Nature Notes
Many Fruits, Berries on Mackinac Have Healing Properties
By Patricia Martin

In the last couple of weeks I've had more people ask me about fruits and berries that they've seen in the woods. Several people have asked if any of them are edible, or at least useful for anything, so in this column I thought that would try to cover a couple of these fruits. Some of them I've touched on before, but perhaps from a different angle.

The first fruit I would like to mention is found along the shore and in open areas within the Island. It is the fruit of the rose (Rosa sp.), commonly known as rose hip. Rose hips are the ovaries of the rose that swell up, are rounded, and are usually red or orange in color. The sepals of the flower remain and are attached to the end of the fruit. The shape of the rose hip depends on the species of rose, and may range from round to oval to elliptical. They also vary greatly in size.

Roses, of course, have long been associated with romance, and have been considered an aphrodisiac of sorts. They're often called the queen of the flowers. Roses have been mentioned in poems, plays, and songs for centuries, just ask Mr. Shakespeare. Rose oil, extracted from the petals of the flowers, is used as a base for perfumes, and for its healing properties, but rose hips have their own uses.

Staghorn Sumac

One of the largest displays of rose hips on the Island right now is along the roadside at Mission Point. There the hedge of Rosa rugosa is covered with large (an inch or more in diameter), roundish, orange to red hips. In addition, these roses are found in a variety of gardens scattered about Mackinac. In other places around the Island, wild roses, such as the Smooth Rose or the Prairie Rose, can be found with smaller fruits.

In this northern climate, rose hips have been used for a variety of purposes. They were particularly important in that they contain a high content of vitamin C, even higher than oranges, which in the past have been hard to come by up north. Teas and jams made from rose hips have been used for centuries. By the way, it is customary to wait until the first frost to pick the hips in order to get the best flavor. Teas made from the hips were relished, and those with tuberculosis were often drinking it. rose hips were also boiled to make syrup that seemed to give relief from itching. The whole fruit would often be mashed and eaten, and were thought to relieve trouble with the lower intestine and relieve excessive bleeding in menstruation. The red skins of the fruit were sought to settle a queasy stomach. Native people of this area would collect the hips of the rose and puree, preserve, or extract them and use this in other foods. Though the seeds of the rose are rich in vitamin E, they also contain cyanide compounds. Compounds made by simmering the seeds alone were made into liniments for external use for such things as muscular pain and the pangs of arthritis.

Staghorn sumac (Rhus typina) is another plant which is producing its fruits right now. This is a shrub that grows up to about nine feet in our area and has reddish bark on stout branches. The terminal branches are covered with dense soft hair rather like the velvet on a stag's horn. The leaves are alternate and are pinnately compound with numerous leaflets, which are lanccolate-oblong in shape. The edges of the leaves are toothed and the fruits are red in dense clusters and covered with velvety hair.

The fruits are collected at this time of year and have been used to make a wonderful drink. They're made into a tea, which needs to be filtered in cheesecloth because of the hairs, cooled, and sweetened to make a delicious "lemonade." An infusion of this fruit was traditionally used as a gargle for sore throats. The tea, used as a wash, was used to stop bleeding in childbirth. A hot infusion of the fruit was ingested to reduce fever. Native people of the area used a wet poultice of the leaves and/or berries to help clear up poison ivy. An infusion of the ripe berries was often given to people who were passing blood in their stools. In addition to their uses as medicinal substances, the berries have been used to make a soft gray dye for fabrics and wools by boiling them in water and adding an iron mordent.

Beside the fruit, the roots and bark of the sumac were also used as medicine. The root bark was used to heal and treat burns. A decoction for the bark was

used to treat piles, cuts, and sores. A bark decoction was taken internally to help stop diarrhea.

Staghorn sumac is commonly found on the Island in dryish, open places such as Fort Holmes and Skull Cave. One last note on this plant: Poison sumac, which is much more closely related to poison ivy than true sumacs, has white berries and grows in wet places. We do not have any on Mackinac.

There are many other fruits and berries on the Island right now, and not all of them are edible.

Do not eat any of them unless you're sure of what they are, and that it's all right to ingest them.

Trish Martin is a yeararound resident of Mackinac Island, has earned a master's degree in botany from Central Michigan University, and owns Bogan Lane Inn.