EMERSON STREET FOOD FOREST

BEACH PLUM: Coastal development has decimated the range of beech plums, a wild native of the coastal mid-Atlantic, but they abide in the food forest, offering showy white flowers and tart, deep purple fruits even in degraded urban soils.  


CURRANT: Two varieties, the sweet purple clove, and the tart cherry red go through a sequence of ripeness from June (clove) to July (cherry red). If you’re tired of pies, make them into wine.   

SERVICEBERRY: This underappreciated native tree is a hardy team player that produces blueberry-like fruits rich in antioxidants. It bears fruit in midsummer while shading understory animals from the heat. 


YAUPON HOLLY: Sleepyheads alert! The yaupon holly is the only native North American shrub that produces caffeine. Its dried leaves steep into a tea high in antioxidants and low in tannins (bitterness). Drink your Yaupon tea but avoid the poisonous red berries.   


PERSIMMON: These pastel orange fruits have a honey-sweet flesh and a firm texture, amenable to fresh or cooked recipes. They grow abundantly on larger canopy trees that support delicate understory shrubs and edible groundcover.


WEEPING MULBERRY: This graceful small tree sends limp branches down to the ground and offers a sweet-tart fruit that can be eaten fresh, but is especially rich in jams and pies. Birds and squirrels also love the fruit, so look out for wild competition. 


ELDERBERRY: This hardy shrub’s flowers can be steeped as tea, and its buckets of tart purple berries should be cooked to reduce their mild toxicity. Or use them as pigments for natural foods and clothing. 


PAWPAW: The “hipster banana” offers a mango-sized fruit that tastes like a fruity custard. Native Americans cultivated the small deciduous tree as far west as the Mississippi. There are wild specimens throughout our area, including on campus in Guilford Woods.