Berry Tree

[MAF]

so come on all you horticulturist's i have a query.

i walk my dog in a wooded area where there are a lot of bushes and trees. and have come across a tree which, for all intents and purpose, seems to have a very large crop of raspberries growing on it.

my question is, do raspberries grow on trees? i know they usually grow on canes so this has confused me. i have taken a few pics of the berries and leaves of the tree. (below)

as i am unsure of the type of berry growing i have not taken one to try in case it is not edible

anyone got any thoughts?

[jethro]

It's a Mulberry tree, the fruit is edible and delicious.

Anorak moment..... Introduced into England back in the reign of James I to establish our own silk industry (silk worms feed on Mulberry leaves) sadly the wrong tree was introduced, silk worms feed on the leaves of the White Mulberry and it was the Black Mulberry which had been planted in droves.

You'll have to go back to it on a cold and frosty morning.....

[MAF]

It's a Mulberry tree, the fruit is edible and delicious.

Anorak moment..... Introduced into England back in the reign of James I to establish our own silk industry (silk worms feed on Mulberry leaves) sadly the wrong tree was introduced, silk worms feed on the leaves of the White Mulberry and it was the Black Mulberry which had been planted in droves.

You'll have to go back to it on a cold and frosty morning.....

thanks Jethro!! my daughter will be pleased now

i really thought they were rasperries, and questioned myself over whether the tree was just a very old planting. the area is a site which has been kept by a preservation group in my area and i just thought the tree had been there many many years

thanks again!!

[Nights King]

so come on all you horticulturist's i have a query.

i walk my dog in a wooded area where there are a lot of bushes and trees. and have come across a tree which, for all intents and purpose, seems to have a very large crop of raspberries growing on it.

my question is, do raspberries grow on trees? i know they usually grow on canes so this has confused me. i have taken a few pics of the berries and leaves of the tree. (below)

as i am unsure of the type of berry growing i have not taken one to try in case it is not edible

anyone got any thoughts?

It looks like a "Morus Nigra" tree to me aka the black mulberry and yes it is edible although picking them can be a messy buisness.

They are not so common these days but used to be popular in pies etc.

I see you beat me to it jethro!

Edited August 11, 2010 by mullender83

[MAF]

thanks Mullender

never seen one before, and we have a good few fruit trees in my area.

and yes, they are very messy. just holding the one in the photo left my hand dyed red. i shall go back and pick some of the rie ones now i know they are safe. along with some plums growing in the area too.

[Essan]

I can see why you thought it was a raspberry tree! Not come across a mulberry tree, though I do recall ....

Here we go 'round the mulberry bush,

The mulberry bush, the mulberry bush.

Here we go 'round the mulberry bush,

So early in the morning.

[MAF]

I can see why you thought it was a raspberry tree! Not come across a mulberry tree, though I do recall ....

Here we go 'round the mulberry bush,

The mulberry bush, the mulberry bush.

Here we go 'round the mulberry bush,

So early in the morning.

and this is interesting

from wiki

The rhyme is first recorded as a children's game by James Orchard Halliwell in the mid-nineteenth century. He also noted that there was a similar game with the lyrics 'Here we go round the bramble bush'.

Some commentators believe that the bramble bush was the earlier version, and perhaps changed because of the difficulty of articulating the alliteration, not least because mulberries do not grow on bushes

because the tree is behind a road called Brambleberry road

so i suppose the fruit can be mistaken because of its appearance.

[jethro]

They are very messy to pick and will stain any clothes so be careful - traditionally they were harvested by stringing sheets beneath the canopy, the fruit naturally drops when ripe. Don't eat too many at once, they used to be used as laxatives!

If you fancy seeing some really old ones then take a trip to Charlton House Park in SE London, it has what is reputed to be the oldest one in England, planted back at the time of the original plantings in the early 1600s, I think there's also one from that time in the grounds of Buckingham palace. There are some fantastic ones in the Bishops Palace in Wells too for anyone around the South West.