i call him .. black grape tree

[chills]

he is in fact NOT a grape, dont try one - i did, gross .. bitter!
its a shrub, spread quickly by the little black grapes it drops .. will grow anywhere, starts out tall and skinny and will fill in if i cut the top down .. i have lost all control of the 2 that got away, taller than my fig and i think my husband said thats 30 or 35 feet ..
i was looking for his proper name so i could do research on him .. i noticed i have shared 'the black grape tree' with a few of my neighbors - and they say i'm not nice .. geez i shared my shrub with ya ..
here is a photo, with green grapes which will turn to black and drop on the ground, before the green grapes he has tons of pretty yellow/white blooms/flowers?? makes a mess either with the blooms or the black grapes ..
anyone know his name?

thanks

 

[Greensage45]

I am not familiar with the name, but I have seen this deciduous bush before.

Is it possible this is an Aronia or Chokeberry?

Here is a picture on a site that shows the bush in full bloom.
http://www.antioxidant-fruits.com/aronia-plant-description.html

It states the raw berries are a bit too harsh to eat directly.

Ron

 

[sparkles2307]

looks a lot like a plant I remember goriwn in WA...it would get little white flowers that would turn into those little green balls, then finally ripen into a bright red...no idea what it is tho, sorry!

 

[chills]

thanks for a start ..
ron i would say no to Aronia or Chokeberry, based on the google search cuz those berries almost have a blueberry bottom, and are kind of spread out on the limbs, this guy the berries are like the size of bb's, clustered like a grape .. chokeberry pictures show the flowers to be mainly white, which i would say my are more yellow than white or start white and move to yellow (they have past their flower stage, and i forget) .. here are 2 more photos if its helps any ..

and

sparkles2307 - sort of, they start out white/yellow flowers, turn to green balls, then black balls, then drop and make a mess and reseed like crazy .. not red berries ..
they are very hardy, if they survive me, and i would guess mediterranean type ???

 

[HiDelight]

Sparkles maybe you are thinking wild elderberry? that was my first thought but the leaves are so different I have no idea what that is ..nothing I have seen here for sure

see this link
for wild elderberry
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3024/2628043562_c40829f771.jpg?v=0
they go through a black stage so it you can see how it could have crossed my mind as well

wild elderberry are very beautiful I keep looking for a rogue shoot to grab for my native garden

 

[HiDelight]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sambucus

sigh is there anything you can not google in life?

poor books

I have a whole closet full of wild plant books and I googled this

I am obsessed with all the info out there it is addictive!

 

[injunjoe]

Try looking at pictures of ligustrum.
I looks like it to me but hard to tell in pictures.

 

[sparkles2307]

It is in no way a chokecherry. At least not like any of the hundreds of chokecherries we have growing here...

 

[Greensage45]

Darn,

I was too late, Joe got it, it is a Privet (Ligustrum) ....we are not worthy!

Awesome Work Joe!

Ron

 

[chills]

HiDelight - i heart ask jeeves and then google if that doesnt give me what i want .. books?? what are those ??? kind of like my son has no clue what a L.P is .. or a cassette for that matter ..
OH injunjoe, you are the best .. THAT IS IT!!!
sparkles - a chokeberry would at least be useful eh? not these ligustrum plants i have!
ron - i still think 'YOU ROCK!'
many thank you's .. im not sure why i needed the name, but i do like having his proper name .. thank you!!
off to ask jeeves all i can about him ...