Native Idaho Shrubs With Berries

Black Hawthorn

• Black Hawthorn (Crataegus douglasii) thrives in moist Idaho soils but tolerates most conditions. Forming dense clumps, it attracts small animals and birds who like to hide in it and offers good erosion control. In the spring, the shrub offers green foliage, followed by small white flowers. The plant's dark blue berries are edible, and tart like a crabapple. The young leaves, which are green in the spring and turn purplish red in the autumn, are also edible. Large thorns, 1/2 inch to 1 inch long, grow on the shrub all year round. Black Hawthorns grow up to 35 feet tall.

Red Hawthorn

• Red Hawthorn (Crataegus columbiana) is called both a shrub and a tree and often grows alongside Idaho's streams, especially in canyons. A member of the rose family, it grows thorns 1 to 3 inches long and features green foliage with bright red berries in the autumn. Like the Black Hawthorn's fruit, red Hawthorn berries are edible, though tart.

Blue Elderberry

• Blue elderberry (Sambucus cerulea) is a favorite among black bears and humans; however care should be taken never to eat the leaves or stems, which are poisonous. The shrub features clusters of small cream or white flowers, followed in the fall by clusters of hanging berries that are often used in recipes as a substitute for blueberries

Creeping Oregon Grape

• Creeping Oregon grape (Berberis repens, Mahonia repens) is native to Idaho, despite its name. It is an evergreen shrub with leaves resembling a holly bush. They begin as dark green in the spring and turn rose-colored as fall approaches. In the spring, bright yellow flowers form, followed by sour but edible blue berries. The shrub loses its leaves in the autumn.