Nodding Onion

Squamish name: Ḵweláwa 
Hul’qum’inum name: Qʷ’áxwoy’əts’ 

The bulbs of Nodding Onions are a valued cultural food and can be enjoyed cooked or raw, providing a mild onion flavour.  

These perennial plants are great for gardens, green roofs, pollinator gardens, and Indigenous plant sites. The pink-coloured flowers are very attractive to pollinators, especially bees. These plants are also drought-tolerant, and soil should be kept dry and well-drained. Nodding Onion flowers June through July. 

Douglas Fir

Squamish name: Ch’shay̓
Hul’qum’inum name: c̓seyəɬp

The wood of the Douglas Fir tree is traditionally used by Indigenous Peoples for snowshoes and fishing equipment such as hooks and harpoon heads. The resin is used to waterproof canoes and serves as an antiseptic, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory treatment. The branches are used for bedding and seeds for food. 

Douglas Fir, while not a true fir, is quick-growing and can grow up to 100 metres tall. The bark grows up to 30cm thick and acts as a defence against insect infestation and fire damage. 

June Plum

Squamish name: Smelhx̱weláy̓ (bush) / Smélhx̱wel (fruit) 
Hul’qum’inum name: Məɬχʷəl  (fruit) / Məɬχʷələɬp (bush) 

June Plum is one of the earliest shrubs to bloom. Small peach-coloured fruits appear in spring, and once fully ripe, become a plum-like purple. These fruits are edible and attract birds, especially Cedar Waxwings. Young June Plum leaves are also edible and taste like cucumber.  

Traditionally, June Plum grows in woodland habitats, but it is also suitable for roadside planting and makes a nice hedge. This shrub likes well-drained soil and full sun. June Plum flowers from March through May.  

Oregon Grape

Squamish name: Séliy̓ay̓ (bush) 
Hul’qum’inum name: Səniʔəɬp (bush) / Səniʔ (fruit) 

Oregon Grape bark is used as a medicine for stomach ailments or as a general tonic. The blue-coloured berries are rich in antioxidants and can be eaten in small quantities, though they taste sour and shouldn’t be consumed in high concentrations.  

Featuring holly-like foliage, yellow flowers, and blue berries, this evergreen shrub is great for hedges and is widely used as a landscaping plant. Oregon Grape flowers April through July. 

Pacific Flowering Dogwood

Squamish name: łáw’qamay’ 
Hul’qum’inum name: Kʷíʔłx̱əłp 

Featuring white flower petals clustered around tiny green flowers, the Pacific Dogwood can grow up to 15 metres tall! When the flowers are pollinated, they ripen into edible red berries. These bitter-tasting berries are enjoyed by birds, while deer only eat the twigs.  

This deciduous tree prefers moist, well-drained sties and is often found in mixed forests. It has a low tolerance to frost, but a high tolerance to flooding. Pacific Dogwood flowers from April through June. 

Salal

Squamish name: T’áḵaʔáy̓ (bush) / T’áḵaʔ (fruit) 
Hul’qum’inum name: t̕eqeʔəɬp (bush) / t̕eqeʔ (fruit) 

Featuring evergreen leaves, pink blossoms in the summer, and dark berries in the fall, Salal is the most common shrub in coastal BC areas. Salal berries are edible and a major source of food for Indigenous Peoples. Leaves and branches are used to line cooking pits, provide flavour, and even cover cuts and wounds. 

These drought and moisture tolerant shrubs can grow up to 2 metres tall. It thrives in both sun and shade, though shade-grown Salal will grow taller than those grown in mostly sun. 

Wild Rose

Squamish name: Ḵálḵay (bush)
Hul’qum’inum name: Qel̕qəɬp (bush) / Qel̕p (flower)

The Wild Rose aids in land restoration after human or wildlife disturbance and provides food and medicine.  

The rosehips, rich in antioxidants and vitamin C, are edible after removing seeds. Petals and leaves are also edible. Wild Rose is a medicine valued for its calming effects and petals that soothe skin. Harvesting tips: leave 2-3 petals per flower for pollinators. 

This thicket-forming rose with pink or white flowers and prominent rose hips is ideal for wildlife habitat and landscaping. It thrives in roadside habitats, well-drained soil, and full sun and flowers March through October. 

Yarrow

Squamish name: Siʔsemáchxʷ
Hul’qum’inum name: Tł’əlíqʷ’əłp

Yarrow leaves can be used fresh as an anti-inflammatory or dried as a powder to slow minor bleeding. When brewed as a tea, Yarrow can calm and reduce inflammation. If added to a bath, it can soothe sore muscles and joints. 

Flowers are borne in terminal clusters with lacy foliage and a distinct scent. As a hardy pollinator plant, it is tolerant to temperature fluctuations, drought, poor soils, and foot traffic. It grows and spreads fast because it likes full sun in many areas in BC: sub-alpine, forest edge, grassland, maritime shoreline, interior, roadside, and on green roofs. Yarrow flowers from May through September.  

Red Huckleberry

Squamish name: Sḵw’eḵwchsáy̓ (bush) / Sḵw’eḵwchs (fruit)
Hul’qum’inum name: Skʷəqʷcsəɬp (bush) / Skʷəqʷcəs (fruit)

Red huckleberries can be eaten fresh, mashed, dried, and made into cakes for winter. Leaves and bark can be infused and gargled to soothe a sore throat. Rich in Vitamin C, they are considered anti-aging and can be made into dietary supplements.  

Indigenous Peoples use Red Huckleberries as fish bait due to their similar appearance to fish eggs. The leaves and bark are sometimes mixed to a concentrate to soothe sore throats and sore gums. 

They thrive in coastal coniferous forests, often growing out of rotting logs and stumps. Consumed by wildlife who spread the seeds through their droppings. 

Saskatoon Berry

Squamish name: Nástamaý
Hul’qum’inum name: Təshnéts

Saskatoon Berries can be eaten fresh and dried for use through the winter. Traditionally, Indigenous Peoples used the wood of the plant was used to make arrows and pipes. The fruit is still used in soups, stews, and other meat dishes. The berry juice is used to aid with stomach issues, as a mild laxative, and eye or ear drops. 

Oval-shaped foliage and clusters of white flowers in spring followed by delicious purple berries that attract wildlife.  

Used in ecosystem restoration, native plant gardens, and as a pollinator plant, they grow in full sun in grassland, forest edges, open forests, and the interior, flowering from April to June. 

Camas

Squamish name: Spánanexw
Hul’qum’inum name: Spe:nxʷ

The Squamish People have a long history with Camas, using it as a prominent vegetable. The Squamish also use Camas for management of prescribed burning.  

Traditionally, every three to five years, crops were burned on a rotational basis for optimal and continual production.  

The bulbs are harvested in April or May just after they flower, and then pit cooked for at least 24 hours to break the inulin (starch) down to fructose and caramelize the bulbs.  

Camas produces stunning star shaped, blue-purple flowers, blooming from April-June, and grow well in open sites including grassland and green roofs.

Squamish name: T’eleḿáy
Hul’qum’inum name: T’ə́ləməłp

The outer bark of bitter cherry is an important material for decorating weaving and is consumed as a medicine for stomach ailments. The bitter berries contain trace amount of hydrogen cyanide that has been shown to stimulate respiration and improve digestion.    

Wild cherries grow as shrubs or small trees that prefer sun or partial shade in loamy soils (composed of sand, silt and clay). They produce shiny dark green foliage and white flowers in April, followed by small red cherries in August. Excellent for wildlife habitat enhancement and restoration. 

Cattail

Squamish name: Sts’áʔ ḵin
Hul’qum’inum name: Stł’áʔqən

Cattail rhizomes are edible and can be used to make flour. The stalks are used for weaving mats and the seeds can be added to wool to add bulk.  

Cattail grow in wetland areas and are an excellent bio-filter for wetland restoration, preventing erosion and improving water quality by absorbing pollutants. They also provide food, nesting materials and shelter for wildlife. 

The plants thrive full sun and wet soil and are moderately salt tolerant.  

Wapato

Squamish name: Wápatu
Hul’qum’inum name: Xʷəqʷu:l̕s

Wapato is an aquatic foodplant with tuberous roots. Traditionally, he tubers, resembling potatoes, were traded extensively and harvested by Indigenous women who waded into ponds or marshes, using their toes to loosen the roots, which would then float to the surface and be collected in baskets. A resurgence of this practice is happening in many local Indigenous communities. 

The tubers can be consumed roasted, boiled, or dried for later use. Wapato are also used to clean wounds, treat headaches, aid indigestion and lower fevers.  

Wapato is also important for wetland restoration, requiring moist to standing water for growth.