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.
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| 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. |
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| On Saturday morning, two arboretum guests, a brother and sister duo, sampled and collected dewberries along the edge of the volunteer recruitment zone. |
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| Dewberry wasn't planted in this spot; it volunteered here and has thoroughly entwined itself among the trees and shrubs. |
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| 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! |
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| Not all of the fruits are ripe at the same moment. Fruits in this patch have been ripening for nearly a week. |
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| The dark black fruit is ripe and ready to be picked. |
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The red fruits are very pretty, but these aren't ripe. Let those develop on the vine another day.
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| 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! |
