Got Nature? Blog

Once the leaves have fallen and the landscape is dominated by shades of brown and gray, bright colors like red catch our attention. There are several red fruits that we may encounter in the late fall and winter here in Indiana that add some color to the landscape. These fruits are retained on trees and shrubs for a variety of reasons. Some are not as palatable to wildlife, so they are eaten later in the season. Some are more resistant to freeze damage and thus cling to branches longer than delicate fruits. There may also be an advantage to their appearance. Many of these plants have seeds dispersed by wildlife like birds, which eat the seeds and excrete them later, providing an opportunity to produce new plants away from the parent. Many birds can see much of the same color spectrum we do, plus enhanced vision in the ultra-violet bands. Brightly-colored seeds with waxy skins may reflect more ultra-violet light and be more noticeable to the birds.

What are some of those red fruits?
One family of plants accounts for several red fruit we can see in late fall and winter, the rose family. This family includes apples, plums, cherries, hawthorns, pears and others as well as the roses. In Indiana we have several hawthorns (Crataegus species) that produce a fruit resembling a tiny apple. These vary in size by species but are typically ¼ to ½ inch diameter and often held in clusters. Hawthorns are typically small trees and may have long thin thorns on the twigs.

 

Another rose family member are the apples and crabapples with some small native trees like sweet crabapple, Malus coronaria, and several varieties of fruit-bearing apples and ornamental crabapples planted but sometimes escaping to natural areas. While our native crabapples are usually about 1-2 inches diameter and green to yellow, the domesticated apples and crabapples often have red fruit in various sizes from large apples to ½ inch diameter crabapples.

 

We also have several beautiful native roses in Indiana, and a particularly problematic exotic invasive rose in multiflora rose. Unfortunately, you are more likely to encounter multiflora rose with small ¼ inch clusters of red fruit. Our native roses typically have larger fruit and fewer fruit per cluster.

 

Holly is also noted for red fruit and some being evergreen as well. Our native Indiana hollies are all deciduous, losing their leaves in the fall but often retaining the red fruit on the female plants into winter. The most widespread species is winterberry, Ilex verticillate, a shrub which is seeing more use ornamentally due to its striking red fruit held past Christmas most years. American holly, an evergreen broadleaved tree, is well-known for its glossy, spiny foliage and red fruit on the female trees. Although not native to Indiana, it is spreading from plantings into natural areas. Several evergreen hollies from Europe and Asia are also common in ornamental plantings and may escape into natural areas.

Not only are these late-season showy fruit attractive, but they also provide some important nourishment for wildlife when the many other fruits are long-gone.

Resources:
Ask An Expert: Holidays in the Wild, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR) YouTube Channel
Selecting a Real Christmas Tree, Got Nature? Blog Post, Purdue Extension – FNR
Tips on How You Can Recycle Your Christmas Tree, Got Nature? Blog Post, Purdue Extension – FNR
ID That Tree, Playlist, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
ID That Tree: Prickly Ash, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
A Woodland Management Moment, Playlist, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
Shrubs and Woody Vines of Indiana and the Midwest, The Education Store, Purdue Extension Resource Center
Native Trees of the Midwest, The Education Store
Investing in Indiana Woodlands, The Education Store
Forest Improvement Handbook, The Education Store
Tree Installation: Process and Practices, The Education Store
Tree Planting Part 1: Choosing a Tree, video, The Education Store

Lenny Farlee, Extension Forester
Hardwood Tree Improvement and Regeneration Center
Purdue Department of Forestry & Natural Resources