# What kind of bush is this?



## jimbo3

My girls seemed to like it (along with yellow jackets, beetles, bumble bees, etc). It's about 20 feet from the hive. I live in CT, by the way.


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## hillbeekeeper

Looks like an elderberry bush.


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## trottet1

I agree that it looks like elderberry, but please research how to tell elderberry from pokeweed (pokeberry). It is hard to tell from the pic because the berries haven't bloomed yet. Pokeberry bloom form long thin clusters and elderberry are a larger mass of berries. The only reason I suggest you make sure of which it is, is because pokeberry is poisonous to humans. Elderberry on the other hand can produce wine. Definitely research this as I am no expert.

Todd


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## jimbo3

Thanks! So would pokeberry honey be poisonous as well?


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## trottet1

Good question. And, I don't know lol. I have to assume no because I believe rhododendron is poisonous and I've never heard of people being poisoned by that. Again, not an expert over here.


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## clyderoad

the leaves don't look like elderberry leaves to me. those are lobed and our elderberry are not, more spear head shaped and serrated.
maybe there are lobed leaf elderberrys also?

they also don't look like pokeweed leaves or flower stems.

the photo looks like some kind of vine.

note: my terminology for describing plant features is terrible.


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## DPBsbees

Looks like wild grape to me. A viney weed around here.


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## trottet1

Hmmmm clyde has a good point. I just looked at the picture closer and compared to elderberry in the woods behind my house. The leaves are not a match. Also the elderberry is more of a stalk or a soft moist branch toward the bottom going into the ground. Yours is very vinelike. So back to square one..... unknown lol.


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## Westhill

Looks like porcelain berry. Definitely not elderberry.

Wild grape looks similar to this but has forked tendrils at the ends of the vines--check yours to see. Also, the leaves tend to be smoother.


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## clyderoad

trottet1 said:


> Hmmmm clyde has a good point. I just looked at the picture closer and compared to elderberry in the woods behind my house. The leaves are not a match. Also the elderberry is more of a stalk or a soft moist branch toward the bottom going into the ground. Yours is very vinelike. So back to square one..... unknown lol.


trottet1 your description of the soft moist branch going into the ground sounds like pokeweed


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## trottet1

clyderoad said:


> trottet1 your description of the soft moist branch going into the ground sounds like pokeweed


So I shouldn't make wine from those berries? Lol


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## clyderoad

a wise man said "Definitely research this as I am no expert".


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## trottet1

clyderoad said:


> a wise man said "Definitely research this as I am no expert".


:thumbsup:


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## odfrank

Is it a vine on a wall? Boston ivy?


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## GaryG74

Not poke berry or elder. Other than that, not sure what it is.


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## Terry C

The leaves look like a member of the grape family , as do the clusters of berries . Definitely not elderberry .


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## Andrew Dewey

While I am not an expert (have I read that somewhere before?), honey made from a variety of nectar sources is not likely to cause human health problems. Mono nectar source honey from poisonous sources, has been used as a weapon of war in the far past.


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## MikeinCarolina

clyderoad said:


> the leaves don't look like elderberry leaves to me. those are lobed and our elderberry are not, more spear head shaped and serrated.
> maybe there are lobed leaf elderberrys also?
> 
> they also don't look like pokeweed leaves or flower stems.
> 
> the photo looks like some kind of vine.
> 
> note: my terminology for describing plant features is terrible.


I agree definately NOT elderberry.

It almost looks like a hops plant - perhaps related ?

heres hops


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## BeeBop

It looks like wild grape to me. Ours bloomed about a month ago.


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## Westhill

Here's another photo of porcelain berry. Looks like yours.


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## bugmeister

take a look at some of the more wild viburnums- definitely not poke or elderberry. 

poke berry and juice are highly toxic, but was used for country arthritis remedy(very small amounts) when juice fermented and brought down to a 'brandy' like alcohol content. until a few years ago poke berry early greens/shoots where sold and canned in spring for salads. ever hear the song ' poke salat Annie" or something like that? check out poke salat (salad) but don't eat this! 

elderberry also requires caution because some are sweet and make great jellies, jams, fruit and wine and some (red) are poisonous. always check an expert source. i was bummed because i started making wines and ciders years ago and saw all this great 'poke' around everywhere and quickly found it is highly toxic. don't mess with it. 
B


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## jimbo3

Ahhh, yes, I think we have a winner! I thought it was a bush, but it appears to be an invasive porcelain berry vine growing in another bush.


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## Tjsegla

Why not take some to White Flower Farm or another nursery in the area to be sure


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## Hops Brewster

If it grows as a bush and the stems are smooth, maybe porcelain berry, though I've never seen one so I bow to experience. 

If it grows like a vine and the bines are covered in tiny, sharp, toothlike spines, then my vote would be MALE hops, whose flowers grow like clusters of tiny grapes. 
Female hops grow cone-shaped flowers, and also have the 'wolf's teeth' all along the bines. Humulus Lupulus, aka "little wolf".
I have never seen bees on my hops.


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