Squamish - 19 Jan 14 - Clusters of American Beautyberries

            Explore 15 Mar 14

Continuing our day trip to Squamish and Brakendale north of Vancouver BC, we stopped at the Howe Sound Inn and Brewing Company on Cleveland Ave in Squamish for lunch and a brew.  These clumps of purple berries were in a planter at the entrance to the Inn.

From the web site of the Florida Native Plant Society:  
Purple berries clinging around stems with bright green foliage make Callicarpa americana stand out from late summer to winter.  It is easy to see how beautyberry got its common name.  Don't let its looks fool you though; Callicarpa is more than just eye candy.  Callicarpa americana is useful medicinally and as food for wildlife and people.  American Beautyberry is not fussy about location, soil or light requirements.  This tough plant is an American Beauty in every sense of the word.  Its name comes from Greek: Kalli, means beautiful; Karpos means fruit.

The outstanding characteristic of beautyberry shrubs is, no doubt, their berries, as their name suggests! Not only are the berries a beautiful light purple color, but they also persist into winter, affording winter interest to human eyes starved for color in snowy regions. The purple berries remain attractive into early winter but may show signs of shriveling and discoloration by mid-winter. By late winter the berries may attract hungry wild birds.

American beautyberry berries become edible upon reaching full ripeness which usually occurs in late summer to early fall. They should be a dark purple/magenta color but not turning wrinkled and dry. These berries can be eaten raw and have a mild, slight medicinal flavor. To truly maximize the potential of these berries it is best to make jelly out of them. 

The berries can also be used to make wine. Being low in sugars it is best to combine American beautyberry fruit with something sweeter such as grapes or bananas, otherwise the resulting wine will be a bit weak and have an uncomplex flavour.

Ps:  like cheap homemade wine is supposed to taste like?

Taken in: Canada / British Columbia / Squamish (show map)

Taken on: January 19, 2014

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Camera: Nikon D600, f/16.0, 1/60 sec, 300mm, ISO 800 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D600
Lens:	28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6
Aperture:	f/16.0
Exposure Time:	0.017 sec (1/60)
Focal Length:	300mm
ISO:	800
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Gain Control:	Low gain up
Sharpness:	Hard
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5.3 (Macintosh)
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