The dark glossy foliage of the Appalachian tea highlights fragrant white flowers in spring and turns red in fall, not without first displaying corymbs of fruit that will hang for a long time, displaying a whole range of decorative shades, from white to nuptial blue to fuchsia.

In English, its name ”Northern wild raisin”, translating to wild northern grape, or even “Appalachian tea”, tea from the Appalachians, reveals its edible uses. Its fruits, not very juicy, not very pulpy, are sweet and fragrant enough to be picked like candy in passing, of which you can crunch the tender core. In boreal gastronomy, they are mainly used to make excellent coulis, syrups and jellies, otherwise they are used to make a coloring powder with a fruity scent after drying, they are macerated in a neutral alcohol to extract a maximum of aromas, or to create a boreal rosé gin.

With its shallow roots, the Appalachian tea prefers the humidity that it sometimes finds in an acidic peat bog far to the north and it would wither in poor, dry soil. Cross-pollination is required for its fruiting, possible with a viburnum cassinoides ‘Lil’ Ditty‘ if you are short on space. Riparian strips. Native.