Found in mid-Missouri, pictures taken August 12th. What is this tree? Are the berries edible? I can't imagine they are unless they're just not ripe yet. My grandpa wants to know before he cuts it down.
Asked
Active
Viewed 1,090 times
4
-
No clue. Berries look like Poison Ivy. Leaves look like grape vine. But berries *are* turning purple on the right. – Yosef Baskin Aug 13 '23 at 16:16
-
2"Berries" are not from the tree. The grapevine hypothesis appears to be correct. – Ecnerwal Aug 13 '23 at 18:36
-
@Ecnerwal - what do you mean by "berries are not from the tree"? I was assuming (quite possibly in error) that the bottom picture is of a mature vine trunk. – Peter4075 Aug 13 '23 at 19:39
-
1Are the berries and the trunk definitely part of the same plant? – Peter4075 Aug 13 '23 at 19:46
-
@Peter4075 the bark in the first picture looks like a vine (the stems and leaves are compatible too), but in the last picture it doesn't look much like my vine or the first picture. The bark is too thick for starters. I wonder if there's a vine growing up standing deadwood. – Chris H Aug 14 '23 at 08:02
-
What does the inside of a berry look like? – RockPaperLz- Mask it or Casket Aug 14 '23 at 08:51
-
@ChrisH - Agreed. The bark doesn't look "shaggy" enough for a grape vine. – Peter4075 Aug 14 '23 at 17:18
3 Answers
7
It's a wild grape vine, muscadine or something similar.
https://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=654
Organic Marble
- 171
- 2
1
I agree it's a wild grape. I used the free Plantnet app to identify it onscreen.
Eamon O DOHERTY
- 11
- 1
0
They're Turkey Berries!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solanum_torvum
In terms of Ayurveda they're incredibly healthy for you and its often used to make an extremely scrumptious dish called Sundakkai Karakuzhambu (with either slightly fresh crushed berries but most often they're just sun dried to be used whenever you want).
While fresh berries are somewhat sweet, the sun dried ones are more bitter and rustic tasting (its an acquired taste)
Jessica Lily
- 9
- 3
-
2Hmmm... you think so? The edges of the leaves don't look like *solanum torvum*, and also the crowns aren't present on the berries in the OP's images. Also the stems for each berry in the OP's photos don't look like those for *solanum torvum*. What do you think? – RockPaperLz- Mask it or Casket Aug 14 '23 at 08:49
-
Well, another identifying feature can be that Turkey Berry shrubs have thorns! The leaves do look similar (since I grow these plants at home :D) but yes, look out for thorny stems/branches and white flowers, they're a tell-a-tale sign. Cheers – Jessica Lily Aug 14 '23 at 09:26
-
1Maybe you could have provided a better source? Because the image on the [wiki page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solanum_torvum#/media/File:Solanum_torvum_2.jpg) really doesn't look anything like the plant in the question. – JPhi1618 Aug 14 '23 at 14:28