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Stone bramble

 

 

We find the ripe “shepherds’ pastime berries“ at the edges of mixed forests, in fields and wooded meadows and also in boggy forests.  

Stone brambles taste pleasantly sweet and sour. Up to five of the bright red, fleshy fruits (drupes) with a large stone seed are joined together. Note that fruiting stems are erect. For picking the fruits are too few in the growing places, for sucking on as a pastime they suit well. Birds appreciate stone brambles, carrying the seeds together with a small dose of fertilizer into new habitats.

 

The slightly hairy composite leaves, divided into three leaflets (trifoliate) remind of raspberry leaves; the creeping stem is sparsely set with tiny spines. The plant grows quite long runners and so propagates vegetatively.