Fruits of October

 

Apple, Malus sp.

A great many trees in the Apple family are suddenly apparent at Halibut Point in late summer and early fall, when their colorful fruit ripen. Most of these are self-sown descendants of orchard plantings from bygone day. No apples are native to the Americas, which explains Johnny Appleseed's legendary popularity in the westward settlements. The trees' ability to hybridize freely can easily lead to new fruit developments. The small sized ones pictured here might be classified as crabapples.

Shagbark hickory, Carya ovata

Maturing hickory nuts cause a good deal of excitement among the squirrels and chipmunks who scramble through the branches harvesting nuts even before they fall to the ground where turkeys, foxes and rabbits look for them. Any nuts overlooked by the harvesters from their winter food caches have a chance of sprouting to generate new trees at some distance from the parent.

Virginia Creeper, Parthenocissus quinquefolia

Virginia Creeper and Catbrier often clamber together over woody or rocky supports to reach for sunlight. These vines simultaneously produce dark blue fruit. The combination of Virginia Creeper berries on red stems against the decorous Catbrier leaves makes a pretty picture, above.

Poison Ivy, Rhus radicans

Besides scrambling and rooting opportunistically, Poison Ivy spreads by producing attractive berries to induce birds to ingest and disperse its seeds to improbable distant locations.

Virginia Rose, Rosa virginiana

Creeping, turf-building native roses utilize similar methods to Poison Ivy for colonizing the moors of Halibut Point, but have devised different techniques for self-defense.

Little Bluestem, Schizachyrium scoparium

Botanically, a  grain of grass is also a kind of fruit. The fruit wall is very thin and is fused to the seed coat, so that almost all of the edible grain is actually a seed, making an economical bargain for dispersal by wind or bird.

Carrion-flower, Smilax herbacea

There is a seldom-noticed short, thornless, herbaceous (non-woody, dies back annually to the ground) version of Cat Brier at Halibut Point that fruits in remarkable clusters, which is how you're most likely to find the plant among its robust menacing cousin with almost identical leaves. It gets its name from a carrion smell given off by the flowers that appeals to certain insect pollinators.

European Spindle-tree, Euonymus europaeus

Before the fruiting capsules of Spindle-trees open so spectacularly, they closely resemble the model that defines this otherwise diverse genus represented on Halibut Point by imported Oriental species Burning Bush (E. alatus), Evergreen Wintercreeper (E. japonicus), and the native, less colorful Eastern Spindle-tree (E. atropurpureus). The plant gets its name from its hard fine-grained wood that lent itself to carving spindles.

Bittersweet, Celastrus scandens

The showy fruit of Bittersweet (Celastrus scandens) bear a close resemblance to berries of the above-listed Euonymus, as both are members of the family Celastraceae. This plant of Oriental origins probably gets its name from opposing characteristics as a rampant invader and a prized ornamental.

Easter Red Cedar, Juniperus virginiana

On an interesting botanical note, Juniper berries are neither true berries nor actually a fruit. Conifers (gymnosperms) in ancient times evolved a primitive method of reproduction without flowering parts (angiosperms), which have enclosed ovaries that generate fruit to surround their seeds. Juniper seeds, like other conifers, are located on the surface of the cones. They are nevertheless very successful at multiplying their progeny into the thin-soiled meadows and moors of Halibut Point, often as a transitional tree to woodlands reclaiming agricultural or industrial areas.