Agarita – A Prickly, Delicious Beauty
Berberis trifoliolata. Agarita, agrito, algerita, currant-of-Texas, wild currant, and chaparral berry.
This red berried shrub has almost caused more accidents while driving than you would believe. I will see the bright red out of the corner of my eye and have to catch the swerve at “Oooh! Agarita!”
I see this stuff predominately in the hill country where mockingbirds have planted them in the fence rows almost like living barbwire fence. I’ve heard some people try to call it holly because of a vague resemblance to Ilex aquifolium, the holly, common holly, English holly, but it is in the barberry family with cousins like the invasive and poisonous nandina, native edible mayapples, and Oregon grape.
This is another one of our thousand uses plants. It’s tough as nails, growing in the hottest, driest conditions. It is one of the first signs that spring is here, as the blooms show up in February, and every mockingbird in the county will let you know when the fruit is ready around Mother’s Day / mid May.
Ripe berries, ready to be harvested.
I keep saying that things make good jelly, but this is one of the best on the table. Tart-sweet, they’re just the perfect size for a bird to eat, so it takes a bit to make a good batch. They’re delicious fresh or dried, and have extensive history in the southwest as food and medicine.
Wood shavings had the greatest medicinal use as a potent antiseptic wash for the whole body, fever reducer, or laxative, depending on how it was prepared. This was used in conjunction with willow or cottonwood when you got sick with a cold to help you feel better.
There should always be a little patch of this over to the side, left to its own devices to feed the bees in the early spring and the mockingbirds in May. A delightful, if poky little shrub that’s worth appreciating from a distance.
