Photo by Margaret Hallam

BLUEBERRIES AND HUCKLEBERRIES
Vaccinium species

Alaskan blueberries and their cousins, blue huckleberries, range in size from a small bog plant to a tall shrub, depending on the species. The plant has alternate leaves and small, bell-shaped, pink-white flowers. Fruits are blue to blue-black, and all species have a delicious flavor. The berries contain Vitamin C.

These berries may be eaten raw or in jams, syrups, pies, or in any blueberry recipe. They are best picked after the first frost, as any worms will then be gone. If picking for that summer blueberry pie or syrup for the morning waffles and you just can't wait for a fall frost, soak the berries for 30 minutes in heavily salted water. Any worms that inhabit your berries will float to the top and can be easily removed.

Besides their vitamin content, these fruits are also high in iron and mineral salts, and are packed with antioxidants. Recent research shows that blueberries may help prevent memory loss.
Blueberry juice produces an excellent dye.

BLUEBERRY JEWELRY

Robert Frost wrote in a poem about this wild fruit:

"Blueberries as big as the end of your thumb,
Real sky-blue and heavy, and ready to drum
In the cavernous pail of the first one to come…"

Wear this pin by Judie Gumm as a lovely reminder of the season when the blueberries await your coming with pail and purpose.

Large Blueberry Pin/Pendant in Lapis and Sterling $58.00



Small Blueberry Pendant $38.00

Did you know that a relative of the blueberry is the oldest living plant on earth, estimated to be over 13,000 years old? Perhaps they grew in the Garden of Eden, and nurtured the first of our kind to appear. These blueberry pendants done in sterling and lapis will help nurture your spirit as they beautify your attire

Blueberry Pendant with Lapis Beads on Chain $95.00

WILLOW
Salix species

There are at least 33 species of willow in Alaska. The genus name Salix comes from the Celtic word "sal lis", meaning "near water". Look for willows near streams or in swampy areas.

All willows have edible parts: leaves, buds, new sprouts, and the cambium layer of the bark. These edible parts contain 7 to 10 times the Vitamin C as oranges.

Salix provides an important addition to the natural medicine chest. Willow contains salicylic acid; thus it could be called a natural aspirin with no harmful side effects. (Main ingredient in aspirin is the compound "salicin", created from salicylic acid.) For at least 2,000 years this plant has been known to alleviate many ailments. Here are a few native uses for willow:

• Gargle a decoction of the bark for sore throat. (Decoction: Boil plant parts in water.)
• Drink a tea of the bark or leaves for headache.
• Use the tea as an anti-inflammatory to ease rheumatic and arthritic discomfort.
• Drink a strong decoction of leaves and bark before eating for internal bleeding or lung hemorrhaging.
• Chew leaves for mouth sores.
• Apply chewed fresh leaves to a hornet sting for quick relief.

FISHERMAN'S SOAP

Local Kodiak soap maker Carol Wandersee has stirred up a batch of "Fisherman's Soap" to help soothe work-worn hands that are irritated from stings and abrasions. White willow bark is the active ingredient included in this blend of coconut oil, olive oil, aloe, and other natural additives. Order a three-pack and your fisherman's hands will be thankful.


Photo by Dan Eubanks

Kodiak potter Brona Brown designed our fisherman’s soap dish. This small hand-shaped clay fish, fired and glazed, makes a charming accessory for any bathroom. Buy two fish dishes, and put one on your kitchen counter for a spoon holder. Assorted colors.

Kodiak Fish Dish $15.00

Fisherman's Soap, Single Bar $4.00

Fisherman's Soap, Three-Bar Pack $11.50

PUSSYWILLOW JEWELRY

Pussywillow catkins are small, gray, and look like kitten's toes. These willow blooms appear early in the season, and give promise that springtime is, indeed, on its way. In Celtic legend, the willow signified rebirth, and life itself was said to be related to the willow tree. Some beliefs held that it was the Tree of Life in creation.
Wear this pussywillow pin by Judie Gumm as a reminder that spring, the season of renewal, will return to us again each year.

Pussywillow Pin of Sterling and Pearls $52.00

For an early spring bouquet, bring in some pussywillow branches to adorn your table. For a silver and pearl bouquet for your ears, wear these charming earrings.

Matching Pussywillow Earrings (post only) $48.00

These items are also available in 14k gold plate. Prices are the same.

Photo by Thane Tuason

HIGHBUSH CRANBERRY
Viburnum edule
Kalina (Local Russian name)

This tall shrub with its noticeably musty odor is not a true cranberry, but is a member of the honeysuckle family. Its leaves are similar to a maple though much smaller. Round red berries form in clusters, and contain a single, flat seed. The plant is very high in Vitamin C.

In our area, highbush cranberry is often called by its Russian name, "kalina" or "kalina berry". These fruits make an excellent jelly, even if locals joke that the plant smells like dirty socks. Kalinas contain natural pectin, so the juice needs no thickening agent. For jelly, just add sugar and water and cook using a standard berry jelly recipe.

The inner bark of this shrub is known by herbalists as "crampbark", and has long been used for relief from menstrual and stomach cramps and asthma. Combine this "crampbark" with willow bark to make an excellent tincture to serve as an effective natural medicine.

Natives in our area save the pulp from jelly making, refrigerate, and mix in a tea with very hot water for winter colds.

HIGHBUSH CRANBERRY JEWELRY

On a crisp September morn I walk to the creek behind my cabin. Fall winds have already sent the leaves from the kalina bushes growing along its banks on their eternal journey. In the fall sunlight the clusters of red berries that remain behind shine like round gemstones against the bare branches. I gather the harvest with visions of newly made jars of jelly settled among the winter stores in my pantry.

Wear this kalina pin fashioned from sterling and garnets by Judie Gumm in remembrance of the magic autumn days in your life.

Highbush Cranberry (Kalina) Pin $58.00

For an excellent ornamental, plant a Viburnum shrub in your yard and help preserve a valuable endangered species. To ornament your ears, wear Judie Gumm's captivating silver and garnet kalina earrings.

Highbush Cranberry (Kalina) earrings $34.00

SHY MAIDEN
Moneses uniflora
Star of Bethlehem (Local Name)

This low plant with its cluster of leaves close to the ground has a single stalk topped with a white star-shaped flower that faces down. It lives amidst the moss that carpets the floor of Kodiak's spruce forests.

Moneses is from the wintergreen family, and may be brewed and served as tea. This petite beauty was a favorite medicinal among native people of our area. Jenny Chernikof, one of the elders from my village and a mentor of mine, told me that her teacher had outlined for her 12 different uses for the star of Bethlehem plant. Among these uses were the following:
• Drink a weak tea infused (steeped) from the root for sore throat.
• Drink a tea from the whole plant for colds, flu, coughs, and chest congestion.
• Use as a wash for sores or wounds.
• Drink a tea of dried leaves and flowers for stomach and lung disorders, such as tuberculosis. (Note: Tuberculosis must have been a common ailment in the old village before doctors were available.
Several plants have been named as helpful in treating TB.)
• Use the flowers as a poultice for rashes, corns, and bunions.

Some Alaska native groups used the root and some used the entire plant after its seedpod ripens. As shown above, flowers were also utilized. All sources consulted suggested that Moneses be used sparingly.

SEEDS FROM WILDFLOWERS OF ALASKA NURSERY

Enhance your flower garden with this collection of Alaskan wildflower seeds.

COLUMBINE (Aquilegia Formosa): Perhaps the beauty contest winner of this seed collection, the lovely red columbine is an outstanding representative of Alaskan wild flowers.



WILD GERANIUM (Geranium erianthum): Native people in our area used the root of wild geranium as a natural painkiller. Clean the root well and bite down on it firmly to ease the discomfort of a toothache.



FIREWEED (Epilobium angustifolium): Fireweed provides both beauty and a natural food source, right in your garden.



LUPINE (Lupinus nootkatensis): Do not eat the pea-like lupine seedpods! This showy plant is poisonous to humans. However, it is the food source for the Karner blue butterfly, which is on the endangered species list. Plant the lupine seeds and help protect the future of both these beautiful creations of nature!



FORGET-ME-NOT (Myosotis alpestris, ssp. asiatica): Alaska's state flower reminds you by its name to remember the Great Land and all its natural wonders.



JACOB'S LADDER (Polemonium acutiflorum): This plant receives its name from its ladder-like succession of pairs of leaflets. The plant has been used as a tea ingredient, and is said to cleanse the body and cause sweating.

Single Seed Packets $ 4.00

Three Packets, Your Choice of Mix $10.00

Six Packets, Your Choice of Mix $20.00