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Category: Shrubs

Eastern baccharis (Baccharis halimifolia)

Eastern baccharis (Baccharis halimifolia)

Eastern baccharis (Baccharis halimifolia), also known as groundsel bush or sea myrtle, is a perennial deciduous shrub associated with the high marsh system, often confused with marsh elder (Iva frutescens), due to their similar growth form and placement in the landscape. One way to tell the plants apart is their leaves. Eastern baccharis has alternate, simple, thick egg-shaped leaves (up to 2.5” long), that are coarsely toothed above the middle of the leaf, although the uppermost leaves can have smooth…

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Wild Edible: Autumn Olive

Wild Edible: Autumn Olive

Autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata) shrubs are a common sight along Massachusetts roads and at the edges of clearings and fields. These shrubs were commonly planted for windbreaks and erosion control in the 1940s before it was known how invasive they could be. The vast amount of fruit produced by each shrub, and the high germination success of the seeds, means that once there is one autumn olive in a location, there will likely be more. The high number of berries…

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Black Raspberry (Rubus occidentalis)

Black Raspberry (Rubus occidentalis)

We are now entering my favorite time of year: berry season. While exploring the Mineral Hills Conservation Area in Northampton, MA this weekend, I noticed ripe black raspberries (Rubus occidentalis) for the first time this year.  While I enjoy red raspberries and blackberries as well, black raspberries are undoubtedly my favorite.  So this was quite the treat for me. Wild raspberries are generally smaller and sweeter than the cultivated varieties.  Mature, ripe raspberries will readily separate from their white-coned hulls,…

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Swamp azalea (Rhododendron viscosum)

Swamp azalea (Rhododendron viscosum)

In recent walks through the forested wetlands surrounding the Quashnet River in Falmouth, as well as along the edges of the marsh fringing Allen’s Pond in Dartmouth, I came across a handful of shrubs tipped with large bright yellow and red buds.  Although most plants are not flowering yet, the buds of many trees and shrubs are enlarged. These particularly noticeable buds belong to the swamp azalea. The swamp azalea (Rhododendron viscosum), also called the clammy azalea, is a medium…

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Winterberry and other winter berries

Winterberry and other winter berries

Although most people are probably more familiar with berries that ripen in mid-summer, such as blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries, many plants not only produce berries in the late fall, but they persist through winter.  Like the high bush cranberries described in a recent post, these winter berry-producing plants provide a welcome splash of color to the landscape. Common Winterberry One of these, aptly named common winterberry (Ilex verticillata) produces round red berries about a quarter inch in diameter, each with a…

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Highbush Cranberry

Highbush Cranberry

The bright red berries of the highbush cranberry plant growing along the pondshore near my house seemed like an appropriately festive subject for a Christmas Eve blog post. With its coarsely-toothed leaves, which loosely resemble those of a red maple, long fallen to the ground, the bright red berries of the highbush cranberry are readily visible, and add a splash of color to the otherwise tan/gray landscape. But highbush cranberries, in the genus Viburnam, are not cranberries at all; true…

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