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Tree & Shrub Gallery

Miscellaneous Shrubs #2

                             

Araliaceae - Ginseng or Ivy family
Devil's Walkingstick (Hercules'-club) Aralia spinosa
Huge cluster of small white flowers grow at the end of the main stem (top), mid to late summer. 1/4" wide purple black berries (no photo). Leaves are round but give a lacy appearance, turn dark red in fall. Burgundy leaf spines (petiole) spiral up the main stem, can grow to 6 feet long, and are shed in the fall leaving the spiny main stem bare. Stems leave semicircular leaf scars that are lined with spines. Young plants have a single unbranched stem with leaves clustered at the top. Older plants develop a few branches and grow to 20 feet tall. Colonies grow from rhizomes. Grows in disturbed areas, at edge of forests, and mowing will result in vigorous new growth. Does not do well in over wet or in desert dryness otherwise it is a good weed. Bees love the nectar and many animals eat the berries.
To cultivate: Take three inch root cuttings in the late fall, overwinter upside down in sand, then pot upright in the spring.
New leaf photos taken by Sonnia Hill in Van Zandt County, Texas, March & June 2004
Flower photos taken by Sonnia Hill in Van Zandt County, Texas, July & August 2004
Photos taken in Van Zandt County, Texas, November 2006
(Native of Texas - near but not listed in Van Zandt)
see similar Hercules-club Prickly-ash

                    

Verbenaceae - Vervain family
American Beautyberry (French Mulberry) Callicarpa american
Bouquets of small lavender/pink flowers at leaf nodes. They have 4 petals and stamen that protrude past the petals. Leaves are about 6" long, green to yellow green, toothed edge. Magenta, 1/4" drupes ring the stem. Plants grow in thickets of long arching branches, 6-8 foot tall. Birds eat the fruit when dried.
Fruit and yellow leaf photos taken in Van Zandt and Smith Counties, Texas, November 2006
Flower and green leaf photos taken in Harris County, Texas, June 2010
(Native of Texas - Smith, Harris, not listed in Van Zandt)

                 

Ericaceae - Heath family
Farkleberry (Sparkleberry, Tree Huckleberry) Vaccinium arboreum
Flower is a 3/8" long, white bell. Shiny black berry is 1/4" in diameter, taste is dry and gritty but edible. Leaf is up to 21/2" long, oblong, nearly evergreen, shiny green above, dull below. Twigs zigzag, red or green when young. Delicate tree grows to 30 feet tall.
Flower photos taken by Sonnia Hill in Van Zandt County, Texas, March 2006
Photos taken in Van Zandt County, Texas, November 2006
(Native of Texas - Van Zandt)