Photo by Alexander Wentworth on iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0
Thimbleberry
Rubus parviflorus
- When
- Typically July – August — July, August. Earlier in the south, later in the north.
- Where it grows
- Forest edges, roadcuts and clearings, often in big thickets.
- How to know it
- Large soft maple-shaped leaves, no thorns, white flowers, and a shallow, wide scarlet berry like a thimble that collapses when picked.
- Look-alikes
- None dangerous.
- Harvest and use
- Eat immediately — they will not survive a walk home. Excellent jam if you can gather enough.
Found in these regions
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Also ready in September
FruitAugust – SeptemberBeach plum
Prunus maritima
Low sprawling shrub in the sand, with dusty purple plums about the size of a marble.
How to know it & its look-alikes →Photo: Tom Norton · CC BY 4.0
NutSeptember – OctoberBlack walnut
Juglans nigra
Tennis-ball green husks lying under a tall tree with long compound leaves; the husk stains everything it touches brown.
How to know it & its look-alikes →Photo: Sandy Wolkenberg · CC BY 4.0
FruitAugust – SeptemberChokecherry
Prunus virginiana
Long drooping clusters of dark red-to-black cherries on a small tree with finely toothed oval leaves.
How to know it & its look-alikes →Photo: Tom Norton · CC BY 4.0
Educational information only. Never eat a wild plant or mushroom identified from a single photograph or description — confirm with a regional field guide or an experienced forager, and know the poisonous species in your area first.