my phone is cheap and the camera quality may not be the best, my apologies.
I come here because these berries are attached to some gnarly vines I've been slowly chipping away at. they've grown into my fence, and still have these berries on them. my dog has been methodically sniffing out the ones that fall into the snow and eats them, or bites off the low-hanging ones. obviously I'm concerned for her health as munching on random, unknown berries are never a good thing but I can't chase her around my yard every time she goes outside and tries to get a snack.
my primary concern is if they're toxic or dangerous to dogs. if needed, I'll dig up my digital camera as try to get a better close-up. thank you in advance for any insight!
by Aliceisnicecat
10 Comments
Oriental bittersweet.
Probably high bush cranberries.
Bittersweet, and I believe it’s specifically the oriental type https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celastrus_orbiculatus
It’s “modestly” toxic according to that page.
That’s Bittersweet
Harvest those candleberries, raider.
Celastrus orbiculatus, oriental bittersweet. Distinguished from American bittersweet by its yellow berry capsules and fruiting along the vine rather at the tips.
Dont let your dog eat it.
Horribly invasive, it strangles trees to death. Roots are orange. The sooner it is gone the better.
If you can’t pull them up by the roots (you may hurt yourself), you may want to apply herbicide with a small brush into the fresh cuts so that they don’t come back in the spring with force.
In the spring, you can use foliar application of herbicide, obviously being careful with overspray.
I’ve lived in two places in the US where bittersweet climbed up trees and smothered them to death. I’ve spent many hours pulling it up, and we did manage to bring it under control. It’s very satisfying to pull up those bright orange roots.
Now that you’ve seen this plant, you’ll see it everywhere and realize what a plague it is. Where I am in Michigan, in only ~10 years this vine has become the dominant species in several of the parks I grew up playing in. There’s hardly any living plants left that don’t have these vines strangling them.