wild roots.” Also, Rhodiola prefers cold winters and cool summers; thus, ongoing global warming could potentially have adverse effects on future success. “At present Rhodiola,” points out Smithsonian.com “already fetches a higher price per acre than other crops, such as potatoes.”
CAUTION: An American Botanical Council HerbGram concludes that though R. rosea has very few side effects with most users finding it improves their mood, energy level, and mental clarity, it should be used with caution by individuals who tend to be anxious, jittery, or agitated. Also, those with bipolar disorder with a tendency to have manic periods may find it overly stimulating.
SAXIFRAGE
Saxifraga species Saxifrage family (Saxifragaceae)
The Saxifraga genus is a large one and can be confusing, but fortunately it’s forager friendly. My preferred species for eating is brook saxifrage, Saxifraga punctata, which has smooth, kidney-shaped leaves with toothed margins and a spike of white flowers; as the name indicates, it is common along streams. Leaves grow singly on basal stems. Inuit people eat flowers and petals of aupilaktunnguat, purple mountain saxifrage, Saxifraga oppositifolia. Saxifrage flower colors vary from white to yellow to violet red. Look closely and you’ll note 5 petals with 10 stamens with a very visible ovary in the center. Seed capsules are red. A plant sometimes mistaken for brook saxifrage is mist maiden (Romanzoffia); leaves are similar in shape and equally edible.
DERIVATION OF NAME: Saxifraga is from the Latin saxum, “rock,” and frango, “to break.” Saxifrage thrives in rock fissures, creating the illusion it breaks rocks. Another theory of derivation relates to saxifrage’s ancient use in dissolving urinary stones.
OTHER NAMES: brook saxifrage, salad greens, deer tongue.
RANGE: Throughout Alaska. Habitats vary with species from moist places to rockslides to rock crevices to bogs.
HARVESTING DIRECTIONS: Leaves are prime before flowers appear, but for camping purposes can be harvested all summer.
FOOD USE: Add saxifrage leaves to salads or stir-fries. Though they won’t win kudos on MasterChef due to their rather bland flavor, they’re a good source of vitamins A and C and can be dressed up with more flavorsome greens or sauces. Use in soups, quiche, spanakopita, and casseroles.
HEALTH USE: Bog saxifrage, Saxifraga hirculus, is a tufted species with short runners and yellow petals. It ranges in Alaska as well as in Pakistan, where the plant’s decoction is given in fever, diarrhea, cough, chest complaints and pulmonary disorders. Spanish Saxifraga species are used as poultices for bruises, bites and boils. If camping in the alpine and needing relief from mosquito bites, a poultice of mashed saxifrage leaf could be worth trying.
OTHER: In the UK, University of Cambridge scientists have discovered the rare mineral vaterite in the “crust” that forms on various alpine saxifrage species. Vaterite is of significant interest to the pharmaceutical industry as a superior carrier for medications and as an ingredient in cements for orthopedic surgery.
Sea & Sandy Shores
Alaska and its islands offer 33,904 miles of coastal foraging opportunities. The proverb “when the tide is out, the table is set” doesn’t apply for every single beach, of course, but I’ve always quipped that if I had to be stranded somewhere in Alaska, may it please be by the sea.
This section includes gravel beaches, tidal marshes, and rocky intertidal and subtidal zones. Here, many coastal plants including beach greens and goosetongue have developed fleshy stems and leaves to withstand desiccation in this salt-kissed environment. And algae, such as bladderwrack, have adapted to the extreme contrast between being immersed in sea and then exposed on land to glaring sun.
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game allows kelp harvesting along most of Alaska’s coast for personal, noncommercial use. Fish and Game classifies most of Alaska’s coast as a “subsistence use area.” Within such areas, seaweed may be harvested without a sport fishing license or harvest limit. Exceptions to this rule, at time of publication, include Cook Inlet. Check with your regional office for current local rules.
Note that within the beach plants, the algae are organized progressively from ocean to shore. First is bull kelp, which exists in the ocean at all times. Progressing shoreward, the algae are arranged in the “biobands” where they occur. As the tide drops, the dark brown bladed algae (including ribbon kelp) are exposed, then the red algae (dulse and nori), followed by the green (sea lettuce). Closest to shore is the brown rockweed, bladderwrack.
Algae are particularly forager friendly, with only one known “toxic” kelp in Alaskan waters. A nibble of the inedible hairy unappetising Desmarestia won’t harm you, and the flavor of this “acid kelp” will discourage you from eating more.
The remaining beach plants are arranged in alphabetical order by common name.
BULL KELP
Nereocystis luetkeana Laminariaceae (family) Brown algae (division Phaeophyta)
The kelp beds common along southern Alaska coasts are a hazard for boaters, who can foul their props in the tangles. But they are a favorite place for sea otters to park pups while mom fishes. Kelp blades grow to 10 feet long, and stipes (stems) can reach 100 to 175 feet in length in a single year. A branch-like holdfast attaches bull kelp to the seafloor. At the surface, an inflated bulb floats long, narrow blades.
DERIVATION OF NAME: The genus name is from the Greek nereo, “sea nymph,” and cystis, “bladder;” luetkeana honors a Russian sea captain.
OTHER NAMES: bullwhip kelp, meq’aq, gahnguq (Yup’ik), sú (Tlingit), tutl’ila (Dena’ina, “water rope”).
RANGE: Southeast Alaska to Kodiak and the Kenai Peninsula to the Aleutian Islands.
HARVESTING DIRECTIONS: Bull kelp is prime from April to June. Use a boat and hook to collect plants attached to the ocean floor. Just 1 or 2 can feed a family. If boatless, visit the beach at an ultra-minus tide, with waders, to retrieve one. Or check for freshly uprooted kelp. Avoid older beach drift (unless collecting just for garden mulch).
FOOD USE: Every part of kelp except the holdfast has edible applications. Munch on the blades raw for a “salty cabbage” snack. Wrap a salmon in the fresh kelp blades and cook on the campfire; serve the kelp as a vegetable. Blanch blades (as described in ribbon kelp) and use similarly as salad. Dry bull kelp blades and grind as a table seasoning. Or massage raw blades with olive oil, garlic, nutritional yeast, and spices and then dehydrate for “chips.” I prefer to peel the stipe, then slice and use the raw rings atop pizza. Try marinating kelp rings in honey or syrup and then dehydrating; tasters guessed I was feeding them dry pineapple. Use stem, peeled or unpeeled,
