Im not sure if these are wild berries , are they ?

Status
Not open for further replies.

nathan

Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2003
Messages
5,070
Saw these all over the place /underbrush in the National Forest when i was hunting. Anyone knows ?

HPIM1802.jpg
[/IMG]

HPIM1804.jpg
[/IMG]

HPIM1801.gif
 
Not sure of the specific species of these, but they are related to poke berries and similar plants. The berries are poisonous -- as you can tell from them being uneated by wildlife this late in the season.
 
What you have there is beautyberry, a species of Callicarpa (probably American Beautyberry, Callicarpa americana)

The berries will eventually be eaten by wildlife, but animals tend to put off eating them until most of the other food is gone.

From wikipedia:

American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) is an open-habit, native shrub of the Southern United States which is often grown as an ornamental in gardens and yards. American beautyberries produce large clusters of purple berries, which birds and deer eat, thus distributing the seeds. The raw berries, while palatably sweet, are suitable for human consumption only in small amounts, because they are astringent; they are also used in jellies. The roots are used to make herbal tea. As a folk remedy it has been claimed that "fresh, crushed leaves of American beautyberry, Callicarpa americana, in the family Verbenaceae, helped keep biting insects away from animals such as horses and mules." An isolated plant compound, callicarpenal, has reportedly proven effective in tests as a mosquito repellent.

The native range of C. americana extends from Maryland to Florida, west to Texas and Arkansas, and also Mexico, Bermuda, the Bahamas and Cuba.
American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana). Closeup photo taken 10-30-2008, North Carolina.

Plants with white berries are found in cultivation under the name Callicarpa americana var. lactea; not all authorities recognize this as a distinct variety (in the sense of the botanical rank below subspecies).
 
Quote

American beautyberries produce large clusters of purple berries, which birds and deer eat,

>>>


If so, just perfect food source for deers in a forest dominated by pines and pin oaks.
 
Yep, beautyberries. Grow all over the place here in Florida & deer, song birds & turkeys eat 'em...........birds crap 'em in the gutters and every downspout grows a bush full.

Must be kinda bitter, as it's true that they are about the last fall berries that wildlife feeds on hereabouts.

Properly trimmed, they do make a fairly attractive home planting tho.
 
Well they're (1) wild, and they're (2) berries. So I'd say YES!

while palatably sweet, are suitable for human consumption only in small amounts, because they are astringent;

I thought those two characteristics were polar opposites on the same scale, no? How can this be?

Astringency is also the dry, puckering mouthfeel caused by tannins found in many fruits such as blackthorn, bird cherry and persimmon fruits, and banana skins. The tannins denature the salivary proteins, causing a rough "sandpapery" sensation in the mouth. Astringency tastes unpleasant to many mammals (including humans), which tend to avoid eating astringent fruit; conversely, birds do not taste astringency and readily eat these fruit. It is thought that fruit astringency gives a selective advantage to some plant varieties because birds are better than mammals at long-distance seed dispersal, often flying a great distance before passing the seeds in their droppings.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top