Correction and Clarification – Day 580

Nascent Wild Raspberries – THE REAL THING! – Photo: L. Weikel

Correction and Clarification

Thanks to an eagle-eyed reader of this blog, it is essential that tonight’s post be one of correction and clarification.

Yesterday’s post, Prickle of Hope, was a musing about my love for the wild raspberries that flourish in the woods and along the roadsides near our home. They usually burst onto the scene in all their juicy goodness during the first week of July.

The impetus for last night’s post was my spying what I carelessly mis-identified as my precious wild raspberries, when actually what I photographed was an invasive species called wineberry. I saw the fecund bushes I photographed yesterday calling to me, like little sirens, albeit in a place where we don’t usually stop to indulge. So I wasn’t being discerning. Instead, I got caught up in my own memories.

I hang my head in shame, as I definitely know the difference when the berries are fully formed. Wineberries are deceptively akin to wild raspberries at first blush – but only if you’re not paying attention. Not only do they have lots of distinctive little red hairs all over them, but also trust me when I say it’s highly unlikely you’d willingly stuff handfuls of them in your mouth once you’ve tasted just one of them.

Edification

Besides being sneaky little devils that trick those who are unaware or inattentive into believing they’ve snagged a sweet treat, wineberry shrubs are also nasty invasive buggers. They’ll proliferate rapidly and choke out the indigenous raspberry and black raspberry bushes, and the tangled and dense thickets woven by wineberry bushes also pose a threat to wildlife and other native plants.

Chastened by my former self-described (in another life – in this lifetime) wingman, Bill, I was determined to take photos of the bushes and nascent berries forming in the areas I know 100%, for sure, are wild raspberries. I was appalled at the thought that I’d been consuming wineberries in vast quantities. I couldn’t imagine I had, so I could only hope I’d misidentified yesterday’s shrubs.

And I can confirm here and now that the raspberries Karl and I indulge in every year are, in fact, wild raspberries. Following are photos to help you see the difference for yourself.

(Above) Wineberries – notice the tiny red hairs on berry buds and stems! – Photo: L. Weikel

Wild raspberries – Photo: L. Weikel

Bottom Line

The bottom line, my friends, is to beware the red hairy ones! And don’t let wineberry shrubs proliferate on your property if you can help it.

Thanks again, Bill!

Here are photos of the baby berries of both, for comparison’s sake:

(Above) Wineberry – Photo: L. Weikel

Wild Raspberry – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-531)