The soft sweet berries were picked and eaten fresh. Mary Thomas remembers that her granny used to make fruit leather from the berries. the large soft leaves were sometimes used to cover and protect food in pit-cooking. The leaves can be fashioned into a makeshift berry-picking container by pinning the terminal lobes of the leaf together with a stick to produce a small cup.
Grows well in open forest clearings, fields, disturbed areas. Prefers low to subalpine elevations.