26 Types of Red Berries Growing on Trees and Shrub

Are you a fan of red berries? Whether you are a gardening enthusiast looking who likes rare flowers or looking for the best to grow in your little piece of green heaven in your backyard or just an ardent red berry lover, being curious about the various types is normal.

So, if you are a complete amateur when it comes to berries, no worries, we have got you covered. We will discuss 26 different types of red berries in detail, along with pictures for your understanding.

There are two broad categories of red berries, one that grows on the tree and the second that grows on the shrubs. The brilliant contrast of the rich red colour against the bright green gives your garden such a gorgeous look that can make your neighbours jealous. When it comes to recognising the different types of red berries, it is usually done by checking and analyzing the kind of leaves the shrub or the tree has, the shape, texture and, colours of the flower, and, obviously, the trunk.

Now that the basic idea of red berries and it is identification clear, let us talk about the different types of red berries-

Types of Red Berries

1. Snake Berries

Having the look and texture of a real strawberry, snake berries are often called Indian strawberries and mock strawberries. However, they are not actual berries. The red and white fruit produced look like a berry and edible.

It is a perennial herb producing a fruit that a fleshy, juicy texture with a sweet taste. Being a perennial herb, it has several medical benefits and can be used in treating skin diseases with its natural healing power. It is also known to treat issues like body pain, inflammation, heart diseases, etc. One thing that should be kept in mind is that any amateur should not use it for treatment purposes without expert supervision. The berries can be toxic for your body if not used in proper quantity.

2. Red Chokeberry Bush

A tall shrub with multiple stems and adorned with lots of white flowers, these shrubs produce the glossiest and prettiest berries ever. The shrub grows best in moist soil, but once it has established its root and started growing, it can survive moderate dryness.

Make sure you keep it in a place where it receives moderate sunshine without drying out the soil. The fleshy red berries covered in oval leaves give your garden a spectacular look and  are edible (only with lots of sugar).

3. Barberries

You might not already know this, but this is one of the most favourite berries amongst several people. Do you want to know why? Because this berry is widely used to make jams and jellies. Apart from its delicious, sweet taste, this berry is also known for its medicinal properties.

Being a herb in nature, they are known to treat various digestive disorders like heartburn, constipation and, diarrhoea and are also known to reduce blood sugar level, cholesterol and, PCOD.

Coming to its edibility, apart from jam and jellies, you can also consume them with wine, tea, or sauce. They also serve as an excellent substitute for raisin and cranberries.

4. Redcurrants

Here is another shrub berry. These summer berries with pulpy, fleshy texture give you a mild taste and is a combination of a black and white currant. Not too robust but a little tart than white currant. Apart from their delicious taste and magnificent look,  they are ideal for your health. Being rich in antioxidant properties, vitamin C and K, and potassium, it keeps both your skin and heart-healthy and fit.

5. Red Gooseberry

Gooseberries have a unique taste which is a blend of sweet and tart combination, good enough to tease your taste buds. Produced in a gorgeous ruby-like shiny red, these berries are excellent for making pies and jams.

This shrub grows best in well-drained and partial sandy soil with moderate exposure to sunlight. So, if you want something tasty as well as pretty to make your garden look amazing, red gooseberries are undoubtedly a great choice! If you aren’t sure how to obtain this shrub, contact Madera tree care services and they will be more than happy to help you with that.

6. Pin Cherries

Growing on wild bushes and shrubs, they look like black cherries. If you go by the look of their leaves and bark, they look very similar, but one thing that differentiates them is the pin cherry’s flowers and fruit. The beautiful white flowers come in clusters on the branch, and from the flowers, each pin cherry grows out, again in clusters and ripens somewhere between July and August.

7. Bittersweet Nightshade

Before you even begin reading about these red berries, let us warn you that you should be careful about planting this in your garden and  should ensure your kids keep their distance.

Although the gorgeous red cherries look spectacular in your garden, the berries are toxic. The extract from these berries is indeed used for various medical purposes, but raw berries can be poisonous. Apart from that, the pretty berries and the beautiful Pink-purple flowers are all the reasons that you should consider opting for it.

8. Cotoneaster

Cotoneasters are winter berries growing on evergreen shrubs with four broad types: cranberry cotoneaster, bearberry, hedge cotoneaster, and spreading cotoneaster. Caring for a cotoneaster shrub is basic. All that you need is well-drained soil, moderate sunlight, and moderate watering.

They can do fine without regular fertilizers. But again, these red berries only look good on the outside, and you should certainly not consume it because it is highly poisonous.

9. Hobblebush

If you are looking for a pretty and edible berry, then here is another excellent option you have. Hobble bush is also known as moosewood or witch hobble and is again a perennial type of shrub.

With its large oval leaves that give way to beautiful flowers followed by red berries, this is the right choice for your garden as well. The berries turn black as they ripen, and it is said that they have a delightful taste like dates and raisins.

10. Tatarian Honeysuckle Bush

A deciduous shrub, Tatarian honeysuckle bush, grows out with multiple stems with large oval leaves in a blue-green shade. They produce charming red or pink flowers that grow along with the leaves from the axil.

Red berries with a fleshy texture follow the leaves. However, it is recommended not to plant them in your garden because their growth becomes difficult to control, and it can damage the growth of all the other plants you have in your garden.

11. Winterberry

Another deciduous shrub with bright red cherries. The plant grows to a height of 3-15 feet. The leaves are in a dark green shade placed elliptically and about 2-3 inches long. The bright red cherries are again toxic to humans and animals, so make sure that you do not consume them even by mistake.

It can grow in a variety of conditions if it receives enough moisture. They also need partial to full sunlight every day to thrive better and grow well without additional fertilizers.

12. Cornellian Cherry Dogwood

It is a small tree that grows to a height of 2- to 25 feet. These trees thrive best in well-drained soils. They produce bright yellow flowers that grow out in clusters and charmingly adorn the entire tree even before the leaves come out.

The leaves are dark green in the shade with distinct veins and oval. The tree produces clusters of rich red berries that usually ripen towards the end of summer. The best part about these berries is that they are edible and can be used to make jams, jellies, and pies.

13. Peruvian Pepper

As the name suggests, this evergreen tree produces bright red cherries with a peppery taste. Also known by other different names like the American pepper, false pepper, or the pepper tree.

The tree is distinguished by its fern-like leaves that produce small white flowers that become red berry-like fruits that have a peppery taste with lots of seeds. This plant is mostly found in places with a hot arid climate.

The fruits from this tree are generally safe for consumption, but it is recommended that children do not eat them because these fruits might upset their stomachs.

14. American Holly Tree

This broad-leaved evergreen tree is most famous for its striking red cherries and dark green leaves with a leathery texture and pointed tips. The trees grow out in a pyramidal shape and grow very tall, ranging from 6 meters to 15 meters.

Caring for an American holly tree is very easy. All that you need is to keep it in moist soil and protect them from the cold chilly winds. Water them moderately, and you will be good to go. The best part is they do not fall prey to pests that easily.

15. Red Berry Mistletoe

Redberry mistletoe is a type of mistletoe that belongs to the family santacalacea. The plant has several small green leaves and is well known for its strikingly gorgeous red berries. However, it would help if you kept in mind that these berries might look great from the outside but are fatal for your health.

They are extremely poisonous to humans. On the contrary, they are entirely harmless to birds. It is the birds that eat the fruits and help disperse the red berries’ seeds.

16. Hawthorn Tree

The best-known use for this plant and its berries is for medicinal purposes. They help treat various diseases, especially those related to your heart, like blockage and high blood pressure. As we already mentioned its medicinal properties, it is evident that it is also edible and is not harmful. Apart from its health benefits, the light green leaves provide a brilliant contrast to the pretty red cherries that are sure to make your garden look 100 times better and prettier.

17. Buffalo Berry

This is one of the toughest berry plants. Immune to extreme cold weather as well as capable of fighting against drought. These berries are rich in vitamin C and antioxidants. The berries grow on small plants or shrubs that are dioecious, which means that they have both male and female reproductive organs.

The trees produce small white-yellow flowers that give way to bright red berries. In the beginning, that is around late summer, they are a little tart, but as time goes and they ripen, they become sweeter. They can make delicious jellies and are exceptionally tasty when eaten dried, fresh, or cooked in desserts or other dishes.

18. Butcher’s Broom

A small evergreen shrub with dark green leaves produces bright red cherries with a fleshy texture. Butcher’s broom has been used in herbal medicines for ages. Its best known for treating inflammation, poor blood circulation, and hypotension.

The plant, a member of the lily family, has short spiny leaves and red cherries. However, there is one thing that you should keep in mind when it comes to butcher’s broom, although they are used for medicinal purposes, one should not consume them directly. They are not just toxic but can also harm your digestive system.

19. Raspberries

Speaking of red berries and not mentioning raspberries is not possible. Popularly known for the sweet juicy berries with a soft pulpy texture, raspberries are also rich in Vitamin C, E, antioxidants, and several other minerals that are very useful for your body.

Apart from the sweet, delicious taste and the minerals and vitamins, they also serve several health benefits like helping with diabetes, preventing cancer, promoting your eyes’ health, and preventing cancer.

Remember that there are several types of raspberries, including black, purple, and golden, but here we are explicitly talking about red raspberries.

20. Spindles

Scientifically known as Euonymus Europaeus, it is a small shrub known for its red cherries and flowers. It grows best in well-drained soil with moderate sunlight. The bark is grey with simple leaves on opposite sides that have texture.

The gorgeous pink flowers give way to the fruit, which is green in color and then becomes deep pink to red as they gradually ripen. The inside of the fruit has a deep orange-red fleshy texture with multiple seeds in it, and just like many other cherry plants, they too are known for their medicinal properties.

21. Strawberries

Of course! Although we wanted to start the list with less popular are rare kinds of cherries that you probably do not know about how a list of types of red berries can be ever completed without mentioning strawberry.

The popular fruit is grown on perennial herbaceous plants. The fruit is rich in Vitamin C and has a laxative effect. Easy to digest and attractive with its dark reddish color, it is often eaten with yogurt, ice cream, chocolate, and cereals. They are usually harvested in the summer, low in calories, and rich in Vitamins, they are undoubtedly great for your health.

22. Elderberry

Growing on a large deciduous shrub and being a part of the honeysuckle plant family, elderberry produces large clusters of berries that are bright red and have a very fleshy and juicy taste with lots of seed. The leaves are dark green in an oval shape, have a leathery texture to them, and are located opposite each other.

The foliage has a very distinctive and robust odor to itself. They can be grown on various soils, but they grow better in loamy soil rich in nutrients and prefer full exposure to the sun. Although they required soil with a fair amount of moisture to bloom the best, the soil also requires proper drainage to avoid water stagnation.

23. Nanking Cherry

The Nanking cherries are fast growers that start producing fruits within two years of being planted. The trees grow to a height of 15 ft and spread rapidly in width to the extent that needs time to trim. They produce beautiful pink buds that turn white as they bloom into flowers. The flowers give way to the dark red berries with a tart-like taste and are edible.

The fruits usually ripen between July and August. However, they have a concise shelf life that makes them undesirable for commercial use. However, even commercially, they are still used for making sure food items like pies, juice, syrups, and wine.

24. American Bittersweet

No, do not get confused. We know we have already talked about bittersweet nightshade cherries, but these are different. These are the American bittersweet cherries. It is a perennial vine that grows by wrapping itself around trees and shrubs.

Another medicinal plant whose roots and barks are used for medicinal purposes and help with body ailments and issues like fluid retention, arthritis, menstrual disorder, and liver disorder.

The tree produces white flowers in clusters in the shape of stars, followed by capsules ranging from yellow to crimson. The flowers are followed by green fruits, which turn bright red as they ripen.

25. Evans Cherry

The tree primarily grown for its edible fruits, beautiful white flowers followed by sour and bright red berries popularly used to make jams, pies, and jellies. The cherries have a soft pulpy texture that is exceptionally juicy.

The tree needs to be planted in well-drained soil with full sun exposure to bloom best. They are also used best in cooking various delicacies, baking, and preserving other food materials.

26. High Bush Cranberries

High bush cranberries are called so due to their striking resemblance to cranberries, even though they aren’t. However, the two plants are quite different. The high bush cranberry plants produce clusters of white flowers in June alongside 3-lobed green leaves with a glossy texture and turn orange-yellow during the fall.

The fruit ripens approximately around August, with a soft juicy texture, in bright red and a central core with the seeds, a lot like cranberries. They are popularly used in jams, jellies and, juice and taste like an original cranberry, and they are also often used as a substitute for cranberries.

So, these were the 26 types of red berries that we wanted you all to know about. Remember, there are various categories, types, and species of red berries, and more will keep getting added to the list as researchers find out more varieties.

But for now, these 26 types of red berries are all that you need to know to grow your knowledge. Each being from a different variety with different characteristics looks even better with Oak tree falls. Some are used in jams and pies, some are eaten fresh, some are for decorative purposes, and some are for medicinal purposes.

We hope that this article was helpful to you, and if you have any further queries, do not be shy to reach out to us in the comment section below.