As many of you have probably noticed, the Vail Valley is home to many edible plants, many of which, like the rest of the alpine foliage around here, is now in a stage of fall transformation.
Still, until at least the end of September, local trails will be ripe with chokecherries and rose hips, and even some lingering thimbleberries and serviceberries. (Wild strawberries and mushrooms have pretty much already come and gone).
As tempting as it may be to pluck a bundle to whip up into homemade jam, you best leave them where they are so the wildlife has something to collect before it heads off to hibernate.
"It's a beautiful time to be out on the trails," said Anne Stevenson, community programs director for the Gore Range Science School. "The important thing to remember is that the berries are for wildlife. Save the food for the bears. It's fun to learn about edible plants. But if you don't know what it is, don't eat it."
Thimbleberries grown in shrubs and resemble small raspberries. Serviceberries are marked by five-petal white flowers and look like mini blueberries. Rosehips grow in bushes and are hard, red, orbs with a leafy sprout on one end. Chokecherries grow on trees with multi-colored, oval-shaped leaves and are ripe when they reach a dark red.
Keep an eye out for Gore Range's fall educational programs at http://www.gorerange.org/.
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