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Reflections in Nature: Winterberry holly has roots with Christmas decorations

Last Saturday Mary Alice convinced me that we needed to go grocery shopping. Now, grocery shopping on a Saturday is not on my list of favorite things to do. On our way north, on Route 14, we were surprised to see a bald eagle sitting in a tree next to the road.

The eagle had its eyes on a meal: that of a dead deer in the field across the road. A few miles up the road we had a very close call with a large doe crossing the road in front of our vehicle. I slammed on the brakes, causing everything in the back seat to move forward. Fortunately, we were both wearing seatbelts and the deer made it safely across the road. After the excitement of seeing the eagle and missing the deer, we noticed an abundance of bittersweet growing along the roadside.

I always cut several branches of bittersweet for Mary Alice to use in decorating, however, this year I forgot.

One year before Christmas we were at the farmer’s market in Lewisburg when I noticed that one vendor had branches of winterberry holly and bittersweet tied in small bundles, and bagged pine and spruce cones. All were for sale. I was surprised at the prices marked on the bundles.

Those of us that live in the country have access to nature’s bounties. However those that live in the cities are eager to purchase these branches of red berries and bittersweet, etc.

Through the years, we have made many nature trips to collect cones, winterberry holly, milkweed pods, grape vines, acorns, bitter sweet, leaves, etc.

This year appears to be a banner year for the bright red berries of the winterberry holly. Our early ancestors used winterberry holly to decorate their homes for Christmas, hence, the common name of Christmas berry.

The winterberry holly — which is usually found as a shrub growing 6 to 12 feet high — is found in swamps, wet meadows and along the shore line of streams, lakes and ponds. The shrub is one of our deciduous hollies. Although the plant is in no way related to the alders, the winterberry holly grows in the same areas. The winterberry holly’s leaves are shaped somewhat similar to those of an alder, and during the fall, the leaves also turn black. The common name of winter berry holly is black alder.

Another plant that is sought by florists and those decorating their homes is the bittersweet. This fall there is certainly an abundance of bittersweet.

The bittersweet grows on a vine by clinging and twining round and round. The vine will climb to the top of a tall weed or a young tree and often higher. The vine’s twining around the tree will sometime kill the tree, but the bittersweet thrives. Often, an unusual walking cane is made from a tree, which appears to have grown in a cork-screw manner. These screw-like grooves are caused by the twining of a vine.

The name bittersweet is said to come from the vine’s inner bark, which supposedly has a bittersweet taste. I read in one book that the plant has many medicinal abilities, including treatment for cancer, skin ailments and rheumatism. In olden days, the bittersweet berries were crushed and then applied to warts and other skin conditions. However, a warning from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has bittersweet listed as a toxic plant.

We have two types of bittersweet growing in Pennsylvania. One is our native bittersweet Celastrus scandens, which is commonly called American bittersweet. This plant, which is not abundant in our area due to being difficult to cultivate, has suffered from over cutting in the wild. American bittersweet has a lance-shaped leaf, with the berries growing on the end of the vines.

The second type of bittersweet is the oriental bittersweet Celastrus orbiculatus, which is also known as round-leafed bittersweet. This plant is easy to grow and will grow in a wide variety of habitats. Berries grow all along the vine, which makes it more pleasing to gardeners and decorators.

In the prosperous suburbs of New York City, the oriental bittersweet had become a problem compared to the kudzu (mile a minute plant). There were actually brigades of anti-bittersweet volunteers that spent their weekends tearing the plant out. What wasn’t used to make decorative wreaths was burnt.

Be sure to look along the banks of the roadsides for the orange berries on the bittersweet vine and the brilliant red berries of the winterberry holly in wet areas after the leaves have fallen.

Bill Bower is a retired Pennsylvania Game Commission Wildlife Officer. Read his blog and listen to his podcasts on the outdoors at www.onemaningreen.com.

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