# Help identify this berry tree. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 10, 2008, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identify-this-berry-tree/467324 "2008-10-10T15:04:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identify-this-berry-tree/467324/1 "2008-10-10T15:04:17Z")
I searched for images of the tree in google [http://www.tamenobu.com/images/berrytree.JPG](http://www.tamenobu.com/images/berrytree.JPG) but the poster didn’t know what the tree was either. I have several of these outside my office window and the robins that feeding off of them this morning are crashing into my window because of the reflections of the trees in the mirrored glass. One actually just broke his neck and is laying outside. Boy is fat from eating berries. What are these things? They seem to be driving the birds nuts. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identify-this-berry-tree/467324/2 "2008-10-10T15:10:00Z")
They look like [Mountain Ash/Rowan Tree](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rowan) fruit. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identify-this-berry-tree/467324/3 "2008-10-10T15:28:43Z")
Hmmm, interesting but those seem more tightly clumped than what I am seeing and in the picture I linked. I’m suprised they don’t have a more local/commen name. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identify-this-berry-tree/467324/4 "2008-10-10T15:33:06Z")
> [@Grey](#): > > They look like [Mountain Ash/Rowan Tree](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rowan) fruit. I’m pretty sure it’s not a rowan. It looks more like hawthorn to me. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identify-this-berry-tree/467324/5 "2008-10-10T15:38:08Z")
> [@G. Odoreida](#): > > I’m pretty sure it’s not a rowan. It looks more like hawthorn to me. No thorns to be seen, apart from that I got nothing ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identify-this-berry-tree/467324/6 "2008-10-10T15:46:56Z")
Good point, maybe it is a well eaten rowan tree. ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identify-this-berry-tree/467324/7 "2008-10-10T15:54:30Z")
Any chance you could post another picture at higher resolution? The one you provided is nice & artistic, but there’s not much detail to go on given how little of the picture is well in focus. My guess is something in [the apple family](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maloideae) (perhaps some kind of crabapple?) or the [Rose family](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosoideae), but beyond that it’s really hard to tell. ---
**Author:** ![masterofnone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@masterofnone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/masterofnone)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identify-this-berry-tree/467324/8 "2008-10-10T15:57:31Z")
My first respose was some variety of crab apple when I saw the photo, but without knowing what size the fruits are it’s very hard to tell. Birds often get drunk off of fermented crab apples, and since they’re common landscape plants, they often kill themselves smashing into windows. ETA: Dammit, **MikeS** beat me to it! ---
**Author:** ![Kuboydal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecb155/32.png) [@Kuboydal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kuboydal)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identify-this-berry-tree/467324/9 "2008-10-10T16:02:16Z")
Where are you located? ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identify-this-berry-tree/467324/10 "2008-10-10T17:12:19Z")
Here are some pictures of the actual tree: Tree: [http://s187.photobucket.com/albums/x6/JohnBrock\_79/?action=view¤t=tree.jpg](http://s187.photobucket.com/albums/x6/JohnBrock_79/?action=view¤t=tree.jpg) Berries: [http://s187.photobucket.com/albums/x6/JohnBrock\_79/?action=view¤t=berriessize.jpg](http://s187.photobucket.com/albums/x6/JohnBrock_79/?action=view¤t=berriessize.jpg) Stupid Bird: [http://s187.photobucket.com/albums/x6/JohnBrock\_79/?action=view¤t=bird.jpg](http://s187.photobucket.com/albums/x6/JohnBrock_79/?action=view¤t=bird.jpg) Definitly not apples. Smaller than cherries. And I don’t know why the hyperlink button isn’t asking me for text to input instead of just showing the link. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identify-this-berry-tree/467324/11 "2008-10-10T17:29:42Z")
From the leaves, it definitely isn’t a rowan. ---
**Author:** ![Kuboydal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecb155/32.png) [@Kuboydal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kuboydal)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identify-this-berry-tree/467324/12 "2008-10-10T18:15:29Z")
Would you mind a closer photo of the bark and twig with leaves? Furthermore, did it have beautiful pink flowers in the spring? ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identify-this-berry-tree/467324/13 "2008-10-10T19:51:21Z")
> [@Kuboydal](#): > > Would you mind a closer photo of the bark and twig with leaves? Furthermore, did it have beautiful pink flowers in the spring? Bark: [http://s187.photobucket.com/albums/x6/JohnBrock\_79/?action=view¤t=bark.jpg](http://s187.photobucket.com/albums/x6/JohnBrock_79/?action=view¤t=bark.jpg) Twigs & berries: [http://s187.photobucket.com/albums/x6/JohnBrock\_79/?action=view¤t=twigs.jpg](http://s187.photobucket.com/albums/x6/JohnBrock_79/?action=view¤t=twigs.jpg) It did have pretty flowers in the spring. I recall them being more white than pink but can’t be sure now. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identify-this-berry-tree/467324/14 "2008-10-10T19:55:08Z")
Cotoneaster - No Hawthorne - No Flowering Crab - Yes I don’t know what variety of flowering crab, but the fruit distribution is not a clump like a cotoneaster. The leaf structure is like a flowering crab and not like a hawthorn. Flowering crabs come in enough varieties that one with this trees habits falls into the range. It looks like a flowering crab with small fruits that are just turning to the red stage. Now if tonight you pick on and examine it, you can know for sure.