This fall I’ve become enchanted with berries and, knowing that I’m watching out for them, berries seem to be appearing everywhere I look. Honestly, I never paid attention to berries before. If you’d asked me a few months ago if berries were all round, I’d have said “yes,” but now I know differently.
Today along the west side of the Reservoir, I saw berries so darkly blue that they were almost black. I didn’t have my camera, but hope to snatch a photo before the birds eat them or they fall to the ground.
On second thought, it’s possible that birds don’t like black berries. I put some cut branches of orange winter berries in my window boxes and a cardinal appeared to check them out. He took one bite and spit it out. I wonder what color berry he prefers.
Now, have a look at the berries below. Have you ever seen anything like them? I’m glad the birds don’t gobble them all up before we get a chance to appreciate their splendor.
Berry beautiful photographs!
By: jazzlives on December 2, 2009
at 11:17 +00:00Dec
Some of the berries you photographed are the fruits of viburnum shrubs, many of which the birds will not munch on. Enjoy the bounty of Fall’s “berries”!
By: Evie Joselow on December 2, 2009
at 11:17 +00:00Dec
Oh, that’s very good to know! Thank you. I will check google images for viburnums…
By: lornasass on December 3, 2009
at 11:17 +00:00Dec
The third picture is a dogwood, and the second one is a very invasive plant called Arum italicum – lovely spade-shaped leaves sometimes with dramatic white veins and those lovely clubs of red-orange fruit. Sad that they aren’t to be trusted…
By: Karen Farmer on December 4, 2009
at 11:17 +00:00Dec
So happy to have these ID’s. TX a lot. Pls keep ‘em comin’.
By: lornasass on December 4, 2009
at 11:17 +00:00Dec
Berries really are enchanting. In Florida, one of the shrubs that is common here is the beauty berry which really has soft yet eye-catching color.
By: Grasshopper on December 6, 2009
at 11:17 +00:00Dec
The last one is Phytolacca, a.k.a., pokeweed it’s a plant that produces black berries. Symptoms of poisoning include vomiting, dyspnea, perspiration, spasms, tremors, watery and/or bloody diarrhea and in severe cases where many berries and possibly the root of the plant are eaten, respiratory paralysis leading to death.
By: Lily on February 9, 2010
at 11:17 +00:00Feb
Yikes, thanks for letting us know!
By: lornasass on February 9, 2010
at 11:17 +00:00Feb