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~ a celebration of nature

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Tag Archives: red berries

339/365 Hungry squirrels

05 Thursday Dec 2019

Posted by sconzani in mammal, nature, trees, winter

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

grey squirrel, red berries, squirrel eating berries, winter berries

191205 grey squirrel (2)

It’s not just the birds that are consuming winter berries at the moment.

When I’m out walking, I often hear scurrying noises in the tree branches above my head and look up to see Grey squirrels, their cheeks stuffed with berries, their paws reaching out for the next delicious morsels.

And it’s not just a berry dessert they crave, of course, as they’re also well known for their liking for nuts. In the photo, right, the squirrel is holding Alder cones, which it has just been munching on.

191205 grey squirrel (1)

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270/365 Clusters of berries

27 Friday Sep 2019

Posted by sconzani in autumn, nature, plants, trees

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

autumn berries, autumn colour, berries, black berries, red berries

190927 berries (7)

‘On the motionless branches of some trees, autumn berries hung like
clusters of coral beads, as in those fabled orchards where the fruit were jewels …’
~  Charles Dickens, The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit

190927 berries (1)
190927 berries (2)
190927 berries (3)
190927 berries (4)
190927 berries (5)
190927 berries (6)

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265/365 Black bryony

22 Sunday Sep 2019

Posted by sconzani in autumn, nature, plants

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

autumn colour, autumn fruit, berries, Black bryony, red berries

190922 sweet bryony (1)

Draping and dangling, twisting and tangling, Black bryony’s luscious red berries can be found hanging from fences, winding in hedges, looping over bushes, climbing up trees. One of Autumn’s finest treasures. 

190922 sweet bryony (2)
190922 sweet bryony (3)

190922 sweet bryony (4)

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Nature’s necklace

18 Thursday Oct 2018

Posted by sconzani in autumn, nature, plants

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

autumn colour, berries, Black bryony, fruits, red berries, Tamus communis

At this time of year, Nature adorns her shrubs and bushes with exquisite baubles of bright red berries, in this case the fruits of Black bryony (Tamus communis).

181018 natures necklace

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I see red

16 Sunday Sep 2018

Posted by sconzani in autumn, nature, plants, trees

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

autumn colour, berries, fruits, haws, hips, red berries, red fruit, red hips

Hips, haws, fruits and berries … ’tis the season.

180916 red fruit (1)
180916 red fruit (2)
180916 red fruit (3)
180916 red fruit (4)
180916 red fruit (5)
180916 red fruit (6)
180916 red fruit (7)

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Berries full to bursting

26 Sunday Nov 2017

Posted by sconzani in autumn, nature, plants, wildflowers, winter

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

autumn colour, Black bryony, British flora, bryony, poisonous berries, red berries, Tamus communis, winter colour

The name ‘bryony’ is entirely appropriate for this plant as it comes from the Greek word bruein which, apparently, means ‘to be full to bursting’. However, though the berries of Black bryony (Tamus communis) are cherry-red and luscious-looking, please don’t be tempted to eat them as they are deadly poisonous.

171126 Black bryony berries (2)

There are, in fact, two plants with the bryony name in Britain, White bryony and Black, but they are not part of the same plant family. Rather surprisingly, Black bryony is the only member of the yam family to grow here but, again, don’t be tempted to eat its roots. In spring and summer, Black bryony’s long tangling vines can be found rambling over, under and through the shrubs and bushes of hedgerows and scrub-lands, and in autumn and winter, though the heart-shaped leaves brown and drop, the masses of red berries brighten up the countryside for many months.

171126 Black bryony berries (3)
171126 Black bryony berries (1)

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A berry by any other name …

18 Tuesday Oct 2016

Posted by sconzani in autumn, nature, plants, trees

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

berries, berry, drupes, fruit, haws, hips, pomes, red berries, red fruit

161018-berries-1

I’ve been planning a ‘berry’ blog for a while and have been photographing all the lovely berries I’ve seen while out on my wanders but then, in the process of collecting together my various photos for this blog, I began to wonder what actually is a berry? Is a berry a fruit? Should I include hips and haws? Should I only include the fruits of those plants that have berry in their name? At that point, I gave up and decided a berry by any other name would look as pretty and I would include all the lovely reddish-coloured things I’ve seen growing on assorted trees, bushes and plants, whether they be berries, drupes, hips, haws, pomes, or just plain fruit. So here you go …

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161018-berries-8
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161018-berries-10

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About me

sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; birder and nature lover; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and biodiversity recorder.

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