Wild autumn fruits in Blendecques, Pas-de-Calais, Digi Mart USA News (Blendecques, near Saint-Omer, France): In the Plateau des Landes regional nature reserve near Saint-Omer, 200 wooded hectares offer a wide variety of small wild fruits that autumn provides. Visitors can discover them on a guided nature walk of about an hour and a half.
Guide Sébastien Ansel of Eden 62 describes the ivy as the quintessential autumn fruit, noting that its clusters can resemble bunches of grapes. Blackberries and sloe berries are among the other wild fruits found along the trails, each differing in shape and color.
Ansel explains that the bright red fruit of the wild rose, known as the cynorhodon, is a colorful strategy to attract birds, which then spread the seeds farther away. Each berry also helps wildlife survive the winter cold and can sometimes lead to a new tree growing several kilometers away.
The jay, which feeds on these lipid-rich fruits, gathers between 4,000 and 6,000 for the winter and hides them in different places. Ansel calls the jay the forest’s gardener because it can help a forest advance.
Ansel stresses that wild fruits are not only for humans but also for birds, insects and mammals. He says the walk is meant to reconnect visitors with biodiversity and with knowledge that has been lost or forgotten.
Visitors who came during the report included a regular jogger who said he usually passes the area running and enjoyed a calmer walk this time, and another visitor who recalled the cynorhodon as the itchy fruit of his childhood.
