Last weekend hunting in the Blue Ridge mtns. of NC, I noticed a tree dropping what appeared to be a fruit I'd never noticed before. I've only been hunting these woods going on forty years, but this was a first time I hunted this ridge line for deer. It's usually my turkey blind. The fruit? was about the size of a small grape, bigger than a marble, firm and red....resembled a tiny apple for lack of better description. When crushed the pulp had a mild sweet smell. I picked a few and was going to post pics until I forgot about them and they went through the washer in my jacket pocket. They didn't exactly survive the ordeal completely intact. I'd just killed a deer and was trailing it when I noticed them, but was in too big a hurry to take the time to figure out which tree was dropping and get a leaf or something that might help. Any ideas and I'll google them? If not I gather some more next weekend if they're not all gone.

They were more than likely pawpaw and deer do eat them. I’d hunt that spot as soon as you can.

Look like these Paw Paw

Look like these crab apples

They were red. Not as dark, uniform red as a Red Delicious, but lighter colored.....more like a grape-sized McIntosh

You are describing a persimmon most likely - orangish red. The reason they are not eaten yet is they are horribly bitter until the first frost or good cold snap when they ripen up. Although they are usually a bit bigger than what you describe. Could be a type of crab apple.

Autumn Olive?

Persimmon

?

Lots of them here

Sounds like crabapples to me.

MP

Hard to believe he can’t identify any apple. He’s got to post pic

Sounds like crabapple. Was the flesh red also?

I would say crab apple too. But, deer will annihilate them. I planted several crab apple trees in my feed plot and they love them. Easier to get in their mouth than a full size apple. Not all crab apples are sweet, not all have red meat and not all have red skin. The thing that don't add up is that they should not be "dropping" right now especially in N.C. I live in Md. and we have a strange tree that doesn't get too big but loads down with bright red "grape" sized berries but the deer absolutely will not touch them and neither does anything else...I call it an arsenic tree.

What type of Grape? A large one or a small wild one?

A fruit that has apple characteristics is likely to be just that or else Hawthorne, which some call Thornapple.

Crabapples. Delicious when ripe.

Red Crabapples

I have a flowering crabapple tree in my yard that is loaded with fruit. It has been dropping them for more than a month.

MP

It looks very similar to Keefer's red crab apple pic, but these are about the size of a large olive. I wouldn't know why they would drop that small I assume any "apple" should have grown larger, but we had some serious cold snaps well into spring....that usually just wipes out apple blossoms for that year. We have lots of what we call thorn-apples, but they're all lime green. Deer will eat those, but if you do you'll regret it...they're really sour and will clean you out! Pics are in order and forthcoming! I will get some this weekend if the things are still dropping and post pics. Leaves too if I can reach 'em.

Crabapples are a lot smaller than 'regular' apples so, yeah, probably. Mostly planted for decoration around here but a few people still make and can crabapple jelly.

Whatever the mystery fruit was , Congrats on the deer! lets see pics of that olddog

Hawthorn fruit often looks like a very small apple, I didn't look where the original poster was from but there are several species of Hawthorn in the eastern US

They might be Choke Cherry's

Bob

I'd say crabapple. These bucks were under the crabapple trees at my parents house next to ours in Idaho. While not ripened yet, the deer hit the fruit on the ground later in the year pretty hard. The birds like them, too. Never had any crabapple jelly.

I googled the Hawthorn and what I saw was very similar, with the exception being that the Hawthorn berries pictured had a "navel" looking orifice opposite the stem end. What I found did not. As I mentioned, what we call thorn apples are lime green and sour beyond belief. Most importantly, the biggest thorn apples we have are maybe golf ball sized...way bigger than what I collected. I'll get some pics and we'll crack this case this weekend.

How do you like them crabapples! In bunches like grapes with bottom branches touching the ground. These would make a lot of jelly but I just leave them for the birds. The robins that now hang around through winter will hit them late in the winter.

Buckeye, thanks but pics will not be forthcoming, lol! I gave everything a pass for two days. Admittedly highly nontypical behavior for me and my buddy didn't buy it either. So I told him I needed to put something in my empty freezer and the first thing that offered a shot Saturday AM was going to be fair game. As it turns out I'm certain this was not an ordinary "cisgendered" deer...a transgender perhaps. It was free of spots and unaccompanied by any maternal figure, but let's just say it's "buttons" had to be felt because they couldn't be seem without at least 10x binocs, lol! In order to be PC and not offend it, I will refrain from referring to "it" using any binary pronouns...but "it" was in the freezer by Sat. evening! (Except what went in the chili at supper....mighty tasty)

I am almost positive it was crabapples and the deer will smash it!!

Follow-up as promised...whatever it was they're all gone this weekend. The trees they were under appear to have no more hanging either. The tree have slender leaves like a willow (pin in the south)oak, but the leaves are alternate, with a a pair exactly opposite each other on the stem. Doubt that helps much. I'll try to remember to pick some and get pics next year. Yea, right. At my age I'm going to remember that....well I will if I see some laying there!

if you take a picture of the tree most folks will tell you what it is by the bark, or leaves

I think I know what you are talking about. I usually see them in oak flats. I don't know what they are. The next time I see one I will pick it up.

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