Fall Fruit

Plants create fruit to further the survival of their species but in doing so they create some very tasty treats for the rest of us. Not all “fruit” is fleshy - some are seed capsules, some are nuts and some are small seeds attached to wispy bits of fluff designed to carry them away. Here I want to talk about fleshy fruits and in particular the attractive fleshy fruits that appear in fall.

Red chokeberry (Photinia pyrifolia)

The fruits of fall are very pleasing to the eye and very much appreciated by the wildlife that feeds on them. Some are eaten right away while others are “squirrelled” away for later. Sometimes they are not retrieved from their hiding places, allowing the seeds in the fruit to sprout and become new plants. I’m pretty sure that was part of the plant’s plan all along. 



Of course even those that are eaten come out the other end where the seeds are now even better prepared to sprout and grow!
  
If you like to have plants with fruit, whether for show or for the birds and critters, let’s talk about the possibilities, starting with a few shrubs.

Juicy fall berries of Viburnum acerifolium

Viburnums – native viburnums offer a bounty of fall fruit that is almost unparalleled in beauty and in juicy flesh. By late summer and early fall the fruits have aged from green to yellow or pink and then to blue. At my house the first to disappear are the bright blue berries of Viburnum dentatum ‘Blue Muffin.’ The pinkish berries of Viburnum nudum var. cassinoides almost don’t make it to the blue phase. The final berries to ripen are Viburnum acerifolium; they hang in heavy clusters into November. Once a squirrel camped out in the branches and ate great quantities of them. Birds get their fair share.

Callicarpa americana

Beautyberry is a delight for humans as much as it is for mockingbirds. The electric-purple berries of Callicarpa americana get a lot of attention when they ripen in September. This full sun shrub is a carefree native that is also deer resistant and drought tolerant. In a partial shade area, use the white berried form instead.

Hearts a bustin’ is one of the common names for Euonymus americanus. The outrageous fruits of this shrub make it one of the most asked about plants on identification forums in the fall. Lumpy raspberry-colored pods burst open to reveal round red berries dangling on thin strings. An unremarkable plant is suddenly transformed into a thing of beauty.

Euonymus americanus

The following trees provide fruit that both humans and wildlife enjoy.

Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana)

Persimmons (Diospyros virginiana) are delicious when ripe but ghastly when they are not. Somehow animals get a pass on the taste because opossums and raccoons routinely eat them before they are ripe by human standards. Still, finding a scat pile full of the big glossy seeds is one way to get seeds already prepped for sowing. Just be sure to wash your hands afterwards.

Crataegus viridis

One way you know you’ve found a hawthorn (Crataegus) is when you see the thorns. The other way is to recognize the fruit with its distinctive apple-like bottom that is formed from the remains of the flower’s calyx. 

Like apples, hawthorns are members of the rose family. Hawthorns with the most attractive fruit display are those with small fruits like Washington hawthorn (Crataegus phaenopyrum) and green hawthorn (Crataegus viridis). If you want fruit for eating, choose one of the ones with larger fruit. Mayhaw jelly is made from the fruits of Crataegus aestivalus and the fruit is celebrated at an annual festival in Colquitt, GA.

Crabapple (Malus angustifolia)

Not all thorns lead to hawthorns, however. I have seen many a thorny crabapple (Malus angustifolia) in wild fields (the more you mow them down, the thornier they seem to be!). The rose family resemblance is evident in the sweet smell of the flowers and the same dimpled bottom of the fruit. 

Unlike ornamental crabapples, the fruit usually does not turn red, just a greenish-gold. Collect enough of the small fruits and you could make jelly.

Sumac fruit lasts a long time

Some fruits are not eaten right away – they become tastier with age or with a cold treatment. Nature has planned this delay very well, ensuring that some fruits are still around in the winter months for those that need them. Chokeberry (pictured earlier) is one such plant. Another one is sumac (Rhus spp.).




I love the way that nature has a way to provide food for the critters while packaging it up in a beautiful wrapper for us to admire.

Tree with Two Flowers

A group of blooming trees caught my eye near the local high school so I stopped to examine them. I really should get a bumper sticker that says “This car pulls over for strange plants and native flowers.” The plant turned out to be groundsel bush, Baccharis halimifolia.

What was particularly striking was that what appeared to be two different plants was actually the same species with male and female flowers on different plants (so, yes, technically they were two different plants). Baccharis is dioecious — male and female flowers are on separate plants.

Now we know plenty of dioecious plants (you do, really). Holly (Ilex) is one of the most common ones, but you need a hand lens to tell the difference between the male and female flowers on that one. Another example is fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus); that one is slightly more obvious if someone has already told you that the flowers are a bit showier on the male plant. Even then I think I’d need to see them side by side to recognize what “a bit showier” means.

Here is a whole page full of them: familiar names like juniper, persimmon, and willow are there. Dioecious plants are frustrating to gardeners that want fruit (like persimmon and hollies) but a blessing to those that don’t want it as well (think Gingko, a non-native tree with stinky female fruits).

Groundsel bush is considered a large shrub or small tree, growing up to 12 feet. As with many native plants, it has a delightful collection of common names: groundseltree, eastern Baccharis, sea-myrtle, consumptionweed, salt marsh-elder, and salt bush. The seeds on the female tree are very striking in the fall. I found one source that described them as “silvery, plume-like achenes” that resemble “silvery paintbrushes.” Here are some good pictures of the plant.

Mostly considered a plant of the coastal plain, apparently it is making its way more northward in the last few hundred years. Of interest is the fact that it is the only native species of the Asteraceae family that reaches tree size in the eastern US.

Groundsel bush is tolerant of saltwater spray so it is suitable for planting in beach communities or areas with brackish waters. In inland areas it is found in wet areas as well as disturbed places. Who knows how it got to this particular roadside near the high school? The plants are overhanging the sidewalk considerably so I expect a city crew will whack it back … and it will grow again next year.

I enjoyed discovering this new plant and learning more about it.

 

Native Grasses: Beginning Thoughts

The subject of native grasses is surprisingly complex. I have been writing this blog for 3 years now and still feel inadequately prepared to discuss the subject. So I thought perhaps that I could do this in stages and share what I know and then build on that in future topics.

Seed heads

The first important distinction is the concept of cool and warm season grasses. Warm season grasses grow actively in the warm months (summer) and then flower and set seed in the fall. In the winter they are dormant. Examples of warm season grasses in Georgia include big bluestem (Andropogon spp.), little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans), eastern gamagrass (Tripsacum dactyloides), broomsedge (Andropogon virginicus), and switchgrass (Panicum spp.). 

Warm season grasses are the ones you see now with flowers (yes, they have flowers) and fluffy seed heads and attractive stem colors.

Poverty oats grass (Danthonia spicata) is just starting
new growth now; curly old foliage is distinctive

Cool season grasses are actively growing in the cool months. From what I can find, these are not likely to be used as ornamental grasses and in high heat they can actually go dormant – not what most homeowners want. Lawn fescue is an example of a non-native cool season grass and poverty oats grass (Danthonia spicata) is an example of a native one.

For those with wet conditions and perennial streams and rivers, there are native grasses that thrive there as well.

Enormously important in restoration areas, native grasses are often overlooked when people are looking to add plants to their landscape. Instead, people are swayed by non-native ornamental grasses, some of which are quite big (Miscanthus) and some of which can actually be invasive (Imperata cylindrica). There is some documentation that Miscanthus is also invasive in some areas.

Pink muhly grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris) at a nature center

In recent years one coastal plain native grass has gotten a lot of attention: pink muhly grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris). This grass is now commonly available in garden centers well outside it's native range and gets a lot of attention when planted in sweeping stands.

I think of it as one of the poster children for native plants. It helps raise awareness that native plants are beautiful in the landscape.

Other warm season native grasses are very attractive in the fall and pair nicely with fall perennials such as goldenrod (Solidago) and asters (Symphyotrichum). Little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) is surprisingly common on roadsides and fields near me. The flush of red color in the fall and the movement of the blades in the wind are very attractive characteristics.

Splitbeard bluestem with goldenrod

Wildlife benefits are always important. There are Lepidoptera (skippers and brushfoots) that use native grasses for host plants. In addition, the seeds are eaten by small birds and small mammals that become food for larger birds (hawks and owls).

Cultivars of some of the native warm season grasses are becoming more available. Schizachyrium scoparium 'The Blues' is getting a lot of attention but there are other choices. If you are looking for a larger grass, look to switchgrass and the cultivars of Panicum virgatum.