Susan Kline wrote:

>I planted a Cornelian cherry dogwood here in my rented yard
>about five years ago, and it's a fine big tree now,

Yes, they are a member of the dogwood family.

>with lots
>of the little fruits. I like them when they are almost starting
>to dry on the bush, and are soft and plumlike. Quite delicious.

Yes, they need to be very ripe, soft, and dark red to be any good.

>Thanks for sharing your experiences in Central Park.

I'm back from a trip to Prospect Park, my local park. I found the Cornelian
cherries, though slim pickings. And I found the blackberry patch. Much,
much smaller than the patch in Central Park. Again slim pickings, but he
took a tour through last weekend and they probably picked things clean. I
also found some sassafras, which you can pull up and boil the root. And use
the leaves. The small ones in the shade will die anyhow. I also came across
some large nut tree. It had large heart shaped leaves (8" x 6") with smooth
edges. I didn't find it in his book, so for now I'll assume the nuts, when
they fall later, will be inedible.

I then went over to the Botanical Gardens. I found four mayapples, only one
ripe, which I tried. The other three will ripen in time. Then leaving I
came across four Cornelian cherry trees, but I guess these having been
watered (the ones in the parks were drying out) and all the fruit was now
gone. There is a paw-paw tree in the garden. But I gather they don't want
people taking the fruit.

As for my little yard, rowhouses don't really have yards, I did learn on
yesterday's tour that wisteria flowers are edible, but not the seed pods.
In spring I have lots of flowers. Then thumbing through his book I see that
Kousa dogwood has an edible fruit. But I've never seen fruit on my little one.

Don.