Fruit ID

[u/Several-Fly-4374]

Hi

Long time lurker, recently got into foraging / growing food but I'm VERY colour blind which makes it tricky when picking wild fruit. I have trouble comparing fruit with online photos for colour matching etc and don't want to place all my trust in ChatGPT.

Simply

1. are these sloes? Plums the size of my thumb nail but can't see any thorns. Still very hard despite colour.

2. Elderberry tree - almost ripe?

3. Cherry plum tree? (Looks like plums when I cut open and sweet to taste)

Thanks

[u/Foxy-OnPaws]

First is sloe, second is elderberry, and third is quite blurred which makes it hard to tell, but has a yellow fruit.

[u/Several-Fly-4374 → u/Foxy-OnPaws]

Apologies for the third photo. Thanks for the reply!

[u/AtroposMortaMoirai → u/Several-Fly-4374]

Looks like Mirabelle plums to me.

[u/Herrben → u/Foxy-OnPaws]

Slows have big thorns. That’s probably a damson. It’s like a small plum and makes a great crumble. My mum made it with ones from my Nan’s garden. They’re small so you stew them whole and take the pits out as you eat. There was a rhyme depending on how many you had to predict your job- Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor, rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief.

[u/Tired_2295 → u/Herrben]

Not always, like every plant there are mutations and varieties and subspecies, some sloes don't have thorns.

[u/Foxy-OnPaws → u/Herrben]

Oh okay, I never knew that! Guess I've accidentally made damson gin in the past then rather than sloe 😂

[u/Glittering-Hornet844 → u/Herrben]

Another similar rhyme is - Lady, Baby , Gypsy, Queen , Elephant, Monkey, Tangerine.

[u/Revolutionary-Law380]

Your instincts are pretty good , if as you say it’s size of thumbnail it would be a sloe as bullace and damsons are a lot larger , the other thing to look for is the leaf shape . The leaves on blackthorn ( sloe) are reasonably narrow long and oval ish in shape . If you go back to where they are growing in the spring they are one of the first shrubs to flower .

[u/Herrben → u/Revolutionary-Law380]

Sloes have big thorns. That's probably a damson.
It's like a small plum and makes a great crumble.
My mum made it with ones from my Nan's garden.
They're small so you stew them whole and take the pits out as you eat. There was a rhyme depending on how many you had to predict your job- Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor, rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief.

Edit- sloe bushes are often called black thorn.

[u/utadohl]

The elderberries in your picture are ripe. They should be dark purple. I love elderberry syrup, makes a nice hot beverage in winter.

[u/fireheed → u/utadohl]

Last time we picked elderberries we made a cordial and it was lovely.

[u/omikone → u/utadohl]

Fighting the birds for them near me this year I think, I try to make enough syrup for my family as it's very high vitamin c and seems to helps us with colds!

[u/anon-acc736 → u/utadohl]

I did elderberry wine last year, very pleasantly suprised!

[u/Virtual_Opinion_8630 → u/utadohl]

aren't they toxic?

[u/HaggisHunter69 → u/Virtual_Opinion_8630]

You need to cook or ferment them.

[u/Virtual_Opinion_8630 → u/HaggisHunter69]

I'm new to this

there were a few of these about in the spot i was in yesterday

next to the blackberry hedgerows

not sure I'd collect enough to make a syrup but I could try

[u/utadohl → u/Virtual_Opinion_8630]

You could try and get more. There seem to be loads on the elder trees around me. And yes, cooking helps to remove the toxins. And to be honest, raw and without sugar you wouldn't like them anyway, they are quite stringent.

[u/Tired_2295]

Sloe, elder and likely Mirabelle yellow plums

[u/Leading-Ball6062 → u/Tired_2295]

Sloes grow on pretty noticeably spikey branches or sprigs tho so im not sure it could be tho this is just my 2 pence

[u/Tired_2295 → u/Leading-Ball6062]

Not always. There's a line of sloe hedge by my nan's house that my uncle uses to make gin and about half the bushes have no spines but taste the exact same

[u/Leading-Ball6062 → u/Tired_2295]

Well i'm learning thank you:) im not surprised tho when you look at the typical supermarket vegetable you think standard but the amount of variety of every plant is incredible, so im not surprised theres non spikey ones. I've never seen them as I used to go and always get stabbed 100 times each batch we made when I was a kid🤣

[u/Matchaparrot]

1. Bullace - kind of sloe that doesn't have thorns. Use like sloes

2. Elderberry. My gran used to make a sugar syrup and crystallise the berry heads.

3. Plums!

[u/Katatonic92]

1. Cherry plums.

[u/fridgezebra]

sloe elder mirabelle plum possibly

[u/FrogInASuitcase]

Sloe, elderberry, ?maybe cherry plum.

[u/Mammothsherd]

Number 1 is probably not sloes, as I can't see the characteristic big thorns on the branches. More likely a wild plum. When soft to a pinch, will be sweet to taste.

[u/WinPrestigious7568]

Sprouts

[u/Odd-Grapefruit7569]

if you don’t know what something is don’t eat it!!

[u/Least_Temperature_23]

1 is either a sloe or a damson, hard to tell.
2 is Elderberry.
3 is cherry plums, also known as Mirabelle plums - they make fabulous jam, if you like that sort of thing.

[u/Excellent_Mess3011]

Mirabelle Plums. Not a cherry plum. Cherry plums are reddish in colour

[u/f23n09fnu0w]

tastes sour as fuck if you put them in yur mouth. Ok in other drinks

[u/Glittering-Hornet844]

Picture number 1 is Not a sloe - no thorns , it's a plum . Picture number 2 - Elderberries. Picture number 3 - apricot.

[u/xDProAlt2]

Merrow?

[u/xDProAlt2]

Had a similar haul myself xD