Akagwik
Rubus chamaemorus L.
Plant
Cloudberry is a low-growing herbaceous plant of bogs and tundra found across the Kodiak Archipelago. It bears a single, white flower that produces edible, juicy, yellow to orange fruit divided into sections like a salmonberry. It has roundish, lobed leaves, large for the plant’s small size.
Gathering: Cloudberries are one of the earliest berries to ripen. In some areas, they may be harvestable as early as late June. Some people prefer to gather cloudberries when the fruit is very firm. This is because the berry is harder to remove from the stem when it softens.
Food: Alutiiq people eat cloudberries raw or make them into jam and jelly. Some add them to mashed potato akutaq. In the past, people kept the berries in traditional oils. Today they preserve the raw berries in a freezer.
