Berries that grow on trees are surprisingly uncommon in the botanical world. The most well-known tree that produces edible berries is the mulberry tree with its blackberry-like fruit. Other types of edible berries that grow on trees are hackberries, silver buffaloberry, serviceberry, Panama berry, and fruit on the strawberry tree.
It’s a fantastic idea to grow trees with edible berries in your garden, because their delicious, sweet, or tart berries are wonderful. Berry-producing trees are renowned for their early blooms and are magnets for pollinators. Pollinators will occupy your garden landscape in the spring, and the luscious berries will draw birds throughout the summer and spring.
The berries that grow on trees are described in this article. You’ll learn how to identify tree features, such as leaves, bark, and flowers, in addition to pictures and descriptions of the tree berries.
What Berries Grow On Trees
Mulberries, hackberries, buffaloberries, serviceberries, Panama berries, and tree strawberries are all examples of berry-producing trees with tiny edible pulpy berry-like fruit. A berry is a tiny, pulpy fruit that develops from a single blossom’s ovary. Around the seeds, this produces a fatty coating. Berries that grow on trees have the potential to be edible or inedible. It’s preferable to choose edible varieties when growing berries-producing trees in your yard, especially if you have children.
While most types of berries grow on shrubs, bushes, or thickets, some varieties may be found on trees. Almost any tiny fleshy fruit is referred to as a berry by many people. Yet, many different fruit-producing trees bear berry-like fruits, of course. Drupes are fleshy fruits with a large stone in the center that are produced by fruit trees like cherry trees, plum trees, and peach trees.
Do Blackberries Grow On Trees?
Blackberries (Rubus) are tiny fruits that resemble black raspberries and grow on thorny bushes. Some people mistake a mulberry tree for a blackberry tree because they look similar. The blackberry shrub, sometimes known as brambles, is a huge plant with numerous cane-like stems and palmately complex leaves.
Before they are completely ripe, blackberries have a slightly acidic flavor. The sweeter they get, the softer their flesh becomes and the more sweet their flavor. A mature blackberry has very sweet taste. Due to its solid core, blackberries have a somewhat earthy taste that some individuals find unpleasant.
Mulberry Tree – Tree With Berries That Look Like Blackberries
Mulberries produce fruits that resemble blackberries from the mulberry tree. Mulberries (Morus) are black berries that grow on trees, however you shouldn’t mistake them for similar-looking and tasting blackberries (Rubus). Berries that grow on thorny bushes, not trees, are referred to as blackberries. Mulberries are bigger and have a more elongated cylindrical form than both types of berries, which are black and taste similar.
The color of mulberries and blackberries differs somewhat. When they are ripe, blackberries are normally oval to barrel-shaped and have a lustrous black color. Ripe mulberries, on the other hand, come in a variety of colors: red, red and black, or pure black. In comparison to blackberries, mulberries are bigger.
Red mulberry (Morus rubra) is the most widely cultivated mulberry tree, with sweet, rich red or black berries. White mulberry bears blackberry-like sweet fruits that change pink, red, or purple-black when they mature. They are white when young and turn black. Little black and delicious mulberry berries cluster on black mulberry (Morus nigra).
Types of Berries That Grow on Trees (With Pictures) – Identification Guide
Let’s explore various types of berries that grow on trees in depth.
Mulberry (Morus)
The fruit of the ancient mulberry tree looks like blackberries. Mulberries are red, white, or black fruits that range in length from 1 to 3 inches (2.5 to 7.5 cm). Mulberries have a hooked finger-like appearance and a characteristic cylindrical shape. Mulberry fruit color is typically used to indicate maturity and sweetness, with black berries indicating the most mature and sweetest fruit. After blooming, the mulberry tree begins to produce mulberry fruit.
On the tree in the summer, oval, white berries develop and mature, becoming softer and sweeter as they do. Mulberry fruit is ready to eat as soon as the season ends in late summer. The berry-like tree fruit will taste sweeter as the color becomes darker.
Mulberry fruit varies in maturity according to the species. White mulberry tree (Morus alba) and red mulberry tree (Morus rubra) berries, for example, are typically available for consumption in late spring. Black mulberries (Morus nigra) mature throughout the summer months, however they do maturing late in the summer.
Mulberry trees are recognized by their flowers and leaves, in addition to their lengthy, cylindrical berry-like fruit. The heart-shaped dark glossy green leaves of the mulberry tree are 3″ to 7″ (7.5 – 18 cm) long. Long, dangling greenish blooming spikes (catkins) bloom on the mulberry tree in the spring.
Mulberry leaf
The aggregate mulberry fruits develop on 30 to 50-foot-tall (9 – 15 m) trees, with female flowers on the left and male flowers on the right. USDA zones 4 through 9 are home to mulberry trees. The densely packed, open, rounded crown of dark green leaves turns golden yellow in the fall on the fast-growing mulberry tree.
Berry tree identification
The lengthy cylindrical blackberry-like fruit, huge heart-shaped lobed dark green leaves, and tiny greenish flowers are all traits to look for when identifying a mulberry tree.
Common Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis)
The hackberry tree produces dark red or purple berry-like fruit that are roughly 0.3″ (0.8 cm) in diameter. By fall, the tiny, spherical edible hackberry fruit has turned dark purple. Sweet flesh surrounds a little nut on the globular berry.
When mature in late autumn, the tiny dark red or purple hackberries have a delicious flavor. The crunchy texture and a peanut butter-like flavor distinguish the little fruits, which are edible meat and tiny seeds. Summertime brings out the little green balls known as hackberries. The berries turn a dark burgundy to deep purple color and develop a sweeter flavor as they mature. By late autumn, the berries on the tree are edible, and they can last through winter if kept dry.
The pyramidal development pattern of the big hackberry tree, which spreads to a broad crown, is easily recognized. Lanceolate to ovate, glossy green leaves with serrated edges adorn the tall decorative hackberry tree. Flower clusters of hackberry fruit tree are yellowish-green and comprise four to five petals each, measuring 0.25″ (0.6 cm) in diameter.
The hackberry tree grows 40 to 60 feet (12 to 18 meters) tall and is also known as beaverwood, nettlewood, false elm, or American hackberry. It’s a rapidly expanding tree that grows up to 3 feet (0.6 meters) each year. USDA zones 2 through 9 are ideal for Hackberry trees.
Silver Buffaloberry (Shepherdia argentea)
In the autumn, the silver buffaloberry shrub-like tree produces crimson fruit-like edible drupes that are ready to be devoured. clusters of crimson berries develop in the summer, and they are ready to eat by fall. Because of their sour, tart flavor, berries are delicious in pies, jellies, and jams.
It is distinguished by its brilliant red color and tiny white dots on the silver buffaloberry fruit. Tarte-tasting berries develop abundantly on woody limbs, measuring about the size of a pea. The tart flavor of silver buffaloberries makes them comparable to cranberries when it comes to baking or preserving.
A big shrub that may be trained to develop as a tree is the multi-stemmed silver buffaloberry plant. The rounded crown of the shrubby tree is due to its loosely branching growth habit. The small fruit-producing tree may reach 15 feet (4.5 meters) in height. USDA zones 3 through 9 are ideal for the silver buffaloberry tree.
The white or yellowish spring blossoms are another identifying characteristic of a buffaloberry tree. In contrast to gray leaves with silvery speckles, tubular buffaloberry blooms bloom in the spring. Although the tree’s red berries are its most distinguishing feature, certain trees yield golden yellow berries.
Berry tree identification
Large clusters of tiny, round, brilliant crimson red berries on the silver buffaloberry tree are a good way to identify berries. Cranberries are red berries that taste and look like cranberries. The silvery-green leaves of buffalooberry trees are another distinguishing feature.
Panama Berry (Muntingia)
The Panama berry tree bears huge crimson fruits that resemble ripe cherries. Before ripening to a red color, the edible red berries turn green. The crimson berries have a sweet, fresh flavor and are roughly 0.6 inch (1.5 cm) in diameter, resembling small spherical fruits hanging from the tree.
Tropical areas have berries on the Panama berry tree. USDA zones 9 through 11 are ideal for tropical fruit trees. The big berry-producing trees are 25–40 feet (7.5–12 meters) tall. The Panama berry tree has several identifying characteristics in addition to the spherical crimson hanging berries. Evergreen lanceolate blades 2 to 5 inches (5 to 13 cm) long make up the tree’s leaves. Moreover, the lovely green foliage contrasts with the appealing, creamy white blooms that are 0.75″ (2 cm) wide.
Jam and baked goods are made from the exotic crimson berries of the Panama berry tree. Jamaica cherry tree, West Indian cherry tree, ornamental Cherry, or cotton candy Berry are some of the other names for this tropical Panama berry fruit tree.
Berry tree identification
Little spherical red berries with a sweet flavor are identified as Berries on the Panama Berry Tree.
Serviceberry (Amelanchier)
Fruit from serviceberry trees. Mature purple serviceberry fruits in the left picture. The immature red serviceberry fruits in the right picture. When fully ripe, serviceberry tree fruits look and taste like blueberries, and they are little red or purple berry-like pomes.
In June, the tiny round berries are ready to eat, growing in open clusters. The fruit of the deciduous berry tree can be consumed raw or prepared and utilized to make jellies and jams.
You can prune off branches to avoid a shrubby development of the clusters of crimson serviceberries on long stems, which measure between 0.25″ to 0.5″ (0.6 to 1.3 cm). When mature, the berries turn blue-purple and have a pleasant flavor.
In early summer, the deliciously sweet purple serviceberry fruits are ready to harvest. The sweet berries attract a variety of birds in addition to humans. The elliptical green leaves, short-lived white or pinkish spring blooms, and charcoal gray bark of the serviceberry tree distinguish it. The exquisite decorative tree has a medium size and rounded form that grows 15 to 25 feet (4.5 – 7.5 meters) tall.
The serviceberry tree has coarsely-toothed, oval leaves and flowers in early spring. Throughout the spring and summer, these tree leaves are light green, but in the autumn they change to brilliant crimson and orange.
Serviceberry trees, which grow in USDA zones 2 through 7 and full sun, produce copious fruits throughout the autumn. A tiny tree or a big multi-stemmed shrub may be grown as serviceberry.
Berry tree identification
Round to oval-shaped fruits with a purple color and a strawberry flavor, blueberries, and a suggestion of almond are identified as berries on the serviceberry tree.
Strawberry Tree (Arbutus unedo)
Red, yellow, and orange berries approximately 0.4 – 1.2 inches (1 – 3 cm) in diameter grow on the strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo). When mature, the crimson edible berries on the strawberry tree have a rough surface and sweet taste. The berries turn yellow to a rich red color as they ripen on the tree.
The flesh of strawberry tree berries is delicate and golden-orange, with numerous seeds. The aniseed-flavored, sweet-tart fruit of the rough, red fruits have a slight peach, mango, and apricot taste. The fruit of the strawberry tree has a crunchy, mealy texture due to the seeds in it.
Berries on the strawberry tree ripen in late summer and stay on the tree until winter. From fall through mid-winter, the strawberry tree is adorned with drooping clusters of white or pale pink bell-shaped flowers. The tree’s green foliage and white flowers are matched by the ripened colorful orange and red berries.
The vase-shaped crown of the evergreen strawberry tree is rounded, spreading, and densely packed with foliage. The strawberry tree is distinguished by its gnarled branches, dark green leaves with crimson petioles, and gray-brown bark. Other identifying features include huge oval red berries.
Little evergreen trees or huge shrubs make up the strawberry tree. In USDA zones 7 through 10, full sun is ideal for easy-to-grow fruit trees. These berry-producing trees are unrelated to the vining strawberry plant (Fragaria), despite their common name.
Berry tree identification
The bumpsy, rough surface and bristle-like spikes on berries from the strawberry tree make them oval red berries. The yellow spherical berries develop a brilliant red color and have a heavenly sweet flavor.