What is this brush/plant called?

Question

It sounds like Sha lale when you pronounce it, but ive googled it 100 times and have found no information on it.

I was wondering how edible the berries were.

Answer 1

Salal (Gaultheria shallon)

This plant has edible purplish-black berries in late July-Sept. They were a primary winter food for the coastal tribal peoples, who gathered them in large baskets then pressed and dried them in 3 foot long cakes.

Scroll down page for photo & info:

http://sharingwood.org/Berries.htm

Images:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kristi/8351...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mgsbird/236...

http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioimages/...

http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/im...

These sites have more interesting information about Salal.

"The native Indians considered the leaves to be an important remedy for arthritis and overexerted muscles and joints. Steeped into a tea, it was drunk for this purpose and also used as a gargle for sore throats."

But... the volatile oil of its leaves is poisonous when highly concentrated:

http://www.ernestartist.org/GaultheriaSh...

http://www.paghat.com/salal.html