to look a little closer. I don’t think it’s that species but it did lead me to other similar species generally called barberries. > > I think this one might be more likely creeping barberry [https://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/shrub/mahrep/all.html](https://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/shrub/mahrep/all.html) > > It seems a closer match in size and location. There are supposed to be seeds but since I didn’t eat one, I couldn’t tell. Also the Oregon grape link suggested that the berries were unpalatable, but my taste of one suggests it was sweet and tasty. > > I’ll look more into it, but the barberry family seems most likely Note in that link that they changed the name from “Oregon Grape” in 2016 and also note that it is _imperiled_ or _endangered_ in South Dakota so please do not pick it if that is the match. While there are several species of it it also looks somewhat like a Serviceberry but there aren’t many pictures of the less common versions I can find. I know there are one or two with spines on the leafs but I think that may only be on one side. ---
**Author:** ![steatopygia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steatopygia/32/3132_2.png) [@steatopygia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steatopygia)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/berries-in-the-bighorn-mountains-blueberry-edible/839072/11 "2019-08-23T05:46:09Z")
That’s _North_ Dakota. 😃 Oregon Grape is also listed as a synonym on the FEIS link. They are very common on my property and we call them Oregon Grapes. Seedy and not particularly tasty, even the birds tend to leave them till most other options are gone. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/berries-in-the-bighorn-mountains-blueberry-edible/839072/12 "2019-08-23T08:02:16Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > Could it be this? These are [bilberries](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilberry#/media/File:Lahemaa_mustikad.jpg). They are sweet and edible. > > The picture is of the European variety, but there are varieties that are present in North America. They’re not bilberries; the colour is slightly wrong and the flower end of the berry is very different.