A . SUMMARY ACCOUN
OF THE
WILD BER-R IES
AND OTHER
EDIBLE FRUITS
OF
NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR,
BY
THE
REV'D .. ARTHUR C. VV AGHORNE,
NEW HARBOR, NEWFOUNDLAND.
PRICE FI~TEEN CENTS.
To be had at the ''Mercury office, and of the writer, and of
the Booksellers, St. John's, Newfoundland.
H
ST. JOHN'S, NEWFOUNDLAND·
''MERCURY" PRINT.
OF THE
WILD BERRIES
AND OTHER
EDIBLE FRUITS
OF
NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR,
BY
THE
REV' D. ARTHUR C. WAGHORNE,
NEW HARBOR, NEWFOUNDLAND.
PRICE TEN CENTS.
To be had at the "Mercury'~ office, and of the writer, and of the
Booksellers, St. John's, Newfoundland.
ST. JOHN'S, NEVVFOUN.DLAND ·
" MERCURY" PRINT.
TO
HER
EXCELLENCY
LADY
BLAKE~
On her departure from Newfoundland, where her uniforrn kindness and intelligent interest in all ~hat belongs to the social and 11atural.
interests of the Colony, no less than her talented zeal as a patron .
of all branches of science, have endeared her to all classes of the-
community,.
THIS FIRST ATTEMPT
TO SYSTEMATIZE ONE DEPARTMENT OF
THE BOTANY OF NEWFOUNDLAND
And to encourage others in the study of it,
IS
(By kind perrnission),
DEDICATED
By her humble Servant,
THE
November 14th, 1888.
WRITER.
A SUMMARY ACCOUNT
OF THE..
Berries and Edible Fruits of New-foundland.
BY THE REV. ARTHUR C. WAGHORNE, NEW HARBOUR.
The object of this paper is to give, as far as our present limited
-information goes, a complete, systematic and accurate account of our
Berries and Edible Fruits, which has never before been attempted~
~ The utmost . that we can hope to do is to . exhibit their variety, designate their proper names, common and botanical, and to indicate in
what cases we claim connection, by our similar fruits, with "the Old
Country "-our own or our forefather's home. Probably all our native
fruits are found elsewhere in North America. Mention is made oC
those of our plants, &c., which are found in England. The whole subject of our flora is involved in much doubt and obscurity, as but little
attention has ever been given to it. The writer would be very grateful for any information on the subject.
·
In this revised edition are embodied the results of further study
and investigation, and of the kind and valuable assistance of Professor
Macoun, the Government Botanist of Canada, who writes of the former
edition: ''I think your article on Fruits as it now stands is very satis- ·
factory"; and kindly adds, "I think you have already done good
.service to Bot_a ny in Newfoundland."
.
The writer has thought it best to follow, in the main, the arrangement and terminology of the late Dr. Asa Gray, as given in his wellknown Manual of Botany of the No1~hern United States. · The various
orders are arranged in the sequence in which they are found in his
book.
.
The effort has be~n made to give, where possible, the common
Newfoundland local names of the various plants; but it is feared much
4
success has not attended the attempt, owing chiefly to the vagueness
and uncertainty, and the limited nature of our local botanical nomenclature. The interleaved edition will, it is hoped, be used by many
in Newfoundland for their own notes as to places where the various
plants are found, and for needful corrections and additions. Such
notes would be of good use to the writer for future work.
1-7/te Buttercup or Ranunc-ulus family (Ranunculacere). The only
one of this order yielding us berries is the Red Baneberry or Cohosh
(Actrea Spicata.) It is known in England as the Herb Christopher.
Our form is no douht the variety r1..tbra. It is a plant about two feet
high, with a clnster of white flowers, and red berries.
2-The Berberry .or Barberry fa·mily (Berberidacere), gives us the
Common Berberry (Berberis vulgaris); it is not a true native, but introduced frorn the Old Country. It has scarlet, acid berries and yellow
drooping flowers. It is far more frequent in England than here.
3-The Rose (Rosa) family (Rosaceoo), is a large and important.
one. Takjng up first the
(a) Rubus or Bra1nble geuuB \Ve have the raspberries and the blackberries. Atnong the former is found our well-known bakeapple (Rubus
chamoomorus), common in the high elevations of Great Britain, and
there called the mountain bra1nble and cloudberry; and of the true
r.aHpberries, we have in great abundance, the wild red raspberry of
America (R . strigosus), 'vhich much resembles the common English·
raspberry (R. Idreusi, this is also said to be found here, but the
America·n raspberry has been n'listaken fori t), and the black raspberry
or thimbleberry (R. occidentalisJ, 'vhich is rare. Then there are tw~
species of dwarf raspberries, the Arctic bratnble {R. a.rcticus), with a
variety called grandifiorus, found on the Labrador, and our common
dewberr_y, plum boy~ or swatnpberry R. triflorus) ; this is also called
R. saxatilis, and hence has been confused 'vith another plant of thesaine name-the stone bra1nble-which does not appear to be found
on this side of the Alantic. Then atnongst the blackberries we hnve
the high bramble f R. villosus l, and son1e say there is also its English
kinsman, the wild bramble (R. fruticosns); but here again the American plant has been taken for the English. r.rhese are not found in any
quantity, and but Heldom mature their fruit. I hear, ho"vever, that
about Burin and fnrther weHt, the ripened fruit is sometimes fairly
5
abundant. This Bramble has also two varieties in this country, viz.:
the frondosus and the humifusus. Our low or dwarf blackberries are-the bristly or running blackberry (R. hispidus or sempervirens), andL
the low blackberry, or northern dewberry \R. Canadensis).
Cb) The Fragaria or St?·au;berrry genus gives us our two species
o~
strawberries, which are found plentifully in some places-the English
wood or Alpine strawberry (F. vesca) and the scarlet or wild strawberry (F. Virginiana ; ; the former is very common in England.
(c) The Prunus or Cherry and Plum genus. To this family we are
indebted for four species of cherries - the wild red cherry (Prunus.
Peunsylvanica), the wild black cherry (P. serotina), the dwarf orsandcherr.y (P. pumila,) and the choke cherry, (P. Virginiana). The~
first two are of larger growth ; the last t\vo are shrubs or small trees ...
(d) 1he Cratmg·u.s or White Thorn gen'itJB as far as we know at.
present., is only represented by the scarlet fruited thorn (C. coccinea.)
(e) The Atnelrtnr:ltier or June-berry genus gives us, I
believe, our
winter or \-vild pear, the shad-berry or June-berry of America., (A •.
Canadensis). The variety oligocarpa is also found here.
(f) 1he Pyrus or Pea·r and Apple genus includes our low wild pearor choke-berry (P. arbutifolia, with variety melanocarpa,) and the
American 1nountain ash (P. Atnericana). The latter is commonly called_
here the dog-berry or dogwood-berry; but this is properly quite another
tree, viz., the "\vild cornel of England (cornus sanguinea). A variety of·
the Atnerican mountain ash is also found in Newfoundland, which has.
smaJler berries-this is the P. microcarpa, and may be our cat-berry :.more than one of our berries, however, bears this name. The English
Dlountain ash (P. aucupariaJ has been said to exist here, but the·
.American mountain ash has been mistaken for it.
{g) The Ro8a or Rose genus gives us in Newfoundland, it would:
seem,.at least four species and two varieties. They are the Swamp or
Ca~ol1na Rose (Rosa Carolina), the s.h ining or dwarf wild rose (R.
luc1da), with its variety parviflora, the early, bland or Hudson's Bay
R?se ( R. blanda) "\vith the variety setigera, and the shining or lowWild rose. (R. nitida). The last named is apparently placed by Dr. Gray
as a var1ety merely of Rosa lucida. On the authority of ProfessorMacon n it is r~~ised in to a distinct species.
4-The Saxifrage (Saxifraga) ·family (Saxifragacere). The only
division of this family with which we are concerned, is :Jhe Ribe.s or·
Ourrant and Gooseberry gen,?.ts. It seems that we can unly speak with
6
-certainty of there being three kinds of gooseberries, and two of cu1
.:rants here: others have been mentioned, but these require examin~
-tion. The three gooseberries are the prickly gooseberry or thorn herr.
'"( Ribes Cynosbati), the small stnooth gooseberry (R. 6xycanthoides o
llirtellurn), and the small swamp gooseberry (R. l a cu s tre). The cur
Tants are the· red currant (R. rubrum), and the mountain or fetij
,-currant (R. prostratum). A white currant is also reported as existin:
-: here; but Mr. Howley, of our Geological Survey office, assures me h
-never met with it. Of all these the red currant is the only one foun1
--wild in England. Professor Macoun thinks 've have probably th1
_Black Currant (R. florid urn), and it. has just been r e purted as found ii
_1 3onavista Bay.
5-The Aralia or Ginsengfa1nily [Araliacere] has only 1he Arali
·or Ginseng or ~ld Sarraparilla gentt;s which gives us the black or dark
_purple berries of three kinds of aralia-the spikenard or pettymorre
{A. r~cemosa], the dwarf or wild elder or bristly sarsaparilla [A
hispidus] and the wild sarsaparilla [A. nudicaulis].
6-The Oornus or Cornel or Dogwood ja1nily [ Cornacere]: · Thi
:genus appears to have eight representatives in Newfoundland; th
best known of which is the crackerberry-the bunchberry or scarle
~tone berry of Atnerica-[Cornus Canadensis].
The other herbaceou
:member of this family is the d·vvarf or Lapland cornel [C. Suecica]
-this is frequent in England, and is much like the former. All ou
-other cornels are unknown there I believe. These are the round
leaved cornel [C. circinata], the silky cornel or kinnikinnik [C. cericeas]
iihe panicled cornel [C. paniculata], the alternate-leaved cornel [C. al
"ternifolia], the stiff cornel [C. stricta], and the red osier dogwoo<
{C. stolonifera].
Our white-rod and red-rod are, I believe, amon!
~hese: the latter being probably the Red osier Dogwood.
7-'1-he HoneysMclcle .family [Caprifoliacere] brings to our notic~
-three genera, the Lonicera or honeysuckle genus, the Viburnum
arrow-wood or lauristinus genus and that of the sambucus or elder.
(a) 'ihe Lonicera or Honeysuckle or Woodbine genus gives us th
.Mountain or blue-fruited Fly-honeysuckle [L. coorulea], and its var]
7
ety villosa, and the S"'amp Fly Honeysuckle [L. oblongifolia]. Both.
have yellowish flowers : the berries of the former are blue; those of""
the latter are purple.
(b) 'Flte Viburnum or Arrowu;ood or La1trestinus genus has probably
:five species in Newfoundland; and amongst them are the squashberry~
and, I believe, our withe-rod and white-wood berries. The others are..
the sweet viburnum or sheepberry [V. Lantago], the withe-rod ornaked-stalked vi burn urn [V. nudum], the fe"'\v-flowered arrow-woocl
[V. pauciflorurn], and the maple-leaved viburnun1 . or dockmackie
{V. acerifolum]. Our squashberry is not. the high cranberry [Viburnum Opulus], as at first thought, but the Few-flowered Vi burn urn ..
Our witherod is probably the V. nudu1n; and our white wood, whose:
berries are mueh like the squash-berry, is, perhaps, the V. opulus.
(c) 1'he Samlntcus or Elder genus family gives us the panicled orred-berried elder [Sambucus racemosa, variety pubens].
The V. Opulus is the only one, it would seem, of these fruits ?"
which grows wild in England; it is known there as the common
guelder-rose or water elder.
8-The Madder family [Ru biacero] gives us the Mitchella or Partridge-berry venus, of which the sole species is the M. repens. It is.
remarkably distinguished by its bright red berries, formed of two·
flowers.
9-The Heath family [Rubiacero]. The genera·or divisions of this.
large and important family of which we are to speak are those of the·
huckleberry, whortleberry, creeping snowberry, cranberry, partridge-·
berry and bearberry. It thus yields us a large proportion of ourmost common and valuable fruits.
(a) 1 he Buckleber1 y or Goylussacia gen1..f;$ affords us, I believe"'
our'' black hurts" or whorts. They are of two kinds, the black orcommon huckleberry [G. resinosa], and the dwarf huckleberry [Gdumosa].
1lle Whm tlef.£rTy o1· Vaccini1tm gtn.ttts. This gives us ou
b hurts" or '\\ hortleberries pro1 erly EO called, and our partridge·
erry.'' The former are also called blueberries or bilberries. There
in Newfoundland five kinds of whort~, with one variet{',_ besides
red ·whortleberry, cow berry or mountain cranberry [V. V1t1s Idroa]
"
(b )
7
:b.:
8
-which is Ollr partridgeberry. They are ·the common low bluebe1
[V. Pennsylvanicurn], its variety angustifolium, the blue or high l
berry [\Tacciiiium coryrnbosum], Canadiar1 blueberry [V. Canad~ns•
-the mountaiil blueberry, [V. uliginosum], and the dwarf bl11eber~y [
:erespitosum] . The last two are dwarf species, and 1nay both be o
"''ground hurts." The high bilberry grows from four to eight feet
height; the others are from six to twel·ve inches high : the d w
;~pecies being still srnaller.
Of these, the rnountain blueberry and t
·e owberry are the 01~ly or1es of our whorts fou11d in England.
7he Ora1~berry or Oxycocc~ts genus. Irt very close botani<
~on1~ection with tl~e whortleberries, so that they are, or were, son
times grouped with thern, are tvvo otl1ers of our berries, one of 'vhi
"is very common and 1nuch valued by us.
These are the cranberri
Onr marsl1berry appears to be the cotntnon or small cran.berry
America, and the marsl~ whortleberry or cranberry of England [O)i
~occus vulgaris].
Our less frequen.t cranberry, which bears lat
berries, and has its flower-stalk [or pedicels] springing from the j u1
-ture of the leaf an-d stem [or axillary] is the larger cranberry (
-:m.acrocarpus l . Probably the latter is what is sometimes called t
·b earberry and bankberry in Fortune Bay and elsewhere.
(C)
(d) 7lte Creeping Snowberr ry or Chiogenes genu8. .....t\.1~ot.her delic~
:and much appreciated berry is claimed by the Heath tribe, and that
the capillaire or rnaide11hairberry [ chiogenes hispidula]. It is called
·other p~rts of Nortl~ America the mountain. boxberry, or creepi
,snow berry.
(e) The Aromatic Wzntergreen or G1talteria genus. In this di vi si
-we find the checkerberry, aromatic wintergreen~ boxberry, or, .as it
·called in some parts of North Am·erica, the Partridgeberry and Tt
lJerry. About Harbor Breton it is called the Mountain Tea.
(f) 7he_Bearberry or Arctostaphylos genus.
The red bearberry
Xinnikin1~ik [A. uva ursi], and the black or alpine bearberry [
.Alpina] are both found here; the names indicate the colour of t
berries. The for~er is known_ as the "rockberrx" and possibl~ fo
berry and ground 1voryberry, 1n Fortune Bay. Both these exist
~ngland; and the larger English species, the strawberry-tree [
tlnedo ; is also stated to have been identified here; but as it does n
.appear to be known in North America we may conclude it is a mista1
10-Ihe Holly fa1nily [Aquifoliacere] .~ In its Mo·u1~tain Holly
.Nemopanthes genus we ha,re the Canadian or mourttain holly [Nerr
9
-·p anthes Canadensis], a shrub bearing dry, red berries and small greenish-white· flowers, called in Fortune Bay, I believe, Brick-timber and
~at-berry.
11-'Ihe Mazereu1n family [Thymelreacere]. .H ere we find in the
Leatheru;ood or Direct genus, the Leatherwood or Moosewood [D. pal-ustris].
12- The Oleaster fami_ly [Elreagnacere].
In the ShPpherdia
_genus we find the Canadian Shepherdia fS. Canadensis 1·
13-'Ihe Bandletvoodfa·m ily [Santalacere] brings us to the Bastard
Toad-Flax or Comandra genus, with its two species, the C. umbellata.
-and C. livida.
14-'Ihe Crowberry family [Empetracere] has two genera.
(a) 7he Crowberry or Empetrum genus which affords us our so·C alled "blackbe-rry" or heath berry· or earthberry, which is properly
the common or black crow berry [E. nigrum]. It-is comn1on in England. A red Crowberry [E. rubrum] which has red berries, is found
in Miquelon, Sagona, Brunet, Long Harbor, Fortune Bay and other
places westward.
(b) 'Ihe Broon~ Crowberry or Corema genus gives us the Broom or
Plymouth Crowberry [C. Conradii].
15-1he Oakfamily [Cupuliferre] in its Hazlenut or Corylus genus
affords us our two Newfoundland nuts, the beaked hazel [Corylus
rostrata] and the wild hazel [C. Arnericana]. The latter is very similar to _the common English hazel [C. avellana].
I
16-The Sweet Gale.family [Myricacere]. Here we have, in the
weet Gale or Myr-ica genus, two plants : the Dutch _myrtle or sweetale [Myrica gale], and the wax-myrtle or b_ayberry [M. cerifera]. The
ormer is found abundantly in England.
17-:J.he Pinefamily [Coniferre]. Two divisions here interest us,
amely: the juniper and -yew genera.
(a) The Juniper [Juniperus] genus. The junipers of Newfoundand appear to be three in number_ namely, the co:r;nmon juniper
Juniperus communis], the red cedar [ J. Virginiana] and the creeping
10
juniper [J". sabina, variety proctlmbans].
The berries of tl1e latte
seems., are called here the "face and eye berries," from their re.
blance to the human co11ntenance.
They are much in request by
~ .. grar1.nies" for their ''sick" ~omer1:
Our s?-called junip~r tree
longs to a differer1t_ genus of this family, ~nd_ IS t~e tamaracK or b1
larch [Larix Americana_].
The cornmor1 JUnlper IS of frec1uent oc
renee in England.
It IS here called comrno1~ lo-vv, or grot..lnd juni
to distinguish it from the larch, or high jt1r1iper: and the creep
juniper is known as '' savine."
(b) '1 he Yew or 'Iaxus gert?.ts.
1Ve have l1ere the 011ly N
American species, 11.amely: the ground,. or American, or grour1 cl h 1
lock ye'-v [TaxliS baccata.d, var-Cana_densis] ; it grows in some
places in the Nortl1 of Englancl.
It IS prolJablJT our ''palm."
18-'J.he
Gree'l~bria1·
fam'l7y
[S·m ila,cew]. Tl1e only genus of
or Smilux geTI/~tJs. Here we have 1
order is that of the Gree1~briar
species, which have bluish-black berries. Tl1ey are the common gr
briar [Smilax- rotundifolia], ~and the carrion flower [ S. l 1 erbac€
The medicinal sarsparilla [S. sarsparilla], saicl to be fot..t11.d here, is
known on this .side of the Atlantic.
-
19-The L'ily family [Liliacem] gives us fi·ve genera to speak <
( 1) 'Ihe Three-leaved Nightshacle or Trillium gen1-c.s, which }1 as ·
species, the T. recurvatum and the T. erytl1rocarpurn, tl1e Srni:
~ake·-R·obin or Painted Herb or Trillium.
.
(2) Tl1e False JS"'olomon/s Se.ol or J,._':milac·~ina gen/u.s which gives us
"t\-vo-leaved Solomon's seal [S. bifolia], and the three-leaved Solom
seal [S. trifolia].
Botl1 tltese have bright red berries, and are perll
known here as " scurvy berries," the star-flowered Solomor1 's seal
false spikenard [S. stellata], "\vith blackish berries, and the clust€
Solomon's seal [S. racemosa], having pale-red speckled berries.
(3) The 2~·-ue J5olo1norts Seal or Polygonat?A-nt ge~'tus, i11 w hicl1
have on.ly the smaller Solomon's Seal [P. biflorum], probably a vari
pu be seen s.
This l~as round blue or blacl~ berries.
(4J 'Ihe OliTttonl·a [Clintnnial gen'LtB, "\Vhere \.Ve have tl1e wild J
of the valley- [C. borealis], which has large yellow flowers ar1 d bri:
blue berries, called here "poison berries."
'
( 5) ~111e 7~wisterl Stalk or Strerjtop-. ,s gen ,u s, ir1 which we have
rose twistecl stall~ [S. rosens], aTld anotl1er species called the S. ~
_plexifolius; botl1 have red berries.
11
Here I must come to a conclusion, but without pretending to have
really covered the whole ground mapped out before me and unsustained~
by the hope of. having avoided mistakes. As this brief investigation
in a corrected and revised form is placed before the public, by way of"
introduction to, and in preparation ~or, a more ambitious and extended examination of the wild fruits and berries of Newfoundland, I
shall be glad to have any mistakes pointed out, and to receive any further information on the subject, especially as to our local names, froiDJ._
those who may have any knowledge of the matters here treated of.
•
•
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