All plants /Shrub /Rusty Blackhaw

Rusty Blackhaw

Viburnum rufidulum, moschatel family. Uncommon in Central and East Texas.

At a glance

What: Blue-black berries with a bloom
How: Raw ripe, or cooked into a preserve
When: Fall
Where: Woodland edges and slopes
Value: Sugars

Caution: Eat only fully soft, dark, sweet fruit; the flat seed is not eaten. Never eat a wild plant on this guide's word alone. Confirm identity against several sources and learn the look-alikes first.

Identification

A small tree with glossy leaves that flare red in autumn and clusters of raisin-sweet blue-black fruit dusted with a pale bloom.

In the kitchen

Ripe fruit tastes of dates and prunes; the thin flesh around the seed makes a modest but pleasant preserve.

Photo: James H. Miller, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org, CC BY 3.0 us, via Wikimedia Commons.

Forages well with

American Persimmon

Diospyros virginiana

Tree Fruit

Farkleberry

Vaccinium arboreum

Shrub Fruit

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.