mystery fruit

These little seed pods look like pear-shaped blueberries. Past their prime, they have a little bit of flesh with several ear-shaped yellow seeds inside. They were collected from a spindly-limbed tree with an ancient gnarly trunk. The leaves were small. The little fruits are just starting to drop from the tree (in March) - weird.

Does someone know what these are?

Do chicken eat it?

Thanks in advance.

Do you have pictures of the tree?

and the foliage?

Yes, here are some more photos. Starting to think the tree is confused by weather and threw out a bunch of half-arsed fruit. Just a guess.

If I had to guess, I'd say it's a bush honeysuckle of some sort, perhaps honeyberry. (Lonicera caerulea) This is strange, since I thought those only grew in cold climates.....

Can't be sure by the images I see find online, but blue honeysuckle looks quite similar. There's a clear pear-shape to these berries though, that I don't see online. This description says it needs two to tango, I wonder if the fruits form sucky little pears if it's growing alone.

http://www.agroatlas.ru/cultural/Lonicera_K_en.htm

Fruits look like honeyberries. If you look on some sites that sell honeyberries (One Green World Fruit Trees), you would at least be able to visually compare your pictures to what they are showing as representative examples. All kinds of critters, yourself included, shoudl be able to eat them. It would be interesting to see if yours are the sweeter type or the more sour type. If I remember correctly, you need a couple of different cultivars for them to pollinate properly and produce fruit. If you have some extra berries that you would be willing to part with, I would be interested in getting some from you.

Also, they say that the honeyberry is generally the first thing to fruit in the spring, even before strawberries. I have not had any to eat, but some people have said that they are a little reminisent of blueberries, but not quite as good. Good for the first fruit of the season, though.

I chomped a couple of them just now - not a huge fan. They're mostly seeds inside and the after taste is decidedly bitter (but not repulsive).

The pic on google images for blue honeysuckle show varieties with fruit shaped like grapes or long acorns, but I have not seen one that is pear-shaped like the fruit I have (with skinny part at top). I'll send you a few if you PM me and tell me where.

Jen, if I may quote part of your PM, I think you are correct: "This looks like what you are showing... https://www.onegreenworld.com/Honeyberry/BluePacific8482/1573/ " A local nursery director called me back with the same species (diff variety, I think). They do not tase great, but the parent tree is very prolific so I will try to grow it for chicken forage.

Thank you, some seeds are headed your way.

Hey Mike can I get some seeds too ? PM sent to you.

Thanks Mike, I got the seeds you sent. Can't wait to get them planted on my place in Wyoming!