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| Katrina on a sloping Garry Oak Meadow |
Yampa is an inconspicuous plant that
often grows in Garry Oak Ecosystems, which are really rare in Whatcom
County. The only ones that I know about
are in the Chuckanut Mountains along the eastern shore of Bellingham Bay, and
on the western slope of Sumas Mountain.
Deep soil Camas meadows and Oak savannas that were formerly maintained
by Native Americans have largely filled in with Douglas Fir (Psuedostuga menziesii) as a result of
fire suppression, changes in land tenure and Native American diets, and many other
factors. These days, Garry Oaks (Quercus garryana) can only be found on shallow
soils that are too dry for Douglas Fir.
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| A small bulb and unopened flower cluster of Hooker's Onion |
Yesterday, Katrina and I set out to
explore one of these remnant ecosystems called the Chuckanut Bald. Using an aerial photograph, we plotted our
course from a nearby gravel road, but what looked like an easy bushwhack on the photo turned
into a VERY steep scramble up a mossy sandstone bluff. I knew we were on the right track when I
started to see the beautiful (and poisonous) flowers of Death Camas (Zigadenus venenosus), Sea Blush (Plectritis congesta), Menzies Larkspur (Delphinium menziesii), and other Gary
Oak associates. When the grade lessened
somewhat, the soil depth increased enough for trees to grow, and there they
were, scraggly Garry Oaks that were wider than they were tall. We scouted around looking for Camas (Camassia sp.) but couldn’t find
any. However, many other edible roots
were in abundance. Chocolate Lily (Frtillaria lanceolata), Hooker’s Onion (Allium acuminatum), Harvest Brodieae (Brodieae coronaria), and Yampa (Perideridia
gairdneri) were all present and have a long history of use by the Salish and other Native Americans.
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Yampa was widely used by Native Americans
throughout the Pacific Northwest, and continues to be used by some people
today. The Cheyenne, Flathead, Niitsitapi
(Blackfoot), Okanagan-Colville, Paiute, Gosiute, Skagit, Karok, Miwok, Pomo,
Umatilla, Ute, and Yana, all considered the roots a staple that were eaten
fresh, baked, boiled, and dried for future use.
The Dakota attributed particularly energetic principals to the roots,
and it was eaten by buffalo runners to
sustain their efforts. The Pomo and Yana
ate the leaves as well. (See Moerman’s Native
American Ethnobotany).
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| Grass-like leaves of Yampa, can you find them? |
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| Three generations of Yampa corms (left). |
Yampa’s long linear leaves are difficult to
see among the grass, but once I tuned into their pinnate branching pattern,
they started to spring into vision all around me.
Their corms are small at about 1 inch long and ¼ inch wide; growing about 3
inches deep, they aren’t too difficult to dig up. I carefully unearthed a few specimens of
Yampa to experiment with and plant in my garden. A few of the plants that I examined actually
had 3 generations of corms: grandpa Yampa- a wrinkly root that was past its prime,
papa Yampa- a large healthy corm, and baby Yampa- a small cormlet that I
suspect could quickly regenerate into a new plant if replanted in the aerated
soil of the harvest site.
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| Yampa corms. The one on the left has been pealed. |
Back at home, I prepared my Yampa by
simply washing the corms and rubbing the delicate brown skin off to expose
the white edible flesh. I sampled a corm
raw and found the flavor and texture to be strikingly similar to parsnips. The fresh leaves also have a nice flavor
similar to parsley. Though small, I look forward to eating more Yampa in the future.
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