Yellowberry
Common Name:
cloudberry
Gwichya Gwich'in Name:
nakàl
Teetł’it Gwich’in Name::
nakal
Latin Name:
Rubus chamaemorus
For food
The white flowers come out in June and the berries which resemble orange raspberries, are ready to pick in late July when they are soft and plump. Along with blueberries and cranberries, yellowberries are a favourite in the area. People usually eat them right away, or save them for a special occasion or to give away as a gift. In the old days people stored yellowberries in birch bark baskets under the moss, where the permafrost kept them from spoiling and, in winter, from freezing too hard.
Source: Andre, Alestine and Alan Fehr, Gwich'in Ethnobotany, 2nd ed. (2002)
As medicine
The leaves of the cloudberry or yellowberry plant are crushed and applied to burns, insect bites, and bee stings.
Source: Andre, Alestine, Nan t'aih nakwits'inahtsìh (The Land Gives Us Strength) (2006)
