The Brasil is spiny shrub that should be considered armed and dangerous. In fact, when collecting its sweet, small, black berries, indigenous peoples reportedly beat it with a stick in order to gather the fallen fruit, rather than fight the thorns in any attempt to pluck it.
Texas Native
Evergreen
Bird Friendly
Drought Tolerant
Thorny
About This Plant
Did You Know?
Brasil's jet-black berries were used by Native Americans to make a dark dye. The berries are also edible for humans — sweet and slightly astringent, similar to a wild grape.
Growing Details
Sun
Full Sun
Water
Low — Very Drought Tolerant
Soil
Caliche, sandy loam, clay
Range
South TX & NE Mexico
Family
Rhamnaceae
Lifespan
Long-lived (30+ yrs)
Wildlife Value
- Black berries consumed by mockingbirds, thrashers, Pyrrhuloxia, and many others
- Dense evergreen canopy provides year-round cover and nesting sites
- Early white flowers feed native bees and small butterflies in late winter
- Thickets shelter cottontail rabbits and ground-nesting birds
Photos
Berries
Flowers
Leaves
Full Tree
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