Friday, October 21, 2011

Fall fruit

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Are they edible or poisonous?

coyote said...

Bit of both, depending on definitions, ma'am.

I know the plant as mountain ash, which seems to be a catch-all name for several tree species.

In fall, the berry clusters can ferment to a respectable alcohol content while still on the stem, and whiskeyjacks eat the berries from the time they ripen to the time they're, ummm, well-aged. I've seen entire flocks paralytic, once or twice.

From the little sots' behaviour when blotto, I'd imagine their hangovers feel pretty toxic.

Anonymous said...

Thanks!