0
points
Wild Plant Identification on New Property

General    None Given

We recently moved onto some acreage in northern Michigan that has many plants that are new to me. I would really like to learn about what is currently growing here, but am having a hard time identifying plants. For instance, I have two different kinds of red berrying bushes that I have had no success in identifying! One is very obviously a viburnum, but the berries are not ovoid, they are perfectly round and red. Our chickens and the crows love them. They grow under our pine trees, and the leaves look like elderberry leaves. Another's berries look like currant berries; they look very similar to the honeysuckle bushes I have seen online, but I think the leaves are smaller, and we didn't notice any honeysuckle flowers on them earlier. Both types of bushes are quite vigorous and persistent. I'd like to know if they are edible, or have other uses (besides bird food!), or if they are pest plants that I should minimize. There are lots of other plants that I don't know how to identify as well. Any suggestions on the best way to find out more about the plants I have?


Posted by: April (2 points) April
Posted: July 25, 2013


David Hughes commented,
You should take pictures and post them with your answer which would make it very easy for the community here to ID them. Fruits and leaves.
over 10 years ago.

Sarah McKibben commented,
Hi there! You might try joining the Facebook Group "Eat Wild" based in South Bend, NW Indiana, which is dedicated to foraging and identifying wild plants and things. Then start posting some pictures! They'll also have suggestions for how to go about identifying stuff. I'd also contact your state university extension school and get a list of master gardeners in your area....
over 10 years ago.

April commented,
I couldn't find the Eat Wild facebook page. :(
over 10 years ago.



Answers

2
points
In California, we have a native-plant society and an invasive-plants organization whose members likely would know about those kinds of plants. A little googling reveals a list of invasive species, including some red-berried honeysuckles
http://mnfi.anr.msu.edu/invasive-spec...
and a group of native-plants nurseries with a database (you can search for shrubs)
http://www.nativeplant.com/plants/sea...
as well as a wildflower organization
http://www.wildflowersmich.org/index....

Members of those groups might be able to help or recommend someone who can spend a couple hours at your site, or you can browse their websites.

Some viburnum berries are spherical, and there is also a red-berried elder.


Posted by: Tanya in the Garden (128 points) Tanya in the Garden
Posted: July 25, 2013


April commented,
I didn't know there was a red-berried elderberry! I just looked at some pictures online, and that's what it looks like. The berries from our bushes don't smell nice when crushed. Is that true for red elderberries? I am working on getting some pictures posted for this and the other red-berried bush whose berries are striped like currants, but I am having technology issues.
over 10 years ago.

April commented,
Haha! I see an alternate name for the red elderberry is "stinking elderberry". I'm thinking that must be what we have. ;)
over 10 years ago.

Sarah McKibben commented,
Isn't the red elderberry the nonedible one? http://www.eattheweeds.com/elderberri...
over 10 years ago.

Tanya in the Garden commented,
Like other sources, this one says red elderberries have toxic seeds but are edible cooked. Most sources also suggest the same for blue elderberries: may cause problems if eaten raw, but ok to eat cooked, dried, or fermented, with seeds removed. So red elder is a red flag if you have livestock, but if you want to eat it as a wild food, do your own research. For me, anything described as "stinking elderberry" is offputting. Also, in California, blue elderberries may be getting the same maggots as other berries and soft fruits (spotted wing drosophila).
over 10 years ago.

April commented,
The chickens ate plenty and didn't seem to have any problems with them. I'm not sure if we'll want to try to process them for ourselves in some manner or not, but I sure am glad to know what they are, because we have tons growing around us.
over 10 years ago.



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