The color of B. swaseyi fruits is commonly said to vary between white and red. Although this pale coloration can be traced back to Coulter's 1870 description ("yellowish white, tinged with red"), reenforced by Gray 1895 ("fruit white, translucent with a pale reddish tinge"), the red color of mature fruits is a relatively recent addendum — but with white always given equal prominence; e.g., the key of Correll and Johnston 1970: "fruits ... grading in color from white to brilliant-red." (Cf. Putative Fruit characteristics for B. swaseyi and B. trifoliolata in the Botanical Literature).
In N. Hays County, where Coulter first discovered B. swaseyi, white fruits - by which I understand "pale yellowish" fruits - occur only when the fruits are either infertile or immature. When all other fruits have matured, all 'white' fruits lack developed seeds; and no 'red' fruits lack seeds. (Note the apparent 'white' fruits on the bush in the photo at the top of this page.)
As B. swaseyi fruits mature the green is gradually replaced with a yellowish tint, followed by a yellowish-pinkish stage. The red and yellow sometimes produce an orange stage. But eventually, with full maturity the yellow is lost and typically replaced with deep crimson-reddish hue, commonly pruinose. Mature, fertile fruits are never yellow or pale.
The photographs below are from the same branches of bush S8, taken over a period of seven weeks (April 27 to June 12). Although the size of the berries did not change over that period, the week-by-week color shifts are striking. The final stages tend to take place relatively quickly.
| Click here for large images of the 5 stages shown below. | ||||
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| April 27 | May 8 | May 23 | June 1 | June12 |
In early June numerous plants might seem to reflect the coloration noted in Correll & Johnston, "grading in color from white to brilliant-red" - although very few of the mature fruits in my area could be characterized as "brilliant red." Typical colors for B. swaseyi fruits on June 12 are illustrated for three plants (S31, S30 and S15A):
Color pixel swatches sampled from large versions of the above image give a better idea of the range for each plant. [The image was produced by directly scanning the fruits at 1200 dpi.]
As berries reach peak maturity, the color shifts further toward crimson, with blue and purple pixels reflecting a late-developing bloom.
On June 26, although most bushes had already lost their fruits, I collected one berry from each of 20 bushes not included in my survey. The range in color, size and shape is shown in the image below. Very few fruits overall seem to be 'spheric' or 'globose;' some are clearly ovate or ovate-oblong. The largest fruits are typically wider than long, relatively flat on the top and bottom.
Only the bottom fifth fruit from the left appeared to be 'brilliant' red (enlarged below). (The noticeable rupture just below the stigma is characteristic of B. swaseyi.)
