Dewberry Picking in the Arboretum

At the end of April, dewberry (Rubus trivialis) fruits are ripening in northwest Louisiana. Dewberry is a weedy plant―it readily germinates and thrives in unmanicured areas, such as along roadsides or fencelines. It also volunteers in areas where gardeners don't want it. This makes dewberry a classic "nuisance plant" because it spreads rapidly and the vines are covered with prickles. However, this time of year, it can be a joy to find: the wild, black fruits are a lightly-sweet, flavorful snack. 

Dewberry vines volunteer all over the Centenary College campus. Most are unwanted, and they are pulled up or chopped down. In the arboretum, there are more than a few cultivated patches, and there is one really big uncultivated patch. Near the Student Union Building, we have a mini-wilderness area that has developed into one large dewberry patch. 

On Saturday morning, two arboretum guests, a brother and sister duo, sampled and collected dewberries along the edge of the volunteer recruitment zone.

Dewberry wasn't planted in this spot; it volunteered here and has thoroughly entwined itself among the trees and shrubs. 

 

These young people were able to quickly identify the fruits and pick them. Neither individual complained about the prickles—the fruits often appear above the vines, making it easy to collect the fruits without being harmed by the vine's armor. Having small hands with deft fingers and being closer to the ground are advantageous!

 

Not all of the fruits are ripe at the same moment. Fruits in this patch have been ripening for nearly a week.

The dark black fruit is ripe and ready to be picked.

The red fruits are very pretty, but these aren't ripe. Let those develop on the vine another day.

Brother and sister picked three cups of dewberries in about 20 minutes, and then moved on to investigate other areas of the arboretum. That's $45/hr worth of fruit. Not bad!

Volunteers in the Arboretum

The overgrown area near the Student Union Building, previously referred to as 'the volunteer recruitment zone' or 'the Arboretum's unintended creche', is slowly being cultivated: we have removed Groundsel shrubs (Baccharis halimifolia) and Chinese privet (Ligustrum sinense). This week, we cleared around the sycamore (Platanus occidentalis), making it possible to read the sign and walk around the trunk.

The arboretum has only one sycamore on display, so we want to raise this tree's profile. Visitors ought to be able to read the sign and examine the trunk without too much difficulty. Right now, it looks a bit too hazardous; you might come away with some dewberry-scratches on your shins. 

There are numerous vines, little shrubs, and trees growing around the base of the trunk. Unfortunately they must be removed for the health and visibility of the sycamore.

The base of the trunk is now revealed. Several small trees were removed; elms (Ulmus sp.), oaks (Quercus sp.), and one black cherry (Prunus serotina) were snipped. We do not want any other trees to grow up next to the sycamore trunk, so it was an easy decision to remove these volunteers.

We used a lawn mower to cut the grass, making this space more inviting to foot traffic.

Several pieces of crossvine (Bignonia capreolata) had to be pulled from the trunk.

Dewberry (Rubus trivialis) was cleared away from the base of the trunk. This species comprised the bulk of the plant material surrounding the tree.

Dewberry vines have painful prickles. It's best to wear long pants when walking near a dewberry patch, but as the prickles snag on clothes, you still need to watch your step even if dressed defensively.

A small yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria) was growing near the trunk, but not next to it. Yaupons do very well in the soil of the arboretum and they are common volunteers. This little shrub was allowed to stay for now and might very well be added to the catalogue.

Luckily, there were not any passionflower vines surrounding the sycamore. The abundance of Gulf fritillary butterflies tells us that we ought to refrain from pulling any passionflower―we want the caterpillars to have plenty to eat!

Mulberries and Dewberries

In the arboretum, you can find several large patches of dewberry (Rubus trivialis). This is such a weedy plant; it volunteers across campus. Only a few patches are officially in the arboretum catalogue.

Dewberries turn black when they are ready to eat. They aren't sweet, but they are wonderful in fruit smoothies.

The little black fruits are numerous, just be careful when picking them, as the vine is covered in prickles. Ouch!

In the arboretum, you can find mulberries (Morus rubra) in one location: on the grassy slope north of Cline Hall dormitory. There are three trees currently producing fruit. Like the dewberry, the mulberry turns black when it ripens.

 

Springtime Flowers

The first day of spring is a little more than a week away, on March 20th. If you look closely, you can already find redbuds flowering, but these trees aren't yet in their full splendor. In preparation for the show, let's relive past glories. Below, we have a few photographs taken by a local Highland Neighborhood resident, Mr. Bill Moe. All photos were taken by Mr. Moe one afternoon in the spring of 2011, a decade ago. Since all of the photos were taken on one day, it will be interesting to see this year if we can find all of the same flowers blooming at the same time.

The Student Union Building is pictured in the background, and a flowering redbud is pictured in the foreground. Among the pretty, pink-purple flowers you can also see a handful of the 'persistent fruits'. In the middle-ground, it looks like one of the remaining on-site native post oaks is covered in yellow-green catkins.

Mr. Moe snapped an up-close look at a globe of bright yellow flowers. This fragrant wildflower is called butterweed (Senecio glabellus). We do not have a designated location for butterweed; we just hope that it comes back every year. It's typically found in the wet areas of the arboretum.

 

 

In 2011, dewberry (Rubus trivialis) was abundant in the arboretum, and it is still abundant today. This is very much a weed in the arboretum, especially in the wet areas. There are several marked spots for dewberry. We like this spiny vine for both the white flowers and the delicious black berries.

 

 

These flowers look larger than life! In person, these are small wildflowers, but they really catch the eye when there is a grouping of them. This is commonly called pink-sorrel or wood-sorrel. The Latin name is Oxalis articulata. During the spring, there are typically several prominent patches in the arboretum.

Berries

You can find ripe and ripening dewberries all over the arboretum. Most of them are weeds that need to be removed. But there are also several larger, established, and fully-sanctioned patches, like this one near Mickle Hall.

Dewberries are similar to mulberries, which are also available this week. The dewberry is pictured left. The red mulberry is pictured right. The red mulberry is basically ready to eat. The dewberry needs time to ripen. Both berries taste best when black. It's advisable to wash dewberries before consumption.

What's in Bloom?

Last week we had to say goodbye to the wildest of the wildflowers, as the arboretum was in need of a good mowing. So long daisy fleabane! We'll see you next year! But there are still plenty of beautiful blooms this week. Below are a few highlights from the irises, vines, shrubs and trees adding dashes of spectacular color to the grounds of the arboretum.

Purple Louisiana iris hybrids growing in the floodplain. The arboretum's iris collection is comprised of plants collected from across the state of Louisiana, including at the Caroline Dormon Nature Preserve.

Iris flower detail

Our native wisteria (Wisteria frutescens) has been flowering for a few weeks now.

These flowers are from a large Carolina allspice bush (Calycanthus floridus), growing alongside the arboretum drainage. The shrub is highly decorated in blooms this year.

Virginia willow (Itea virginica) located on the northeast corner of the main bridge running through the arboretum.

Little-leaf snowbell (Styrax americana) flowers are lightly fragrant.

The dewberry vines (Rubus trivialis) are now producing fruit.

What's in Bloom?

A variety of trees, vines, and herbaceous plants have been blooming for several weeks now. The redbuds, mayhaws, and Mexican plums have put on a great show this year in the arboretum. Other species, like spiderwort and daisy fleabane, have just started to bloom, while the Louisiana irises have barely begun to produce flower stalks. A few of the arboretum's offerings are highlighted below.

The brilliant white flowers of the Mexican plum (Prunus mexicana) have turned a pale white, tinged with pink.

This is a successful bunch of Atamasco Lily (Zephyranthes atamasco) growing under a cedar elm (Ulmus crassifolia).

Flower bud of the coral honeysuckle vine (Lonicera sempervirens)

The coral honeysuckle grows with the oak leaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia).

Flowers of the wild crabapple tree (Malus angustifolia) are very fragrant.

Dewberry (Rubus trivialis) is prolific in the arboretum. It desires to take over, but we allow it only a few patches in which to thrive. This patch is located under a flowering magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora), near the fitness center.

Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida)

The Green-and-Gold plant (Chrysogonum virginianum) grows low to the ground and spreads out, producing bright yellow flowers. This patch grows under the smooth sumac (Rhus glabra).

The blue phlox (Phlox divaricata) is beautiful and fragrant.

A healthy patch of Trillium

Rubus trivialis

 The leaves of Rubus trivalis are alternate and palmately compound.

 Individual leaves may have three or five leaflets.

 The fruits of Rubus trivalis will mature to a deep black throughout June and July.