Wineberry v Japanese Honeysuckle

Another invasive species of plant that thrives in much of my area is Wineberry (aka Japanese Wineberry aka Wine Raspberry), though this particular individual looks to be under attack by Japanese Honeysuckle, an invasive plant known to attack other plants. (My guess is that this won't end well for the Wineberry; Japanese Honeysuckle can kill hardier plants like young trees by squeezing them to death.)

Wineberry is a type of raspberry related to blackberries and in the rose family [1]. It was apparently brought here from Asia in hopes of creating hybrid raspberries for cultivation, but the tricky rapscallions gave their cultivators the slip and went wild, and now feral swaths of Wineberry can be found in many locations. (I'm thinking of 1 spot in particular at Washington Valley Park, not far from its Hawk Watch platform.)

It's pretty easy to identify Wineberry. The red stems with sharp hairs and the way the underside of the leaves are much paler than the topside of the leaves are both pretty unique around here [2].

The berries are edible, though here in NJ you always have to wonder where pesticides or other poisons may have contaminated it. It's almost certainly the case that you could ferment them and make wine, though it sounds like they're more often used to make jam.

January 4, 2023 at Duke Farms
Photo 251773938, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


[1] Apple and cherry trees are also in this family. This means these trees are more closely related to raspberries and blackberries than they are to oak, maple, and many other types of tree.

[2] This picture was taken in the middle of winter, so those leaves aren't something you can see right now.

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