Fruits of Fall

           September is over and  October has arrived, but the leaves haven’t yet turned here in Virginia. Yesterday I took my camera for a walk, looking for signs of the change of seasons. I couldn’t help but notice how much food the trees have to offer wildlife, providing birds and animals ample food supplies before the arrival of cold weather. 

 

Ripening persimmons

Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) Last year this tree produced very little fruit, but it is loaded with persimmons this year.  The unripe fruit is bitter but once it falls from the tree, it is usually ripe and edible, and can be used in jam, beer, wine and pudding.  My mother made persimmon pudding when I was very young.  Deer, raccoons, opossums, bears, skunks, foxes and birds love the fruit.  Because it is very hard and dense, persimmon wood had been used for golf club heads. The fruit has been used to make indelible ink. 

Beautiful beautyberries

Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) This beautiful shrub is a native plant.  The berries are eaten by many birds and mammals.  In the spring, the flowers are small and inconspicuous, but come fall, the shrub is dazzling in the landscape.  In the past, farmers plucked a sprig, crushed the leaves, and stuck it under the harness of their plow horse or mule.  Later research revealed that the plant indeed contains insect-repelling chemicals. 

A magnolia seedpod, not yet ripe

Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) These magnolia seed pods are not yet mature.  When ripe, the red, fleshy part of the seed is high in fat, making them a beneficial food source for fall migrating birds.  Magnolias are among the oldest flowering plants on earth and haven’t changed since their prehistoric beginning.  They were present even before insects developed wings to fly.  Then, and still today, magnolia flowers are pollinated by beetles.



Ripe black gum drupes

Black Gum (Nyssa sylvatica) Also called sourgum or tupelo.  You may have heard of tupelo honey because this tree is considered an excellent honey tree.  The black gum, one of my favorite trees, is a member of the dogwood family.  The small fruit is high in fat and calcium, making it an important food source for many birds and animals.  The leaves' fall colors are beautiful.  As soon as the fruit ripens, and while other trees remain green, the black gum leaves turn bright red and burgundy as if to advertise the availability of ripe fruit and to promote seed dispersal. 

Dogwood berries

Dogwood (Cornus florida) Although the dry summer weather left the leaves of many dogwood trees around here looking brown and dried out, the fruit production hasn’t been affected. Although toxic to humans, the seeds are an important food source for a wide variety of birds as well as mammals.  Because the tree’s fallen leaves decompose more rapidly that other trees, it is considered a soil improving tree.  Dogwoods, like persimmons, have been known to produce a good seed crop every other year.  Before plastic, the wood was used to make shuttles for the textile industry.  The hard, closely textured wood is used for pulleys, spools and mallet heads.

 



A black walnut in the leathery husk

Black Walnut (Juglans nigra) An abundant crop of walnuts happens only about twice over five years.  The tree must be about 12 years old to produce nuts, which are edible to humans and wildlife.  As they ripen, the husks which surround the walnut turn from green to black.  The black husks have been used to make a natural dye for handicrafts.  Considered a scarce and valuable hardwood, the wood is used to make fine furniture and veneer.  The tree roots produce a chemical called juglone that creates a toxic zone around the tree and kills many juglone-sensitive plants, including tomato, blackberry, apple, potato, laurel, rhododendron, azalea, blueberry and red pine. 

Recently abundant, I only found a half-eaten paw paw below the tree. Note the large seeds which
are dispersed by animals.

Paw Paw (Asimina triloba) Paw Paw is a small understory tree which produces an edible fruit that is gaining popularity in some regions.  It can be eaten raw, or made into custard and ice cream.  But, good luck collecting the fruit, because it is a favorite of opossums, raccoons, foxes and bears.  In the spring, Paw Paw flowers, which have the color and scent of rotted meat, are pollinated by flies.