How to identify wild fruits
Find out how to identify 15 types of fruits in the countryside, plus which ones can be foraged and some recipe ideas.
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Autumn is a bountiful time of fruits, when trees and bushes seem to be dripping with beautiful berries – great for both wildlife and keen foragers.
Some of these berries are safe for humans to eat, although a few do need to be cooked first. Care must be taken as there are some safe fruits which can be easily mixed up with poisonous ones. If in doubt of plant identification, do not forage.
Illustrations by Felicity Rose Cole, unless otherwise credited
Bramble (Rubus fruticosus)
A very familiar plant to many, which produces blackberries – one of the most abundant fruits in autumn. There are over 300 microspecies of bramble in the UK.
Foraging recipes with blackberries:
Guelder rose (Viburnum opulus)
Also known as dogberry or water elder, guelder rose produces bright red berries in autumn that hang in bunches. When eaten raw, the berries are mildly toxic, but can be used in jams or jellies.
Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa)
The fruits of the blackthorn tree are known as sloes, which are a classic flavouring for gin.
Learn more about blackthorn and using sloes in foraging recipes:
- How to tell the difference between hawthorn and blackthorn
- How to make sloe gin
- How to make sloe port (pictured)
Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna)
Small or medium-sized thorny tree of hedgerows, rough ground and upland areas. Scarlet oval ‘haws’.
Learn more about hawthorn and using it in foraging recipes:
- How to tell the difference between hawthorn and blackthorn
- How to make hawthorn vinegar (pictured)
- How to make hawthorn gin, on the BBC Countryfile Magazine website
Dog rose (Rosa canina)
Vigorous hedgerow briar: our most common wild rose. Oval to flask-shaped scarlet rosehips.
Foraging recipes with rose petals and rosehips:
- How to make rosehip syrup (pictured)
- How to make wild rose lokum (Turkish delight)
- How to make an autumnal berry cocktail
Elder (Sambucus nigra)
Small hedgerow tree with flat clusters of edible black berries. Frothy white flowers in May–June.
Foraging recipes with elderflowers and elder berries
- How to make elderflower gin (pictured)
- How to make elder shortbread
- Homemade elderflower cordial, on the BBC Countryfile Magazine website
- How to make elderberry wine, on the BBC Countryfile Magazine website
Crab-apple (Malus sylvestris)
Thorny tree with small, hard, yellow, apple-shaped fruits that can be used to make jelly.
Black nightshade (Solanum nigrim)
Tiny, tomato-like annual with dull black berries. Although the ripe berries are edible, the plant is easily confused with the poisonous deadly nightshade, so unless you’re very confident at plant identification, it is best avoided.
Burnet rose (Rosa pimpinellifolia)
Low shrub of coastal dunes and chalk grassland. Unlike other wild roses produces purple-black hips.
Bittersweet (Solanum dulcamara)
Woody scrambler with red, oval, bitter-sweet berries. Also known as woody nightshade.
Spindle (Euonymus europaeus)
Small hedgerow shrub with garish clusters of coral-pink berries held in orange sheaths.
Black bryony (Tamus communis)
Britain’s only wild yam. Climbing tendrils twine around hedgerow plants. Red, poisonous berries.
Honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum)
Vigorous shrub that entwines around trees and hedgerow plants. Clusters of bright red berries.
Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia)
Upland tree with clusters of small, scarlet berries (popular with birds). Also known as mountain ash.
Wild service tree (Sorbus torminalis)
Often-overlooked tree of ancient woods. Clusters of brown, spotted fruits (once used to flavour beer).
Main image: Rose hips. © Joff Lee/Getty
