Soapberry (Shepherdia canadensis)

This text was originally published in Coastal Grower (formerly The Island Grower) in Victoria, British Columbia. For subscription information, please call Susanne Steele at the Coastal Grower at 250-478-0825.

Before the coming of European and Asian immigrants, real sugar was unknown in British Columbia and sweet teeth had to be satisfied with wild berries. One berry, the soapberry (also called soopolallie and buffaloberry) even though it was not sweet, was used to make a uniquely British Columbian dessert which we now call "Indian ice-cream".

Soapberry of the Oleaster Family (Elaeagnaceae) grows as low, spreading to tall, erect shrub (0.5 to 4m high) with many stems. The roots bear little nodules (in which live nitrogen-fixing organisms) endowing soapberry with an exceptional ability to invade raw disturbed ground. Smooth grey-brown bark covers the stem and branches. Oval leaves, about 2.5-5 cm (1-2") long, sparsely clothe the twigs. Distinct rough rusty spots cover young twigs, buds and especially the backs of the leaves. With a hand lens you can see large star shaped hairs attached by their centres to the surface of the leaves.

In the spring, clusters of inconspicuous dull-red male and female flowers appear on separate plants before the leaves emerge. Each flower has a swollen tube-like base, called a hypanthium, to which are attached 4 sepals. There are no petals. Male flowers produce 8 stamens, whereas females have a single pistil nestled in the tube.

You begin to notice soapberry plants as the bright orange red fruits ripen in the early to mid summer, as early as May to as late as August depending on elevation and climate. The small elongated berries are made of a translucent juicy flesh that shines brightly when it catches the sun. Some female plants have only a few berries and are hardly noticeable. But others may be dripping with fruit and beckon from a distance.

Soapberries occur throughout almost all of British Columbia, except the Queen Charlotte Islands, very high mountains and dense coastal rainforests. The North American distribution ranges from Alaska to Oregon eastward right to the Atlantic coast. The favoured habitats include dry sparse woods and open country, often on stony soil.

Native people of the coast and interior used soapberries widely for food. Unlike most types of berries they did not eat the sour-bitter berries fresh. The sticky berries were collected in an ingenious manner. Mats were placed beneath the berry-laden shrub. Then the berry picker hit the branches in exactly the right way to knock off all the ripe fruit. It is a humbling experience to watch a Native elder harvest baskets of fruit in this manner, while you fumble about stripping off a few sticky berries with your hands.

Soapberries can be used immediately to make "Indian ice-cream". Put a handful of berries into a bowl, add a little water and a dash of sugar for sweetness (recipe: ¼ cup water to one cup fresh or two tablespoons dried or canned berries). Then mix or swish them up until they foam into a salmon-coloured froth. Make sure there is no fat or oil residue in the bowl, or the berries will not foam up. Today people use eggbeaters or mixers to foam up the berries. Traditionally though some Interior peoples used a special Rocky Mountain Maple (Acer glabrum) bark mixer, and on the coast salal (Gaultheria shallon) or thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus) leaves.

For storage, berries are canned in jars or dried in the traditional way into flat pressed cakes. Soapberries were, and continue to be, an important item of trade among Native peoples. In the old days soapberries were traded widely to the coast for fish and fish products.

Soapberry suits dry sunny garden sites well, particularly where you want to establish low-care cover. Choose a site with coarse well-draining soil, especially on the coast. Shallow soil over bedrock suits soapberries well. Obtain the plants from a specialist nursery or propagate from summer cuttings. You can grow soapberry from seed too, but the seed coat needs to be scratched (scarified) and then exposed to freezing winter temperatures to break dormancy. Sow and raise in a pot until large enough to transplant. Once planted, this shrub needs little care except perhaps and annual mulching about the base. Start several plants and set out a mix of males and females to get fruit. Soapberry is an excellent subject for summer colour in cold dry climates of British Columbia. On the coast avoid shade; shaded plants in the Native Plant Garden of the Royal B.C. Museum have grown tall and leggy and produce few berries.

Looking for an unusual attractive fruit of native origin? Then try soapberry in your garden. One productive plant will provide enough berries for numerous ice cream feasts. For more information on this and other native species contact the Botany Unit of the Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria, BC