Berries as a source of food
Here's some honeysuckle vine in the fall - the native kind Lonicera sempervirens. These berries are just as attractive as the flowers were.
Our native viburnums are an important source of berries. Cedar waxwings will often finish these off in the spring as they pass through as they migrate north. You'll notice that the leaves are riddled with holes - a consequence of the non-native viburnum leaf beetle that has devastated native viburnums. Non-native viburnums don't seem to be affected.
Here's a female bayberry its first year. It will ultimately grow to be about 8-10 feet tall I believe. Since the plants aren't generally labeled as to whether they're male or female, I've decided the best time to buy them is in the fall when you can actually see berries on the females. You only need one male to pollinate about 7-10 females I believe. (Note that spicebush and hollies - such as the winterberry following - also come in male and female.)
Here are two winterberries, a native holly plant. The plant on the left was grown in full sun, so it has lots of berries. The plant on the right (or below), planted at the same time, has a sparse crop of berries since I had let huge cosmos plants grow up around it, leaving the young winterberry in the shade. Note the difference!
Here's a robin and catbird eating elderberries.
