Yum yum! Nice ripe tomatoes. ...Uh, wait. Just kidding! These plants look kind of like tomatoes here, but that is very far from the truth. They are much smaller than a tomato and I don't think they're very edible. They are actually berries. As you may have guessed by the title of the story, this plant is called Winterberry.I have wanted to write a story on this plant for over a year, but until now I haven't known what it was called. If you think I'm still mistaken just let me know what it is. Once I began taking pictures of my adventures I quickly noticed a few types of plants, like these, that stood out among all the rest. I always stop and look at them.
These plants are scattered around many of the nature preserves I like to travel. These particular pictures have been waiting for about a month in my ready area so I could write about them. I just wanted to give you at least a little bit of information about them before I presented them for all to see.
These winterberry shrubs are also known as Michigan Holly. That's for a very good reason. They're a member of the holly family. They're not an evergreen like other holly plants though. As soon as it begins to get cold the green leaves will turn yellow or black and eventually fall off the shrub. The berries remain though, which is why they are called winterberry.In the places I go these plants are most likely strategically placed to attract birds. And they do that very well. That is one of the first things I noticed when I saw these plants. The birds seem to love eating these berries very much. That makes two benefits to looking at these beautiful plants.
Identifying this plant has been a particular triumph for me. Like I said before, I have been wondering about them for over a year now. It seems the deeper I travel into the world of nature the more I learn. I knew virtually nothing about what I saw when I began, but now I can identify so many different things.The great thing about this ongoing discovery of nature is that I am still just beginning. There is so much more for me to learn, but I now could teach people so much that they never dreamed of. Who knows? One day I could take people on tours through these places, and teach them about many of the wonderful things along the way.
But I guess that's a dream for another day. Today I'm just happy that I have learned about my old friend, the plant called winterberry.
These Winterberries though look small but they bring so much joy to you.
ReplyDeleteIn every post you have written, there lies a dream. Isn't?
They look so beautiful and sweet! I have also just learned something new from you today, thank you!
ReplyDeleteHa! The kids and I have seen these before, and they didn't believe me that they were NOT cherry tomatoes.. Lovely pics yet again my friend.
ReplyDeleteSo red and makes you want to eat them, even if it can't be eaten
ReplyDeleteI think that is what I have outside. There are little red berries on it all winter and the birds eat them. The berries aren't on it yet. Not as far as I can see anyway. I'm glad they have something to eat besides my nuts and seeds.. Liked this post Ratty.:)
ReplyDeleteanother awesome post ratty! those pics are stunning! you take me on a journey every single day and for that i thank you! xoxox
ReplyDeleteWhat a great bush, winterberries looks beautiful. I love the red color!
ReplyDeleteThey look so much like holly berry. You have a good idea there, you can make money taking people on tours :)
ReplyDeletesame here, i see a lot of interesting things when i wander, and then, i am inspired to find out what they are, beautiful pictures, and thanks for sharing what you found and learned.
ReplyDeletethe color is already tempting enough.. *^_~*
ReplyDeleteWe just noticed these in the woods yesterday..we have seen them before, but we noticed their red berries this season and how bright they were.
ReplyDeleteWow.. they do look really beautiful and yummy too.. no wonder birds love them. =D Thanks for sharing your discovery with us. ^__^
ReplyDeleteLovely winterberries! Must be plenty of birds feasting there.
ReplyDeleteTHat is a lovely plant! Always learning something new from you, Ratty! :)
ReplyDeleteRainfield - Yes there is. You put it very well. These posts are dreams of mine, and I now finally get to live them. :)
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Icy BC - These red berries reallylook amazing when you see them in the millions all over the nature trail.
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Nipsy - Just make sure the kids don't eat these kind of fake tomatoes. I'm not sure about how poisonous they might be. These are fun to look at though. :)
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Kruel - Yeah, they do look tasty. I never trust wild fruit though. :)
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Ginnymo - See that! You're just helping the plant by giving the animals those nuts. That plant you have is a feast for the birds.
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PJ - You deserve the thanks for reading my posts. Thank you!
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Ashley - That red color always brightens up my hiking trails for me.
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Poetic Shutterbug - They are a close cousin to holly. I would love to be a tour guide for people. If I ever find out they're interested I'll have a new career. :)
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Betchai - I'm glad to share. These new discoveries wouldn't be so fun unless we could share them.
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Lizzie - Yeah, these berries look almost as good as candy.
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The Retired One - It's great all of the things we get to see because we actually pay attention. Just think of those poor souls who haven't learned to do this yet.
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Harumi - These must look like the best thing in the world to a bird in the winter.
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VanillaSeven - The birds will eat every one of these berries by the time winter is half old. That will spread these plants around so the birds have even more in the future.
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Lin - It's always fun to see one of these plants on the trail in the distance.