"Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands........" 1 Thessalonians 4:11

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

The answer to your questions about the wild berries............


that I wrote about in my last post.
This is a common wild berry that grows all over our area.



It is called the Algerita berry,
it's Latin name:  Berberis trifololata
(Mahonia trifoliata)

This wonderful bush looks almost like holly with it's very prickly leaves. During this time of year it is heady and full of wonderful smelling blossoms which to me, look almost like old fashioned cabbage roses, but in miniature.  It will produce small, bright red , berries, which the animals and birds love to eat. It is also safe for humans and if you ever drive through Texas and see folks out hitting a bush with a stick...............I promise you they are knocking the berries off of the thorny plant to harvest and to make into wonderful jelly.  I hope to beat the birds and wildlife and try to take a photo of this wonderful natural food source.
Do you have wild berries growing in your area?
I would love to hear!

4 comments:

Country Gal said...

Lovely photos ! They have such pretty flowers ! We have all kinds of wild berries that grow around here I just dont know what they all are I will have to investigate now that our spring weather is here ! Have a great day !

Connie said...

Very interesting to know more about this, Kathleen. Such a pretty bush.

Paula said...

Beautiful pictures, Kathleen! I've never heard of that before...

Jenny said...

We have elderberries. raspberries, mulberries & blackberries growing wild - that's all I know of that's edible but I would think there are more.