Blackberries are one of the best-known fruits in the rose family. They’re often collected in the wild from hedgerows and woodlands.  September and October are usually the peak months for blackberry forays, but this year blackberries [with the exceptional warmth of the Spring and summer months], they have been ripening early.  Some ripe fruits were spotted back in June!  The fruits start off green, but as they mature they become red and finally black from stem to tip. The bramble has a perennial root system with biennial stems. In the first year, the stems (sometimes called canes) grow vegetatively, but in their second year they produce flowers and fruit.   Then they die back but the dried stems together with their prickles / thorns can persists for some time.  It is a good idea to wear some protective gloves when rummaging for these fruits. The leaves of the bramble are compound, with 3 - 5 - 7 leaflets which have serrated edges.  Its flowers are white to a subtle shade of pink.  They have 5 petals and first appear in early Spring.  They are attractive to pollinators such as bumblebees. Blackberries are a nutritious fruit, rich in Vitamin C but also contain other nutrients, e.g. Vitamin K and manganese.  A cup full of blackberries can provide 7 grammes of dietary fibre.   The colourings of the fruits (anthocyanins and flavonoids) are a source of antioxidants. Blackberries are a food source for wildlife food, many birds, foxes, and many small mammals (for example the dormouse) feed on the berries.  However, this earlier appearance of autumnal fruits may cause problems.  For example, some birds feed upon insects in the Spring and summer months but by autumn they move over to seeds and fruits, like blackberries. But what if the fruits have come and gone, and there are just the shrivelled remains of once juicy fruits.  There could be a 'food gap', this would be especially series for animals trying to prepare for the relatively barren days of winter.  Deer may feed on bramble leaves. If large amounts of bramble are allowed to grow in a woodland, it can affect the microclimate of the ground  layers.  This influences the growth and development of other plants. Whilst brambles can offer protection from browsing by deer and / or rabbits of young tree saplings, they can also suppress the development of light loving species.  A thicket of brambles can also offer a home to some birds, like the nightingale. Further reading - see here

The Wild Service Tree is a native British species.   Nowadays,  the tree is quite rare and  can be an  indicator of ancient woodland.   The wild service tree or chequers tree (Sorbus torminalis) is a member of the Rose family (Rosaceae).  The term torminalis is botanical latin meaning “of or belonging to the gripes, good against the colic”,  because the fruits were (at one time) used as a remedy for the colic. It is a tree native to England and Wales but not to Scotland or Ireland.  Within those two home nations its distribution is patchy; it is not a common tree.  However, it is widely distributed across Europe  (notably France and Germany). The tree is light-demanding species and it suffers if the canopy closes in, so tends to favour the woodland margins, coppiced areas with open and sunny conditions and hedgerows.  It does not ‘like’ water logged conditions, nor dry sandy soils.  Trials in Sweden, Norway and Denmark indicate the good growth is achieved soils with a silt content of just under 14%, and it can tolerate a pH range from acid through neutral to slightly alkaline. The tree can grown to a height of 20 to 30 metres, if the conditions are right - and the growth can be fast.  Young trees can grow at a rate of one metre a year.   It sends down quite deep roots and develops strong laterals (which may extend beyond the diameter of the crown).  This means that they are ‘windfirm’ and relatively drought tolerant.  The leaves bear some similarity to those of maple.  In Spring, the tree produces bunches of creamy white flowers, which provide pollen and nectar for insects. The flowers when fertilised produce brown berries.  Like Medlars, these may be bletted - allowed to become over-ripe and have been used to make jams, drinks.   However, many of the fruits fall to the ground where they may be eaten by birds or small mammals. If eaten by birds, then the seeds may be dispersed over a wide area but natural regeneration from seeds is uncommon (though suckering from roots is a possibility).  Young plants / saplings may be targeted by voles and mice, they are also sensitive to competition (especially from brambles). The tree is not grown for timber production in the UK, but abroad the timber is valued as one of the hardest, native European woods.  The colour is yellow to light red, though old trees can have a deeper colour.  Because of its hardness it was used in the past to make mill cogs, mangle wheels, parts in textile mills and wine presses.  Now, the wood is used in furniture making and for wind instruments (flutes, recorders, bag pipes).  Wild service trees, grown for timber, are ‘raised’ in ‘coppice with standards”, where the service trees are the standards. Thanks to Ruth for images.  

The quince is endemic (native) to south west Asia, the Caucasus; an area occupied by countries like Turkey, Georgia, Northern Iran, Azerbaijan, and Armenia - where it can be found growing on rocky slopes and woodland margins.  The quince can survive in a variety of climates.  It even flourished (in historical times) in the heat of Mesopotamia, however,  in order to flower properly it needs to experience a cool or cold period when the temperatures drop below 45oF. It belongs to the Rosaceae (Rose) family, which also includes apples and pears.  The fruit of the Quince is not dis-similar to a pear but it is generally larger, ‘knobbly’ and a bright ‘golden yellow’ colour.  The tree itself can grow to a height of 5 to 8 metres and to a width of some 5 metres.   Read more...

The (common) medlar tree, Mespilus germanica, has its origins in the Balkan Peninsula, the Caucasus, Crimea and Northern Iran.  In these areas, it has been cultivated for its fruit for thousands of years.  Later, it was introduced to Greece and Italy and was an important fruit through to mediaeval times - when it was 'replaced' by other fruits.  According to W J Bean*,  it may be found 'wild' in woodland in several counties of south east England; but it is not native / indigenous.  Until recently, the common medlar was the only medlar known but another Mespilus species has been identified in North America - Stern's Medlar (Mespilus canescens).   The Medlar tree is a member of the Rose family - the Rosaceae, and is related to genera such as Crataegus (Hawthorns) and Amalanchier (Snowy Mespilus). Read more...