Tree Identification Help!

Travis3Miller

I have this tree growing in my backyard that stands a little less than 20 ft. tall. I live in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada's. I noticed the tree bares fruit; two different kinds of fruit grow on this tree. My younger cousin and I are both wondering if the fruit is edible. He is 4 and dying to put this stuff in his mouth! haha
This seems like a super informative community and I'm thankful for Google bringing me here!

Here are some pictures:











Thanks in advance!

-Trav

Eric Frei

You have to load the pics to this server as per the rules, the email and PM you received when joining.

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Travis3Miller

Thanks! and sorry!

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Eric Frei

Interesting.

So what happens? Do those small grape like fruit turn into the larger plum style one?

I wouldn't go eating anything until you are sure what it is.

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Travis3Miller

Not that I can tell. They look like separate sorts of fruits. I just went back out to look and noticed that there is no single one trunk that all of these smaller "trunks" are growing from. It's almost as if there are just many of the same skinny tree planted all in the same place. I don't know if this tells you anything further?

Also, i don't know how hybrid trees are made but this possibility has ran through my mind as well. Though, I still would not know which two types of trees would be making it up. I do not know much more than the average about trees, sorry. :P

dov

It looks very much like an Elderberry ie. Sambucas nigra bush to me. Does it get masses of tiny whitish flowers in bunches? If it has butter yellow flowers, it would be a Sambucas mexicana, which is native to your area. Both types of Elderberry have edible fruit which is rich in vitamins, but all green parts of the tree are toxic as well as unripe fruit being mildly toxic. Before you do eat I'd recommend taking a small branch to a local nursery to make sure.

Not sure about the larger fruit though. Are you sure it is from the same tree or is there some other plant mixed up with it?

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Travis3Miller

DOV! Brilliant! This is the one! Sambucus Mexicana! This other fruit must be mixed up with this bush since the Elderberry is indeed a multi trunk tree (up to 20 i've just read). I am trying to compare the leaves closest to each fruit, and they are pretty identical. The only difference i can really come up with is the leaves for the larger fruit have a more waxy texture and fairly darker. Colour difference is not very visible if you are standing back a few feet.

dov

Glad I could help! If you could pull out a small branch with one of the larger fruits still on it and post a photo of that, perhaps we could do an ID on that one too.

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treeshaveneeds

Don't want to disagree with you Dov, but the leaf looks more like Mulberry as does the trunk. Mulberry trunks have similar ridges with medium brown bark as the pic shows.

Mulberry leaves are single, and can have one or more lobes - or none. Elderberry leaves are compound. So a picture showing the leaf in its entirety would help a lot.

The larger fruit looks nothing like a mulberry or elderberry. Why not cut it open, and see what kind of seeds it has.

dov

Picture 2 shows compound leaves.

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treeshaveneeds

Possibly, but not really clear.

dov

Mulberry leaves are quite different. The fruit also is quite different.

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treeshaveneeds

I know Dov. Apparently sambucus mexicana has larger fruit than the various elderberries I have come across. And what was the decision on the larger fruit?

dov

A separate plant mixed in with it.

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treeshaveneeds

And no idea what the separate plant is? for this sort of fruit.

dov

Not sure. I think Travis3Miller is happy with an ID on the first plant and isn't so interested in posting pics of the second.

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Travis3Miller

My apologies everybody. I haven't been home for about a month now, so I haven't been able to get those pictures for you all. Alas, here they are.

The larger fruit on the previous pictures i posted goes along with this tree:

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jmcg.insight.gardens

hint;the larger fruit is a drupe. It will have one seed.

Travis3Miller

Are all drupes edible?

jmcg.insight.gardens

Hi Travis3Millar

No not all drupes are edible, some can be poisonous, so caution always is the best policy when it comes to unknown plants.

The larger fruit you show reminds me of a not yet ripe nectarine, the bark in the last photos posted looks like a nectarine tree, or maybe a plum, they are in the same family. That's the best I can suggest without better photos.

Best to wait and see what ripens, get your cousin to check it out with an adult then, perhaps you might have a fruit tree that you can enjoy.

So wait and see.

Red Gold Nectarine

treeshaveneeds

I had no idea that many nuts - such as walnuts and almonds, or that the fruit of sumachs were considered drupes.

An interesting link can be found at drupes.com