Foragers: Can you identify these fruits?

Branwyn32Branwyn32 Raw Newbie

I’ve found all these growing in a community field in my neighborhood and am wondering if anything’s edible. I know there’s a few foragers here…do any of you have any ideas what they might be?

These are growing on a tree and have a peachier appearance in person. The unripe ones are fuzzy like a peach, but the ripe ones are smooth like a tomato. The flesh inside looks similiar to a peach in texture and color. The tree has a trunk split like 3 ways, and is probably about 20 feet tall. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/branwyn32… http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/branwyn32…

These are growing on vine line bushes. Many seem to be eaten by animals so I assume they’re edible. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/branwyn32…

These are on a short tree, maybe 6-7 feet high. They grow in big clumps. They have a rough speckly texture and are kinda hard. When I cut a slice out, it was the color of an apple inside but looked very mealy. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/branwyn32…

These are on edging bushes along the street. I assume they’re not edible because no animals seemed to have touched them. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/branwyn32…

Thanks!

Comments

  • greeniegreenie Raw Newbie

    Branwyn32, I know the last photo you posted, with the orange berries, is inedible and maybe poisonous. The others look ok. The first set looks like persimmons.

    The smartest thing is to take the samples to your local agricultural extension service and ask there. If you have a local farmer’s market or whole foods store, someone there might know, too.

    You are lucky to have such luscious looking stuff growing in your neighborhood. I live in Iowa and very soon we’ll be in deep freeze with nothing growing :-(((

  • ungratefulungrateful Raw Newbie

    The first, orange ones are persimmons.

    The small, dark blue or purple berries look like oregon grape, but I would have to see the bush. Oregon grape is edible and they make wine and jam from it. They are sour.

    The little brown ones I don’t know.

    The orange berries are poisonous, I can’t remember the name.

  • Branwyn32Branwyn32 Raw Newbie

    Thank you guys! I just looked up persimmon and yup, that’s them! Through one of the pages I looked up wild apples and crabapples, and I’m pretty sure the little brownish green fruits are unripe wild apples.

    ungrateful The dark berries grow in a grape like way…sort of climbing over other bushes up to 6 feet high of so and vining down. I’ll bring everything to Whole Foods tomorrow and see if they can verify everything for me.

    Squee! Free fruit across the street!

  • queenfluffqueenfluff Raw Newbie

    Oregon grapes have a red stem – can’t tell by your pic – what color is the stem? Plus, you are in Georgia right? I don’t think Oregon Grapes grow in Georgia. There are several dark berries that look grape like that are not edible – not necessary poisonous but taste bad and will make you feel sick. My bf said it is not a grape – we would need to see a pic of the whole plant. Grapes normally have a frosty color to them anyhow – that are not really solid dark purple like that. The leaves are too dark and waxy looking.

    The first one does look like persimmons.

    Not sure of the the third or last one.My guess is the third one is some sort of apple but they may not be fully ripe yet. Some wild apples are just mealy and never get really juicy and nice to eat.

    Does the last one have a skin that feels like an orange peel? If so, I think those are some sort of landscaping plant and not edible . Not sure if poisionous.

    What I would do if I were you is either take them to the local nature center. Or take better pictures (preferable outside in the sunshine of the whole plant) and post the pictures to Forage Ahead. They will be able to identify for you. DON’T eat until you have an expert identify them.

    http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/ForageAhead/
  • queenfluffqueenfluff Raw Newbie

    I found a pic that looks very much like your fourth one. You are look at see if these are the same. The guy that took the pictures says they are wolf berries which can not be possilbe because wolf berries are goji berries which we know are edible. Regardless of what they are called it looks like they are not edible.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/sergei1971/1103515…

    Alot of round smooth wild berries that are white, red or orange are not edible – some poisonous. It is a good idea not to eat them. Alot of times bird and other animals can eat and they are not poisonous but are poisonous to humans. So don’t assume that because the animals are eating them that they are safe for human comsumptions too because that is absolutely not true.

    I definatley wouldn’t count on Whole Foods to identify them. Go to a nature center like at a Forest Presever or at least a gardening center. The people who work at my Whole Foods don’t even know what all the produce is that I buy so I certainly would not trust them to identity wild berries!

  • Branwyn32Branwyn32 Raw Newbie

    Queenfluff…I just looked up Oregon grapes…you’re right, they’re definitely not them. Shiny dark smooth appearence, not dusted blue, and the leaves are totally different…the Oregon grape leaves look kinda like holly leaves. BUT, in my wikipedia-ing the Oregon grapes, I found they’re related to barberry…I clicked on the link and I almost positive that I’ve seen it growing EVERYWHERE here! I’ll have to try to find some to get it ID’ed. :)

    The orange ones have smooth skin like a cherry, not like an orange at all. They’re used as edging all along the street in part of my neighborhood, so I assume they’re just ornamental.

    Thank you for the linkage! My digital cam is broke so I’m limited to pix unless I take my laptop out w/me and use the webcam :facepalm: but I’ll try and get better ones. I live near a nature center too, so I may just take samples there as well.

    Thanks!

  • penfoldpenfold Raw Newbie

    Branwyn, I’d agree you’ve got persimmons in the first picture (lucky), and as you’ve figured out, the berries are NOT Oregon grapes. Oregon grapes grow on low bushes. The leaves are more like holly, like you said, and very spiky, turning mottled dark red in the fall. Early in the year, they get sprays of bright yellow flowers. No idea for the third one, but the fourth, I’m pretty sure is mountain ash. Not super poisonous; I’ve heard that people do eat them, but I don’t think they’re tasty, and probably wouldn’t sit well. The birds like them, though.

    Oh, did you see any flowers on the vining one?

  • Branwyn32Branwyn32 Raw Newbie

    I’m excited to try the persimmons! According to what I read they’re not ripe yet and are very sour if eaten before ripening. Alot are falling off the tree though so I’ll guess I’ll just pick the ripest and let them hang out on the kitchen table for a few days. I know I’ve had an unripe persimmon before, and holy hell it was not a good experience. I’ve had dried persimmon though, and it was delicious.

    I looked up mountain ash…AKA Rowan? Apparently the Finnish use certain strains of it to make a wine called sorbus. Huh. They’re prolly sprayed with pesticides like crazy though since they’re being used as landscaping here.

    The vining berry looking plant didn’t have any flowers right now, that I can recall. the stems are brownish green. More green than brown though. The shape of the leaves is so pretty and looks so familiar, like some berry I’ve definitely seen before, I just don’t know what.

    As a side note, right across the field there’s a bunch of what are either boysenberry or mulberry bushes, I believe boysenberries (they look very similiar). I’ve eaten them before, very tart though. They seemed to be an early summer thing. Along another area there’s passion fruit bushes…passion fruit seems to be amazingly common here. I’ve seen the buds and the crazy outer space looking flowers but have never seen the fruits…so I’m hoping they actually bear fruit!

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