i have noticed there are blackberry bushes growing all around my village (they grow in my garden and we eat them every summer but now they’ve popped up absolutely everywhere on my street). and this year i’ve noticed what i assume are blueberries growing too!
i’m wondering if i can eat them and how i can use them to grow in my garden too if i take some blueberries and use the seeds?
by Acceptable-Eye-5041
14 Comments
Not blueberries, i believe they are called oregon grapes.
It’s a Mahonia/Berberis species, very different looking to blueberries
One is able to consume them safely, some make pie with it (screw you, bot!). The flavor is okay, it requires an enormous amount of sugar,
r/notablueberry
Be wary; this can be an extremely difficult plant to get rid of once established, and likes to spread.
Source: me, waging constant war on Oregon grapes in my yard for several years
That’s Oregon grape
Mahonia. Not good to eat.
Berberis aquifolium formerly Mahonia aquifolium. Commonly Oregon Grape. Fruit is edible but sour, not at all like grapes. It was used by indigenous peoples for a variety of ailments.
Oregon Grapes are native to the PNW! There are [a](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berberis_repens) [few](https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/oregon_grape/) [kinds](https://www.portlandnursery.com/natives/mahonia) [of](https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/oregon-grape.htm) [Oregon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berberis_aquifolium) [Grape](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berberis_nervosa) and they are all [edible](https://boskydellnatives.com/recipes.htm) – *but very, very tart.* Great pie, jam, jelly fruits. Horrid raw.
Mahonia is definitely not edible. At least not for humans – birds love the berries.
Definitely Oregon grapes. They’re not actual grapes and do not taste like them—they are sour like citrus. But people make jams and jellies, I am considering trying that this year.
Mahonia berries are yummy…if you’re the kind of person who likes to chew up aspirin.
Not blueberries. Oregon grapes.
[You can eat them.](https://joybileefarm.com/make-oregon-grape-jelly-foraged-fruit/)
Mahonia