All plants /Shrub /Brasil
Brasil
Condalia hookeri, buckthorn family. Common in West Texas.
At a glance
- What
- Small black fruit
- How
- Raw, jelly
- When
- Summer into fall
- Where
- South Texas brush country
- Value
- Sugars
Caution: Edible when fully black and soft; the thorns are serious. Never eat a wild plant on this guide's word alone. Confirm identity against several sources and learn the look-alikes first.
Identification
A dense thorny brush-country shrub, also called bluewood, whose tiny black fruit is sweet and a little tart.
In the kitchen
Gathered in quantity it makes a dark jelly; on the trail it is a welcome sweet in dry country.
Photo: sonnia hill, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Forages well with
Forage safely. Never eat a wild plant on this site's word alone. Confirm identity with several sources, learn the look-alikes, and when in doubt, leave it in the ground.