#build0

[jimmy-ds-trees]

Rubus Idaeus

Raspberries

Rubus Idaeus

Tree or Plant Type: Shrub

Foliage: Deciduous (seasonally loses leaves, but comes back yearly)

Native Locale: Europe

Landscape Uses: decorative, for food

Mature Height: 3-6 feet

Mature Width: 2-3 feet

Light Exposure: medium sun, does good in under story.

Hardiness Zones:  Zone 3-9

BUILD/BEAUTY

The common raspberry is a common sight in New England Forests. This is a highly edible berry that as a child growing up in these woods I would eat as a snack often. These woods are filled with these berries because the farm that is adjacent to this wooded area used to cultivate blackberries and raspberries. This is a plant that I would place in a landscape, as the benefit of the sweet berries is just that good. This gets a 1 for its thorny stalk, a 4 for its berries, and a 2 for its landscape uniqueness.

Bark: (1-3) 1

Leaves: (1-4) 4

Landscape uniqueness: (1-3) 2

Total: 6

The building properties of a berry bush are nonexistent, so the score this plant gets is a 0 out of 10. 

Source:

1. https://veggieharvest.com/vegetables/raspberry.html

2. https://www.botanical-online.com/en/botany/raspberry

3. https://www.friendsofthewildflowergarden.org/pages/plants/wildredraspberry.html

[jimmy-ds-trees]

Myrica pensylvanica

Bayberry

Botanical name: Myrica pensylvanica All Common Names: Bayberry, Northern Bayberry, Candleberry Family (English): Bayberry Family (Botanic): Myricaceae Tree or Plant Type: Shrub Foliage: Evergreen (foliage year-round) Native Locale: North America Landscape Uses: Hedge, Massing, Mixed border, Screen, Shade tree Size Range: Large shrub (more than 8 feet), Medium shrub (5-8 feet) Light Exposure: Full sun (6 hrs direct light daily), Partial sun/shade (4-6 hrs light daily) Hardiness Zones: Zone 3, Zone 4, Zone 5 (Chicago), Zone 6, Zone 7

BUILD/BEAUTY

The bayberry is an attractive shrub that produces these waxy small blue berries that can be cultivated for candles scented like bayberry. The fruiting bodies are great for the local ecology, many species enjoy eating them I personally would not put this plant in a landscape, it looks too similar to a rhododendron. The bark gets a 0 because it is too small, the leaves will get a 2 due to the local fruiting bodies, and the landscape uniqueness will get a 1 out of 3. This compounds for a score of 3 out of 10.

Bark: (1-3) 0

Leaves: (1-4) 2

Landscape uniqueness: (1-3) 1

Beauty score: 3 out of 10

For building materials, this shrub does not contribute in any way to a structural or useful member. This shrub gets a 0 out of 10 for build quality. The most use it has is its wax for candles.

Source: 

1. https://www.mortonarb.org/trees-plants/tree-plant-descriptions/bayberry

2. http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=e310

3. https://macphailwoods.org/nature-guides/shrubs/bayberry/