I found a couple of large shrubs growing in Crowley Park in Vancouver that I feel I should know but the names are escaping me. I did not have my camera but was able to bring home a sample of the seeds/fruit (the lance shaped leaves were too far gone to take any photos by the time I got home).....this sample is about 18 cm in length. As this is more of a dog park than a "groomed" park there have been a lot of introduced plants (either purposely or accidentally by well-meaning people) and others that have established themselves from the surrounding homes so I'm not sure if this is native or not but I know I've seen this shrub before. Any help would be appreciated.
As far as I know, it is toxic for humans and dogs, and letting it stay in the ground for even one extra year results in an enormous root mass that's very hard to pull out. Some people around here keep it as decorative (nice purple berries), but I rip it all out. In the first year when it's just growing from the seed it's really trivial, and then much more difficult. Fast-growing,
With the ribbed fruit, might be P. acinosa rather than P. americana. Easier to tell when the fruit are ripe (black), less easy when they're still green as P. americana can also be a bit ribbed then.
