Osoberry is a large shrub (~1.5 – 5 m tall) commonly found in open areas. You often see it along roads and highways, and trails and clearings in the woods. The plant grows most luxuriantly in sites with ample moisture, but tolerates quite dry sites also.
One of osoberry’s claims to fame is that it’s the first of our deciduous woody plants to leaf out in early spring. If you’re out and about in Nanaimo in the middle of March and spot intensely green foliage on tall shrubs along your way, then you’re most likely seeing osoberry.
Osoberry leafing out in March. Photo credit: Richard Powell via Flickr
Osoberry is also one of the first shrubs to flower in spring – sometimes the flowers appear before the leaves have fully unfolded. The white flowers are arranged in drooping clusters – male flowers (only displaying pollen-bearing stamens) on some plants, and female flowers (only displaying the egg-bearing carpels) on other plants. (This condition, of having male and female flowers on separate plants is referred to as dioecy, or being dioecious.)
A male specimen of osoberry. The flowers bear stamens releasing large amounts of pollen. This photograph was taken in Third Street park in Nanaimo in early March. Drooping flower clusters eventually emerge from the buds. Photo credit: Amy Berkner via FlickrThe leaves of osoberry are fairly light-green, oblong, narrowing to a point at tip and base. Note the distinctive venation. Photo credit: Staffan LindgrenOsoberry leaves later in spring. The alternate leaf arrangement along the stem, as well as leaf shape, is clearly visible in this photo. Fun fact about osoberry; the leaves smell like cucumber when crushed. Photo credit: Douglas FraserAlready by about midsummer, osoberry begins showing a few yellow leaves.Yellow leaves accumulate as the summer goes by. By the time you may be actively looking for osoberry, in the fall semester, the shrub might look a bit worse for wear. Photo credit: Pete Veilleux via FlickrAs one of its common names, June plum, suggests, the fruit of osoberry (Oemleria cerasiformis) is plum shaped. Likewise, the species epithet ‘cerasiformis’ means ‘cherry-shaped’ – think of cerise = (French) cherry. The fruit is much smaller than a regular plum though, only about 1 cm long. The fruit is edible, but not particularly sought after by humans due to its bitter taste. Photo credit: Curtis Irish via Flickr
