IT'S THE BERRIES!

BLACK CHOKEBERRY, ARONIA MELANOCARPA...

...CLUSTERS OF BLOOMS

WILD THIMBLEBERRY...

...SCENTED FOWERS, MAPLE-LIKE LEAVES

 Friday, 8:00 AM.  57 degrees F, wind NE, light to moderate.  The sky is partially overcast and there are scattered clouds.  The humidity is up, at 87% and the barometer is trending down, now at 29l,95"  It may rain this afternoon.  I am going fishing out on the lake, but we will probably be in before any bad weather.  I'll report on the fish population tomorrow.
   The first commercial strawberries are being marketed by local berry farms (although I haven't seen any wild strawberries this year as yet, and it may not be a good year for them).
   Wild thimbleberries, Rubus parviflorus, in the rose family, are blooming in fields and along roadsides.  This is a very attractive wild raspberry, bearing edible red berries. It is a spreading shrub of woods and woods edges.   Some folks do not like the taste of the round red berry but I think it fine.  Unlike many Rubus species, it is not thorny, and the leaves are not compound.  It is  a far northern species and grows only in the northern tier of Wisconsin counties.
   Wild chokeberry, Aronia melanocarpa, also in the rose family (not to be confused with chokecherry) is also blooming. It is a quite beautiful small native shrub of northern wet, acid bogs, lake shores and dunes.  Its dark, glossy foliage turns brilliant red in fall, and its very attractive flowers bear black, edible fruit in abundance.  The prefix "choke" refers to the highly acid and astringent character of the fruit, which is best used in jellies and jams.  It is very high in antioxidants so is very desirable from a health food standpoint.  It is a fine shrub to use in naturalizing, or even in foundation plantings, where tolerance to wet conditions is important.