An evergreen branch laden with cones.

Drinking Christmas (trees, that is)

Drinking Christmas (trees, that is)

At the Museum’s recent Surviving the Apocalypse Night participants were asked a variety of questions about the nutritional value of certain foods. Sadly, very few people knew that you can make a beverage high in vitamin C from…Christmas trees!

The Indigenous peoples of North America have long known of the health-giving properties of some cone-bearing (also called evergreen) trees. In Canada, First Nations peoples drank an herbal tea of evergreen needles to ward off scurvy, usually in winter when fresh fruits and vegetables were hard to come by. This simple remedy was not known by early British and French explorers, who often succumbed to this disease. Scurvy causes weakness, gum disease, impairs healing, and eventually leads to fever, convulsion, and death. Symptoms set in after about a month of low to no vitamin C intake. The explorer Jacques Cartier was told about a scurvy remedy by the Indigenous people he encountered in eastern Canada, who felt pity for the suffering Europeans (see more here). Cartier was so impressed at the ability of the tea to cure scurvy that he called the tree species an “arbre de vie” or “tree of life”.

Close up on a fir tree branch full of green needles.

In addition to being a popular Christmas tree, fir (Abies spp.) needles can be used to make a beverage high in vitamin C. ©Manitoba Museum

Close up on a cedar tree branch.

The plant used to make Cartier’s tea may have been a cedar (Thuja spp.). ©Manitoba Museum

Close up on a green Tamarack branch.

Evergreen needle tea is also high in vitamin A-which you need to prevent blindness-folic acid and minerals. The tea can be brewed by collecting the youngest needles on a tree (the ones right at the tip), coarsely chopping them, pouring boiling water over them and steeping for a few minutes. About a tablespoon of needles to a cup of water is about the right proportion. Although spruces (Picea spp.) are the most common trees used to make herbal teas, other cone-bearing trees including pine (Pinus spp.), fir (Abies spp.), cedar (Thuja spp.) and larch (Larix spp.) can also be used. I prefer to have it in a blend with some dried mint to add extra flavour.

 

Image: Although it bears cones tamarack (Larix laricina) is not an evergreen; it loses its needles in the fall. ©Manitoba Museum

On the east coast, European settlers began making an alcoholic version of this beverage by adding spruce needles to molasses (from the Caribbean) and yeast to make spruce beer. By 1738, George Spence, the Hudson’s Bay Company surgeon in Fort Albany, Ontario, reported making and providing spruce beer to HBC employees as an anti-scorbutic (click here to learn more). This knowledge was eventually passed on to the British Military by Sir Joseph Banks, who encountered the beverage when he was botanizing in Newfoundland and Labrador in 1766. Captain James Cook brought casks of this beer on board his ships in the late 1700’s (along with various other foods, such as citrus fruits) and did not lose a single man to scurvy!   If you’re so inclined, you can click here for a recipe for spruce beer.

Close up on the red, fleshy cone of a yew tree.

Warnings

Evergreen teas should be drunk in moderation (a cup of weak tea a day is probably fine) as large amounts are reported to be toxic. Pregnant women should NOT drink evergreen tea as it may cause a miscarriage. Yew (Taxus spp.) trees are really poisonous so make sure you can tell a yew apart from the other cone-bearing trees. Yews have flat needles with pointed tips and fleshy red fruits with a single seed in the middle instead of dry cones. They are not common in Manitoba and are shrubs usually less than 2 metres tall.

 

Image: The toxic yew (Taxus spp.) trees have fleshy red cones, not dry ones. By Rob Routledge, Sault College, Bugwood.org [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

Below is a simple identification key to Manitoba’s wild cone-bearing trees. To use it, select the statement (a or b) that best describes the plant. Continue selecting statements until you come to the name of a species. Then double check the identity by consulting a field guide or reputable website. Please note that there are some exotic cone-bearing trees planted in urban areas, which may not be in this key.

1a. Trees with scale-like, overlapping leavesEastern white cedar (Thuja occidentalis)
1b. Trees with needle-like leavesSee 2
2a. Leaves in clusters of 2 to manySee 3
2b. Leaves borne singlySee 4
3a. Leaves in clusters of 10-40, deciduous; base of clusters without a sheathTamarack (Larix laricina)
3b. Leaves in clusters of 2-5, evergreen; base of clusters enclosed in a sheathPine (Pinus spp.)
4a. Leaves 4-sided, not appearing 2-ranked, borne on short woody pegsSpruce (Picea spp.)
4b. Leaves flat, appearing 2-ranked, not borne on woody pegsSee 5
5a. Leaves rounded or notched at the tip; bearing dry cones; bark grey and smooth or scalyBalsam fir (Abies balsamea)
5b. Leaves pointed at the tip; bearing reddish fleshy fruits with a single seed in the middle; bark reddish and shreddyCanada yew (Taxus canadensis)
Dr. Diana Bizecki Robson

Dr. Diana Bizecki Robson

Curator of Botany

Dr. Bizecki Robson obtained a Master’s Degree in Plant Ecology at the University of Saskatchewan studying rare plants of the mixed grass prairies. After working as an environmental consultant and sessional lecturer…
Meet Dr. Bizecki Robson

Planes, Trains, Automobiles, & A Ferry: My UK Adventure

This summer I spent three glorious weeks exploring museum collections, historic ships, archaeological and historic sites, and local cuisine in England and Scotland. Here’s the stats on this trip: 

  • 8 cities 
  • 22 museums & galleries (including 4 historic ships) 
  • 15 heritage sites (including archaeological sites) 
  • 2 17th century pubs (for Nonsuch Gallery research!) 
  • 380,504 steps (according to my iphone health app) 
  • 10 days of train travel 
  • 1 roundtrip ferry to Orkney 
  • 4 days of driving (eep!) in Orkney 

I went on this whirlwind trip with two major goals: to view collections related to the HBC; and to conduct research for our upcoming Nonsuch Gallery renewal.  I came back exhausted, but also incredibly inspired and I can’t wait to start pulling all of my photographs and notes together. 

For some folks my itinerary might seem a bit museum-heavy, but for a nerd like me it was heaven!  In fact I really only started to experience museum fatigue on my last stop, in Edinburgh (which just means I’ll have to go back!). 

So, did I achieve my goals?  YES! 

Viewing collections housed in other institutions is important to get a sense of what else is out there and learn more about the people collecting Indigenous artifacts during their employment with the HBC. Some of the artifacts I viewed were quite similar to ones here within the HBC Museum Collection, including some beautiful embroidery that was likely made by the same women from Norway House that made the pieces my colleague Maureen Matthews exhibited last year. 

I also had great meetings with people who care for Cutty Sark (in Greenwich), Victory and Mary Rose (Portsmouth). I feel quite lucky that our Nonsuch is indoors and does not have to deal with the elements which pose much greater conservation issues than what we deal with in our climate-controlled gallery! 

I hope to blog about specific stops along my journey as time permits so stay tuned, but here’s a small sample of photos!

Dr. Amelia Fay sitting in front of a table with several artifacts laid out in front of her, holding a shoe as she makes notes in a notebook.

Examining artifacts at the British Museum’s offsite storage.

A ram’s head with large curling horns that has been converted into a snuff mull with a jewelled container on the top of its head and light chains handing down from it’s forehead, connected to snuff tools.

A ram’s head snuff mull similar to ours in the HBC Gallery (Wellcome Collection, London)

Photograph looking up at a large crest and on a ceiling. The coat of arms bears two rearing elk either side of a shield with a beaver in each of the four sections of a cross. A fox sits above the shield, and a banner below reads, “Pro Pelle Cutem”.

The HBC crest can still be seen at Hudson Bay House, their former London headquarters.

View of a large ship’s keel displayed in dry dock hall where viewers can get up close with is. A glass ceiling has been built at “water level” through which one can see the rest of the ship above.

Impressive view of the Cutty Sark keel. 

A large docked ship with three masts. While there is full rigging in place, the sails are drawn up.

Cutty Sark in all her rigged glory! 

A close-up of the stern of a large wooden ship with “VICTORY” written across the back. In the background is a domed black building.

The stern of the Victory, with the Mary Rose gallery (the strange black orb) in the background.

A large wooden ship in light-beige wood with thick dark stripes. The ship has three masts and three levels of gun ports.

The Victory had a face-lift recently, they’ve done paint-chip analysis and these are her original colours!

Looking down into a large gallery full of glass display cases, with a wrap-around balcony-style second level. A sign at the top of the frame says “Pitt Rivers Museum / Anthropology and World Archaeology”.

If you visit the Pitt Rivers in Oxford give yourself lots of time!

Dr. Amelia Day wearing blue latax glove examining an artifact at a table. Several other artifacts sit on padding in front of her and in a tray beside her.

Looking at artifacts in Aberdeen, Scotland!

Looking into a large gallery space with a oval domed glass ceiling. Two wrap around balconies show second and third levels to the building.

The National Museum of Scotland (Edinburgh) is a stunning building.

A mannequin wearing a jacket and light-coloured fur hat sitting in a small boat with a pack. Behind the mannequin is a large wall handing with the HBC Coat of Arms. The coat of arms bears two rearing elk either side of a shield with a beaver in each of the four sections of a cross. A fox sits above the shield, and a banner below reads, “Pro Pelle Cutem”.

Halkett boat diorama in the Stromness Museum (Orkney). A must-see museum for anyone interested in HBC!

A brass bell with a cord hanging from inside it suspended in a small wooden arch. “AMELIA” is engraved on the bell and a plaque belwo reads, “Ship’s bell from S.S Amelia / Loaned by Magnus Ritch”.

They let me ring the bell, it is my name afterall.

Dr. Amelia Fay

Dr. Amelia Fay

Curator of Anthropology & the HBC Museum Collection

Amelia Fay is Curator of Anthropology and the HBC Museum Collection at the Manitoba Museum. She received her BA in Anthropology from the University of Manitoba (2004), an MA in Archaeology…
Meet Dr. Amelia Fay