Tree id please

[tawnyman]

Hi there. I saw these two trees on a walk by the Loddon today. My tree id'ing isn't great, though I thought the yellow/red berries might be a hawthorn. Any ideas? Thanks






P.S. Hope the images come up ok, it's my first time using images!

[petermcgain]

The lower photo is hazel - enjoy the nuts before the squirrels get them!

[Adam Cheeseman]

Guelder Rose (a shrub) and Hazel.

Cheers,

Adam

[Adam Cheeseman]

Originally Posted by Adam Cheeseman

Guelder Rose (a shrub) and Hazel.

Cheers,

Adam

PS - the berries are poisonous.

[tawnyman]

Thanks for that - how do you know when they're ready to eat? (the hazel that is!)

[Adam Cheeseman]

Originally Posted by tawnyman

Thanks for that - how do you know when they're ready to eat?

When the squirrel is scoffing them all.

Seriously though, you can eat them when they are 'wet', i.e not fully ripe. I personally think they taste better like that but can be difficult to crack cleanly. Otherwise the nuts when ripe will go a tawny brown colour.

Cheers,

Adam

[tawnyman]

Thanks for the info - I shall take another walk soon!

[Gytrash]

Originally Posted by Adam Cheeseman

PS - the berries are poisonous.

I'd always thought they just smelled bad when you crushed them, but were edible?

Richard Mabey in his Food for free just describes them as 'cloying'.


Just googled, one website says they're edible when cooked. Others say that raw they are edible, but unpalatable!


Cheers
Dave

[C C]

Guelder rose are edible to an extent, they are midly toxic with a bad taste. Fairly pointless persuing it as an edible.

[AlanS]

According to the HMSO publication 'Poisonous Plants and Fungi' (an authoritative source, though my copy is the 1998 edition and perhaps not the most recent), Guelder Rose and other Viburnum species have berries that in large numbers cause vomiting and diarrhoea. The active toxin is not given and is apparently unknown.

Alan