Edible shrub - novice Season - present all year. Flowers: late spring to summer. Fruits: summer to autumn Common names Pheasant berry, Himalayan honeysuckle, Elisha's tears, flowering nutmeg, Himalayan nutmeg, chocolate berry, treacle berry
Scientific name meaning: Leycetseria is derived from the name of horticulturalist William Leycester. Formosa is from the Latin Formosus, meaning beautiful or well-formed
Habitat  An ornamental shrub imported to the UK from the Himalayas. It is found in planting schemes and as a garden escapee in hedgerows, along fence lines, near other trees and in woodland. |
Overall structure  A shrub producing many green or purple canes reaching up to 3m tall. The leaves and flowers form on the top half of these canes giving it a top heavy appearance. |
Leaves  The leaves are roughly and elongated heart-shape (cordate) with veins that branch pinnately then reticulate. The leaf stem and mid-rib are often tinted maroon-purple. |
Stem  The tall stems are hollow and cylindrical, reaching up to 3m tall. They are soft at first before coming woody with age. They can be green to maroon purple when young. The leaf nodes are prominent with a sheath that encircles the stem, which narrows at this point giving an almost jointed appearance. |
Flowers  The white flowers have a tubed corolla terminating with five petal-like lobes. They appear on long dangling racemes that are deep maroon-purple in colour. The flowers are covered with large maroon-purple bracts that give a bell-shaped effect along the length of the flower stalk. |
Fruit  In late summer, the flowers are followed by glossy egg-shaped berries that turn from green, to purple to brown/black. The external female reproductive parts remain on the end of the berry and resemble maroon insect mouth parts. |
Possible lookalikes  A very distinctive plant. It may be mistaken for a Fuschia species, pictured, on first glance but the bell-shaped flower bracts of pheasant berry would confirm identification on closer inspection. |
Use as a food The berries are edible when ripe and have a treacle/burnt caramel flavour. They can be used like any soft fruit but care must be taken when harvesting as they are extremely soft and can be squashed easily Use in herbal medicine and medicine Has been used to treat cystitis
If you are suffering from any ailment or need medical advice, please see your General Practitioner.
Hazards None known at time of writing
Other uses Whistles and flutes can be made from the hollow stems Importance to other species Birds are particularly fond of the berries
Always stay safe when foraging. You need to be 100% sure of your identification, 100% sure that your foraged item is edible, and 100% sure that you are not allergic to it (it is good practice to always try a small amount of any new food you are consuming). If in doubt, leave it out!
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