Swamps have long been the home of the fruiting Mayhaw tree, that is known to be the producer of berries - the fruit from which Mayhaw Jelly is made, that many gourmet cooks claim is the world's best flavored jelly. The mayhaw trees not only grow in swamps, but many new hybrid selections of mayhaws grow and produce fruit on upland soils.
The mayhaw tree one-inch blooms are white and fragrant and appear early in Feb. and the berries are all ripe before the end of May. The mayhaws are collected on tarps placed beneath the tree after the tree shaking that removes most of the crop. Newer grafted clones of mayhaws produce larger berries, with heavy crops.