Mystery tree of the day. Maybe a shrub. Extremely popular with the pollinators. Blooms year round. Covered always with honeybees, carpenter bees, native bees, hummingbird, you name it. Neighbor (one that will talk to me, LOL) hates it and always tells me she wishes I would get rid of it. (Update: Almost certainly Grewia occidentalis, the Crossberry -- very useful plant, and edible!!!) #mystery
"they are collected and dried for later use. The dried fruits are sometimes boiled in milk - a bush milkshake! Beer is also brewed from the ripe fruit in certain areas. Other human uses of this species include using the wood to make bows and spear shafts.
The cross-berry is an important species in traditional medicine and is used for a variety of purposes. Bruised bark soaked in hot water is used to treat wounds. Pounded bark, used regularly as a shampoo, was believed to prevent hair from turning grey. Parts of the plant were used to treat impotence and sterility, and root extracts were used to help in childbirth."
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