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berries of Viburnum nudum var. cassinoides

Ripe fruit ("raisins") of wild raisin on
The Bluff Trail Sept. 7, 2010

Chokeberry on The Bluff Trail Sept. 7, 2010

Huckleberry on The Bluff Trail Sept. 7, 2010:
sparse pickings but very tasty!

Photos at right:

TOP: Leaves of wild raisin showing first fall colours (The Bluff Trail Sept. 7, 2010)

MID: Profuse flowering of wild raisin (July 8, 2005 by barrens in Peggy's Cove area)

BOTTOM: Wild raisin flower head (July 8, 2005 by barrens in Peggy's Cove area)

The name "withered" apparently comes from "withe":

withe (also withy) n: a tough flexible shoot, especially of willow or osier, used for tying abundle of wood etc. (Source; Oxford English Reference Dictionary).

Europeans introduced use of withered as a local substitute for the willow for making wicker baskets. Clam baskets and eel traps are also made locally from witherod. More traditional, pre-European Mi'kmaq baskets were made from from ash splints. See Baskets of Atlantic Canada by Grace Butland & Ronald E. Merrick, published in the November/December 2001 of Saltscapes

-David P. for wrweo.ca

Sept. 8, 2010

Wild Raisin on The Bluff Trail

Fruits of wild raisin (Viburnum nudum var. cassinoides), also known as witherod, seem to be ripening a bit early this year and are unusually sweet right now. I like them because they are chewy as well. However, don't confuse them with berries of chokeberry (Aronia spp.) which are also ripening, but are quite bitter. Leaves of witherod are attached in pairs, each on opposite sides of the stem, whereas those of chokeberry are attached singly. Berries of black huckleberry (Gaylussacia baccata), are also ripe and are very delicious but are generally sparse, although the plant itself is abundant on the barrens.

Wild raisin, which is very common in the Woodens River/Five Bridge Lakes Wilderness area, is one my favourite native shrubs. The leaves have an attractive shape and texture, it produces showy flowers at the end of June/early July, bears attractive clusters of berries and has colourful fall foliage. It grows in a wide range of habitats, from quite wet to moist, in open sun and somewhat shaded habitats and can tolerate some drought. It can be propagated from seed or cuttings - see MacPhail Woods: Wild Raisin.

The berries have wide use by wildlife:

Unlike some other shrubs, wild raisin consistently bears heavy crops of fruit. Berries are a not a preferred food, but are eaten by ruffed grouse, American robin, rose-breasted grosbeak, purple finch, cedar waxwing and other birds. Ruffed grouse, snowshoe hare, chipmunk, red squirrel, skunk and mice all make use of the fruit, which can hang on late into the winter. Especially where it forms dense thickets, wild raisin provides valuable cover for many types of mammals and birds. Source: MacPhail Woods: Wild Raisin

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