Mountain Watch

   Before flower - Tiny green to white flowers are unopened.

   In flower - The flowers have opened to reveal a tiny dark dot (ovary) surrounded by 4 tiny white petals.  Petals on some of the flowers have not wilted or fallen off yet.

   Past flower - The tiny petals have wilted or fallen off.  The remaining ovaries will begin to swell and turn green. 

   Before ripe fruit - The ovaries have lost their petals and are developing into a cluster of green fruits.  As the fruits swell, they will begin to turn red, and stiff white hairs will be visible on the surface of the fruit.  A fruit is considered ripe once it is completely red, and the white hairs are no longer visible.

   Ripe fruit –  The developing green fruits have turned completely red, and the stiff white hairs on the surface of the fruit are no longer visible.  The loss of the hairs will also cause the fruits’ surface to appear shiny, rather than dull.

   After ripe fruit– We are not monitoring this stage for this species.  Because not all flowers will develop into fruits, it is difficult to determine if a “missing” fruit at the end of an empty stem is the result of fruit that already fully ripened and dispersed, or the result of a flower that was not pollinated and therefore never began to develop into a fruit.