.png)
Summer Is Wild Berry Season in Michigan’s Woodlands
From tiny strawberries hidden in the grass to tart gooseberries along old logging trails, midsummer is berry season in Michigan's forests.
By late June, one of my favorite traditions begins. The woods become a seasonal pantry. Wild strawberries appear first along the trails. A few weeks later, blueberries ripen beneath the pines, followed by blackberries, and finally gooseberries tucked into shady corners.
All four grow somewhere on our property, and every summer I'm reminded that the best discoveries often reward those who pay attention. Finding the first berry of the season always feels like the forest quietly letting you know another chapter of summer has begun.
Wild Strawberries are ground-hugging plants that grow in patches on hiking paths, in meadows, and at the edges of the forest. They like well-drained soil and lots of sun. Their leaves are trifoliate (three-part) with toothed edges like clover. Delicate, five-petaled white flowers appear in late April followed by tiny berries that ripen in June and July. Wild strawberries are much smaller and vastly more flavorful than the ones you’ll find in the store. Note that mock strawberries look similar and are often mistaken for true strawberries. They are safe to eat, but flavorless.
Wild Blueberries like sandy, acidic soil. There are two species — the low sweet blueberry that forms ground-hugging shrubs and the highbush blueberry that inhabits wetlands. Both species have berries that grow in clusters and range from blue to almost black with a whitish powdery bloom on the surface and a tiny star-shaped calyx “crown” on the berry’s end. Blueberries are among the safest wild fruits. No poisonous berry in Michigan has that distinctive crown. The best time to pick them is the last two weeks of July through the first week of August. Be mindful of where you forage – you may have competition from black bears. They love blueberries.
Wild Blackberries and black raspberries are collectively called brambles — thorny shrubs that form tangled thickets at the edges of forests and old fields. Black raspberries have arching purplish canes and black-purple berries that are small and hollow-core (when the berry is picked, the white core stays on the plant). Blackberries have taller, more erect green canes and larger, more elongated black berries with an intact (not hollow) core. Both berries are in season from late July through early September. Be mindful that the thorns can scratch and that bramble thickets are favored hiding spots for ticks and sometimes snakes.
Gooseberries are small woodland shrubs that thrive along forest edges, old logging trails, and in partial shade. Their rounded leaves have three to five shallow lobes, and many species have sharp spines along the stems. The berries grow singly or in small groups, beginning green before ripening to translucent red, purple, or deep maroon in mid to late summer. Gooseberries have a tart, bright flavor that makes them excellent for jams, pies, and syrups, though some varieties are sweet enough to enjoy fresh. Wear long sleeves when harvesting to protect against the shrub's prickly branches, and avoid confusing gooseberries with unripe berries from other shrubs, as color alone is not a reliable way to identify wild fruit.
