Edible Fruits and Berries

Native fruits and berries are an important food source for wildlife.

Among the key components of any healthy, natural habitat are the native plants that provide sustenance for wildlife.  In central Texas, there are several species that provide abundant fruits and berries during the warmer months, and many are edible for humans as well as wildlife.

Common in brushy areas, open woodlands, and stony hillsides, the Texas Persimmon (Diospyros texana) is a small tree (8-12 feet) that is moderately deer resistant.  Flowering in March/April, this tree has little green leaves and attractive smooth pale reddish-gray bark that peels off to reveal a whiter trunk.  The female trees bear 1-inch fruits that turn from green to black as they ripen in late July to September.  Texas or Littleleaf Mulberry (Morus microphylla), also a large shrub or small tree, produces an edible fruit that is small, fleshy, and berry-like.  It varies from red to black and typically ripens in May, although in ideal conditions this tree is known to produce a large quantity of fruits over a longer period of time, providing much needed food for migrating and nesting birds.

Texas Persimmon Fruit

Texas or Littleleaf Mulberry Fruit

Our native Escarpment Black Cherry (Prunus serotina var. eximia) is a fast-growing, straight-trunked tree with long clusters of white flowers in April/May, followed by small purple-black cherries ripening in late July through October. Although impractical for fresh eating, the cherries are used in juices and wines, and the bark was once used in making cough syrup.  This deciduous tree is also unique in that it offers stunning yellow fall color.  Another attractive tree is the Mexican Plum (Prunus mexicana), whose dense white flowers appear before the leaves in early spring, and offer a very sweet, heady scent attractive to pollinators. The plums, which ripen from July to September, are nearly as ornamental as the flowers, as their color varies widely from gold to crimson to purple-black.

Escarpment Black Cherries

Mexican Plum

Agarita (Berberis trifoliata), a common native barberry, is a medium evergreen shrub whose gray-green holly-like leaflets are joined by yellow flowers in February/March and small red fruit in May through July.  The leaflets have sharp points at the ends, so care must be taken to harvest the fruit (if you can get them before the mockingbirds do), which makes an excellent jelly. Another sprawling shrub with thorny, woody stems is Southern Dewberry (Rubus riograndis) or Zarzamora.  A bramble common to sunny meadows and open fields, its white flowers bloom in March/April, followed by berries that resemble blackberries but have more of a sweet/tart flavor.  Usually found climbing along fencerows and high over other plants in woodland edges and stream sides is the Mustang Grape (Vitis mustangensis).  Best used for wines and jellies, these vines can grow up to 40 feet long, and produce small clusters of acidic berries that ripen in late July through September.    

Agarita Fruit

Mustang Grapes

Take a little time this fall planting season to seek out and add some of these native fruit and berry producing plants to your landscape.  Not only will you be providing food for several species of birds and mammals next summer, but you’ll have the chance to savor a natural and healthy treat for yourself, too. 

Three Terrific Trees

Mexican Plum in full bloom

Trees are often planted for their ornamental value, or to provide shade, but there are many other reasons to plant them.  They improve air quality by producing oxygen and storing carbon, which offsets the harmful byproducts of burning fossil fuels.  They can moderate the effects of sun and wind, reduce air conditioning costs, and clean the air by trapping dust and pollen.  Trees can also be credited with increasing property values, lowering our heart rates and reducing stress, and providing shelter and food for many types of wildlife.

In Central Texas, three terrific trees that are native to our area include Escarpment Black Cherry (Prunus serotina var. eximia), Mexican Plum (Prunus mexicana), and Carolina Buckthorn (Frangula or Rhamnus caroliniana).  All three of these trees are medium-sized, deciduous, display fall color, and benefit wildlife by producing fruit.

Escarpment Black Cherry blooms

Escarpment Black Cherry is a distinct variety of Black Cherry, found only on the calcareous soils in our wooded hill country canyons, slopes, and floodplains.  Up to 50 feet tall, this tree is prized for its attractive silvery trunk and branches, five-inch long clusters of showy white blooms that occur in March and April, juicy summer fruits, and vivid yellow to red fall foliage.  While the small dark red to purple-black cherries it produces are edible, the rest of the plant is not, and the cherries are often eaten first by birds.  Several butterflies, including Viceroy, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Two-tailed Swallowtail, Red-spotted Purple, and Striped Hairstreak use this tree as their host plant. 

Escarpment Black Cherry fruit

Often called the ‘star of our native plums’, Mexican Plum is easily recognizable in spring, as it is an early bloomer.  Before the leaves appear, white to pale pink, five-petaled flowers cover the 15 to 35 foot tall tree from February to April, and they are extremely fragrant, attracting several species of native bees and butterflies.  Plums up to one-inch wide turn from yellow to mauve to purple as they ripen July through September, and they are edible for humans and wildlife alike.  Thick, five-inch long leaves provide food for the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail and Cecropia Silkmoth, and turn a showy shade of orange in autumn. Mature trunks are a beautiful satiny blue-gray with horizontal striations, typical of most fruit trees.

Mexican Plum fruit

A flowering Carolina Buckthorn

Lesser known is the Carolina Buckthorn, an understory tree 12 to 15 feet tall, with oval, shiny green leaves and small yellow clusters of blooms produced near the leaf stems in May and June. It prefers bottomlands, canyons, and streamsides, and in light shade it is airy and tiered.  Bright red fruits turn to black when ripe, and are relished by many birds and mammals.  The leaves stay green into late fall, turning various colors from yellow-gold to bronze-sienna as the weather cools. Carolina Buckthorn is also the host plant for Spring Azure, Gray Hairstreak, and Painted Lady butterflies.

Carolina Buckthorn berries

Consider adding one or all of these terrific trees to your property.  While the best time to plant trees in Central Texas is in the fall, it’s never too late to plan for future enhancements to your native landscape!