News from ACORN September is peak season for wild berries, and it looks like this year will see a bumper crop. So here is a reminder of the ones you should be able to spot in the hedgerows whilst out and about – Etonbury Wood is a great place to start – see if you can find them all! Please be aware that most of the berries described here should not be eaten raw.
We have to start with BLACKBERRIES (my favourite) – and if you don’t know what they look like, you deserve to buy them in the shops instead of picking them for free! Fruit of the fast-growing Bramble (Rubus Fruticosus). The one you definitely can eat raw, they are good for your health (if you resist the urge to add sugar). It’s best to wash them first and either leave to soak in slightly salty water to kill off bugs, or freeze. Strange fact: During the American Civil War, fighting was halted to allow soldiers to pick blackberries to make a cure for dysentery.
The most common hedgerow tree is the HAWTHORN, with a profusion of orange/red “Haws” – the name for the individual berry. Have a look inside a berry. Normally there is just a single seed, but you may come across the less common “Midlands Hawthorn”, which looks very similar but has 2 seeds. Continuing with the thorny trees – BLACKTHORN has the large purple/black Sloe berry. Still harvested for the production of Sloe Gin (and the wood is good for making witches wands – apparently). Take care if you are picking sloes – the thorns are vicious and can cause a nasty septic reaction.
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Last of this prickly group, the DOG (or WILD) ROSE has small pale pink flowers and oval orange/red “hips”. Inside each hip are many hairy seeds – take care as the hairs contain an irritant to our skin. Rose-hip syrup is a traditional source of vitamin C. The small purple/black berries of ELDER grow in clusters, taking the place of the white flowers. Both flowers and berries can be used for making cordial and wine. The confusingly named GUELDER ROSE also has clusters of white flowers which produce small bright red translucent berries. Berries of the ROWAN tree look similar to Hawthorn (but no thorns!). Dense clusters of bright scarlet / red berries.
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SPINDLE is the tree that likes to be different, producing bright pink oddly shaped berries, which open to display large orange seeds inside. The WAYFARING tree is so named because it likes to grow near paths (why? – and how does it know?!). Its clusters of small oval shaped berries turn from yellow to red to black.
Like the Wayfaring Tree, the small round berries of ALDER BUCKTHORN turn from yellow to red to black, but are more evenly spread over the tree, without forming dense clusters.
Less common is the WILD SERIVCE TREE – you may need to visit Stotfold Mill Nature Reserve to spot one of these. Its “berries” (more like fruit) are greeny brown, oval in shape in small clusters. They can be eaten – said to taste like dates, and used to be sold as sweets for children. - Acorn
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