Cedar Berries

Autumn is the time of year when the Eastern Red Cedars in Oklahoma produce their fruit.  You've probably seen them.  The trees have this bluish-gray color which is the result of the hundreds of berries on their branches.

 

If you take a closer look, the berries are rather pretty.  Only female trees produce berries.  

Male trees do not produce berries and, hence, do not have the bluish-gray appearance that the female trees have.

Instead of berries, male trees produce tiny tan-colored "pine cones".  These are the pollen-bearing structures and are about the size of a sesame seed.  They will release the pollen near the end of winter.  They are one of the first trees to flower every year.  When the pollen is flying, you can make a tree "smoke" by gently swatting the branches.   Here's what the cones look like.

While the Eastern Red Cedar is considered an invasive species by many, it has many good attributes.  For one, the tree is a vital source of shelter for many birds and mammals.  Another good characteristic of the tree is the berries provide a food source for birds and mammals, including: American Robin, Cedar Waxwing, Northern Bobwhite, Mourning Dove, Northern Mockingbird, Purple Finch, American Crow, Northern Flicker, Downy Woodpecker, Eastern Bluebird, rabbits, foxes, squirrels, skunks, opossums, and raccoon, among others.

The USDA has a lot of good information about these trees, along with the medicinal uses the Native Americans had for them, in their plant database at the following link:

http://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/cs_juvi.pdf