Hul’q’umi’num’ Language & Culture Society presents

Plants in the Hul’q’umi’num’ World

"Sambucus racemosa Red Elderberry" by David A. Hofmann, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Hul'q'umi'num' name:
tth’iwuq’ – red elderberry fruit
English Name:
Red Elderberry
Alternative English Names:
Coastal Red Elder
Scientific Name:
Sambucus racemosa

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Description

Description, Habitat, Ecology, Distribution
Red elderberry is a large shrub to small tree (to 6 m [ca. 20 ft] tall) that produces creamy white flowers and large clusters of small red berries. It occurs along streambanks, swampy thickets, moist clearings, and open forests from sea level to middle elevations throughout the coast.
Island Cultural Role
The fruits are edible, but are cooked before eating.
Cautions
CAUTION: This species may be harmful. It produces toxic substances (a poisonous alkaloid and cyanogenic glycoside) in all plant parts. The concentrations are much lower in the flowers and unripe fruits, however, and the ripe fruits are regarded as edible.

Language

Hul'q'umi'num' Name
tth’iwuq’ – red elderberry fruit
APA
t̓ᶿiwəq̓
Speaker
Ruby Peter
Hul'q'umi'num' Name 2
tth’iwuq’ulhp – red elderberry shrub
APA
t̓ᶿiwəq̓əłp
Speaker
Ruby Peter

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Featured Plant

qw’uxwi’uts | Nodding Onion

qw’uxwi’uts | Nodding Onion

Nodding onion is a perennial plant that grows from small, clustered bulbs. The leaves are basal, linear, and grasslike. The flowers are pink to rose-purple, and grouped in clusters that droop, appearing to nod. This species occurs in dry, open woods, exposed grassy areas, rocky crevices, and sandy soils. It is scattered, but locally common, at low elevations along the coast.
The Hul’q’umi’num’ name shown above refers to nodding onion and perhaps other native species. In the post-contact period, this name has been extended to refer to the introduced garden onion