Mayo is awash with eye-catching berries on trees

COUNTRYFILE

DID you ever see as many berries on the trees?

Rowan and guelder rose have both produced so well that favourite hedgerows are bright red.

Over the next two weeks we can expect the leaves of these small trees to colour as well, so if the weather complies we shall have one of the most colourful autumns for many years.

While all of us are familiar with the rowan, or mountain ash, we don't all get to feast our eyes on guelder rose, for when it comes to growing conditions this spectacular plant is more choosy than most.

Nor, I think, does it like being thrashed to within an inch of its life, for it is realtively slow growing. Because of that, it quickly gets swallowed up by more the vigorous growth of other species after hedge trimming.

Perhaps the best place to find guelder rose is on the limestone pavement around our larger lakes, where it makes a perfect specimen of a rounded shrub, one that is rarely browsed by cattle or deer. Perhaps it is the slightly toxic foliage that offer protection.

But how would an animal know not to eat those succulent leaves? After all, the first of them appear early in the spring, while all around remains bare. The berries, too, are somehow protected. They certainly look good enough to eat. And the truth is, they are just that.

We should remember to cook them, that's all. Eaten raw, they are mildly toxic, though not so much they will have some long term, harmful effect. No, our bodies are far too clever for that.

The human stomach knows when some undesirable thing has been introduced, and also knows how to get rid of any offending article. And that is what it does.

With their slightly bitter and rather insipid flavour, the raw berries of guelder rose must be difficult to get down. If what I read is true, they are far easier to get up again. Don't try it, that would be my advice.

Unless, of course, you happen to be among the increasing many who like to make their own jams and preserves, in which case the crimson fruits of the guelder rose might be just the thing you need.

Mix them with other, sweeter fruits such as damsons or blackberries, and you have some of the best jam you could ever make. After proper cooking, that is.

Before any such venture is undertaken, it is well to place the fruit in the freezer for a day or two. Freezing helps to break down cellular structure and definitely improves the flavour, as well as making everything a lot softer and more palateable.

The process of cooking (but not over-cooking) these berries gets rid of the slightly nuanced odour they carry in the raw state, and also leaves you with a product that was once widely used as a medicine for a range of ailments, including neurosis.

I would imagine that any whose spirits were weighed down midway through a long winter would be perked up no end, just at the sight of an opened jar of guelder rose jam. There now, we can add seasonal depression to the list of ills effectively treated.

Our ancestors used guelder rose to treat muscle cramps and heart complaints, and likely benefited from the anti-imflammatory qualities the plant also offers, even while unaware of such things.

For those who are interested, the guelder rose is a highly symbolic plant in Ukraine, one associated with peace and love. To get the very best out of it, we might talk to our Ukrainian friends.