Identifying Wild Berries in Pennsylvania

Identifying wild berries in Pennsylvania is a passion among some people who enjoy foraging, or finding edible plants in nature. There are many easily recognizable wild berries to find in Pennsylvania. With a good guidebook and some practice, identifying wild berries in Pennsylvania can become an engaging past time.

Identify wild berries before eating them.

Perhaps you've purchased a country or suburban home and notice some bushes that look surprisingly like blackberry or raspberry bushes, or you're wondering if those red berries are actually strawberries. To get started identifying wild berries in Pennsylvania, follow these tips.

Before heading out on your foraging adventure, be sure that picking wild plants or harvesting berries is legal. If you are lucky enough to own some land, the berries growing on it are yours to do with as you please. Some berry farms are actually wild berry preserves of a sort and invite pick-your-own adventurers onto the farm at certain times of the year. Local land may or may not be okay to forage on. Check state, county and town records or websites to find out if foraging is okay on the land in question.

Many animals enjoy wild berries, too. Black bears are notorious consumers of berries and may be foraging among the same bushes you want to visit. Noise usually scares off bears and other wild creatures foraging nearby. A bear bell, or a big bell attached to a stick or backpack, makes enough random noise to alert animals that you're nearby. Take a companion with you and chat while you work to create some noise to alert the animals, too. If you see fresh scat (droppings) nearby you may want to come back later.

Get a good guidebook to help you identify wild berries. While some are easily recognizable, such as blackberries, blueberries and raspberries, don't pick or eat anything you can't identify. A few such as hemlock berries are poisonous. When in doubt, don't eat it.

Pennsylvania's temperate climate ensures wild berries spring through fall.

• Cranberries: High bush cranberries grow in northern Pennsylvania. You can recognize them by their leaves with three lobes and large seeds. Wait until the first frost before picking and eating. The frost makes the berries taste sweeter. If you try to eat them too soon, the berries will be very sour.
• Blackberries: A perennial favorite among berry foragers, blackberries appear in early summer as red berries on shrubs with thick canes and thorns. At first you may think they are raspberries, but they will darken to the telltale blue-black color. Wait until they turn fully black before picking; they are sweetest when they are fully black and ready to fall off the plants.
• Thimbleberry: Also called salmon berry, thimbleberry looks a bit like a wild raspberry. It's related to the rose family and grows near wooded areas. The shrubs often form clumps of thickets and can grow up to seven feet tall. Fruits ripen in early to mid summer. Native Americans used thimbleberry and salmon berry bark, leaves and berries as medicinal teas for many ailments; use only the berries, since the leaves and bark are mildly poisonous unless harvested and prepared properly.
• Strawberries: Wild strawberries are smaller than their cultivated cousins. You'll marvel at their sweetness. They look almost identical to garden-raised strawberries.
• Elderberry: Elderberry grows through the United States and grow on tall plants with thick green foliage. Dark blue or purple berries ripen late summer and early fall. They grow in clusters or clumps. Sweet, juicy, and great for cooking or snacking, find elderberry near forests or woodlands.

Trails offers a list of common edible berries found in the United States with photos to help you identify them. The county Cooperative Extension services may also offer advice on foraging. Books also offer good resources. One you may want to check out is Edible Wild Plants of Pennsylvania which offers tip on foraging for berries and other wild edibles in the state of Pennsylvania and neighboring New York.

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