NATIVE CHERRIES, BLUEBERRIES ARE BLOOMING

NATIVE PIN CHERRY IN BLOOM...

...FLOWERS BORNE IN CLUSTERS

NATIVE LOW-BUSH BLUEBERRY...

..NOTE BELL-LIKE FLOWERS

Monday,  7:00 AM.  47 degrees F, wind SW, strong and verst gusty. The sky is overcast and cloudy, the humidity 79% and the barometer is rising, now at 29.74". We received .16"of rain overnight.  The temperature is falling, and I will have to bring the baskets inside before nightfall.
   The native wild cherries are just beginning to bloom, their white flowers looking rather similar in the landscape to the still-bloomoing juneberries.  The plant pictured is pin cherry, Prunus pennsylvanica, in the Rose Family.  The perfect (having both male and female floral parts) small flowers are borne in clusters, and have a rather earthy odor.  Note how the prominent stamens are elevated above the flower petals.  These shrubby small trees are pioneer plants, growing in abundance after fire or logging.  The small cherries are edible and very good for jams and jellies, and are valuable as food for wildlife. The native range of pin cherry is New England and the Great Lake States and most of Canada, and in the mountains of  eastern and western North America.  They usually grow on infertile soils and are short-lived, providing shelter for longer lived species that grow up beneath them.
   The low bush blueberry, Vaccinium angustifolium, in the Heath (Ericaceae) Family, is a northern blueberry native to beach dunes, bogs and other acid soils.  It grows throughout Wisconsin and is native to eastern and central Canada, New England and south to Virginia and around the Great Lakes.  It bears small blue edible and flavorful berries, is very fire tolerant and often grows in large "blueberry barrens" as almost a monoculture.  Such areas are sometimes managed to harvest native berries, either by hand or mechanically.  Blueberry picking can be a great outdoor activity, if one does not mind competing with the bears, which relish the fruit.
   I usually manage to pick some berries each year, but it is a lot of work;  however, there is nothing that tastes like wild blueberries, or makes better pies!  I have become very partial to using various blueberry species in landscaping, as they are very attractive plants and have wonderful fall color.  Use the blog search engine for additional information.