Manzanita Trunk - Mt. Diablo
As I would hike in the lowlands around Mt, Diablo, I would see a most unusual tree, not because of the scraggly tree itself, but because of the unique bark which would curl and peel. When it would peel to the smooth trunk, it became more intriguing, and a little study showed that the plant was used medicinally for poison oak and other purposes. Florists would use the branches in decorating centerpieces, and because the lasted so long, many people with parrots and other birds would use them as perches.
The red berries are edible; the flowers looked very much like Lily of the Valley. Perhaps its popularity almost led to its extinction, but an experiment in cloning brought the tree (up to 20 feet tall) back and now populated most of the drier range of the San Francisco Bay Area. It is found now from British Columbia to Mexico, and is definitely a western, drought tolerant plant. Take away it's beautiful bark, edible, driftwood looks under the red curls, and medicinable characteristics, and what have you got? Well, what I got the first time I saw it was this picture. I still know where this particular tree is, and it continues to fascinate.
Native Americans in Northern California made a tisane from manzanita leaves to treat poison oak rash.The leaves contain chemicals with a mildly disinfectant quality, and can be used for mild urinary tract infections.
The berries are a good food, as they can be harvested en masse and stored. Once stored and dried, the berries can be ground into a coarse meal.The berries can be eaten ripe (when red) or green for a slightly sour taste. They are good eaten alone, or used as a thickener or sweetener in other dishes. Fresh berries and branch tips can be soaked in water to make a cider. Native Americans used Manzanita leaves as toothbrushes. (Manzanita means little apple in Spanish, and it is a favorite of Cedar Waxwings and Robins. But to my eye, it's just a unique and beautiful thing of art. (Remember, I do not drink: I just have a unique way of looking at things. Imagine the first person to see a birch tree. Then imagine the first person to think that you could make a canoe and not have it sink. That happened shortly after the word "canoe" was invented. That guy DID drink.)
Manzanita Trunk - Mt. Diablo
As I would hike in the lowlands around Mt, Diablo, I would see a most unusual tree, not because of the scraggly tree itself, but because of the unique bark which would curl and peel. When it would peel to the smooth trunk, it became more intriguing, and a little study showed that the plant was used medicinally for poison oak and other purposes. Florists would use the branches in decorating centerpieces, and because the lasted so long, many people with parrots and other birds would use them as perches.
The red berries are edible; the flowers looked very much like Lily of the Valley. Perhaps its popularity almost led to its extinction, but an experiment in cloning brought the tree (up to 20 feet tall) back and now populated most of the drier range of the San Francisco Bay Area. It is found now from British Columbia to Mexico, and is definitely a western, drought tolerant plant. Take away it's beautiful bark, edible, driftwood looks under the red curls, and medicinable characteristics, and what have you got? Well, what I got the first time I saw it was this picture. I still know where this particular tree is, and it continues to fascinate.
Native Americans in Northern California made a tisane from manzanita leaves to treat poison oak rash.The leaves contain chemicals with a mildly disinfectant quality, and can be used for mild urinary tract infections.
The berries are a good food, as they can be harvested en masse and stored. Once stored and dried, the berries can be ground into a coarse meal.The berries can be eaten ripe (when red) or green for a slightly sour taste. They are good eaten alone, or used as a thickener or sweetener in other dishes. Fresh berries and branch tips can be soaked in water to make a cider. Native Americans used Manzanita leaves as toothbrushes. (Manzanita means little apple in Spanish, and it is a favorite of Cedar Waxwings and Robins. But to my eye, it's just a unique and beautiful thing of art. (Remember, I do not drink: I just have a unique way of looking at things. Imagine the first person to see a birch tree. Then imagine the first person to think that you could make a canoe and not have it sink. That happened shortly after the word "canoe" was invented. That guy DID drink.)